Split (1)

train · ~970k rows (showing the first 140k)

decoded_text stringlengths 4.18k 47.6k
table. This is the Good Food Feast - a medieval banquet on a magnitude that's perhaps never been seen in Canberra before. Members of the Canberra branch of the Society for Creative Anachronism have spent long hours transforming this church centre in Hackett into a lushly furnished medieval hall. Outside, a row of embroidered pennants flutter in the evening breeze, and a couple of young folk, dressed in simple robes and tunics, are lighting candles on the pavement to guide the guests towards the hall. A year's worth of work has gone into this one night. It's an attempt to recreate a similar Good Food Feast that was held 20 years ago in Canberra, which raised the bar for the creative anachronism society, taking the food from bulk catering to fine dining. This time around the Canberra society has set the challenge of preparing a 16th-century feast from the German and Dutch low countries. "What we do in the society [is] experimental archaeology," says Michelle Dean. Her "SCA name" is Mistress Francesca Cellini and we're sitting in the living room of her north Canberra home with crackers and dips set out on the coffee table. It's a week before the feast. Dean talking about recreating the past in small pieces, which is the task that absorbs and occupies members of the society. They make armour at home by testing and re-testing ancient techniques or painstakingly recreate an elaborate gown based on nothing more than a portrait of a great lady in a museum. The Canberra society's president, Brigid Costello (aka Baroness Anne de Tournay), who's settled on the sofa, calls it "social living history". Her people are intrigued by history and obsessive about research. "I often joke that if you are madly passionate about Armenian beekeeping in the 13th century - we've got 70,000 members worldwide. We can find you someone to talk to," she says. Head chef Trudi Lynch (Baroness Gertrud von Ritzebuttel). Photo: Jay Cronan On the coffee table before us is an example of that obsessive research - a baking tray with half a dozen roast goose legs and a tub of green sauce. Head chef Trudi Lynch (Baroness Gertrud von Ritzebuttel) has prepared the goose legs as a trial for the Good Food Feast, and she wants our opinion on the green garlic and sorrel sauce. So how do you prepare an authentic 16th-century banquet? First you have to find a cookbook or a text that has recipes from the correct period. Then you have to translate them accurately from say, medieval Dutch to English. Then you have to translate the recipes again for modern cooking. "The recipe might say 'Take a goodly amount,'" Costello explains. "'Cut it into gobbets.' How big is a gobbet?" Dean remembers trying to cook ancient recipes from photocopies of old texts, making notes as she went along. Now the internet, of course, has boosted SCA research capacity hugely. People can post recipes, along with their research and notes, and photos of each step of the cooking process. But this also means the stakes are higher for the Canberrans as they seek to put on a "once in a lifetime" feast. "The opportunity to push the envelope is that much greater," Dean says. The final problem is trying to translate the dish for the modern palate. For instance, Costello says 90 per cent of the dishes from the period consisted of meat cooked with fruit - a mix of savoury and sweet that many modern diners find hard to accept. Some people can't stomach tongue, or liver, or duck's feet. "Food at that particular time was also linked to medicine," Dean says. "So the menu you ate was dependent on your physical wellbeing." The combinations of sweet, sour and savoury were designed to boost your health. Advertisement Feast your eyes on these delights. Photo: Jay Cronan And after all that - it's still got to taste good. Lynch trained as a chef and works in IT. One of the dishes on her menu is a series of "small bird pies" filled with layers of quail, pigeon, bacon and grapes. "It's a very easy recipe, because you take the bird, you add some bacon and a bit of butter, you take some grapes, you wrap it in pastry and you cook it," she says. But she still has to adapt it to modern sensibilities - in this case by changing the structure of the pies. "If you take a pie and there's something in it that's not edible like a bone, people freak out," she explains. "So if I'm making a pie, even though I know that in a medieval sense they would have cooked the bones in it, for the extra taste and the body, for the modern palate there needs to be no bones." By now everyone has had a goose leg - they're firm, darkly roasted on the bone and satisfyingly meaty. But the green garlic sauce, we all agree, doesn't have enough of that garlicky tang. Lynch will need to boost the garlic again before the feast night. She opens up her laptop and shows me her recipe notes - the original recipes she's drawn from, the translations, a potted summary of each test run, all the changes she's made, notes on timing, and guides on how to scale up the recipe. At the end of the feast, she will post the whole package onto the internet so other cooks in other societies around the world can put together a banquet of their own. It's gloriously detailed and unashamedly geeky. On the day of the feast I get to the hall in the afternoon. The kitchen and prep area is stacked with food - huge twists of bread in tubs, Tupperware containers filled with scallop shells, piles of serving ware, and cloaks heaped on chairs. Trudi Lynch is the commander in the small square kitchen. Everyone is in period costumes. A man who will be known through the evening simply as Dickon puts wood into braziers in the courtyard for the live entertainment that will happen between courses. A trio of musicians practise in the dining hall as servers set the table. There is just so much detail. The plates and cutlery are hand made for the occasion out of stainless steel. The napkins have been sewn by a member of the society. And the glasses have been hand painted with the society's logo. Spirited: Getting into the mood with music. Photo: Jay Cronan With 10 minutes to go, the cooks head off to get properly dressed and candles are frantically lit everywhere. Michelle Dean leans over a side table, reading through her run sheets and lists one more time. The servers get their final instructions ("talk to your people because we don't know where the allergies are"). And out in the courtyard the guests arrive, stepping incongruously out of taxis and into a whole new life. There are grand Tudor ladies, elaborate headdresses, Russian nobles, sweeping skirts, and so many cloaks, gathered around the lit braziers. Everyone is inexplicably carrying picnic baskets. The dinner is completely sold out - there were just 68 places available - and some people have flown in from interstate or driven down from Sydney just for the event. Here is how you start the Good Food Feast. Someone ceremoniously announces your name to the crowd, a server pours water from a jug over your hands to wash them, and you're led to your seat. Lord Otto Sexeburger (Benjamin Norman) sits down beside me with a big picnic basket which he busily unpacks onto the table. He's brought a napkin, extra plates and several knives and a fork. Around the room, everyone else is doing the same, unloading plates and cups and linen. I am the only person who has not brought backup cutlery in a wicker container. It is truly beautiful in the banqueting room - the golden glow of candles, the scarlet and deep blue hangings, the gorgeous costumes. And then the food starts to come out, tray after tray of stuffed eggs with slices of pressed tongue, twists of bread threaded onto a wooden stick. The servers don't break character. "Veal with pepper sauce or blood red sauce, my lord," they murmur, presenting a tray of tender slices of meat and pots of condiment. The veal is perfectly cooked, juicy and soft, the accompanying "blood red sauce" a little sweet and the pepper sauce mild. There is spiced wine, chosen to best represent the styles of wine made in the Low Countries at the time, and plenty of antique cordials, including a sweet, refreshing elderflower drink. Norman is cheerful, voluble guy in his 30s with a dark beard and glasses. He talks about what he does in the "mundane world" (the modern world) and what he does in the SCA world. He's a knight and a very keen sword fighter who makes his own armour, studying ironwork techniques and researching fighting styles. Brigid Costello is his consort - which does not mean his partner. "Milady Anne is a very good friend," he explains. "But after my partner and I split up I still wanted to remain involved in the SCA and so you ask someone you know to be your 'consort' so you can have someone to fight for symbolically in tournaments, that sort of thing." His new girlfriend lives interstate, so Costello is still his SCA consort. We talk about dating while creatively anachronistic - how it can be a bit tricky to bring up your medieval hobby on a date and whether you should mention it on Tinder ("no, it's not LARPing! Or Lord of the Rings!" He rolls his eyes). So authentic: Hand-painted sugar plates for dessert. Photo: Jay Cronan While we talk, we eat - joining the beautifully dressed guests lifting their glasses for wine, sharing choice tidbits of food and gossip. The pressed tongue is meltingly tender and easy to eat, good to wrap around a chunk of golden-brown bread. There are eggs filled with a soft herby mash and pickled vegetables and beetroot cut into the shape of a cross and seasoned with honey. I get a particularly tough goose leg and have to borrow one of Otto's big knives to saw at it, but the green garlic and sorrel sauce is quite garlicky. A plate of scallops on delicate, gleaming pastel shells is passed around. Our neighbour Daniel De La Guerre (university student Daniel Thomson) takes a careful look at his scallop. "It's a subtlety," he declares. A subtlety is a sort of trick dish and these are worthy of Heston Blumenthal - the scallop meat is actually almond jelly and the shell is made of crisp sugar and scented with rosewater. Those small bird pies are very satisfying - wrapped in thick pastry and full of sweet, yet meaty flavour. No bones. Lord Otto is gluten-free so I even get to eat his pastry shell too. In between courses the assembled lords and ladies head out to the wintry courtyard to see live entertainment: a tableau of Salome holding the head of John the Baptist on a silver platter, a very lively puppet show based on the story of Lady Godiva, complete with in-jokes about pelicans and dirty jokes about convents and nuns, and a performance involving Adam, Eve and a giant plush toy snake in a distinctly modern, two-dollar-shop shade of hot pink. It's freezing. I'm glad that I'm wearing faux fur, a wool undershirt plus some fleecy tights under my wide velvet skirt. All night long people have come up to say how beautiful my costume is. "I'm dressed by Mistress Rowan," I tell them immediately. Viscountess Rowan de Peregrynne (Robyn Spencer) is the owner and creator of this elaborate black-and-gold 16th century Saxon outfit, complete with a lavish faux fur collar patterned in gold thread. There's also a hat with a two-foot long feather in it. She's a legendary figure in Australian medieval circles (the Sydney society is even named after her). There are three of us wearing her borrowed costumes tonight, including a woman in a brilliant ruby red gown intricately studded with pearls. Costello has shown me the trick to walking in a floor-length skirt - kicking your feet out every time you take a step. There's a grand sense of occasion about wearing a dress like this, even if you do have to walk a little like a petulant six-year-old. Even the simple act of tilting your head to listen to someone talk acquires an arch gravitas when you've got a hat on your head. Delightful: Full costume and role play. Photo: Jay Cronan The last course is pies filled with jellied red wine, cinnamon and fruit and buttery pastries served on colourful small plates - which are made out of sugar. "You may eat your plate when you are done with it, my lady," says one of the servers. It is too beautiful. I can't. There are also a selection of fresh cheeses (Neufchatel and blue) which have been handmade by Lord Otto. He is not impressed. "Argh, this is one of the bad ones," he groans, stabbing a knife into a chunk of cheese and tasting it. It's crumbly, soft and tangy, possibly a little salty. He explains that one set of cheeses didn't quite turn out the way he wanted. Luckily the good set is circulating somewhere on the other side of the room. When the fluorescent lights eventually come on, breaking the spell, it is nearly the witching hour. This is the bit where we could just be a bunch of public servants and uni students wearing costumes in a rented neighbourhood hall. But no. If anything, the pretty gowns and dramatic cloaks are even more detailed under bright light and everyone swirls towards each other, laughing, chatting and slowly packing their picnic baskets. Brigid Costello, who has been here with the rest of the servers since the morning and still has hours of packing up to do, catches me to ask if I've had a good time. It's been brilliant, I say. Everyone is so lovely. But does she think they've succeeded in raising the bar for a medieval feast? She looks at the still-crowded dining room. "It's actually a bit unusual to see everyone still here talking - usually they pack up quickly and take off because it's quite late," she says. "But they're hanging around." It's like they don't want it to end. Preparing a first course. Photo: Jay Cronan The Good Food Feast menu The first course Eggs stuffed with spiced herb mash Smoked pressed beef tongue Pickled vegetables with honey and saffron Freshly baked bread The second course Baked salmon, served on crisp rye pastry Spinach cooked in the Hungarian manner Oysters with flowers of lemon Golden scallops Goose with green garlic sauce The third course Small bird pies Veal with yellow pepper sauce, mustard or blood red sauce, served on a bed of picked cabbage with white sausage and beetroot, and carrot, almond and violet mash Dessert Red wine, cinnamon and plum tarts Malavosia pear tarts Spanish sweet almond and butter pastries Hand-made cheese with crisp Gouda biscuits Natasha Rudra was a guest of the Canberra Society for Creative Anachronism. See sca.org for more.TODAY's Loose Women was taken off air after Fathers4Justice interrupted the show. As Ruth Langsford spoke to Coleen Nolan about her struggles with her weight, there was a commotion from the audience. ITV 5 Coleen Nolan and her personal trainer Dan Hooper looked shocked as the group started shouting Shouts of, "Fathers for justice, no kids no cash" echoed through the studio, causing the show to be taken off air momentarily. The sound was cut out and the show's logo was broadcast for twenty seconds, with the shouting of the unknown protesters still audible when the show returned to air. "Thank you guys," said Ruth Langsford before continuing to speak to the panel about Coleen's weight battle. "Excuse me, can we get back to me?" Coleen shrieked. "So those gentlemen have left us, where were we?" asked Ruth as they picked up where they left off. ITV 5 The sound was cut and the show's logo broadcast for thirty seconds A Loose Women spokesperson told The Sun: "The show was briefly interrupted today by three members of the audience who were making a peaceful protest." One viewer tweeted: "Fathers4Justice have just crashed the Loose Women set. My day has officially peaked." Loose Women welcome 100 audience members each day. The group also confirmed it was them behind the sudden interruption, and tweeted it was part of a "child support strike" they are planning. Latest in TV and Showbiz 'VERY ODD' Emma Thompson quits film after executive accused of harassment brought on board HER SIDE Jordyn Woods set to come clean about cheating scandal on Jada Pinkett Smith's show 'TELL STACEY' EastEnders fans beg Jean to tell Stacey she has ovarian cancer as she CRAWLING INTO BED DJ Chris Evans and wife Natasha horrified to find MAGGOTS in their bed ANGE'S SIX-PACK Angelina Jolie makes rare public appearance with all six of her children MADGE'S BUST NEW PAL Madonna's new music partner Anitta shares her love of risky outfits TALKING COBBLE-RS Coronation Street's Tracy splits the UK by using the word'mingebag' HE'S IN THE PASTA Gemma eats spaghetti after Arg's 'fat jibes' as she films Real Housewives Ex-factor Megan McKenna sobs as she reveals heartbreaking reason for Mike Thalassitis split 'AWFUL LITTLE GIRL' Georgia Steel hits back at 'fake' Mario Falcone after THAT tweet Their new campaign which will see them encourage men estranged from their children to withhold child support payments until they have equal access rights. twitter 5 The group tweeted this soon after they caused havoc on Loose Women Fathers 4 Justice was established in 2001 with the aim of helping dads who had been separated from their children by Britain's secret courts. ITV 5 Ruth Langsford welcomed people back to the programme like nothing had happened ITV 5 Loose Women tweeted this statement They spread their message through a string of pre-arranged social disobedience stunts, including climbing bridges and - like today's example - interrupting live broadcasts. Got a story? email digishowbiz@the-sun.co.uk or call us direct on 02077824220My name’s Cam Dunn, and I’m the Tech Director for League. I’ve always found it interesting how much we don’t know about human history simply because no one made a record at the time. Who first invented the hammer? Hammers with handles have been around for tens of thousands of years, but nobody knows who made the first one for sure. Sometimes, history feels like we’re collectively waking up after a drunken night out and asking, “My god, what did we do last night?” Riot came after the invention of language, but still we suffer from some of the same problems—during those first formative years, everything happened so quickly that sometimes we forgot to write it down or capture it clearly. I remember the first time I visited a Riot data center, where I saw a single rack of running servers completely surrounded by others that’d been powered down. When I asked about it, the answer I got was, “Yeah, we don’t actually know what’s running on those machines, so we can’t turn them off.” We did eventually identify those machines so we could shut them down, but the experience left me thinking: we need a way of querying services, even if we don’t know what they are. We need a standard for service identification. But how to best establish such a standard? Here at Riot, we highly value autonomy; in fact, we describe our teams as “highly aligned, highly autonomous.” That level of autonomy means that any kind of formal approval process for technical designs or standards — the kind where “ The Man ” (pictured below) needs to put his or her rubber stamp on your design — wouldn’t work here. But, that doesn’t mean we’re left with a free for all: we have technical standards and engineering best practices like you’d expect. And to get alignment we use a Request For Comment process. The Man, in his/her various forms RFCs aren’t something we invented—internet standards are all RFCs, and communities like Python use a system called PEPs, which is very similar. We hitched the name, but tweaked the process for our own needs. Our general approach for RFCs is simple: let’s say you’re about to write a new system or make some non-trivial changes to an existing system. You know there are lots of great engineers across Riot, including many who might be experts in your problem domain. So you write up a broad proposal about what you’re about to do and send it around to the entire engineering team to ask for their comments. As an example, to avoid “The Case Of The Mystery Servers” (the example I started this post with), I wrote up an RFC proposing that every service expose its ID through a standard mechanism, so you can find out what anything is… even if you don’t know what it is. I then gave my RFC a unique ID and tagged it with metadata to help other engineers who might be interested find it. Tags can include team or organization name, or the domain to which the RFC directly applies. These additional details help with maintenance and avoid overload. While everyone has access to every RFC, this system makes picking out just the ones you care about much easier. My Mystery Servers RFC ended up being RFC100, and I tagged it with “SOA,” “API,” and “Standard,” so people who cared about those things could take note and start adding their comments. As you get feedback on your proposal, the choice is up to you on what to do with it. This isn’t an approval process; this is about getting valuable advice. Generally, people ignore some comments but amend the design to take others into account. Sometimes, people don’t get any actionable feedback and the design stands exactly as-is. Other times, the author realizes through feedback that the idea sucks and scraps it entirely. The decision stays in the hands of the original engineer. For RFC100, I got lots of great feedback. Engineers stronger in API design pointed out aspects of my proposal that were too vague or too game-specific and suggested improvements. For example, my background is in game technology, and I originally proposed that every server would expose its frame rate, which is a videogame concept that doesn’t necessarily apply to more traditional web services. So we tweaked it to a more applicable, general metrics endpoint. In terms of feedback, RFC100 isn’t a unique example. Every time I’ve written an RFC, someone at Riot has noticed improvements or pointed out potential pitfalls in my proposed approach. Maybe they’re a 20-year veteran who has written a similar system five times at previous gigs. Or, maybe they’re a younger engineer who has never even heard of the problem space but still picked up on some gap in my proposal. If I’d just started writing the code, I would’ve ended up with a much worse result. Feedback is invaluable, but how does something become a standard? If everyone’s just doing whatever they want, how the hell does anything work together? The RFC process also allows Rioters to come to agreement on technical standards. We do this through a process called “adoption,” whereby teams (or groups of teams, or whole products) can opt-in to adopting an RFC. To adopt an RFC simply means that we expect everyone in the adopting scope will follow the guidance given in the RFC if it makes sense for them. Sometimes they won't have to do anything—maybe the RFC only applies to Java development, and they write C++. Or, maybe the RFC talks about gathering performance data from game servers, but they work on internal tools. That's okay. Good judgment is the determining factor here. But in general if something’s adopted at "riot.lol" scope, it then applies to everyone in League of Legends Engineering. Generally by the time we would consider adopting something across the whole project, each team has individually opted in for their scope so there are no surprises. As might be expected, any process like this can face some suspicion and needs continual tweaking. Over the past three years, we’ve iterated to simplify and improve upon the initial process we put in place. For example, when we started, each RFC had a list of “stakeholders” who were the “important-sounding” people the author thought might care about the topic. However, trying to pick out a list of other people who you, the author, think will care about a given RFC comes with pitfalls that ultimately makes it not as valuable. We now prefer a self-service model whereby potential stakeholders self-identify rather than having the author know everyone at Riot who’d be interested in their proposal. RFC100 was pretty broadly applicable, so a bunch of engineers writing services jumped in to comment. This is just one example of how we continue to tweak the process to make it fit for purpose. Riot RFC Library We now (circa October 2015) have over 425 RFCs in our internal library, across every aspect of our tech stack. Most of these are “what do you think?” style proposals, with the author looking for feedback on their approach. Some of these are “standards” RFCs, which define things like communication protocols or coding style guides. Some have a handful of comments, while others have hundreds. Some we abandoned, and others we adopted across the company as a Riot-wide standard. In the end, my RFC100 ended up a Riot-wide standard called “Query and Control RPC Pattern.” It defines standard endpoints for things like service identification. So now you can ask any Riot service for its id, and there’s no chance that we’ll have servers running because we’re “not sure what it is, but it might be important.” Future visitors to our data centers will not be left scratching their heads about mysteriously running servers. And thanks to RFCs, Riot engineers are scratching their heads about fewer things every day, now that we have a way of writing things down that works for us. Nobody at Riot wants to be “The Man,” but everyone recognizes the value of sharing our technical designs and standards. The RFC process gives us a decentralized and self-service way of doing this.The Emperor and the Public Due to the specific authority of the Byzantine Emperor, it is very difficult to describe his relationship with the general public. Regardless of all church-religious mystique around the person of the Emperor, it can be said that in everyday life, with its everyday obligations the Emperor endeavored to show himself before the people. Normally this is done with a specially organized ceremony, made by a particular person in charge – master of ceremonies. Here we will try to point out some of the everyday activities of the Emperor that allowed him to show himself before the people as pious and respectable of the order. The Day of the Emperor Every day the Emperor started with God. From his room he crossed into the throne hall (Ceremonial Hall), where he prayed before the icon of Christ, he repented and as God’s servant he gave him the rightful respect. Before entering a Church the Emperor removed his crown, custom recognized since the first half of the V century. Much of the day of the Byzantine Emperor passed in countless religious ceremonies – processions and worship. Normally from the imperial palace he went to one of the many churches in Constantinople, where he celebrated the day of the respective saint. The so-called ”Big Outings” were performed in St. Sophia on Easter, Christmas, Pentecost, Transfiguration of the Lord, The Epiphany, the day of the coronation of the Emperor, in the consecration of the Patriarch etc. During ‘Secondary Outings’ the Emperor first visited St. Sophia (without liturgy) and then solemnly guided to another Church. Of course, all this was taking place before the eyes of the people. All these sets of ceremonial religious actions don’t tell anything about the personal piety of the Emperor, they were significant but not decisive. The Emperor and Religions Holidays Except for the aforementioned church ceremonies in the late Byzantine period, we encountered a number of religious holidays in which the Emperor acted openly before the eyes of the people as vicar of Christ. At times of the holiday in honor of the entry of Christ in Jerusalem (περιπατητικός), the Emperor would come out of his room, pass the imperial courtyard and arrive to St. Sophia, the way to the church would have been decorated with laurel and olive branches. During the procession the people sang: ”The Lord of Heaven”. i.e. They adored the emperor instead of Christ. On Holy Thursday, following closely the text of the Gospel (John 13, 1 ff.), the emperor washed the feet of 12 poor – an act of appeasement, but also an action in regency of Christ. During the liturgy of Palm Sunday, during the reading of the psalm ‘Arise, O God, judge the Earth’ before the church and the Emperor there were scattered laurel branches, i.e. again he acted an was revered as God’s vicegerent. Other Ceremonies As a rule, in the beginning of Lent, the Emperor held sermon before courtiers and representatives of political parties, in which he invited them to repent. During the feast of the Assumption of the Virgin on the 15th of August, the Emperor opened the harvest of the grapes with the liturgical concelebration of the patriarch. In the same way it was celebrated in true vintage in mid-September. Church Ceremonies as the distribution of palm branches on the eve of Palm Sunday, the distribution of apples on Holy Thursday, the baskets of gifts on Holy Saturday from the Emperor, show that in many details the boundary between political and religious life did not exist. These are the activities through which the Emperor approached the public while he was in Constantinople. The Emperor outside of Constantinople If the Emperor was outside of Constantinople, on a prolonged military campaign, he would send a letter to the Patriarch of Constantinople in which he would inform him of his successes. Such letters the Patriarch would have read to the people in the church St. Sophia and the people would have the opportunity to get acquainted with the activities of the Emperor outside of the capital. In case of victory, during the return of the Emperor to the capital a triumph would be organized. The triumphal procession of the Emperor moved along the main street in Constantinople. The Emperor was accompanied by torchbearers and incense bearers. Then followed the guard, followed by captives and trophies that resulted from the war. Receiving of foreign representatives According to protocol requirements in the admission of foreign representatives the Emperor was forbidden to speak. The Logothete guided the dialog in his name; data about this is given by Liutprand of Cremona from 949 A.D., when he was the representative of the Italian king Berengar. Such a practice can be interpreted as being of security reasons and also the Byzantine belief that the Byzantine emperor stands highest of all earthly rulers.It seems like the whole world is talking about Ayahuasca these days. Once a mystery medicine sought out by intrepid Anthropologists and wayfaring authors who had to bribe locals and follow tip-offs to find a shaman willing to prepare the brew, it’s now sold in plastic Coke bottles by hustlers on the streets of Peru and Colombia. Those original Western seekers believed Ayahuasca could give you telepathic abilities, but you don’t need any special foresight to realise that drinking a bottle of murky, theoretically psychedelic liquid sold to you by a stranger probably isn’t the smartest move you’ll ever make, especially if – as many stories recount – they then leave you alone for a few hours to have the ‘trip’ and then toss you out on the street, regardless of the state you’re in. But we can’t just blame the street-hawkers; they wouldn’t exist if there wasn’t a demand. Ayahuasca tourism is a growing trend, with increasing numbers of people – inspired by trite media and movie coverage of this sacred plant medicine – travelling to South America to get ‘high’ rather than to get healed; there’s even stories of people taking Ayahuasca as a party drug, although I’m not sure what kind of party involves projectile vomiting. But despite its growing prominence, even if you do your research and find a responsible place to work with this profoundly (inner) eye-opening medicine, the general picture of what drinking Ayahuasca is like – especially the difficult process of integration afterwards, which can last for months – is often not only limited, but positively misleading. About 18 months ago I made the decision to travel to Peru and drink Ayahuasca. I’ve suffered with depression for most of my life, even attempting suicide on a couple of occasions, so when I began to hear tales of people being cured of addiction, depression, or anxiety issues after a single ceremony (not just improved, helped, or made to feel a little better – cured), I knew I had to find out more. I did my research; I listened to dozens of personal accounts; I read and watched interviews with the shaman I decided to work with; and I read half a dozen books on Ayahuasca. Surely that made me prepared, right? Wrong. And not just because it’s impossible to be truly prepared for a psychedelic which hauls you through the doors of perception and unceremoniously throws your sense of self and reality off the edge of the world. No – there ended up being quite a list of things I wish I’d known before I set out to meet Mother Ayahuasca. Some were pleasant revelations, but others were more serious. So I’ve gathered them together here to help people be at least a little more prepared than I was. Like a bucket of water over the head, it’s still going to make you jump, but hopefully you’ll be a little more ready for it. #1. Everything You Expect of Ayahuasca Will Be Wrong This is a tough one to get your head around, because expecting the unexpected is still an expectation. But just as hearing the plot of a great movie is a far cry from seeing, experiencing and feeling it, the same applies, on an exponentially greater scale, to the difference between hearing other people’s accounts and drinking Ayahuasca yourself. Especially if you’ve never taken a psychedelic before, conventional language is about as close to the experience as a child’s drawing of a snowflake is to being in the middle of a blizzard. I’m not trying to make things sound scary; the point is only that it’s important to recognise that you inevitably do have expectations and that you must be willing to let them go. That being said… #2. Letting Go May Be The Biggest Challenge In my first ceremony I found myself facing a huge demonic wall covered in gnashing teeth. I knew that the insights I needed were on the other side of the wall, but clearly my mind wasn’t keen on letting me past its toothy defences. I was trapped in a nightmarish series of abstract images pulsing in lurid neon; I was completely overwhelmed by the visuals and the sensations. But the real problem was my desperate attempt to press ‘pause’ on the experience and try to understand it then and there. What did that mean? No, wait, can I just look back at that again? What does this mean? I’d heard so many people tell stories of visions which seemed to make perfect narrative sense that I was sure things were somehow going to unfold in front of me in a linear narrative. But that wasn’t happening, and I couldn’t get past the wall and its hellish teeth. Panic rose higher and higher until I let out a mental howl of desperation: ‘Please, please, please help me!’ Letting the desperation out left me in a moment of calm, and only in that space was I able to take a breath and begin to uncurl my fingers from the compulsion to take control of the situation and admit to myself that I was terrified of letting go and not being able to calmly analyse what was going on. I wasn’t the only one. The next day, just about everyone else in the group told the same kind of story: we all got our asses kicked because we tried to control the experience and make sense of it as it happened. We were stuck in our heads, trying to control the flow of the river rather than floating wherever it took us. We knew we were supposed to let go, but we didn’t really understand what that meant until we failed to do it. It’s a bit like sitting on a moving train, looking out of the window. If you’re looking up ahead, you can see the wider picture, but if you turn side-on, trying to focus on things just as they pass by, it’s ungraspable; gone in a flash. With Ayahuasca, it’s about allowing things to come to you. So, be prepared to find out the hard way and try to recognise if you’re attempting to steer the experience. #3. You Will Experience Meaningful Vomit Ayahuasca gets messy. But although most people mention the vomiting, there’s quite a bit more to the experience than just nausea and discomfort. Some part of your mind tries to make sense of why you’re vomiting… And it’s not just a vague ‘let’s cleanse your insides’; it becomes woven into a meaningful story in your mind, like those moments between waking and dreaming when your brain turns the sound of your alarm into some part of the dream. For some people, this can end up being a full on redemption story: Mother Ayahuasca told one friend of mine that she’d been medicating with alcohol for years, so now she’d got to throw it all back up. This can be liberating in the end, but my own experience of choking into a plastic basin trying to cough up a chunk of my own personality that was holding me back in life was quite a long way from my idea of fun. Read this: Ayahuasca: A Story of Death, Rebirth and Love #4. The Ayahuasca Visions Don’t Make Sense Until Later People always talk about the visions when they talk about Ayahuasca. Given how colourful, wild and revealing they can be, that’s no surprise. But by the time you hear them, a complicated process has already taken place and the person recounting the tale has had to do quite a bit of work. The morning after each ceremony, my group and I stumbled around, glassy-eyed and almost mute, unable to express what had happened to us the night before. Things still seemed beyond words. Only later in the day did the images, moments and feelings even start coming together; in fact, the meaning came through the process of sharing them with each other. It was in the act of putting
Duchenne expression. In yet another experiment, one group of subjects was shown pictures of various facial expressions; another group made those facial expressions and a final group made those expressions while looking in the mirror. The evidence all points toward smiling as a cause of happy feelings. Subjects were asked questions that pinpointed their emotional state before and after smiling, and they overwhelmingly scored happier after smiling. In the study involving the mirror, subjects who watched themselves smile saw an even more pronounced change in mood than those who smiled without the mirror, and the subjects who merely looked at pictures didn't experience that change at all. Those researchers hypothesized that self-consciousness is a factor in the effect -- that introspective people might experience a greater smile-related mood lift than those who are less aware of their feelings. Thus the mirror-related boost. But what about the difference between those who looked at pictures and those who created the expressions? Why would the people who put their faces into a smile feel happier afterward? Most other studies on the topic note the cause-and-effect relationship without having a definitive explanation for it. The reason why Dr. Zajonc's research is so significant in the field is because he proposes a detailed, physiology-based explanation for the cause-and-effect relationship. According to his hypothesis, the facial changes involved in smiling have direct effects on certain brain activities associated with happiness.News What Is It? Commodore 64 (and SuperCPU) Commodore 128 Commodore VIC 20 Commodore 16 Commodore Plus/4 Commodore PET BASIC 2 machines, e.g. PET 2001 Commodore PET BASIC 4 machines, e.g. PET 4000/9000 Features: Multiple source files (assembly or BASIC) can be build to one destination, 6502/6510/65816 Assembler/disassembler/Integrated Debugger, Program import (.prg,.T64 or.D64/.D71/.D81), Program export (.prg,.p00), Sprite editor, Character editor, Screen Designer, SID tool, A Screen Code Builder, for using those pesky print control characters, Memory Viewer, Binary file import/export, .D64/.D71/.D81 Creation Tool, BASIC Constants, Code formatting and renumbering, Automatic assembly code formatting, Tabbed MDI interface, Comprehensive help, including tutorials, Plus many others. To Do List SID (DONE!) Being able to play the sound created with the SID tool, A 'tracker' style tool - no details as yet! A 'quick' mode. No more creating projects for tinkering with programs. Bug fixes, as usual. Background 24th June 2018 - CBM prg Studio v3.13.0 released.If you're looking for information about how to create games for the C64 please take a look at RetroGameDev by Derek Morris. It's a brand new book which details creating two games, a space shooter and a platform game. The games were created with CBM prg Studio and so it also serves as an excellent tutorial. Please support Derek by buying this book. He's put an incredible amount of effort into it and it really shows.CBM prg Studio is a Windows IDE which allows you to type a BASIC or machine code program and convert it to a '.prg' file, which you can then run in an emulator or on real hardware. It also includes character, sprite and screen editors and a fully featured 6510/65816 debugger.The following machines can be developed for:What CBM prg Studiois a front-end for tok64, cbmcnvrt, bastext or any other tokeniser/detokeniser/assembler. It's all been written completely from scratch.Follow the download link for more details.Here are some features which I'm either working on or planning to:I'm open to suggestions if you have anything you would like adding to CBM Prg Studio, or change the way something works.Way back in the mists of time I was given a VB.NET project at work. I'm a C++/C# programmer by trade and I hadn't touched VB since version 3 (many years ago) so I was a bit rusty to say the least. Typically, I wasn't given any investigation time and was expected to just get on with it. I'm sure any programmers out there are familiar with that! Anyway, I was scrabbling about looking for a nice little project I could do in my own time to get me up to speed with VB.NET and at the same time I was into playing around with the various C64 emulators and tools, particularly tok64. That's how C64prgGen (CBM prg Studio's predecessor) came about really as I noticed that there weren't many (if any) code generation tools with a GUI front end. Admittedly I hadn't looked very hard though. CBM prg Studio is the result of'merging' C64 and VIC20 PrgGens.Veteran comic book artist and colorist Stan Goldberg died earlier this evening, the result of a stroke he suffered two weeks ago. He was 82 and had made a miraculous recovery from an auto accident last year. I saw him and his lovely wife Pauline, who was also recovered from the crash, at the National Cartoonists Society gathering at the end of last May. He was so happy to be back with his friends and fellow cartoonists. Stan was a cartoonist for most of his life and a more devoted one, you could never find. He was also a charming man who was always willing to talk about his days as Marvel's star colorist or the many decades he spent drawing Archie and other comics in much the same style. The number of pages he produced in his lifetime was staggering. I wrote about the details of his career in the earlier piece linked above. All I can add here is how much I liked and admired that guy. He was one of the greatest of the greatest generation.Seit der Heim-WM 2006 gibt es die RAPortagen von Blumentopf während der TV-Berichterstattung der ARD. Natürlich ist die Crew aus München auch bei der Fußballweltmeisterschaft 2014 in Brasilien am Start: Die Kult-Spielnachlese in Reimform von Cajus, Schu, Wunder, Roger sowie DJ Sepalot startet heute mit der ersten Folge um 17 Uhr als Vorbericht zum Auftaktspiel der DFB-Elf gegen Portugal. Zur Einstimmung könnt ihr euch hier gerne noch mal die vergangenen RAPortagen ansehen. Tipp für alle User die nicht aus Deutschland kommen: Verwendet doch einfach einen deutschen Proxi (bsp. www.german-proxy.de), dann könnt Ihr die Videos auch in Österreich, Holland oder der Schweiz anschauen. (Danke an Ricardo!) Folge 1: Deutschland vs. Portugal (Vorbericht) Folge 2: Deutschland vs. Portugal (Nachbericht) Folge 3: Deutschland vs. Ghana (Vorbericht) Folge 4: Deutschland vs. Ghana (Nachbericht) Folge 5: Deutschland vs. USA (Vorbericht) Folge 6: Deutschland vs. USA (Nachbericht) / Deutschland vs. Algerien (Vorbericht) Folge 7: Deutschland vs. Algerien (Nachbericht) / Deutschland vs. Frankreich (Vorbericht) Folge 8: Deutschland vs. Brasilien (Nachbericht) – EIN MATCH DER REKORDE Folge 9: Deutschland vs. Argentinien (Vorbericht) – Die RAPortage zum WM-Finale! Folge 10: Deutschland vs. Argentinien (Nachbericht) – Deutschland ist WELTMEISTER! MEHR:David Moyes: Has urged Everton to let Leighton Baines and Marouane Fellaini leave United recently had a £28million joint bid for the duo turned down, with Everton describing the offer as "derisory". But Moyes feels a move to Old Trafford would benefit the careers of both players and urged Roberto Martinez not to stand in their way if they wanted to move. "I definitely (have sympathy for Martinez)," said Moyes. "But I also know if I had been Everton manager and Sir Alex (Ferguson) had come asking for Baines and Fellaini I'd have found it very difficult to keep them. "I always thought the right thing to do was the right thing for players." Moyes also defended the money that had been offered to Everton, insisting they were trading in a volatile and unpredictable transfer market. "There's a mixed market at the moment. Nobody's quite sure where the price is just now," added the Scotsman. "We've had offers for players which we think are quite small. I can see where other clubs might be thinking there's not enough value for their players as well. "There is no disrespect whatsoever. I respect Everton greatly and speak with (chairman) Bill Kenwright most weeks." Having so far failed to bring in the expected reinforcements, minds are starting to get focused at Old Trafford. Real Madrid's Mesut Ozil, a one-time target of Ferguson's, is the latest to be linked, whilst Cesc Fabregas has not completely disappeared off the radar, with the Old Trafford hierarchy waiting to see whether the former Arsenal skipper keeps his place at Barcelona. There has also been talk of an attempt to secure Juan Mata in exchange for Wayne Rooney, although United sources have poured cold water on such an idea. Whilst many Red Devils fans would accept the swap willingly, it appears executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward intends to keep Rooney at Old Trafford. The argument is that with both Woodward and Moyes new in their roles, a statement has to be made that players will have no more power than they did in the Ferguson era, and by allowing Rooney to leave, even if it was favourable for United, it would send out the wrong signals. And Moyes feels Rooney still has a significant role to play, which could involve starting against Chelsea on Monday. "Wayne has recovered and has a good chance of starting," said Moyes.In Need of Funding Aubrey de Grey is a pioneer of anti-aging research. The biomedical gerontologist and co-founder of the SENS Research Foundation has been vocal about the threat to humanity that aging poses, and how it should be seen as one of the major challenges we need to overcome. Last year, de Grey joined several other scientists who want to have aging classified as disease, arguing that it is the result “garbage material” that our cells cannot break down. To view aging as a disease means de Grey believes aging can be cured, and while we’ve seen numerous advancements to combat aging this year, it will take more than just science to start extending lives. Having the money to facilitate the research and testing is not just important — it’s required — but right now it simply isn’t there. “The most difficult aspect [of fighting age-related diseases] is raising the money to actually fund the research,” de Grey previously explained to Futurism. During a recent Ask Me Anything (AMA) in which Reddit users could ask de Grey…well, anything, funding was brought up multiple times by both parties. In fact, at the top of the AMA, de Grey requested that people consider donating to the SENS Research Foundation to help them reach their year-end goal of $250,000. One user, SeekerOfDivineWisdom, wondered why anti-aging research wasn’t be invested in by wealthy celebrities and other individuals, such as Bill Gates — who announced a new initiative to end Alzheimer’s in November— and Elon Musk, though Musk currently has his hands full with several other projects. de Grey responded that some potential investors are likely concerned that anti-aging research will not deliver on its promise. “[H]umanity has been hoping against hope for a cure for aging since the dawn of civilization, and it has been suckered time and time again into believing we had one, so there is a rather strong incentive not to get hopes up,” he wrote. de Grey continued, saying, “And if something is impossible, its desirability is irrelevant: there is still no basis for funding it. So it falls to the small minority of wealthy people who are also truly independent-minded, to support this work. Yes, people like Elon may well feel rather ashamed a decade or two from now that they didn’t do more earlier. But we’re working on it.” Remaining Hopeful While the road to solving aging is a long and, in the view of some, uncertain one, de Grey remains optimistic about humanity’s chances of succeeding. At a Virtual Futures event in London in November, de Grey said the person who’d live to be 1,000 years old had already been born, suggesting that scientists will radically advance anti-aging within the next century. de Grey confirmed during the AMA that his outlook on the potential of anti-aging research is brighter than ever following what he described as “a good year” for longevity science, which brought progress “both on the science and on the public attitude and funding stream,” de Grey added. “I’m still cautious, because for sure we are still really struggling for funds, but I’m hopeful.” At this point, nothing is stopping de Grey and his foundation from accomplishing their goals, save for the lack of money, he said. “We have the plan and we have the people,” de Grey wrote. “It’s all about enabling those people, giving them the resources to get on with the job.” Only time will tell if aging is truly something that can be prevented or reversed completely. If de Grey’s work gains more momentum, it’s sure to draw the attention of others with the means to invest. From there, who knows how much longer it would be before our first 1,000-year old person is finally given the means to live such a long life.Despite getting chewed up and spat out by Barcelona in the Champions League on Tuesday, AC Milan didn’t let that affect their resurgence in Serie A. Milan defeated Palermo 2-0 on Sunday thanks to a brace from Mario Balotelli. That’s the club’s 14th victory since October 27th. In that 21 game span, they’ve only lost twice and would be top of the table by four points if the domestic calendar started on that date. Even though the Rossoneri couldn’t pull off a remarkable triumph midweek in Europe, they appear to be in good shape to qualify for 2013/14. On just seven minutes, Milan got their first goal of the game arrived in the form of a penalty when Salvatore Aronica hauled down Balotelli off a corner. Ironically, Aronica is a former Napoli player having been transferred to Palermo in January. He didn’t help his old team in their pursuit of a top three spot and since Balo scores automatically from the spot, it was a given he’d bury yet another one. He did just that, it was his sixth goal in as many matches and gave the Milanese side an early advantage. Milan could’ve extended the lead before the half hour mark, but Stephan El Shaarawy, who’s struggled to get one of his own recently, but his effort was blocked following a superb move from the Rossoneri attack. He failed to get onto the score sheet for the third straight time in the league (four counting European fixtures). In fact, he’s only recorded three goals since the turn of the year. There was some controversy in the first half which ended up benefiting the hosts. On a Rosanero attack, Cristian Zapata looked to have used his hand to stop the ball from going through to Josep Ilicic. The Colombian was booked, but it arguably should of been red as he denied a goal scoring opportunity, with Ilicic one on one with the goalkeeper had Zapata not intervened illegally. However that was the story of the afternoon, everything went Milan’s way even though it wasn’t the best performance of the season. Youngster Paulo Dybala and Michel Morganella each had chances to bag one, but couldn’t find the back of the net. That’s when “Super Mario” popped up. After good work on the left flank by M’Baye Niang, the ball deflected and Stefano Sorrentino could only parry it, gifting Balotelli made with a tap-in from two metres. Talking points: -Unfortunately for Milan, Napoli finally won. Their 3-2 triumph against Atalanta isn’t anything to ride home about, but they stay two points ahead of the Rossoneri. -Edinson Cavani had a brace, scoring for the first time in eight games, his longest dry spell since joining the Partenopei. -League leaders Juventus continued their good form by defeating Bologna 2-0 thanks to Mirko Vucinic and Claudio Marchisio’s tallies. -Fiorentina and Genoa were involved in a 3-2 barnburner which went in favour of the Viola. It appeared that the visitors would get a point in their quest to stay in Serie A, but a second yellow to Andrea Bertolacci and a Mattia Cassani own goal late in the match thwarted that plan. -Roma avoided losing for the fifth consecutive time under Aurelio Andreazzoli thanks to a 2-0 win against Parma. Erik Lamela scored his 13th of the campaign and Francesco Totti got one as well, catapulting the Giallorossi into fifth, level on points with Inter and Lazio. -Speaking of the devil, the other side from Rome fell yet again. They went into Torino and lost 1-0, meaning they slip to seventh, but again, they’re level on points with two other teams. -On the other hand, Torino got back to winning ways after going three matches without a victory. They’re now ten points clear of the drop zone. Other results: Sampdoria 0-0 Torino (POSTPONED. RESCHEDULED FOR APRIL 2ND); Catania 3-1 Udinese; Siena 0-0 Cagliari; Pescara 0-2 ChievoPublished in partnership with Shadowproof. The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and other indigenous tribes, which fought for months to halt construction of the Dakota Access pipeline on indigenous land, celebrated a major victory, as the United States Army Corps of Engineers denied an easement that would allow construction under Lake Oahe in North Dakota. In denying the easement, the Army Corps also agreed to produce an environmental impact statement (EIS) with “full public input and analysis” to consider “alternative routes” for the pipeline, a key demand of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. “We wholeheartedly support the decision of the [President Barack Obama’s] administration and commend with the utmost gratitude the courage it took on the part of President Obama, the Army Corps, the Department of Justice, and the Department of the Interior to take steps to correct the course of history and to do the right thing,” Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Chairman Dave Archambault II stated. Archambault added, “We want to thank everyone who played a role in advocating for this cause. We thank the tribal youth, who initiated this movement. We thank the millions of people who came to the camps to support us, and the tens of thousands of people, who came to the camps to support us, and the tens of thousands, who donated time, talent, and money to our efforts to stand against this pipeline in the name of protecting our water.” “We especially thank all of the other tribal nations and jurisdictions, who stood in solidarity with us, and we stand ready to stand with you when your people are in need,” Archambault declared. After the Army Corps issued an evacuation order against the Sacred Stone Camp, a coalition of indigenous groups demanded a “full environmental impact statement in formal consultation with impacted tribal governments” be ordered. EIS’s are critical because they are supposed to outline the “predicted environmental effects of a particular action or project in which the federal government is involved.” They also highlight the “environmental ramification of a project” and recommend alternative actions. The Army Corps is not required to do an EIS for every project seeking approval. In other words, this is significant because the Army Corps essentially is validating the concerns of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe that the pipeline could potentially have devastating impacts on their land. They will review the pipeline to figure out what the Army Corps is willing to authorize so Dakota Access can complete the project. Nevertheless, the Standing Rock Sioux should have the upper hand when pressuring Dakota Access to avoid their land. The announcement came the same weekend around 2,000 veterans traveled to the Sacred Stone camp to show support and help defend the water protectors if they faced military tactics from police forces again. It is estimated the Sacred Stone Camp has grown to nearly 20,000 people. Amidst the celebration, as Ruth Hopkins, an indigenous writer for Indian Country Today noted, water protectors at the camp were “encouraged to stick around because it’s expected that Dakota Access will drill anyway, without permit.” (At the time, there were no confirmed reports that Dakota Access planned to wholly disregard the Army Corps’s decision.) There was immediate concern expressed among water protectors that President-elect Donald Trump would undo this victory after he is inaugurated in January, especially since he has a personal stake in Energy Access Partners—the corporation behind the pipeline. Dallas Goldtooth of the Indigenous Environmental Network proclaimed, “We cannot stop until this pipeline is completely and utterly defeated, and our water and climate are safe.” While acknowledging political realities is critical to the next phase of organizing, it is important to not let acknowledgment balloon into the kind of debilitating cynicism that may undermine recognition of what indigenous people and those who stand in solidarity are capable of achieving. * This is a major defeat for Big Oil. As oil companies and their lobbying groups continue to propagandize Americans with ideas of fossil fuel independence and show indifference toward threats of climate change, there will be citizens who mobilize to stop them, no matter who is in the White House. Back in April, the Standing Rock Sioux and other tribes joined together to launch a “spirit” camp, the Oceti Sakowin Camp or Sacred Stone Camp. It warned against building a pipeline that crossed the Cannonball River as well as the Missouri River. It protested against the likely desecration of burial sites and other sacred areas that are significant to the Arikara, Cheyenne, Dakota, Lakota, and Mandan tribes of the Northern Plains. “Of the many atrocities we as Native Americans have faced and overcame, this is one, which will affect not only us but all of mankind. Earth is our mother. We have to protect her,” Virgil Taken Alive of the Standing Rock Sioux said when the camp was erected. In July, Oceti Sakowin Youth and Allies ran nearly 2,000 miles from North Dakota to Washington, D.C., to boost the campaign to stop the pipeline. A Rezpect Our Water campaign around this same period garnered support from 140,000 people. The Army Corps of Engineers issued a permit for the 1,300-mile pipeline to traverse North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, and Illinois on July 25. This included authorization for construction underneath Lake Oahe about a half-mile upstream from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s reservation. However, the water protectors and their allies did not stop fighting. Immediately, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe requested an injunction to stop construction [PDF]. They contended the Army Corps shirked statutory obligations under the Clean Water Act and the Rivers and Harbors Act. They also maintained the Army Corps failed to recognize it had to follow requirements under the National Historic Preservation Act, which is intended to “protect sites of historic and cultural significance to the tribes.” The struggle intensified in August, as the first water protectors were arrested. Archambault was one of the water protectors arrested. Morton County and its police department effectively adopted a war footing against the water protectors, when on August 15, an executive order was issued that said the Morton County Board of Commissioners recognized “civil unrest could threaten the health, well-being, and safety of responders and the public.” It declared an emergency and implemented plans that enabled police forces to deploy with military vehicles and Pentagon gear. Before the month was over, the state of North Dakota confiscated water trailers the water protectors were using to supply the Sacred Stone Camp. And right before September, there was an escalation in resistance, as multiple water protectors put their bodies on the line and engaged in nonviolent direct action that disrupted construction. For example, two Lakota water protectors locked themselves to construction machinery. The presidential election was in full-swing, but neither Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton nor Trump had any interest in standing with the water protectors. Standing Rock youth traveled to a Clinton campaign office in New York in October to demand Clinton support them. In response, Clinton released a vapid statement that ignored key issues, and her campaign staff refused to accept a letter from the youth. Police forces from 76 different departments from ten states deployed against the water protectors. Some of the water protectors arrested were charged with felonies and faced bonds of $1,500 that they were required to pay in order to be bailed out of jail. The end of October and November marked a significant escalation in the use of force and military tactics against the water protectors. Police arrested 141 people and pepper sprayed water protectors after four water protectors locked themselves to equipment on October 23. When a “Treaty Camp” was setup directly in the path of the pipeline to defend Lakota land on October 28, 117 water protectors were arrested as police cleared the camp. Particularly, on November 20, over 300 water protectors sustained injuries on Back Water Bridge near Highway 1806, when police surrounded them and fired a water cannon at them in the freezing cold. Police also targeted water protectors with tear gas grenades, rubber bullets, concussion grenades, and threatened them with a sound cannon. (A class action lawsuit has since been filed against Morton County and other police departments for their role in the violence.) Dakota Access intensified its commitment to building the pipeline and announced on November 8 it would drill underneath the Missouri River in the next weeks. That is possibly what pushed the Army Corps to issue a delay of its decision to deny an easement on November 14. Regardless, November was fairly bleak for the water protectors, except for a warm gathering of hundreds on Thanksgiving to appreciate the strength of those in the camp. The Army Corps even issued an evacuation order against the camp. The success of the movement against the Dakota Access pipeline is not a result of cable news networks and other mainstream news media informing the public of the issue but rather a result of indigenous and independent media taking initiative on the ground to push the struggle into the consciousness of the public. Outlets like Indian Country Today, Unicorn Riot, and The Young Turks led the way in producing reports and spreading images and video of what unfolded. With the victory, the water protectors now go on the offensive to educate people on the risks of oil pipelines in order to grow resistance ahead of a Trump administration that will be extremely friendly to oil corporations. They press on with organizing to build power by continuing divestment actions against banks, which are helping Energy Access Partners finance the Dakota Access pipeline. Everyone remains vigilant in their action while at the same time recognizing the power they hold when people join together in solidarity.Monday, August 6th, the RNC announced that GOP presidential candidate Ron Paul will not be given a speaking role at the Republican National Convention in Tampa this month. Paul Festival organizers responded by offering free passes to their event. End -- In a recent announcement, the GOP has decided not to invite Ron Paul to speak at the Republican National Convention (RNC). In an affront to Dr. Paul’s decades of work, the GOP has decided to ignore the most enthusiastic, fastest growing political movement in recent history; a movement that will bring as many as 500 supportive delegates to the convention floor. Unfortunately, the snubbing is nothing new for those in the Ron Paul camp, who have been treated with similar disdain for many years, if not decades.In the previous election cycle, Ron Paul supporters were also excluded from the convention proceedings, causing a backlash that ended up in the creation of a mirror convention in nearby Minneapolis, dubbed the “Rally for the Republic.” This year, however, there are MULTIPLE Ron Paul events, some only a few miles away. First and foremost is the Ron Paul Rally at the USF Sun Dome, where the candidate will be addressing his delegates and will be open to the public. The event is to take place for about 4 hours in the afternoon of Sunday August 26th.The other major event is Paul Festival http://www.paulfestival.org, a weekend-long festival being held at the Florida State Fairgrounds celebrating the founding father of the liberty movement and his contributions to the most vibrant segment of the GOP (tickets available at http://www.itickets.com/ events/286777/ Tampa_FL/Paul_ Festi... ). In light of the recent snubbing, organizers have decided to offer an additional free pass for every ticket purchased. This offer is also being made available retroactively to anyone who has already purchased a ticket. The offer is good for all one-day and three-day passes (VIP passes and any other passes are excluded from the offer)."Considering the economic plight that the country is in, we feel that it is imperative to promote real, substantive change and do everything we can to maximize the presence of our movement in Tampa to support Dr. Paul. We want to make it as easy as possible for people to attend, show our numbers, and celebrate Ron Paul’s legacy through the great speakers and bands we have lined up for the event." said spokesperson Tracy Diaz.In addition to these events, thousands of Ron Paul supporters are organizing affordable travel to Tampa via the convoy routes set up by "Ronvoy" http://ronvoy2012.eventbrite.com, "Rides for Ron Paul" http://www.ridesforronpaul.com/, and "Motorcycle Rides for Ron Paul". "The cross-country trip with fellow Ron Paul supporters promises to be the experience of a lifetime," said Paul Festival Travel and Lodging director, Susan Wolfe.Following up after Paul Festival is the Veterans for Ron Paul's March on the RNC http://ronpaulisthechoiceofthetrooops.com, with nearly 800 supporters registered to participate. Organizers for the Veteran's March also have a plethora of events planned at "Camp Liberty", a seven-day camping event.With the confluence of events and the convergence of the nationwide Liberty movement, supporters are primed to give Ron Paul and his legacy an unprecedented and unforgettable celebration.Okay, so let’s assume for the sake of this article that you’re clear about your goals and you’re making progress towards them! Awesome job on taking the action required to create the life you desire so far! However, despite your forward progress, you still find yourself struggling to obtain the meaningful results you actually desire. Don’t worry, you’re not alone, we’ve all been there. Lucky for you, there’s 5 common reasons that show up again and again that prevent people from reaching their potential, and they all have solutions you can use to work through them. 1. Lost connection with your WHY This is by the far the most common reason among individuals trying to make any changes in their life for feeling like their progress has been slowed or altogether thwarted. It happens so easily; at first we find rocket-fuel type motivation, create a bullet-proof plan of attack, start taking action, and then after going through the operational weeds of our goals for some time we lose track of WHY we’re working on our goal altogether when it would be much easier to return to the status quo life that’s waiting for us in comfort and complacency. Comfort is the siren to your odyssey. Do whatever it takes to connect with your WHY as often as possible to avoid being pulled off track and into the rocks of complacency. Write down your goals. Pin it to your wall. Look at it daily or weekly. Whatever method you choose that’s right for you, it is absolutely crucial to your development to reconnect with your WHY as often as possible! This is your fire for action! 2. Lacking a CRYSTAL CLEAR goal All too often, we feel like we’re doing a thousand different things and we’re being super busy without seeing any of the results. This often occurs if someone never took the time to get clear about what they wanted in the first place. Whether it’s cleaning up your diet and exercise habits or trying to take on more of a leadership role in your company, if you don’t have a CRYSTAL CLEAR goal, you’ll run in twenty different directions at a million miles per hour getting lots of things done, but ultimately not making any meaningful forward and compounding progress because your effort isn’t all aimed at the same target. Once you’re crystal clear about what you want, it’s far easier to see what helps and what hurts your progress. If you haven’t downloaded the Gaining Clarity worksheet yet, do yourself a favor and join the hundreds of other people who have refined the vision of their future using this introspective and in-depth exercise. 3. Not Making the Time This one is pretty cut and dry. Either you make time to invest in yourself or you don’t. I can tell a lot about what a person’s goals and passions are if you show me their calendar. People who make time to show up and do the work, are the ones who will ultimately be successful. 4. Doing Too many things at once / no clear work time This one is a follow on to the last syndrome. If the time you set aside in your calendar to work overlaps with the reality that going to the gym, cooking, eating, and showering all need to happen too, then you can’t actually make progress because there’s a huge discrepancy there. 5. No Accountability Last but not least, the most infectious item on the list, is accountability. Write down your goals, make sure your significant other or family knows about them, make sure your friends know about them. Hire a coach! Whatever it takes, make yourself accountable to someone at the end of the day, otherwise you’ll find a million other things to do that all of a sudden become more important than the specific thing you’re trying to accomplish. If you can avoid these 5 pitfalls, you’re on your way to knocking your goal out of the park! If you need help on any of these areas, please contact us so we can get you back on track and more motivated and disciplined than ever. With gratitude, Dennis McGinley STRIVENT - Founder, Performance Coach striventcoaching.comBenson, 18, has appeared in 31 games with the Western Hockey League's (WHL) Vancouver Giants this season, registering 40 points (10G, 30A) and 27 penalty minutes. In his second season as team captain, he leads the Giants in points (40) and assists (30), as well as power play goals (4) and power play assists (10). The Edmonton Oilers have signed forward Tyler Benson to a three-year entry level contract. The 6'0", 190-pound, centre has accumulated 113 points (33G, 80A) and 128 penalty minutes in 130 career WHL games in three seasons with Vancouver. Benson was named the Giants Rookie of the Year in 2014-15. The Edmonton, Alberta native has represented his country twice internationally, most recently at the 2015 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Under-18 tournament, capturing gold. He also represented Canada at the 2015 Under-18 World Hockey Championship as a 16-year old, capturing bronze. Tyler Benson was selected by the Oilers in the 2nd round, 32nd overall in the 2016 NHL Draft. Video: 1-ON-1 \| Tyler Benson in Jasper Edmonton Oilers hockey is presented by Molson Canadian, Rogers, Ford, Scotiabank and the Rexall Family of Pharmacies.The Informer’s 2014 NBA Playoff Preview Part I: Fun Facts, Stats and Useless Information by Ladies and gentlemen it is that time of the year again. The time of year where legacies are cemented, dynasties are formed and champions rise up. The Informer is talking about the 2014 NBA Playoffs which are set to begin Sunday April 20th. This year, like the past three years, The Informer is going to be there for every driblle, shot and rebound providing the most in depth coverage on the internet. Now obviously, this journey can’t begin without The Informer doing an over the top multi-part playoffs preview. The Informer is thinking something along the lines of a 10,000 word 10-part preview covering everything from fun facts, stats, useless information, rising stars, most important players, past comparisons, gambling advice and even some bold predictions. The reason we are going to break it into 10-parts is because The Informer was once told that people do not have time to read 10,000 word NBA articles from obscure sport bloggers who refer to themselves in the third person. So with that in mind; welcome to “The Informer’s 2014 NBA Playoff Preview Part I: Fun Facts, Stats and Useless Information” Heading into the postseason Oklahoma City Thunder guard Derek Fisher has played in 240 playoff games. If Fisher plays in just five more playoff games he will pass Robert Horry (244) for the most playoff games played in NBA history. Miami Heat star LeBron James needs 26 points to pass Larry Bird for ninth place on the all-time playoff scoring list. Speaking of playoff scoring, Kevin Durant’s career 28.63ppg is the fourth highest average in playoff history. Durant better not get comfortable in the fourth spot though, as he only has a half point lead over LeBron who is fifth all-time with a 28.05ppg average. (FYI – Michael Jordan (33.45) Allen Iverson (29.73) and Jerry West (29.13) are the top three scorers in NBA playoff history.) This next stat is being used to remind everybody that NBA history has a weird way of repeating itself. You should keep that in mind before making any bold predictions this season. From 1990-92 Michael Jordan won the regular season and Finals MVP awards. However, in 1993 a guy out west named Charles Barkley took home the regular season MVP award before being out-dueled by Jordan in the Finals. The win over Barkley gave Jordan and his Bulls their third straight NBA Championship. From 2011-13 LeBron James won the regular season and Finals MVP awards. However, in 2014 a guy out west named Kevin Durant is going to take home the regular season MVP award. This “history repeating trend” leaves The Informer with one very important question: Does this mean LeBron is going to out-duel KD in the finals while leading the Heat to their third straight NBA Championship? If Miami does in fact three-peat, it will be just the fourth time since
to spread Judaism. If Modern Orthodoxy put its rabbis on the highest rung of the social ladder, then it too would draw the best talent to Jewish leadership. An unapologetic and uncompromising passion for Judaism and all that it represents is the hallmark of Chabad. The movement refuses to make any compromises whatsoever on Jewish observance, Jewish law or Jewish thought. And it’s stalwart commitment shows in everything it does. Elsewhere, I have written about my decision to join Chabad at an early age. I was a child of divorce searching for meaning and rootedness. And what did Chabad give me? More than anything, Chabad made me feel like my life mattered. In a private audience, the Rebbe told me that I was born for great things. It was not a message reserved for me, but rather one that permeated his interaction with all whom he met. The Rebbe made me feel that I was part of an eternal people who had vastly contributed to the dissemination of God’s light in an otherwise dark universe. But through persecutions and holocausts, acculturation and intermarriage, materialism and ignorance, the Jewish people were now endangered. The Rebbe was determined to breathe new life into this imperiled nation. And he weaponized his small Chasidic movement to become an arsenal against assimilation. He beckoned me to join him as an agent of Jewish renewal. Chabad became the passion of my life. Defying my parents’ strong objections, I left home at fourteen to be part of the Rebbe’s dream of a global Jewish renaissance — and never looked back. A few years later, my wife and I were his emissaries at Oxford, building Jewish life at an ancient university. I knew in my bones that Chabad would continue to spread until it took over the Jewish world. Why? Because of the grandness of their vision and the passion with which they executed their mission. Other Jewish organizations sought to educate the people about their tradition. But Chabad sought to raise the earth’s inhabitants to a higher God-consciousness, and to make Judaism the driving force in every decision of daily life. Chabad is no longer a Jewish movement. It is Judaism. Even those who were once critics now travel to Caribbean island vacations and are blown away that they can pray with a minyan and get kosher food because of Chabad. No other organization even comes close to its global reach and grassroots impact. And it is growing exponentially. At the conference, they announced the 100th country where Chabad has now opened. No doubt, with the sect’s staggering birthrate and about half of all its members dedicating themselves to a lifelong posting, by the year 2020, Chabad will be fielding more than 15,000 emissaries in nearly all of the world’s nations, and will be the mainstream Jewish branch in most. In countries like France, Russia, Australia and Britain, this has largely happened. But even in countries with robust and highly developed Jewish communities, like the United States and Canada, the smart money should be on Chabad to emerge as leader. Not long ago, the Jewish people were made to believe that if they were to succeed in the modern world, they would have to make accommodations with strict adherence to tradition. Scraggly beards would have to be shaved. Large families would have to give way to two kids and a dog. Names like Elazar and Tova would have change to Leo and Tiffany. Yeshiva and smicha would have to be forfeited in favor of Wharton and a masters. Even Orthodox Jews embraced this vision, if not in the name of progress than at least in the name of survival. And yet, the Jewish movement that has superseded them all is the one which insisted that Judaism is so potent that the world must bend to accommodate the Jewish people, rather than the reverse. And now, with so much of the Jewish world already covered by its emissaries, what is the future for Chabad? Surely it lies in transcending Jewish insularity and embracing the Rebbe’s vision of influencing the non-Jewish world with the light of Jewish values and the blessings of Jewish teachings. Rabbi Shmuley Boteach is the international best-selling author of 31 books, most recently “The Israel Warrior.: The winner of the London Times Preacher of the Year Award, he has been called by Newsweek “the most famous Rabbi in America” and named by The Jerusalem Post as one of the 50 most influential Jews in the world. Follow him on Twitter @RabbiShmuley.A record £1.75bn - nearly a quarter of the total ad market - was spent online in the first half of this year, compared with £1.64bn for TV, the study said. It is thought that the UK is the world's first major economy to pass the media milestone. Internet spending grew by 4.6pc during the period compared to the previous year and now makes up 23.5pc of the market. TV advertising fell by 17pc, making up 21.9pc of total spend. The study, carried out by the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) and PricewaterhouseCoopers, showed overall advertising fell by 16pc in the period as firms slashed costs in the recession. IAB chief executive Guy Phillipson said he thought online advertising still had room for growth. "We could see absolutely see it grow to being a 30pc medium [of ad share spend], to go past £4bn to even £5bn annually," he added. Online advertising is classified as email campaigns, classified adverts, display ads and search engine websites such as Google. The IAB data showed that 60pc of the online advertising was spent on search engines, with 22pc on online classified ads. Justin Pearse, editor of industry website New Media Age, told the BBC that the tough economic times had led to a significant fall in TV advertising spending, which saw it being overtaken about a year earlier than most had expected. Guy Phillipson, chief executive of the Internet Advertising Bureau, said online display advertising - such as banners - had "performed notably well against its peers in TV, print and radio". Visible Measures' Top 10 Viral Video Ads Chart However, Thinkbox, the UK TV marketing body, said the figures were not comparing like with like. Lindsey Clay, Thinkbox's marketing director, said: "Online marketing spend is made up of many things including email, classified ads, display ads and, overwhelmingly, search marketing. They should be judged individually. "The internet is a fantastic technology and home to many different marketing activities that do different things. "As such, it is interesting but meaningless to sweep all the money spent on every aspect of online marketing into one big figure and celebrate it." She said that television advertising remained the most effective advertising medium "pound for pound". Press display advertising was the UK's third biggest ad market, with £1.38bn of spend, or 18.5pc of the total. Britain remains the world leader in terms of market share for online advertising, due to the use of online networks to place advertising, the availability of fast and cheap broadband and the popularity of new formats such as video adverts.This article is about the Danish television series. For the 1930s British Modernist art group, see Unit One Rejseholdet (English: "Mobile Unit" [lit. "The Travel Team"]; international title: Unit One) is a Danish television crime drama series, broadcast on DR1, that ran for four series from October 1, 2000 to January 1, 2004. The series, produced by Danmarks Radio, revolves around an elite mobile police task force that travel around Denmark, assisting each local police force solve serious crimes. The series starred Charlotte Fich as DCI Ingrid Dahl, an ambitious detective who is promoted to the role of unit commander seemingly on the basis of being female. The series co-starred Mads Mikkelsen and Lars Brygmann as Sergeants Allan Fischer and Thomas La Cour. A total of thirty-two episodes aired across four series. Each episode is titled with a reference to an assistancemelding, which roughly translates into English as "Request for Assistance". Each case portrayed in the show was loosely based upon actual sensational crimes such as murders, kidnappings, cross-border sex trafficking and child pornography. Production [ edit ] The series was predominantly filmed at TV-Drama's film studio at TV-byen in Søborg, Denmark, as well as on location. Filming also took place in Sweden, Germany, Iceland and other close regional countries. The format of each episode balances the forensic process and an unfolding backstory that includes the somewhat ambivalent relationships existing between the unit members and their families. The series regularly touches on social issues including the insularity of police work, the social and emotional impact of brutal crime, as well as political and press involvement in the justice process. In 2002, the series received the Emmy Award for Best Drama Series from the International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.[1] The series also won the Best Drama Award at the annual Danish Television Awards in both 2001 and 2002.[2][3] For his leading role, Mads Mikkelsen received the Best Actor award at the 2002 Danish Television Awards.[3] Distribution [ edit ] The series has been televised in Denmark (DR1), Sweden (TV4), Iceland (Rúv), Germany (ZDF), Australia (SBS), Croatia (HRT3), and the United States (MHz). The complete series is also available on DVD. In the United States and Australia, three individual sets comprising all thirty-two episodes were released on DVD in 2014. These contain purely English subtitles. In Europe, the Scandinavian release, which contains all thirty-two episodes in one box set, includes subtitles in Danish, English, Norwegian and Swedish. In the Netherlands the entire series has been released as "Unit One" with Dutch subtitles. In the United Kingdom, each series was released individually as per the original broadcast. The releases form part of Arrow Films' Nordic Noir strand of releases.[4][5] The first series was released on January 21, 2013. The second series followed on May 27, 2013. The third series was released on January 6, 2014, followed by the fourth and final series on July 7, 2014.[6] Cast [ edit ] Charlotte Fich as DCI Ingrid Dahl; commander of the unit. Single mother of Tobias (by former husband) and guardian of Gry, the daughter of her late partner. Promoted to a leadership position, she initially struggles to gain the respect of the team and her superior, Ulf Thomson. During the series Ingrid suspect that Ulf is her father. Her suspicion is eventually revealed to be true. Mads Mikkelsen as DS Allan Fischer; the "problem child" of the unit. Impulsive and emotional, Fischer has been frustrated by a lack of advancement, as he is seen by Ulf and Ingrid as "difficult to manage". Despite his rough edges his persistence, physicality and willingness to bend the rules often produces results and he is thus highly valued as a member of the team. Lars Brygmann as DS Thomas La Cour; the most cerebral member of the unit. La Cour is noteworthy for his highly intuitive investigative approach that often plays a key role in solving a mystery. Most episodes include a sequence where La Cour seems to mystically "channel" the victim and/or perpetrator in order to re-create the crime event. The portrayal of these moments sometimes suggest the supernatural, such as an episode when an off-duty La Cour leads local police directly to the murder scene and thus places himself under suspicion for the crime. Waage Sandø as DI Jens Peter "I.P." Sørensen; the senior member of the unit. I.P. was passed over for promotion when Ingrid was appointed commander. Partner to Kirsten. A world-weary but trusted and quietly supportive second-in-command to Ingrid. Has been with the force for 40 years. Erik Wedersøe as Commander Ulf Thomsen; a senior police official, under whom the unit operates. Appointed Ingrid as commander of the unit. The promotion seems at least partially the product of political pressure to elevate a female. Ulf frequently challenges Ingrid's decisions but his respect for her is revealed over time. Ulf's affair with Kirsten and promotion of Ingrid has complicated his longstanding relationship with colleague I.P. Trine Pallesen as DC Gaby Levin; a junior member of the unit. Develops relationship with Johnny Olsen. Gaby is portrayed as the "glue that often holds the unit together", managing unit logistics, and she is heavily relied upon by Ingrid and other unit members. Lars Bom as Johnny Olsen; a contract truck owner/operator. Responsible for moving the Rejseholdet mobile office between locations. Partner of Gaby. Former Danish national football (soccer) star, frequently "unofficially" involved in the unit's police work. Michael Falch as Jan Boysen; a forensic pathologist working with the Danish Police who pursues Ingrid romantically. Sebastian Ottensten as Tobias; Ingrid's teenage son. Tobias's brushes with the law (smoking hashish and joyriding in a stolen car) have been used to illustrate Ingrid's conflicted state as an ambitious career officer and a single mother. Lisbet Lundquist as Kirsten Jørgensen, a successful stage actress and I.P.'s partner during the first season. Kirsten struggles with issues pertaining to ageing and alcoholism, and later develops an affair with Ulf. Lykke Sand Michelsen as Gry; daughter of Ingrid's late partner. Benedikte Hansen as Trine Dalgaard Episodes [ edit ] Series 1 (2000) [ edit ] No. overall No. in series Title Directed by Written by Original air date TNS Gallup viewers (million)[7] 1 1 "Assistancemelding A-15/99" Niels Arden Oplev Stig Thorsboe & Peter Thorsboe 1 October 2000 ( ) 1.24 Chief of Investigation of Unit One, Torben Rønne, is found murdered in his house along with Henning Ravn, a friend of his who was temporarily living at Torben's. Ingrid Dahl is promoted to temporary Chief of Investigation to support Unit One. Because of information provided by a criminal, Unit One locates Dennis Friis, the son of a woman Ravn used to date years back. As Friis tries to pick up the murder weapon, he is discovered by Fischer and La Cour and taken into custody. He confesses the crime under questioning with Dahl. 2 2 "Assistancemelding A-21/99 (Part 1)" Niels Arden Oplev Peter Thorsboe 8 October 2000 ( ) 1.21 The deceased, a pub owner from Horsens and an old acquaintance of the police, was discovered after being liquidated. He also has outstanding business with the local bikers. But Ingrid thinks the motive for the homicide is more of a personal nature. The larger mobile office is put to use for the first time and its driver proves to be a surprise. Just as the investigation gets underway Ingrid receives a phone call that forces her to rush back to Copenhagen. 3 3 "Assistancemelding A-21/99 (Part 2)" Niels Arden Oplev Iben Gylling & Peter Thorsboe 15 October 2000 ( ) 1.21 Fischer and La Cour find Grue, the biker president, who is carrying a sawn-off shotgun around which resembles the murder weapon from their case. But the revelation that follows is not what they expected. Ingrid Returns with a plan that conflicts with Chief Constable Ulf Thomsen. Fischer receives unexpected help when he gets into a fight with a couple of suspects. La Cour finds a vital clue and IP suspects something going on between Gaby and Johnny Olsen. 4 4 "Assistancemelding A-6/00" Jørn Faurschou Flemming Jarlskov & Peter Thorsboe 22 October 2000 ( ) 1.23 When an elderly lady is murdered in Nakskov, details emerge from her younger female lodger, who says she saw an unfamiliar man leave the house just after the crime. Fischer's relationship with the local force is complicated because of a previous case and the conflict between them resurfaces. IP is worried about Kirsten's whereabouts, and Ingrid's husband Søren surprises her just as she is on her way out with Boysen. 5 5 "Assistancemelding A-11/00" Jørn Faurschou Iben Gylling & Peter Thorsboe 29 October 2000 ( ) 1.51 A young couple's wedding day is ruined by a murder. The killing seems unfeasible and the forensics experts are perplexed when Unit One arrives. Soon, many of the villagers are under suspicion. While IP's jealously grows, Johnny receives help from Gaby with his personal problems. Søren puts pressure on Ingrid to make a decision about their relationship. But all could be futile when Ingrid soon after receives a phone call from the hospital alerting her that Søren is in a serious condition. 6 6 "Assistancemelding A-15/00" Peter Flinth Dunja Gry Jensen 5 November 2000 ( ) 1.52 Ulla, a teacher from Roskilde, has celebrated her 30th birthday with a big party among friends and relatives. On her way home from the party she disappears without a trace. Her husband calls the police and Unit One is summoned. Evidence indicates that a crime has taken place, and Ulla's children also face danger. Ingrid is in an awful state following Søren's death and has incarcerated herself. Gaby and Johnny try to help, but in vain. However, IP has his own way of tackling Ingrid. Fischer receives a tempting offer from Ulf. 7 7 "Assistancemelding A-17/00" Peter Flinth Nikolaj Scherfig 12 November 2000 ( ) 1.57 Fischer and La Cour have taken a holiday on the North Sea with Fischer's family. Their holiday is soon ruined when the local force receives an anonymous tip-off that a homicide has been committed in the neighborhood. The murderer is at large and could strike again at any time. Ulf is summoned when Fischer loses control while detaining a subject. 8 8 "Assistancemelding A-19/00 (Part 1)" Charlotte Sieling Nikolaj Scherfig & Peter Thorsboe 19 November 2000 ( ) 1.49 A whole town is in fear because a masked man has been assaulting elderly women who live on their own. The assaults are becoming increasingly violent and everyone is afraid that the next one will be fatal. Unit One is called in and La Cour is forced into dealing with a painful encounter from his past. IP is having a hard time with Kirsten and receives a flattering invitation, while Fischer acquires insight into Johnny's love life. 9 9 "Assistancemelding A-19/00 (Part 2)" Charlotte Sieling Peter Thorsboe 26 November 2000 ( ) 1.64 The disguised man who attacks elderly women strikes again. But he is constantly one step ahead of the police, who are at a loss. Ulf arrives and demands a result, and is confronted by IP. Fischer tries to provoke La Cour into resuming his relationship with Helene. La Cour finds the vital clue, but is he in time? Johnny is an involuntary witness as the case comes to a head. Series 2 (2001) [ edit ] No. overall No. in series Title Directed by Written by Original air date TNS Gallup viewers (million)[8] 10 1 "Assistancemelding A-24/00" Jørn Faurschou Iben Gylling & Peter Thorsboe 11 March 2001 ( ) 1.60 A young boy is kidnapped on his 9th birthday. The team discovers him alive and well, but getting him back to his mother is not simple. Ulf and Kirsten take a trip to London. 11 2 "Assistancemelding A-25/00" Jannik Johansen Mikael Olsen 18 March 2001 ( ) 1.68 A lawyer with a history of getting defendants to retract confessions uses the technique to exonerate the perpetrator of a crime that the team previously investigated. Then the lawyer and his family are threatened by an unknown attacker and the team is called in to protect him. 12 3 "Assistancemelding A-26/00" Martin Schmidt Ola Saltin, Stig Thorsboe & Peter Thorsboe 25 March 2001 ( ) 1.56 The owner of a chocolate factory is found murdered. Did his murder have something to do with his appetite for young women and kinky sex, or is there something else at play? 13 4 "Assistancemelding A-28/00" Martin Schmidt Mai Brostrøm & Peter Thorsboe 1 April 2001 ( ) 1.61 A woman dies in a house fire. Her 8-year-old daughter fights for her life in hospital. Was the fire an accident or arson? 14 5 "Assistancemelding A-30/00" Jørn Faurschou Mai Brostrøm, Iben Gylling & Peter Thorsboe 8 April 2001 ( ) 1.54 Local police overhears a shooting. A teenage girl comes running against them yelling "They're gonna kill me, they're gonna kill me!". The female police officer finds the body of Irana and Fashad Adavi in the apartment of Osman and Leyla Gür. The reason for the murder is believed to be a matter of honour according to Osman, as he explains that Fashad supposedly had raped Yasemin, the daughter of Osman and Leyla. The son, Dennis, supposedly shot Fashad as he refused to marry Yasemin. In questioning, Dennis fails to reload the pistol and is therefore not the murderer. Yasemin then claims she shot the victims. In a gynaecological examination, Yasemin proves to be a virgin. As the gynaecologist talks with Dahl, Yasemin escapes and, according to her teacher, hides in a botanical facility. The teacher explains that Osman has sexually abused his daughter anally for years. IP finds the girl in time, as her father is trying to kill her with a piece of glass. In questioning, Yasemin explains that she had told Irana about her father, who then tried to convince Osman to let the kids get married, resulting in Osman killing both Irana and Fashad and attempting to then kill Yasemin as well. 15 6 "Assistancemelding A-31/00 (Part 1)" Jørn Faurschou Stig Thorsboe & Peter Thorsboe 15 April 2001 ( ) 1.42 The body of the 10-year-old is found in a stream in the woods just outside Hellebæk. No boy of the description is missing. La Cour dreams of a bag that is found at the harbour and has exactly the same interior as in La Cours dream. A social licence from the bag reveals the boy to be Martin Simonsen. DNA samples proves that the killer earlier has murdered a young boy. La Cour talks with a conductor from Odense, Claus Munk Andersen, who claims he didn't see the boy. But through a vision and investigation of other witnesses, Andersen is taken into custody. A DNA sample proves him to be the killer, but when the police moves out to arrest him, they find him hanged in his house and La Cour's fingerprints all over the place. 16 7 "Assistancemelding A-31/00 (Part 2)" Jørn Faurschou Mai Brostrøm & Peter Thorsboe 22 April 2001 ( ) 1.71 La Cour is taken into custody and is ordered home to Copenhagen. In the meantime, the investigation team contacts Karin, the sister of Andersen who tells them that the man that visited Andersen the night he was killed and had sexual intercourse with him probably is Sonny, a local male prostitute. Fischer is sent to the dumpster, where he finds a trash bag that contains Andersen's diary containing information about the murdered boys and Cliff "Sonny" Jensen, whom Andersen raised into prostitution and lent to his friends. La Cour notices some ash buds and remembers what happened at Andersen's, paying Ulrik Gregersen, Andersen's brother-in-law a visit. He follows him to the dumpster where he arrests him and discovers that the trash bags he dumped there contained the body of Sonny. Series 3 (2001-2002) [ edit ] No. overall No. in series Title Directed by Written by Original air date TNS Gallup viewers (million)[9] 17 1 "Assistancemelding A-2/01" Charlotte Sieling Mai Brostrøm, Ola Saltin & Peter Thorsboe 30 December 2001 ( ) 1.75 A psychology student meets up with one of her regular chat friends. After she disappears it takes six months before Unit One is on the case. 18 2 "Assistancemelding A-3/01" Charlotte Sieling Mai Brostrøm & Peter Thorsboe 6 January 2002 ( ) 1.88 Christian and Andreas Dahl are shot when they confront two famous criminals in burying stolen money in Kalundborg. Tina Lauritsen, the wife of Christian, is later found with her throat slit. The criminals are quickly identified, as a burned out white Mercedes is found containing rabbit dung (as Eik Nielsen, the male criminal, favours white Mercedes and Anja Jespersen, the female criminal, always carry around a rabbit). Unit One puts the area where the money was buried under surveillance. When the couple shows up, the Special Police Corps surround them, but they manage to escape into the church where a small group of people were arranging baptising schedules. Eik lets the grown ups escape and the priest, the wife of a local police officer, manages to text message Unit One and ask them to open the Northern Door to let Anja escape with the infant. The Special Police Corps manages to successfully rescue the priest and take Eik into custody. 19 3 "Assistancemelding A-4/01" Jørn Faurschou Peter Thorsboe & Kari Vidø 13 January 2002 ( ) 1.88 Unit One is called to Aabenrå when parts of a woman body is found in Knapsø. As Unit One checks the German Missing List, a witness tells of a silver Audi from where a man tossed a trashbag into the harbour, and of a burning container filled with personal files on a Doris Fröse. The owner of the silver Audi, Manfred Schlosser, lacks any information. A summerhouse owner contacts them and tells that the sheets and beddings have been replaced and the floor scrubbed very thoroughly. Blood samples confirms the victim to be Doris Fröse, but the name of the man who borrowed the summerhouse is fake. A friend of Doris Fröse confirms that the man whom Doris Fröse was visiting in Denmark was Manfred Schlosser. In the mean time, Pernille, the wife of Manfred Schlosser, finds knives and photoalbums of many murdered women in the attic. Manfred finds out and drowns her in their bathtub. Manfred is taken into custody, but denies everything. 20 4 "Assistancemelding A-6/01" Jørn Faurschou Mai Brostrøm & Peter Thorsboe 20 January 2002 ( ) 2.02 A hotel is set on fire in Nyborg, killing 32 people. A local pyromaniac, Henning Jørgensen, is taken into questioning, but fails to answer where the fire started. In a side story, a little boy witnesses how a bespectacled man places the corpse of a young woman on a bench in a parking lot. In a picture from the local newspaper, a face is very faintly viewed in the background, and the police trace the person in the picture to be Otto Lykke Larsen, a mentally retarded man. Larsen is taken into questioning. In the videos found in Larsen's apartment, fires are videotaped and Unit One suspects that Larsen was the pyromaniac responsible. In other videos, Larsen has sexual intercourse with a woman, Britt Hjort Jespersen. In questioning, Larsen admits that he was the one who set fire on the hotel, along with all the other fires recorded in his videotapes. In the mean time, the corpse of the young woman is identified as Jespersen. Larsen admits he killed Jespersen. 21 5 "Assistancemelding A-7/01 (Part 1)" Martin Schmidt Mai Brostrøm & Peter Thorsboe 27 January 2002 ( ) 1.96 Just released from prison the entrepreneur called farmand (daddy-o) is found murdered in a Danish train to Århus, which puts the unit smack in the middle of hypnosis and crime and they meet one of the smartest criminals in the series so far. Kaare commits a robbery just after being released from State Prison in Horsens. He shoots three people and is arrested by Fischer. Unit One suspects that Ivan has masterminded the coup. 22 6 "Assistancemelding A-7/01 (Part 2)" Martin Schmidt Peter Thorsboe & Kari Vidø 3 February 2002 ( ) 1.82 The tragic case of Kaare and Ivan continues, who will break first the police or Ivan? 23 7 "Assistancemelding A-9/01" Charlotte Sieling Mai Brostrøm & Peter Thorsboe 10 February 2002 ( ) 1.79 Bertel Kjeldsen calls Dahl late at night to ask her to come to Fredensborg where he allegedly killed his own wife. In the meantime, the case of Britt Hjort Jespersen is brought up again as a poor autopsy of the body wasn't satisfactory. DNA samples from a new autopsy show DNA from another man. Dahl tries hard to find Keldsen, who is standing at the edge of a tall building when Dahl finds him. He tells how he killed his wife and how his son, Knud Kjeldsen, killed Jespersen. Dahl arrests Knud. Knud lies under questioning, but the DNA samples show that Knud's biological brother, Robin Hansen, who is mentally retarded, was the murderer. Knud tried to cover for his retarded brother to spare his family. 24 8 "Assistancemelding A-12/01" Charlotte Sieling Peter Thorsboe & Kari Vidø 17 February 2002 ( ) 1.89 When local crime boss Bob is found murdered in his own S&M dungeon in a custom made monkey cage in Fredericia, the unit is involved in a case of revenge and jealousy. Series 4 (2002-2003) [ edit ] No. overall No. in series Title Directed by Written by Original air date TNS Gallup viewers (million)[10] 25 1 "Assistancemelding A-13/01" Ole Christian Madsen Mai Brostrøm & Peter Thorsboe 24 February 2002 ( ) 2.07 An entire family is brutally murdered and the case leads the unit into a tragic story of incest and violence. 26 2 "Assistancemelding A-15/01" Ole Christian Madsen Peter Thorsboe & Kari Vidø 3 March 2002 ( ) 2.13 Jette Møller is found murdered in a fish boutique in Vordingborg. Finn Møller, her husband, is taken into custody, but nothing is gaining out of his answers. His phone is tapped and when a suspicious phone call remind Fischer and La Cour about Strangers on a Train, Møller is put under surveillance. He escapes when he sails from Vordingborg to an island. The following day, the body of Putte Bech Lorentzen is found in a sauna. Unit One suspects Larsen and arrests him. Through evidence found in the garden of Bech Lorentzen, Unit One arrests Bertram Bech Lorentzen, the husband of Putte, for the murder of Jette. 27 3 "Assistancemelding A-16/01" Jannik Johansen Mai Brostrøm & Peter Thorsboe 10 March 2002 ( ) 2.15 A young girl is found murdered on Bornholm and the unit is quickly involved as it looks like the work of one of Denmark's infamous serial killers, known as The Indian; unfortunately, the story spins into a personal tragedy for Ingrid. 28 4 "Assistancemelding A-17/01" Jannik Johansen Peter Thorsboe & Kari Vidø 17 March 2002 ( ) 2.22 When Johnny finds a couple of Lithuanian girls in the back of a truck near Slagelse the unit is getting involved in a case of human trafficking and quickly ties it to the Lithuanian mafia. 29 5 "Assistancemelding A-19/01 (Part 1)" Charlotte Sieling Mai Brostrøm & Peter Thorsboe 24 March 2002 ( ) 1.98 La Cour gets one of his visions and finds a murdered student at one of the most prestigious boarding schools in Denmark, this involves the unit in a case where they finally get clues to find the serial killer known as The Indian (because he cuts the pubes off his victims); meanwhile, Ulf has bad news for the team. 30 6 "Assistancemelding A-19/01 (Part 2)" Charlotte Sieling Mai Brostrøm & Peter Thorsboe 1 April 2002 ( ) 2.19 The Indian has kidnapped Gaby, and La Cour and Fischer are on their tail, IP is trying to protect The Indian's ex-girlfriend who is also the murdered student's sister. 31 7 "Assistancemelding A-05/03 (Part 1)" Ole Christian Madsen Mai Brostrøm & Peter Thorsboe 25 December 2003 ( ) 1.79 When a black prostitute is found murdered and things indicate the Danish minister of justice, the unit is once again called together, although they are all busy with other work; soon we learn that things are not what they seem and we venture into the Danish biker scene. 32 8 "Assistancemelding A-05/03 (Part 2)" Ole Christian Madsen Mai Brostrøm & Peter Thorsboe 1 January 2004 ( ) 2.19 Things are taking a turn for the worse when both Johnny and Fischer find themselves in grave danger; their cover has been blown and the bikers want them dead. Notes [ edit ]First of, I wanted to thank all of you for all the nice birthday wishes it was really nice! I know that I don't answer to all of you but I sure read all your comments and can't say enough how your support is important for me, I certainly wouldn't be where I am today without everyone here on deviantart! So since it has been a long time without posting, here is an illustration I did recently for the upcoming card game Maha Yodha, by Leprechaun Games, it's based on the indian mythology, which I wasn't familiar with until then, and it is AWESOME! So many characters, psychedelic worlds and events, I loved it even though I still have a LOT to read about it! I hope you'll like it and don't hesitate to tell me what you think about it!News surrounding one of the most powerful devices to feature Ubuntu Touch OS suggests that the device is nearing its release date with pricing already disclosed by Meizu. The Meizu Pro 5 Ubuntu Edition which is currently listed on the official website of the OEM is said to have a starting price of $370 debugging previous rumors which pointed to a $500 price tag. With the actual release date in a just a few days time, potential buyers can register with their email address and receive instant notification as soon as the device hit the stores. The highly anticipated device will launch with Samsung’s Exynos 7420 processor which features a dual quad-core system with the utilization of combined A53 and A57 reaching clock speeds of 2.1GHz. The phone will feature an FHD display encased in a wonderfully build magnesium alloy body. The handset is said to be available in two flavours with one featuring 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage while the other will have 4GB of RAM and 64GB of onboard storage, both variants support microSD cards of up 128GB. Despite its top-notch features, the device does have a few drawbacks as those hoping to double it up as a desktop device — convergence — won’t be able to at the moment due to software limitations that should be fixed with an OTA update. Unconfirmed reports have suggested the Canonical is exploring ways of using wireless display technologies like Miracast to solve the lack of convergence problem with the Meizu Pro 5 Ubuntu Edition. Those residing in the United States should be aware that device does not support most network bands in the US and given the fact it has not been granted FCC certification, purchasing it might be difficult for US customers.Did the US demand an apology from Iran for capturing two US Navy boats and ten sailors before their release this morning? Of course not, Joe Biden told Charlie Rose and Norah O’Donnell this morning. Iran merely saw that the two boats were “in distress” and rescued them, so we didn’t ask for an apology. Hmmmm. The US Navy wasn’t capable of providing assistance to its own sailors? And did they know the boats were “in distress”? After Iran released 10 U.S. Navy sailors from custody early Wednesday morning, some media outlets reported that the U.S. had issued an apology to Tehran in order to secure the sailors’ freedom. But Vice President Joe Biden told CBS News that there was “no apology” given. “When
the time of Draupadi to Chola Royal women, from Rani Padmini, Rani Jhansi and many others, to Indira Gandhi — something which no other society in the world can possibly boast. That is why I could proudly present my dance programme “Stree Kavi Ratna”, based on literature, from Gargi to Meera, at the World Spiritual Women’s Conference organised by the United Nations in Geneva in 2002. Feminist scholars abroad, not Indians, have recently begun studying how traditions have enabled women in India to participate in the public domain, contrary to the traditions in the West. Jane Freedman hypothesised that the Western political culture, drawn from its traditions,which does not offer women any positive model of female power, excluded women from the political field. Taking the hypothesis further, in her essay “The Hindu Goddess and Women’s Political Representation in South Asia: Symbolic Resource or Feminine Mystique?”, Stephanie Tawa Lama studied the impact of the Hindu Goddess — a uniquely popular, positive figure of feminine power — on the political role of women in India. Observing that the Indian freedom movement was driven by the symbol of Mother India and devotion to her in the song ‘Vande Mataram’, which singularly inspired the freedom fighters to undertake high sacrifices, she underscored the subterranean influence of feminine power in Indian political life. She connected it to how Indira Gandhi, who became the Prime Minister of India in 1966, was compared to Goddess Durga when she won the 1971 War and how Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa was portrayed as ‘Mahishasuramardini’ (slayer of the demon Mahisha). Ms. Tawa Lama says that in the West, tradition, which had classified women as the weaker sex, influenced the modern Western politics with their prejudice. But India’s was a contrast. In 1959, the Swiss had denied voting rights to their women in the national referendum. But in 1963 Uttar Pradesh, India’s largest State which had less than a third of its women literate at the time, had no difficulty in electing Sucheta Kripalani as its Chief Minister. Gender hostility Finally, the Swiss women got voting rights in 1972 — after Indira Gandhi had already ruled India for a full six years as its most powerful Prime Minister! American women got franchise rights only in 1920 and the British women eight years later, centuries after the exclusively masculine British democracy came into being. Thus, gender conflicts inhered in the Western traditions. But such gender hostility has no philosophic source or traditional roots in India. In India, from ancient times, Female Divinity has equated women with power. And, God as confluence of man and woman (Ardhanareeswara) symbolised gender harmony. The ultimate Reality [Brahman] which transcended all forms — man, woman and all species — is gender-neutral. But unfortunately, contemporary Indian women intellectualism does not internalise these profound ideas. It tends to copy the Western thoughts that have no philosophic or social comparability or compatibility with the Indian. Indian traditions have struggled to foster a higher sense of respect for women. Therefore, the grammar of gender relations in India is universal respect for women. This automatically implied unasserted but well-recognised rights. Therefore, despite all the intellectual confusion and conflict, Indian Womanhood practices have preserved the uniqueness of Indian women and respect for them. The paradigm of respect for women in India transcended and avoided the conflict-prone gender rights paradigm. But the Western women, denied respect by tradition, repeatedly rebelled and fought for rights. This has resulted in the modern paradigm of rights without a sense of filial duties in the West and caused social disorientation. Here is its fallout: over 42% of the babies in the United States, 47% in the United Kingdom and almost 60% in Scandinavia are born to unwed mothers; almost half of them teenagers; more than half the marriages end in divorce in 10 years, as do two-thirds of the second and three-fourths of the third marriages; most families are run by a single parent. Paradox of freedom The ‘rights sans traditional duties’ paradigm scuttled the family system. But has freeing women from families made women happy? A 2009 study concluded that after three decades of feminism and development, women of Europe and the U.S. are less happy now than before and men, incidentally, are more happy than they were. In the West, mental illnesses are on the rise among men, women and children. Way back in 1952, when my father, Director K. Subrahmanyam was honoured by the Hollywood Film Directors Guild in the U.S., the press asked him: “Why India does not have enough psychiatrists”? Pat came the reply that the joint family system had kept Indian society sane. The Dharma Sastra or Thirukkural or any other ancient text is unanimous on the householder’s responsibility to elders, the infirm, the unemployed and even unsupported strangers. But in the U.S., with the traditional families collapsing, their whole burden has fallen on the government. According to economist and columnist S. Gurumurthy, the present social security cost of care of elders, infirm and unemployed is estimated at over six times the GDP of the U.S. — a totally unsustainable situation. He says that this has led to the corporatisation of the family kitchen and government takeover of parental obligations — as the U.S. National Bureau of Economic Research warned in 1980. India’s cultural and spiritual values stabilise the national economy. The Indian value system, which constitutes the country’s culturally-devised social security system is the result of the carefully-nurtured continuum of Indian womanhood. This is the biggest Indian intellectual and cultural idea for export to the West. Time has come for India to introspect on what it needs to import from the West and what it need not. Here comes the relevance of Swami Vivekananda, the young Hindu monk who told the World Parliament of Religions what the world did not know, namely, that there exists in India the spiritual common denominator of mutual respect for all religions. He therefore asserted that there need be no hostility among religions and appealed for harmony among faiths. In the same vein he appealed equally for gender harmony founded on the Indian idea of respect for women. When the West was learning the basic lessons of equality of humans, including women, Swami Vivekananda proclaimed that “the barometer to the progress of a nation is its treatment of its women”. As the nation gets set to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the monk’s birth and even as India is set to emerge, according to the U.S. National Intelligence Council, as one of the three world powers, it is necessary that Indian women redefine their agenda not only for themselves but also the world at large. An effort has been undertaken under the aegis of the Swami Vivekananda 150 Women's Initiative to hold a women’s convention in Chennai on the occasion on the theme, “Indian Women as the guide for the world at a crossroads”. It is a bold initiative. Hopefully such initiatives will set off the introspection and dialogue which is overdue in India. Correction This article has been edited to incorporate the following correction: Women got the right to vote in the U.S. in 1920 and in the U.K. in 1928. U.K. achieved women’s suffrage in 1928 (women over 30 were enfranchised in 1918 but the Representation of the People Act was passed on July 2, 1928) and the Nineteenth Amendment was passed in the U.S. on August 18, 1920.Relations between the two nations remain fraught after Putin’s annexation of the Crimea yet Ukraine’s move to blast missiles near the area could deepen divisions. In a statement made on Friday, Russia’s air transport agency accused Ukraine of overstepping diplomatic boundaries after it decided to hold military exercises above Crimean territorial waters in the Black Sea. Russia has condemned Ukrainian plans to conduct missile exercises in Russian airspace. GETTY The statement said: “In violation of all international agreements, Ukraine unilaterally decided to hold missile firing exercises in Russia’s sovereign airspace near Simferopol.” Russian spokesman Sergei Izvolsky issued a warning declaring the decision a violation of “basic principles of civil aviation” that require coordination to close airspace with bordering countries. The defence ministry for the former Soviet nations slammed the plans, branding them illegal and issuing a note of protest of Ukraine’s defence staff. The weapons drills will take place at the beginning of December, according to the Russian intelligence, who claim the missiles will be blasted into Russia’s civil airspace, and potentially threaten flight safety. But Oleksandr Turchynov, chairman of the Ukrainian Security and Defence Council, said Ukraine has no plans to conduct the exercises in the airspace between Russia and Crimea - and added that Ukraine is free to conduct military drills anywhere in its airspace. The developments come as the International Criminal Court (ICC) earlier this month branded Russia’s invasion of Ukraine a “crime”. Vladimir Putin in pictures Tue, December 13, 2016 Russin President Vladimir Putin in pictures Play slideshow 1 of 56Story highlights Husband of woman allegedly killed by brother pleads for justice A 22-year-old pregnant woman was killed by brother after being dragged to mother's home, police say Arrest warrants are out for mother and brother, police say Islamabad, Pakistan (CNN) A pregnant woman was killed by her family in eastern Pakistan because she married against family members' wishes three years ago, according to police. Muqaddas Tawfeeq, 22, was eight months pregnant with her second child, her husband, Khalid Tawfeeq said. She visiting a maternity clinic for a checkup Thursday, when her mother appeared and "dragged her away" to her maternal home,Tawfeeq told CNN. Once there Muqaddas Tawfeeq's brother, Mohammed Adeel Bashir, attacked and slit her throat, Muhammad Tahir, Gujranwala regional police officer, told CNN. Arrest warrants have been issued for the mother, Amna Bashir, and the brother, who are on the run, police said. "They hit her with wooden rods and when that didn't kill her, they slit her throat," the grieving husband said. "I want justice, I beseech the prime minister to help me, I want justice."InfoWars broadcaster and Donald Trump ally Alex Jones is back to claiming that First Lady Michelle Obama is secretly a transgender woman, but this time he’s adding a new twist to his conspiracy theory: that Obama had comedienne Joan Rivers killed after she joked about the first lady being trans. Jones told his listeners yesterday that he’s seen enough videos on the internet to substantiate the rumor. “The national media takes it when I talk about this and acts like I’m crazy,” he said. “Listen, there’s hundreds of millions views on YouTube.” (There are also millions of views on videos claiming that Obama and other leaders are shapeshifting reptilian humanoids, another conspiracy promoted by Jones.) He went on to say that the first lady acts like she’s “god” and that the president wants schools to “teach five-year-olds how to be trannies.” “Don’t forget,” Jones said, “the famous comedienne Joan Rivers said, ‘Of course everyone knows she’s a tranny.’ She’s dead serious, ‘She’s a man.’ Deader than a doornail in a routine operation where basically she had fire poured down her throat and was a fire-breathing goblin. Dead on arrival. Shoot your mouth off, honey, you will die.” Jones didn’t stop there. “I really think — her daughters don’t look like her — I really think this is some weird hoax they did again,” he said, “just like he didn’t get sworn in on the Bible, it was the Quran. All this weirdness, I mean, I used to laugh at this stuff, but man, it’s all about rubbing our noses in it. I think it’s all an arranged marriage, it’s all completely fake and it’s this big sick joke because he’s obsessed with transgender, just like some weird cult or something. I think Michelle Obama is a man. I really do. I really do. I believe it.”About This Game The Story Key features: Deadly bosses Hordes of enemies Dynamic, highly immersive gameplay Interesting plot Lot’s of fun! In 2016, The NASA New Horizons space probe identified a fleet of alien ships heading towards Earth. Having tracked the many previous sightings and abductions taking place over the years, world leaders have determined that the approaching fleet are sinister in nature. It is projected that their fleet will arrive sometime in late 2017.In response to this global crisis, the US military was forced to disclose a top secret military project they had created during the Cold War. The DH125 is a military defense robot that was secretly deployed into orbit during the US Star Wars Initiative. The DH125 is unique in that it contains alien components retrieved from the Roswell crash in 1947 and is the only weapon we have to defend our planet.The DH125 was secretly retrieved and modernized to prepare us to defend our planet. It is the only defense we have and can only be remotely operated by one person. Now the global leaders of the world have declared a world emergency and have initiated a program to find the one person capable of manning the DH125. World leaders have called upon VR Visio to create a simulation designed to test a person’s skills, reflexes and precision.Are you the one who will lead us to victory? Do you have the skills to defend our planet? Download the game on Steam now and find out if you are the one.Poland has awarded Gloria Artis Medals of Cultural Merit to the Piłsudski Institute in New York, the Polish Museum in America and the conductor Janusz Sporek. At a ceremony at the Polish consulate in New York, Deputy Prime Minister Piotr Gliński, who is also Minister of Culture and National Heritage, thanked Polish institutions and individuals for their contribution to the Polish community in the United States and to creating a better image of their home country. The Piłsudski Institute was founded in 1943 as a research and educational centre. Its collection includes about one million documents, 20,000 books and 250 works of art and historical memorabilia. It has published numerous documents relating to modern Polish history, including "Poland in the British Parliament, 1939-1945." The Polish Museum in America, founded in 1935, has a rich collection of Polish art and a library containing over 100,000 books, as well as old prints and periodicals. Janusz Sporek has conducted several Polish choirs in the United States and organised numerous Polish musical events in venues such as the Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Centre and St. Patrick’s Cathedral. (mk/rg)The consultation is into the VNUK ruling – which applies to all 27 EU member states – and was made by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in September 2014. It requires compulsory unlimited third-party liability insurance to be carried by anyone using any form of motorised transport, in any location. That includes everything from ride-on lawnmowers and tractors to single-seater and saloon competition vehicles – even at private venues like race circuits – throughout the EU. This means crashes in motorsport events would be treated as road traffic accidents, and would involve the police as would any road traffic collision. Chris Aylett, chief executive officer of the MIA, is calling on any employer or business in European motorsport to respond to the EU Consultation and has provided guidelines to help them do so. “This threat is real, make no mistake, it could close down all motorsport [in countries in the EU],” said Aylett. “My appeal will safeguard jobs and the industry. If you want to protect your job in motorsport then make sure your employer responds before the deadline of October 20. “The EU offers an option, known as Option 3, where their insurance requirement applies ‘in traffic only’. If we succeed in getting this option supported then motorsport will be safe.” For the more information on the MIA’s call to action visit: the-mia.com/Vnuk-Update. The consultation can be found here: https://ec.europa.eu/info/consultations/finance-2017-motor-insurance_en.So you’re finished with you’re summer reading, and you’re not sure where you want to go next. After all, there are so many books! Fortunately, the Brooklyn Public Library is here to save you from your own poor decisions with a new service called Bklyn BookMatch, in which they make you a personalized reading list. If there was ever a reason to pay back your massive late fees, this is it. Bklyn BookMatch works pretty simply. You just head over to the online form the library has set up, and let them know things like if you’re looking for very specific recommendations or who you enjoy reading in general, if you want YA, children’s or adult books and your age. Even better, you can tell the library what you don’t want to read, so you can just get an endless stream of recommendations of books that say, aren’t written by men, if you’re sick of reading their books. Then you send your form off to the library and they’ll get back to you within a week with a bunch of books you should read. Screw you, Amazon “customers who also bought this product” algorithm. If we want book recommendations just handed to us, we’re asking some actual humans surrounded by books all day. TagsFrom stouts to porters and recently IPAs and pale ales, nitro beers are growing in popularity and most beer-focused bars have one or more taplines dedicated to the style and its distinctly heavy, creamy pour. What’s far less common, is finding that nitro in packaged form at the liquor store. Guinness has long done it and Sam Adams introduced a line of cans in early 2016, using a plastic widget in a can to release the gas. Few companies have bottled nitro beers because the technology has to be mastered in-house, and it’s a delicate and hard to perfect process. Colorado’s Left Hand Brewing Co. figured out a way in 2011 and it turned a popular draft beer into a popular home purchase. Left Hand is now set to introduce three styles of (non-nitro) beer in cans this winter, with more styles to come in early 2017. Chief Operating Officer Chris Lennert describes how Left Hand has become “the nitro brewery” and what that means for their identity. It’s something they embrace, hosting Nitro Fest in November each year. Paste: When you started developing nitro beers did you think it would have this kind of impact on the brand? Chris Lennert: Honestly, we were hoping that it would. We’d been doing Milk Stout Nitro on draft for eight or nine years at least. We launched in bottles in 2011 during Great American Beer Fest, five years ago. We were the first American brewery to do it in a package form without a widget and it really took off. Once we put it in package form where people could have that experience at home, I think people were pretty blown away by it. I’m shocked that other breweries are taking as long to do it. There are a couple in bottle format and in cans, but that wasn’t their technology. There’s a little difference in how we approached it. We created [the bottles] ourselves and it took us a couple years. It’s been a really positive impact. Back in the day, meaning 2011, people were already surprised that our number one beer was a stout and, with nitro, it took it to a different level. Paste: Why did you develop your own bottles instead of can widgets? CL: We thought about creating our own widgets. The test was all over the board for us, but we had smart people in our packaging department that took it as their mission to make it happen. It’s not something easy to figure out and that’s why a lot of people haven’t done it. We’re pretty proud of what we’ve done and I won’t say we invented it, but it’s kind of like we invented it for American craft brewers, right? I think we brought a lot of attention to the category. When the largest craft brewer in the country comes after us with their own line, I think that’s a sign that you’ve done something right. We play in bottles so that was what we had to do. Guinness had a patent and Ball just introduced that can widget a year ago. You have to pour it out because there’s not a widget in it. You’re not going to get that same creaminess unless you pour the beer into a glass. Regardless of what package it’s in, without a widget you have to pour it out of the glass. There are pros on cons to both, but if you talk to a lot of brewers they’re going to want you to pour it into a glass to experience it. For us it works in the bottle. We want you to experience the full effect just like you’re in a bar, but you can do it at home. Paste: How has the nitro environment been changing? CL: The rotation of handles in the market place has been going on for some time. Five years ago there were 1700 breweries and today we’re at 4300. Five years ago our nitro handles were quite sticky because there weren’t a lot of offerings out there. Now, I think we are in the rotation along with everything else. I see more and more people putting nitro on the handle, which I’m all for. It brings attention to the category. There are lovers and haters of nitro beers in general. That’s what I love about craft beer. Find your happy. Find what you can enjoy. Paste: Do you suffer from the “new is better” phenomenon in craft beer culture? CL: I get that. I give our entire staff a lot of credit. There’s a lot of nitro beers out there today and Milk Stout Nitro is a beer that continually stands out. It’s not a novelty nitro. We do Wake Up Nitro, the seasonal Hard Wired Nitro. To us, certain styles do really well with nitro, some don’t. IPA is a great example. You’ve spent all this money to put a huge amount of hops in and then you strip them right out when you nitrogenate it. But that’s our point of view and not everybody’s. If you look at our beers on nitro in draft and package, they’re doing well. I think people realize we helped create the excitement. Paste: Do you think it’s viewed as a fad or a gimmick? CL: I think some people view it that way. We do both Milk Stout and Milk Stout Nitro. To each his own. When you’ve got so many breweries coming after it and our Milk Stout Nitro is continually growing, I don’t see it as a fad. I think we’re just at the forefront. Nitro is a difficult thing to figure out. I’ve had people call and ask, “Can you help me out?” I will talk to any brewery, but that’s one thing we really don’t share. Paste: Are you “The Nitro Brewery” now? CL: We get that. When we introduced Hard Wired Nitro, it fit right where we are but people still love Good Juju or Polestar Pilsner. We’ve been around for 23 years, so people are excited to try Black Jack Porter or Good Juju or Polestar Pilsner, and we just launched American IPA Extrovert. We’re making good craft beer and, at the end of the day, with 4300 breweries I have one shot if you’ve never heard of us. If you don’t like it, why would you ever come back to us?PARENTAL ADVISORY: We don't imagine there are a lot of kids reading PolitiFact, but this item contains explicit language you don't normally see here. Parental discretion is advised. A new rap song by the hip-hop artist Jay-Z takes a shot at Rush Limbaugh. But the radio talk show host — referring to the rapper as "Mr. Z" — said he was honored to be mentioned. "Does this, Snerdley, mark a new development in my career to be singled out in a rap song by the famous rapper Jay-Z?" he said to his call screener on his Aug. 25, 2009, show. "I guess it is. As far as I know I have never been mentioned in a rap song by anybody. I guess it means I've made it. I'm now in a rap tune by the famous rapper Jay-Z. (The song says) '[T]ell Bill O'Reilly to fall back. Tell Rush Limbaugh to get off my balls.' I would remind the rapper Jay-Z: Mr. Z, it is President Obama who wants to mandate circumcision. We had that story yesterday; and that means if we need to save our penises from anybody, it's Obama. I did not know I was on anybody's balls, either. I'm happy to know that they think I am, though! But I didn't actually know that I was." It's an issue Limbaugh explored on his Aug. 24 show as well, saying, "Not that I'm against circumcision, but it's a family's decision. Leave our penises alone, too, Obama!" He cited a Fox News story about an upcoming report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that may recommend circumcision for newborn boys as a way to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS, because studies show that the procedure can reduce transmission of the disease from women to men. The CDC will be discussing what to include in the recommendations at the National HIV Prevention Conference, which is being held in Atlanta this week. The CDC is still mulling its decision, CDC spokesman Scott Bryan said in an e-mail. "It is important to note that the recommendations are still in development and the CDC has made no determination at this time about the final content," he wrote. "There is a deliberative process for our circumcision recommendations that allows for both external and internal CDC experts to weigh in, followed by a period of public comment after the draft recommendations are published. With respect to infant circumcision, it is important to recognize that many options are still being considered in this process, including simply educating parents about the potential benefits and risks in order to ensure they can make an informed decision." CDC is also considering whether to recommend circumcision for adult men who are at high risk for HIV infection, Bryan wrote. He emphasized that the recommendations "will be completely voluntary." We wondered whether Obama had been involved in the issue and specifically in the CDC's decision to write the guidance, as Limbaugh's claim indicates. We scoured his voting record on Congressional Quarterly, his position papers and speeches on Project Vote Smart, and even typed "circumcision" into the White House Web site, and came up with nothing. From what we found, Obama has not used the word "circumcision" in any public statement as a candidate or as president. We also found no evidence that he has recommended circumcusion to the CDC. The only link —- and it's an indirect one — that we could find between Obama and the CDC's efforts was a press release on the White House Web site announcing a series of HIV/AIDS community discussions, the first one being held in conjunction with the National HIV Prevention Conference we mentioned earlier. But the release did not mention circumcision. It turns out that circumcision recommendations have been under discussion since 2007, when George W. Bush was president. Given the fact the CDC was pondering the idea back then, it is no more accurate to say Obama wants to mandate circumcision than to say Bush did. So, back to Limbaugh's claim. He says Obama "wants to mandate circumcision." But the CDC's eventual recommendations — if they even include circumcision — will be voluntary, not mandatory. In addition, we could we find no connection between Obama and the new guidance, and no evidence that Obama had even used the word in a public forum. In fact, the recommendations were under discussion long before Obama took office. This one is ridiculous enough to set the meter ablaze — Pants on Fire!Jonathan Martin (Facebook) An evangelical pastor claims he was kicked off campus at Liberty University for protesting the administration’s support for President Donald Trump. Pastor Jonathan Martin claims he was threatened with arrest after he was removed from campus Monday night following a pop concert and given a citation, reported The News & Advance. Martin called out university president Jerry Falwell Jr. on Twitter after giving an interview to the right-wing Breitbart News, where he said voters should remove “fake Republicans” who don’t support the Trump agenda. The pastor called for a protest on the Liberty campus, and he criticized both Falwell and Breitbart boss Steve Bannon — Trump’s former White House chief strategist. “Let’s be clear: Steve Bannon is a brazen white supremacist & the high priest of a false religion. He blasphemes the Holy Spirit,” Martin tweeted. Martin attended a campus concert by JOHHNYSWIM, and he said later that he was removed by university police while visiting band members backstage at their invitation. Officers took his photograph and threatened to arrest him if he returned to Liberty’s campus. “Liberty treated me like a criminal, which gets right at the heart of the cancer of the Trump phenomenon and its evangelical supporters,” Martin told The Atlantic. “One of the reasons that so many evangelicals are drawn to Trump is because we have a lot of authoritarian leaders ourselves. We’re drawn to these kinds of leaders because we’ve formed our people in this way.” Falwell told the newspaper that Martin was removed due to unspecified security concerns after campus police learned of his planned protest through social media. “Our tradition has been to not allow uninvited protests,” Falwell said, pointing out Liberty was not a publicly funded university. “It’s a private school, it’s private property, go somewhere else to protest.” Martin had planned to pray with Liberty students, who have been critical of Falwell’s support for Trump, early Tuesday morning as part of a protest outside the Jerry Falwell Library, named for the university’s founder and the current president’s late father. The university president suggested the protest would turn violent, referring to a recent white supremacist march in Charlottesville that left a counter-protester dead. “He wanted to showboat, he wanted to get some attention,” Falwell said. “If we allowed him to come on campus and protest uninvited, then the next group that comes in might be a violent group, and we’ve seen recently what that can lead to.” The protest went on without Martin the morning after his removal, as about 15 students gathered to pray, but one of the participants said several campus police officers stood by and watched. JOHNNYSWIM members said they were surprised when officers entered their dressing room to remove Martin. “[It’s] just a very weird thing for a Christian school to do, especially one that shows such great hospitality,” said band member Abner Ramirez.What could you do with $1.7 billion in a city of around 200,000, where 33 percent of households live below the federal poverty line? The city of Rochester, with Mayor Lovely Warren at the helm and supported by partners and allies across New York State and beyond, has hatched a plan to tap into at least that much to help level the economic playing field for Rochester’s most disadvantaged neighborhoods. “It’s about being able to give employees an opportunity to have ownership and to build wealth within their own communities,” says Warren. The plan consists of supporting the creation or growth of cooperatively owned businesses located primarily in the city’s most distressed neighborhoods, collectively known as the Northern Crescent. “We liked the ability to improve neighborhoods by actively having employees build co-ops in a neighborhood that’s challenged, where people could actually walk to and from work, building wealth and keeping the money in the neighborhood,” Warren adds. The plan was inspired by and modeled directly after Cleveland’s Evergreen Cooperatives. The $1.7 billion comes from Rochester’s universities, hospitals and other local anchor institutions, which collectively spend that amount on procuring goods and services. That represents a ready-made market for co-ops, according to the plan’s feasibility study. The city announced the beginning of the implementation phase of the plan in March. Cleveland-based Democracy Collaborative (which conducted the feasibility study and created the Evergreen model) will oversee and coordinate implementation for Rochester. “It’s a part of living the American dream to be able to take care of your family, be able to buy that house, be able to raise your family in a safe environment,” Warren says. “Being able to earn enough money to provide those opportunities for you and for generations to come is the reason why you go to work every day. Without being able to pass on those assets, or those values, we would suffer as a city and as a community.” Rochester has suffered greatly from the loss of jobs tied to former industrial giants Xerox, Eastman Kodak, and Bausch and Lomb. These three companies employed around 62,000 people directly in the 1980s (60 percent of the local workforce), with those employees providing a steady market base for many other local businesses. By 2012, the three employed just 6 percent of the Rochester metro workforce. (Credit: Democracy Collaborative) In the Northern Crescent neighborhoods, median income is less than half that of the Rochester metropolitan area. More than 60 percent of residents live below the poverty line. The neighborhoods are also the principal destinations for men and women returning from prison, according to the feasibility study. In one neighborhood, known as 14621 (after its ZIP code), about a quarter of men between the ages of 20 and 49 are either on parole, probation, incarcerated or otherwise under the supervision of the criminal justice system. The Northern Crescent area is already a main focus of the Rochester-Monroe Anti-Poverty Initiative (RMAPI), an effort convened by United Way of Greater Rochester and led by city, county and state officials to coordinate public and private resources to address the Rochester metro’s concentrated poverty in terms of affordable and quality education, healthcare, childcare and other social supports. Rochester’s co-op plan, known as the Market Driven Community Cooperatives Initiative, is meant to complement RMAPI. “We’re saying to the neighborhoods, if we do this, if we remove as many institutional barriers as we can, will you take this stairway out of poverty we’ve also invested in,” Warren says. The plan outlines numerous workforce development programs, re-entry programs and other key support actors already in place in the targeted neighborhoods. The implementation schedule calls for the creation of a community-owned, cooperative business development corporation, to be known as the Market Driven Community Cooperatives Corporation (MDCCC). It will be set up as a 501(c)(3), and will begin its life under the auspices of Rochester’s Department of Neighborhood and Business Development. MDCCC will serve as a holding company to get the cooperatives up and running, formalize partnerships with anchor institutions, provide technical assistance to cooperatives, and seek investors and funding partners for a revolving loan fund to serve as a source of capital for new and existing cooperatives or existing businesses interested in converting into worker co-ops. The plan points to several local partners that could serve as investors or hosts of the revolving loan fund, such as Genesee Co-op Federal Credit Union and PathStone Enterprise Center. Similar to Cleveland’s Evergreen Cooperatives, Rochester’s MDCCC will eventually fund its work out of profit-sharing agreements with the cooperatives it helps to form. Until that time, it will have to raise funds on its own from public and private sources. Warren floated the idea of funding MDCCC through a social impact bond arrangement: If the MDCCC could show that it saved the city money by reducing the number of individuals receiving taxpayer-funded social services, as a result of moving up the economic ladder through worker-ownership, that could represent huge long-term taxpayer savings, justifying repayment of a hypothetical social impact bond. “There’s different mechanisms that we want to use to try to support the program,” Warren adds. “The city is putting up the money at first because we think that’s an investment that is worthwhile to try something new.”Many months ago a lovely girlfriend shared this recipe for a seed loaf, called ‘The life-changing loaf of Bread‘. To be honest, I thought it looked really dry, dense and heavy. Memories of my childhood school sandwiches made with my mother’s homemade brick bread came flooding back. It wasn’t pretty. So I thanked her and quickly pushed the recipe aside. Since then, there seems to have been a love affair with seed loaves on the interwebby. Everywhere I look people are popping up with their version of a seed loaf. I started to feel like I was missing out. What better thing to do when this happens, than to join them! I started by making that life-changing loaf and OMG-blimey it was good. Like surprisingly good. Perhaps not life-changing, but it was goooood! Then low and behold this month’s Recipe Redux asked us for some lunch inspiration. Since I’d recently been inspired by, and have been eating this loaf for my lunch ever since, it was too good an opportunity to miss. I decided to make this healthy, life-changing loaf healthier (if that was at all possible). The only thing I could think of was to add a vegetable. After a quick look in the veggie drawer, carrot it was. I also wanted to ‘lighten’ things up a bit, so added some quinoa as well. It’s always a gamble when doing this sort of thing, but thankfully it worked first go! My favourite ways to serve it (either toasted or untoasted when it’s still fresh) is topped with hommus and dukkah… Or with avocado and dukkah…. Perhaps it won’t change your life, but I hope at least you try it, cause it’s pretty damn good!Game Tako, an Arab gaming site, recently engaged in a special game development weekend known as "Game Zanga," which ran from December 16-17. Game Zanga was a competition which saw some 100 Arab game developers from 14 different countries across the Arab world take part. Twenty-seven of those were in a hall together in Amman where the actual event was taking place, while the others participated from their own locations. The theme that each game being created needed to abide by was "social issues" and the 15 games that managed to be created and are now awaiting voting/judges decision (results will be known in early January 2012 with $15,000 in prizes on the line) are, well, very interesting. Entries included a game called "The Eastern Route" which is just a simple pick-up truck driving game where the player needs to avoid oncoming traffic and reach the destination before time runs out, "Prices Nightmare" where players need to avoid groceries to save money and even one called "Raasein Fil 7
first. Liberals speak as if there is no value to an employer-employee relationship. This is despite multiple lawsuits to claim this status for various workers the years. There is a significant risk in leaving your job and starting a consulting company or whatever type of company it is related to your previous post. Your former employer would not be under any obligation to hire you. Since you are now a third party contractor they can choose to hire others. Benefits, Job Security, and a whole host of other considerations. Consultants sometimes need a staff to complete their work. Reasearch Assistants and other specialists like that. Are they willing to follow you into what is effectively a start-up and give up their jobs? If so you will need to form an employee employer relationship with them. I have no doubt there will be some who try to take advantage of this tax rate. They will have deserved it too for all the risk they are taking. Moving on to the second point. The argument Democrats make show their ignorance on the topic. Rich people have all sorts of income and a lot of them do not do it by operating their own businesses. For a majority of them their primary source of income is by investing money that they had already earned previously. Most corporations cannot even be structured this way. Restructuring Wal-Mart, Mcdonalds, Proctor and Gamble, or any other multinational companies into these types of corporations is foolish and would cost much more than what you would save. The only rich people who could potentially benefit from this is one who starts lots of his own small businesses and owns them almost exclusively. Very similar to the situation of Trump if we are being honest. The common complaint we have about the rich is that the money they have does not trickle down in investment. If they choose to structure their income in a way where they have lots of small businesses then they should be rewarded for that. Deficit I am not a fiscal conservative so for this point I will quote Hillary Clinton, the greatest of all liberal lions. “At this point what does it even matter”. I think it was Ted Cruz who said that even if you were to tax the rich at 100% it still would not provide enough money for the US. The truth is we need to do something to revitalize the economy and have it grow at a better rate than the paltry 2% that Obama was able to accomplish. This plan has a better chance than most to succeed and is worth the risk. Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security Lastly Democrats led by the famed St. Bernard Sanders say that this tax bill cuts all of these entitlements. The fact is that it doesn’t. Will Republicans pursue entitlement reform in the future? Maybe. If they do pass something to that end then punish or reward them based on your stances on the entitlement issue. As of right now nothing specific has happened to these things. AdvertisementsBoomers are feeling guilty. Their homes are worth a fortune, even if those homes are teeny-tiny and in disrepair. The kids have flown. The old-timers fear condos with cracker box walls and transient tenant neighbours. The province’s finance minister promises that he’s studying a “suite of options” to aid in cooling the housing market. Maybe it's time for some fresh thinking. ( Andrew Francis Wallace / Toronto Star File Photo ) Or perhaps they have observed the way that guy on King St. slides open his condo balcony door every morning to allow little froufrou to scamper out for a poop. (Just wait until the warming rays of spring.) Or perhaps it’s the condo fees that have scared them off. So they remain in place, in situ, the un-mined gold mine. Here’s another thought. Boomers take up too much space. Article Continued Below My own neighbourhood was a fantastic chaos of rooming houses and flats in its day. Old Ted, two doors down, rented rooms to a collection of bandy-legged gents with a fondness for the mini bottles of Alpenbitter the corner bakery used to sell. The house next door had a separate flat. I adored Anyzia, who ran her place with spic-and-span efficiency. Somehow we communicated, though a mastery of English never came to her just as a smattering of Polish never came to me. At the time of purchase our own house came with a kindly and tolerant basement tenant — until we decided that we needed a renovated basement in addition to the three floors of space above it. Kids will do that to you. But still, it was piggish. So down went the neighbourhood rental stock. In its place blossomed studs-to-rooftop renovations and overpriced landscaped gardens and elegant kitchens with oversized stoves. Have you seen the size of front-loading washer and dryer sets these days? Who designs this stuff? They’re the size of aircraft carriers. Have we gone mad? Squeezed apartment hunters, urged by friendly bankers, did the math: with interest rates at historic lows, and with rental costs being pushed to historic highs, why not invest in real estate? But then home prices went up and up and up and amortizations were reined in and scraping together a down payment appeared increasingly out of reach. I note that a two-floor flat steps from my own home currently rents for $2,500 a month. A semi-detached home two blocks away is available for lease at $4,500 a month. The transformation has leached unpleasingly through to Roncesvalles Ave., the neighbourhood’s main artery. The old Polish delis are few in number now. I know I sound like an old crone when I bemoan the absence of the tailor and the shoe repairman. But really, how many restaurants does one neighbourhood need? Independent retailers have a tough go in an environment of escalating rents, so the chains move in, eroding the avenue’s charm even further. And this in a city that defines itself on the strength of its neighbourhoods. Somehow the colour, the vibrancy, the eclecticism drains away. Article Continued Below Read more: Sousa promises measures to cool Ontario’s overheated housing market One family’s struggle to find decent housing in Toronto Retirees find financial freedom in renting after selling their homes What’s to be done? The province’s finance minister promises that he’s on the case studying a “suite of options” to aid in cooling the housing market. The standard interventions have been suggested, aimed at tamping down acquisitions by speculators — or, more politely, non-resident buyers — in favour of real city dwellers who desperately want to lay down roots. A foreign buyers’ tax always gets top billing in these discussions, with the standard-issue footnotes that such a tax can’t be seen to be unfairly penalizing those buyers with every intention of obtaining worker permits. All eyes, in other words, are fixed on the front end of the problem. But what about the back end of the problem? Let’s look at this holistically for a moment. Aging boomers are going to be hell on the health care system, eventually. How to forestall against that? Keep them in their homes, longer. Keep them going up and down the stairs. Stay limber! Keep them engaged with the adorable little girl who lives next door and the defiantly independent coffee shop owner on the avenue and the gorgeous dog on the corner who loves a pat. Maybe it’s time to come full circle, to refashion the too-big homes into more European-sized dwellings. Throw up a wall in the front hall. Install a modest kitchen on the second floor. Create a separate apartment for rent. That’s one route. But I’m not so sure I want to be a landlord. A cousin in Vancouver is looking into condo-izing his home. It sounds a bit daunting, from separating the utilities — gas and electricity — to meeting the requirements of the condominium act. And yet, this appeals. The long-term mental and physical health benefits from staying in the community seem obvious, and something the province should be promoting. Perhaps the finance minister could at least cast a glance our way to measure the ways in which baby boomers could be part of the solution. Perhaps incentives could be put in place to advance the idea. Perhaps it’s time for some fresh thinking. jenwells@thestar.caIn an attack against Alex Jones, Chelsea Clinton claimed Michelle Obama was “honorable, brave, beloved and beautiful,” which is almost exactly the same praise given to Caitlyn Jenner after her transformation. .@MichelleObama is everything this site will never be-honorable, brave, beloved, beautiful. Don’t need to watch an awful video to know that. https://t.co/0L8tyUiw0k — Chelsea Clinton (@ChelseaClinton) August 25, 2017 After Bruce Jenner “transformed” into Caitlyn in 2015, major PR firms were showering him/her with praise by calling Caitlyn “brave” and “beautiful,” which was parroted by public supporters. “The person guiding the strategy behind the scenes has been Alan Nierob, a seasoned showbiz publicist and longtime exec at Rogers & Cowan,” reported Variety. “Jenner hired Nierob, who has handled crisis PR for some of Hollywood’s biggest names including Robert Downey Jr. and Mel Gibson, for help in guiding her through a storm of media attention as she came out as transgender.” The PR propaganda was so cringy and over-the-top that South Park even mocked it in an episode called “Stunning and Brave.” “I thought we were all on board that Caitlyn Jenner is an amazing beautiful woman who had the exquisite bravery of a beautiful butterfly flying against the wind,” the PC Principal said. “And then this s–t flies out of people’s mouths!” Brave and beautiful… isn’t that what Chelsea just said in defense of Michelle? Also, the word “honorable” has been used to describe trans people a lot recently amid President Trump’s trans ban in the military. “The first transgender veteran I knew introduced themselves as Mike… Mike had served a long and honorable career, in peace and war,” wrote Esquire’s Robert Bateman in an op/ed. “Then Mike disappeared, without a word.” “…Michelle was pre-op, living her required year in her true gender, and though it took others a while to get used to it, soon enough we were back to our old levels of comfort and openness in discussion. Michelle, in many ways, continued to be a mentor to me in military issues.” Chelsea also said the site, Infowars.com, will never be “honorable, brave, beloved and beautiful.” Doesn’t it sound a little weird to describe a web site with that kind of phrasing? Unless if it’s intended to convey a double meaning, perhaps – or to troll Infowars. That really activates your almonds, doesn’t it?article The NFL is set to return to the United Kingdom for the first time in 2017 on Sunday when the Baltimore Ravens and the Jacksonville Jaguars clash on Sunday in London, but most football fans won’t be able to watch the game on television. Continue Reading Below That’s because Verizon, which owns Yahoo, AOL, the Huffington Post, Complex and various other digital properties, holds exclusive global streaming rights to the game. Fans can stream the game on desktop or mobile devices from any Verizon-owned site, as well as NFL Mobile, NFL.com and the NFL app. However, the Ravens-Jaguars game isn’t entirely unavailable on television. Local fans in the Baltimore, Maryland and Jacksonville, Florida television markets will still be able to watch the game on their CBS affiliates. The game will also be broadcast on Sky Sports in the U.K. Verizon paid $21 million for the right to stream the NFL’s first London game of the season, the Wall Street Journal reported. Yahoo Inc. previously paid $15 million for exclusive streaming rights of a London game in 2015, drawing an average audience of more than two million viewers. The telecommunications giant is one of just two companies to reach deals on NFL streaming rights this season. Amazon paid a reported $50 million to stream 11 NFL games on its paid “Prime” service this season, though the ecommerce company’s broadcasts will use broadcast feeds provided by the NFL’s television partners, NBC and CBS.The ACLU of Florida asked a federal judge in Tuesday to lift his stay and immediately allow gay marriage in Florida. “In light of yesterday’s pathbreaking development, Plaintiffs respectfully submit that the Court should lift the stay immediately,” ACLU lawyers wrote to U.S. District Judge Robert L. Hinkle, based in Tallahassee, who on Aug. 21 ruled Florida’s gay-marriage ban unconstitutional. Hinkle said in August he would stay his ruling until after “the U.S. Supreme Court resolves the pending applications, at that time, from Utah, Oklahoma and Virginia,” according to Howard Simon, ACLU of Florida’s executive director. On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court settled the gay marriage issue in Utah, Oklahoma and Virginia, along with Wisconsin and Indiana, when it announced justices would not hear appeals in federal court decisions allowing same-sex marriages in those states. Sign Up and Save Get six months of free digital access to the Miami Herald “The Supreme Court’s action yesterday shows that the Supreme Court has decided to let stand decisions — like this Court’s — enjoining as unconstitutional state laws that refuse to recognize the marriages of same-sex couples,” ACLU lawyers wrote to Hinkle. “Although some courts in the past have issued stays in marriage cases based on the Supreme Court’s past issuance of similar stays, the Supreme Court’s action yesterday shows that it has reversed course.” ACLU attorneys also told Hinkle that “the ongoing harms to many of Florida’s married same-sex couples are acute and in need of immediate resolution.” “For example... Plaintiff Arlene Goldberg has been left financially vulnerable without access to her late wife’s Social Security benefits. Further, Plaintiffs Sarah Humlie and Lindsay Myers must pay hundreds of dollars per month to purchase insurance for Sarah because Lindsay’s public employer does not recognize their marriage.” Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi said through a spokeswoman that her office opposes lifting the stay. “As noted on page one of the plaintiffs' motion, we do not consent to the resolution sought in the motion,” spokeswoman Jennifer Meale said. “We will respond within the appropriate time.” The state has 17 days to reply, unless Hinkle orders Bondi to reply sooner, according to Stephen F. Rosenthal, an appellate attorney with Podhurst Orseck in Miami, who is working with the ACLU on the case. This could force the case to play out just days before the Nov. 4 election. Both Bondi and Florida Gov. Rick Scott oppose lifting the gay-marriage ban and appealed Hinkle’s ruling to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta, where it awaits a hearing. Also Tuesday, a federal appeals court in San Francisco struck down gay marriage bans in Idaho and Nevada, ruling that couples' equal protection rights were being violated. “The ruling paves the way for the freedom to marry in Alaska, Montana and Arizona,” states that also fall under the federal appeal court’s jurisdiction, according to the national Freedom to Marry group. Thirty-five states and the District of Columbia will now permit same-sex couples to marry and 65 percent of Americans live in states where it is legal, Freedom to Marry said.Here is a guest post from A. Benjamin Spencer, a law professor at Washington & Lee University School of Law who chairs the Virginia State Bar Section on the Education of Lawyers. These are challenging times for legal education. The legal job market is eroding in ways not likely to improve in the near term, if at all. Fundamental change is afoot in the legal profession. Some tasks previously performed by lawyers—such as document review—are now performed by computers here or legal workers offshore,or simply by cheaper in-house staff or contract attorneys. Law firm business models must change in response to these developments. This may mean alternative billing arrangements or moves towards tiered attorney structures offering lower pay and opportunity to lawyers who sign on to do routine legal work at less cost. These developments have also laid bare defects in legal education, putting pressure on law schools to innovate and improve if they hope to survive. During better economic times, law schools operated under the assumption that their graduates would receive practical skills training on the job, at the expense of their employers. Today, law firms are no longer willing and able to train recent graduates. Consequently, law schools must fulfill this role. In the wake of a 2007 report of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, many law schools are making their academic programs more balanced. They are supplementing the traditional cognitive learning traditionally associated with law school with more practical and ethical instruction. The goal is to create competent legal professionals who are prepared for practice upon graduation. Unfortunately, the need for these changes comes as student loan debt is escalating to unsustainable levels when law graduates are least able to bear it, given the thin job market. Cutting law school costs now is challenging since such cuts could undermine the schools’ ability to offer the practical, experiential learning that they are being asked to deliver. Some have even suggested getting rid of law schools and bar admissions requirements. The argument is that a free market for legal services would permit new entrants to drive down prices through competition. Quality control would be left to customers’ word-of-mouth. While it is worth exploring how barriers to entry adversely impact access to legal services while imperfectly protecting the public from bad lawyers, total deregulation would likely make matters worse. In the early 20th century, the medical profession was deregulated in the sense that there was an abundance of medical schools of widely varying quality, resulting in poorly qualified physicians being unleashed on the public. That ended after another Carnegie Foundation report—the Flexner Report—insisted on the model of medical education that we have to this day. Some might argue that today we have an abundance of law schools of varying quality churning out graduates who are not ready to practice and who can’t get jobs. But if that is true — and it may be — how would formally deregulating the industry make the situation better? Doing so would allow even lower standards; costs would drop, but so would quality. This is unacceptable; quality legal services help ensure the rule of law in our democracy. The better solution is to reform law schools by offering a better balance of the doctrinal, skills, and values education that students need to become competent legal professionals. The American Bar Association, in its role as accreditor of law schools, should make sure its standards allow the freedom to make these changes. Reforming admission to the bar should also be considered. For example, rather than making the bar exam a concentrated experience, the certification process could be extended over a period of years as with the various steps of the U.S. Medical Licensing Exam. Law graduates could be required to take an initial doctrinally focused exam followed by a probationary period during which they would work for less pay under the supervision of practicing attorneys. That, in turn, would be followed by an exam that tests their practice skills. Although some of history’s greatest lawyers never attended law school, the world in which we live today is exponentially more complex; preparing to practice in this environment requires specialized training. Less training may be necessary for simple matters. Perhaps law schools could be more flexible in the degrees they could offer — e.g., a one-year degree for those who will do routine legal work as clerks under a lawyer’s supervision and a full two- or three-year J.D. degree for those who intend be licensed to practice as attorneys. These are challenging time for the legal profession. Innovative thinking is not only welcome, but imperative. However, let us focus on being expansive and creative in how we re-imagine legal education, rather than embracing counterproductive measures that would only make the state of the legal profession much worse.Some 46.9 percent said they lost confidence, 23.9 percent felt discouraged from seeking other jobs, and 14.6 developed a phobia of job interviews. Examples were appropriate questions (26 percent) and overbearing attitudes of potential employers (19.2 percent). The Youth Hope Foundation polled 1,068 jobseekers between 19 and 29 and found that 64.8 percent felt offended by their treatment in the job interview. Many young jobseekers complain about behavior bordering on harassment from prospective employers in their job interview. One jobseeker said she felt when an interviewer made a nasty comment about her appearance. Others were asked questions such as, "Do you think a woman can do this job?" or "How long have you been dating your boyfriend/girlfriend?" Some 48.2 percent of inappropriate questions disparaged a jobseeker's academic credentials, while 43.9 percent invaded their privacy and 42.1 percent were gender discriminatory. Jobseekers complained that they were also mistreated before and after the interview by long waiting times, last-minute cancellations, failure to tell them the result and reneging on promises of a job. "I celebrated with my family when I heard I'd landed a job but then got an e-mail telling me it was an error," one woman recalls. "I tried calling the company but was given the cold shoulder." Some 1.9 percent said they gave up looking for jobs after experiencing discrimination or insulting treatment. "I was made to feel that there were plenty of people other than me who could do this job," one graduate said. "My appetite for the job disappeared when I realized what sort of treatment I could get in the new workplace." Although gender and age discriminatory practices have disappeared from application forms, they are still rampant in interviews. Little can be done to seek redress. One official at the Labor Ministry said it is practically impossible to produce evidence of unfair treatment in job interviews. Kim Jung-hyun (28), a student at Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology who took part in the survey, said, "Young jobseekers should be able to sit in front of potential employers and leave the room without feeling offended, but the employers have to learn to treat us with respect rather than regarding us as future underlings."The parents of a Madison girl want answers after law enforcement and school leaders used what they believe was excessive force on their 10-year-old daughter with special needs. They saw she was slammed to the floor and handcuffed after losing her temper in class Thursday. "This is where they slammed me on my head," said 10-year-old Emily Richards. Emily is referring to members of the Madison Police Department and Lake County Sheriff's Office. And where it happened -- inside her fifth grade classroom at Madison Elementary. "If I were to say if it was from one to 10, I'd say about an eight," said Emily. That's how scared Emily felt when she says she was surrounded by officers and then handcuffed, shackled and thrown on the ground. "She can only handle so much stress. I mean, she's just a child and she's a special needs child," said Kevin Martin, Emily's dad. Emily's parents say this is the first year she's in a regular classroom -- a decision they were against but the school was for. "She went to Children's Home Society for two years. I used to have to restrain her for the first eight years of her life and then she just recently out of Children's Home Society," said Samantha Martin, Emily's mom. Emily says it started with asking her teacher for a Kleenex. When she said no Emily got mad, broke a pencil and left the room. When she was brought back in, she says she started crumpling up a piece of paper and got even angrier. Emily says the principal was called in and she tried to tell her what happened. "She actually didn't believe me so I grabbed the scissors. I started threatening because I got really scared and mad and then she called the cops," said Emily. The Madison Police Chief refused to talk with us on camera and instead handed us a statement saying the girl threatened a faculty member and was in an uncontrollable rage. "And then one of them grabbed me -- like then they all started all coming near me and holding me down and one of the cops put handcuffs on me and other cop put shackles," said Emily. Officers from the police department and Lake County Sheriff's Office responded to the classroom to assist the School Resource Officer. "There's no reason it should take six full grown men to take on 10-year-old little girl down like that and just manhandle her the way they did. I mean, she's got a big giant bump on her head up here. They could have seriously hurt her. She's got bruises on her wrist, on her back, on her ankles. I mean there's no reason for any of that," said Emily's dad. What Emily's parents want -- for the school and law enforcement to be accountable for their actions. We reached out to the superintendent several times but our calls went unanswered. An e-mail was sent out Thursday by the principal saying, 'We had an incident in a 5th grade classroom today. It was handled quickly and efficiently. Students are safe and secure.'Planetary Resources aims to send swarms of low-cost robotic spacecraft to extract resources from near-Earth asteroids, as this artist's concept shows. Asteroid mining could shift from sci-fi dream to world-changing reality a lot faster than you think. Planetary Resources deployed its first spacecraft from the International Space Station last month, and the Washington-based asteroid-mining company aims to launch a series of increasingly ambitious and capable probes over the next few years. The goal is to begin transforming asteroid water into rocket fuel within a decade, and eventually to harvest valuable and useful platinum-group metals from space rocks. [Asteroid Mining: Planetary Resources' Plan in Pictures] "We have every expectation that delivering water from asteroids and creating an in-space refueling economy is something that we'll see in the next 10 years — even in the first half of the 2020s," said Chris Lewicki, Planetary Resources president and chief engineer Chris Lewicki. "After that, I think it's going to be how the market develops," Lewicki told Space.com, referring to the timeline for going after asteroid metals. "If there's one thing that we've seen repeat throughout history, it's, you tend to overpredict what'll happen in the next year, but you tend to vastly underpredict what will happen in the next 10 years," he added. "We're moving very fast, and the world is changing very quickly around us, so I think those things will come to us sooner than we might think." Exploiting the resources of space Planetary Resources is one of several private companies hoping to mine the precious metals and water ice from asteroids. See how asteroid mining could work in our full infographic here (Image: © Karl Tate, SPACE.com Contributor) Planetary Resources and another company, Deep Space Industries, aim to help humanity extend its footprint out into the solar system by tapping asteroid resources. (Both outfits also hope to make a tidy profit along the way, of course.) This ambitious plan begins with water, which is plentiful in a type of space rock known as carbonaceous chondrites. Asteroid-derived water could do far more than simply slake astronauts' thirst, mining advocates say; it could also help shield them from dangerous radiation and, when split into its constituent hydrogen and oxygen, allow voyaging spaceships to fill up their fuel tanks on the go. The technology to detect and extract asteroid water is not particularly challenging or expensive to implement, Lewicki said. Scientific spacecraft routinely identify the substance on celestial bodies, and getting water out of an asteroid could simply involve bagging up the space rock and letting the sun heat it up. Carbonaceous chondrites also commonly contain metals such as iron, nickel and cobalt, so targeting these asteroids could allow miners to start building things off Earth as well. That's the logical next step beyond exploiting water, Lewicki said. The "gold at the end of the rainbow," he added, is the extraction and exploitation of platinum-group metals, which are rare here on Earth but are extremely important in the manufacture of electronics and other high-tech goods. "Ultimately, what we want to do is create a space-based business that is an economic engine that really opens up space to the rest of the economy," Lewicki said. Developing off-Earth resources should have the effect of opening up the final frontier, he added. "Every frontier that we've opened up on planet Earth has either been in the pursuit of resources, or we've been able to stay in that frontier because of the local resources that were available to us," Lewicki said. "There's no reason to think that space will be any different." A series of asteroid-mining probes Incidentally, the "R" in "Arkyd-3R" stands for "reflight." The first version of the probe was destroyed when Orbital ATK's Antares rocket exploded in October 2014; the 3R made it to the space station aboard SpaceX's robotic Dragon cargo capsule in April. [Antares Rocket Explosion in Pictures] Planetary Resources is now working on its next spacecraft, which is a 6U cubesat called Arkyd-6. (One "U," or "unit," is the basic cubesat building block — a cube measuring 4 inches, or 10 centimeters, on a side. The Arkyd-3R is a 3U cubesat.) The Arkyd-6, which is scheduled to launch to orbit in December aboard SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, features advanced avionics and electronics, as well as a "selfie cam" that was funded by a wildly successful Kickstarter project several years ago. The cubesat will also carry an instrument designed to detect water and water-bearing minerals, Lewicki said. The next step is the Arkyd 100, which is twice as big as the Arkyd-6 and will hunt for potential mining targets from low-Earth orbit. Planetary Resources aims to launch the Arkyd-100 in late 2016, Lewicki said. After the Arkyd 100 will come the Arkyd 200 and Arkyd 300 probes. These latter two spacecraft, also known as "interceptors" and "rendezvous prospectors," respectively, will be capable of performing up-close inspections of promising near-Earth asteroids in deep space. If all goes according to plan, the first Arkyd 200 will launch to Earth orbit for testing in 2017 or 2018, and an Arkyd 300 will launch toward a target asteroid — which has yet to be selected — by late 2018 or early 2019, Lewicki said. "It is an ambitious schedule," he said. But such rapid progress is feasible, he added, because each new entrant in the Arkyd series builds off technology that has already been demonstrated — and because Planetary Resources is building almost everything in-house. "When something doesn't work so well, we don't have a vendor to blame — we have ourselves," Lewicki said. "But we also don't have to work across a contractural interface and NDAs [non-disclosure agreements] and those sorts of things, so that we can really find a problem with a design within a week or two and fix it and move forward." For its part, Deep Space Industries is also designing and building spacecraft and aims to launch its first resource-harvesting mission before 2020, company representatives have said. Property rights an issue? Extracting and selling asteroid resources is in full compliance with the Outer Space Treaty of 1967, Lewicki said. But there's still some confusion in the wider world about the nascent industry and the rights of its players, so he's happy that the U.S. Congress is taking up the asteroid-mining issue. (The House of Representatives recently passed a bill recognizing asteroid miners' property rights, and the Senate is currently considering the legislation as well.) "I think it's more of a protection issue than it is an actual legal issue," Lewicki said. "From a lawyer's interpretation, I think the landscape is clear enough. But from an international aspect, and some investors — I think they would like to see more certainty." Follow Mike Wall on Twitter @michaeldwall and Google+. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook or Google+. Originally published on Space.com.In preparation for the upcoming Global Futures 2045 conference, the New York Times has put together a quick preview, including a biopic of its ambitious founder, the Russian entrepreneur and 'immortalist,' Dmitry Itskov. Armed with the tagline, "Towards a new strategy for human evolution," GF2045 will be taking place in New York City during the weekend of June 15-16 — and I'll be there covering it for io9. Advertisement The list of speakers include futurist Ray Kurzweil, biologist George Church, mathematician Roger Penrose, mind theorist Marvin Minsky, X-Prize founder Peter Diamandis, and many, many others. The congress is the brainchild of Dmitry Itskov, a 32-year-old businessman who foresees the day when we'll be able to produce lifelike, low-cost avatars that can be uploaded with the contents of the human brain — including all the particulars of consciousness and personality. David Segal writes: At the age of 25, he started to have the symptoms of a midlife crisis. He anticipated the regrets he might have as an old man — the musical instruments unlearned, the books unread. The standard span of 80 or so years suddenly seemed woefully inadequate. He soon was seeking out leaders from almost every religion, in a search for purpose and peace. The more he contemplated the world, the more broken it seemed. “Look at this,” he said, opening his laptop on the table and starting a slide show with one heartbreaking statistic after another: Almost one billion people are now starving. Forty-nine countries are currently involved in military conflict. Ten percent of people are disabled. And so on. “That is the picture of this world that we created, with the minds we have today, with our set of values, with our egotism, our selfishness, our aggression,” he went on. “Most of the world is suffering. What we’re doing here does not look like the behavior of grown-ups. We’re killing the planet and killing ourselves.” TO change that picture, he reasons, we must change our minds, or give them a chance to “evolve,” to use one of his favorite words. Before our minds can evolve, though, we need a new paradigm of what it means to be human. That requires a transition to a world where most people aren’t consumed by the basic questions of survival. Hence, avatars. They may sound like an improbable way to solve the real problems on Mr. Itskov’s laptop, or like the perfect gift for the superrich of the future. But the laws of supply and demand abide in Mr. Itskov’s utopia, and he assumes that once production of avatars is ramped up, costs will plunge. He also assumes that charities now devoted to feeding, clothing and healing the poor will focus on the goal of making and distributing affordable bodies, which in this case means machines. Advertisement Read the entire article at the New York Times.2019 Individual Photographer's Fellowship *The 2019 Aaron Siskind Individual Photographer's Fellowship Grant will be open Friday, March 1st through Friday, May 31st 2019.* General Information and Eligibility Requirements Spring 2019Friday, May 31, 2019 at 11:59pm Eastern Time The Aaron Siskind Foundation is offering a limited number of Individual Photographer's Fellowship grants of up to $15,000 each, for artists working in photography and photo-based art. Recipients will be determined by a panel of distinguished guest judges on the basis of artistic excellence, accomplishment to date, and the promise of future achievement in the medium in its widest sense. The Foundation seeks to support artists/photographers who demonstrate a serious commitment to the field, who are professionally active or employed in the field. The entry fee for this grant is $25USD. Applications must be submitted through the Slideroom application portal at www.slideroom.com Eligibility: Applicants must be at least 21 years of age. Students enrolled in a college degree program are not eligible to apply. Please note: students who will graduate before the 2019 application deadline are eligible to apply. Previous IPF recipients are not currently being considered for new awards. Eligible Work: All forms of photographically based work regardless of subject matter, genre, or process are eligible. The submission should consist of a mature, coherent body of work. Fellowship recipients will be notified after the application review process is complete. Names of recipients and panelists will be announced shortly thereafter. The decisions of the Aaron Siskind Foundation and its designated judging panel as to who receives fellowship support will be final, private, and without appeal. As required by law, award funds must be used to further the artist's creative endeavors. Recipients will be asked to provide a summary of the uses to which award funds are put. Award funds will be taxable to recipients in Tax Year 2019.National Football League Playoff Chances 50/50 Philadelphia +75.0, Minnesota -75.0 Add your own league Games Above.500 Chance Will Make Playoffs Explain FINAL 2018 NFL STANDINGS Big Games Who should we root for? Explain Week of 12/15 Minnesota 41 Miami 17 1:00 PM Sun 100.0* Chance in playoffs 100.0* Win Super Bowl New England +2.7 +0.2 Chicago -0.3 Indianapolis +4.0 +0.2 Philadelphia -4.1 -0.2 Minnesota +20.7 +1.3 Tennessee +5.4 +0.4 Atlanta Out No Washington -5.0 -0.3 Carolina -5.7 -0.4 Miami -15.8 -1.0 Green Bay -2.3 Pittsburgh 17 New England 10 4:25 PM Sun 100.0* Chance in playoffs 100.0* Win Super Bowl New England -4.7 -1.6 Baltimore -6.8 -0.4 Indianapolis -3.4 -0.2 Pittsburgh +17.3 +1.2 Cleveland -2.2 Miami +1.7 Baltimore 20 Tampa Bay 12 1:00 PM Sun 100.0* Chance in playoffs 100.0* Win Super Bowl Baltimore +17.2 +1.1 Pittsburgh -10.4 -0.7 Tennessee -2.3 Indianapolis 23 Dallas 0 1:00 PM Sun 100.0* Chance in playoffs 100.0* Win Super Bowl Baltimore -2.5 -0.2 Dallas -2.5 -0.3 Indianapolis +12.5 +0.8 Miami -5.1 -0.3 NY Giants 0 Tennessee 17 1:00 PM Sun 100.0* Chance in playoffs 100.0* Win Super Bowl Baltimore -2.7 -0.2 Indianapolis -2.4 -0.2 Tennessee +12.8 +0.9 Miami -3.5 -0.2 Denver Out No NY Giants Out No Jacksonville 13 Washington 16 1:00 PM Sun 100.0* Chance
For Crowder’s Webcam interview, the senator, looking tired after arriving home at the end of a busy day, shed his jacket and tie. He listened as Crowder outlined “four winning issues for Republicans.” The host didn’t mince words: “Islam, now, is a winning issue: calling it out for what it is.” Cruz nodded vigorously and responded, “Yep.” That’s what’s really going on. Cruz isn’t agonizing over the mechanics of vetting refugees. He’s exploiting anti-Muslim anger and sucking up to the Christian right. And he’s doing it while wearing his own disguise: principled leader.Yet feminist critics of this new entertainment genre are missing in action We are in the middle of what, for lack of a better description, I will call a radical feminist moment. Not a day goes by without some poor soul being shamed on the internet for a multitude of sins ranging from mansplaining and manspreading to not fully supporting affirmative consent policies or depriving women of jobs in the gaming industry. Yet right in the middle of this media-fuelled, girl-power moment, something inexplicable has happened. A new favourite entertainment genre — let’s call it “injustice porn” — has emerged that celebrates the men who kill and abuse women. Funnily enough, the usual feminist suspects have next to nothing to say about injustice porn’s woman problem. And even weirder, the genre’s most recent hits — the 2014 podcast Serial and the 2015 Netflix documentary series, Making a Murderer — are produced and directed by women who systematically minimize, dismiss and ignore crimes against women. The result of our current over-fixation on things like everyday sexism and microaggressions has been not just to turn the trivial into the supposedly important but the inverse as well — it’s made the important trivial. Thus when Steven Avery douses a cat and gasoline and throws it on a fire to watch it suffer, the directors of Making a Murderer suggest their protagonist was just goofing around and the cat mistakenly fell in the fire. Adding insult to injury, online apologists explain that this is how rural folk treat animals. Likewise, when Adnan Syed, the hero of Serial, writes “I’m going to kill” on a break-up note written to him by his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee, journalist Sarah Koenig dismisses it as a “a detail you’d find in a cheesy detective novel” and a “stray thing” that could be meaningless. Never mind that 18-year-old Lee actually ended up murdered, her body dumped and half buried in a Baltimore park. Koenig can’t even be bothered to ask Syed about the note. The Serial journalist also managed to overlook the fact that Hae asked a teacher to help her hide from Adnan and that, in her diary, she described her ex-boyfriend’s possessiveness as a problem, a direct contradiction of what was said on the podcast. Yet despite Koenig’s consistent minimization of incidents that are classic warning signs of intimate partner violence, there has, in almost a year and a half, not been one serious feminist critique of in the mainstream US media. (Yes, early on a couple of Brits expressed shock, but they were pretty much ignored and then forgotten.) Instead, Serial won the prized Peabody Award for excellence in broadcast journalism. Now, injustice porn history is repeating itself with Making a Murderer. The directors Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos leave out key evidence about Avery’s possible guilt and history of violence against women. They never explain why he asked specifically for Teresa Halbach, the 25 year old woman he was convicted of murdering, to come to the Avery salvage yard and photograph his sister’s car. They fail to mention how he had answered the door in a towel on one of her previous work visits. Nor do they acknowledge that Avery used *67, which blocks the callers’ name, to phone her twice on the day she disappeared. The filmmakers also portray Avery’s parents as kindly homespun hillbillies, showing his father tending to his garden and his mother spending years fighting to get her son out of jail. They skip over the fact that Avery looks like he might have fetal alcohol syndrome and don’t bother to mention that all three of Avery brothers have criminal records including multiple charges for assaulting women. Older brother Charles was charged and acquitted of sexual assault in 1988. And then in 1999, his ex-wife accused him of sexual assault and wrapping a phone cord around her neck. Along the way, he pled guilty to disorderly conduct. Younger brother Earl pleaded no contest to sexual assault and two different sets of battery charges. He was also charged with sexually assaulting his two daughters. As a result of these omissions — apparently no big deal in injustice porn land — the abusive and dysfunctional Avery family has developed quite the internet fan following. Stop by Reddit’s Making a Murderer forum and you can participate in threads entitled: Anyone else wanna give Steve Avery’s mom a big hug?, “I know you like lettuce.” – The incredibly endearing Allan Avery” and What can we do to help the Avery family? In contrast, family and friends of the victim have been subject to internet abuse based on their treatment in Making a Murderer. “Mike Halbach seems awfully creepy,” tweets Kinsey Schofield, a tv personality and journalist to her 286,000 Twitter followers. “My “#MikeHalbach is the worst” tweet is still getting likes. I’m so happy people agree. Mike…you are the worst. #MakingAMurderer,” boasts Seth Lieber, who describes himself as an Actors’ Equity member. While the filmmakers aren’t responsible for every idiot on the internet, this reaction was completely predictable. Ricciardi and Demos treated Mike Halbach, Teresa’s brother and the family spokesman, unconscionably. Every time he appears, he’s made to say something that’s just been carefully debunked for the audience. From his very first quote, about how the process of grieving his sister might take days (yes, days!), the directors never miss an opportunity to make him look bad. Halbach doesn’t get so much as one sympathetic quote. The only thing the filmmakers don’t do is play spooky music whenever he appears. Such are the requirements of injustice porn. When the convicted man is your protagonist, the audience requires and will find someone to witch hunt. After Serial ended, Syed’s advocate-in-chief, Rabia Chaudry, joined up with two other lawyers to start the Undisclosed podcast, which, since its inception, has produced one conspiracy theory after another, smearing a long list of people along the way. Their friend and fellow Serial-obsessed podcaster Bob Ruff devoted show after 2015 show to innuendo and unfounded accusations that Don, the guy Hae dated after she dumped Adnan, was a far more likely killer even though he had something very important that Adnan didn’t — an alibi. Nor is Injustice porn kind to victims although it often tries to disguise this with hashtags like #JusticeforHae #FreeAdnan, while ignoring the fact that freeing remorseless Adnan would be about the biggest injustice possible for Hae. Injustice porn fans turn the female victims into props designed to support the most ludicrous and offensive theories. For the purpose of finding her fantasy, anyone-but-Adnan killer, Rabia Chaudry suggested Hae, who took only the occasional puff of pot, was a weed smoker with a big enough habit that she would be visiting shady drug dealers after school, which was how she got killed. Hashtag victim blaming. In a related vein, Making a Murderer uses footage of Teresa Halbach, talking about what would happen if she were to die, without putting it in context, namely that it was a university video project. As a result, Teresa’s mental health has been questioned and it’s been suggested she might have killed herself although how that would cause her cremains to end up in the Avery salvage yard is never explained. Hashtag more victim blaming. Yet another fact that Making a Murderer withholds from its audience is that the people Steven Avery’s lawyers would have thrown under the bus — had the judge allowed the defence to name alternate suspects — were his two brothers, his nephew and brother-in-law. That was an inconvenient truth that didn’t fit the adorable Averys narrative and would have taken some explaining. Why bother when it was so much easier just to make Teresa’s brother and ex-boyfriend look bad and serve them up for the online lynch mob? Essentially, the only reason the filmmakers were able to so successfully mythologize the Averys is because, in 1985, Steven Avery was wrongfully convicted of rape, a crime for which he was exonerated by DNA testing after spending 18 years in jail. The wrongful conviction was a result of tunnel vision on the part of the police, a mishandled identification process for the accused assailant, and the victim’s compelling yet mistaken testimony that it was Avery who had raped and viciously assaulted her. After he was finally released from jail, Avery sued the county for $36 million, but just as it looked like he was about to receive a fat settlement, he was arrested again for the murder of Teresa Halbach. Like all wrongful convictions, it’s a shocking tale — yet something of a challenge for Third Wave feminists preaching that the victim must always be believed. None of this is to deny that Ricciardi and Demos make a convincing argument that some of the evidence used against Avery in the murder charge might have been planted. And it’s also hard to disagree with their conclusion that Avery’s 16-year-old cousin was wrongfully charged and convicted, failed by everyone, including his lawyers, at every step of the way. As for Steven Avery himself, I have no idea whether he did it or not. But like his lawyers, I believe that whoever did kill Teresa Halbach was associated with the salvage yard. In this respect Making a Murderer is very different from Serial, where there was — as the transcripts for Adnan’s trial and the police files of investigation clearly demonstrate — no miscarriage of justice. The prosecutor Kevin Urick was half right when he described the killing of Hae Min Lee as “pretty much a run-of-the-mill domestic violence murder.” Where he was wrong however was in his failure to understand that there is indeed a mystery at the heart of Serial. It’s just that it has nothing to do with Adnan Syed, whose unoriginal motive and story are as old as time. What made Serial a mystery was the presence of Jay, a Shakespearean character, who first goes along with Syed, becoming an accessory after the fact to murder, but later confesses his crime to police. His testimony sends Syed to jail for life plus 30, and left every Serial listener puzzling and arguing over why he did what he did. The post conviction relief hearing recently granted to Syed and coming up in February is the exploitation of a legal loophole and most likely the result of the publicity the podcast generated. The defence is contending that Syed’s counsel was ineffective because she failed to contact Asia McLain, who was presented in the first episode of Serial, entitled The Alibi, as the witness who could have exonerated Adnan had his lawyer done her job. Never mind that Asia’s a total flake who appears to have her alibi days mixed up, she was part of the false groundwork Sarah Koenig laid to convince the audience that something was not quite right about the Syed case and that if they wanted to find out the truth, they would need to accompany her on her emotionally manipulative podcast journey. The promise was not kept, however. Koenig copped out and never provided the truth. Her “I nurse doubt” cri de coeur was V.2014 of “if the glove don’t fit you must acquit.” Just like race beat out gender two decades ago at the OJ trial, allowing a wife killer to be transformed into a symbol of justice for African Americans, so, today, can Adnan can be hailed as a representative of the wrongfully convicted and the Averys celebrated as exemplary Americans while the Halbachs are trashed. This is because, in the end, Injustice porn isn’t about either truth or justice. It’s porn, which means it can only supply a cheap frisson. If it leaves you with an uneasy feeling about the women victims, it’s because it should.ES News Email Enter your email address Please enter an email address Email address is invalid Fill out this field Email address is invalid You already have an account. Please log in or register with your social account Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the London Bridge terror attack which left seven people dead. Police said 21 people are still critically wounded in hospital after three attackers rammed a van into pedestrians on the busy bridge on Saturday night. The three suspects armed with knives then got out of the van and began stabbing people near to Borough Market. The group Islamic State claimed responsibility for the London attack on Sunday evening via the militant group's media agency Amaq. London Bridge and Borough Market terrorist attack 30 show all London Bridge and Borough Market terrorist attack 1/30 Police and paramedics treat an injured person Daniel Sorabji/AFP/Getty Images 2/30 A woman is helped to an ambulance at London Bridge Daniel Sorabji/AFP/Getty Images 3/30 Armed police at London Bridge Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 4/30 Emergency personnel tend to wounded on London Bridge Yui Mok/PA Wire 5/30 Daniel Sorabji/AFP/Getty Images 6/30 Daniel Sorabji/AFP/Getty Images 7/30 Debris and abandoned cars remain on London Bridge Chris J Ratcliffe/AFP/Getty Images 8/30 People walking down Borough High Street Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 9/30 Armed Police officers on London Bridge Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 10/30 People flee along Borough High Street Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 11/30 Police officers outside the Barrowboy and Banker Public House on Borough High Street Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 12/30 Shocked onlookers in Borough High Street Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 13/30 Police sniffer dogs on London Bridge Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 14/30 Armed Police talk to members of the public outside London Bridge Hospital Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 15/30 People run down Borough High Street Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 16/30 A helicopter lands on London Bridge Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 17/30 An armed officer on London Bridge Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 18/30 Police officers on Borough High Street Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 19/30 Emergency personnel on London Bridge Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 20/30 Armed police on Borough High Street Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 21/30 Armed Police officer looks through his weapon on London Bridge Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 22/30 People run along Borough High Street Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 23/30 Police at the scene on Southwark Bridge Carl Court/Getty Images 24/30 A paramedic rushes to the scene Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 25/30 An armed officer on London Bridge Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 26/30 A paramedic at the scene Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 27/30 Armed police on Borough High Street Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 28/30 Emergency personnel on London Bridge Yui Mok/PA Wire 29/30 Police officers outside the Barrowboy and Banker Public House on Borough High Street Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 30/30 People are lead to safety away from London Bridge Carl Court/Getty Images 1/30 Police and paramedics treat an injured person Daniel Sorabji/AFP/Getty Images 2/30 A woman is helped to an ambulance at London Bridge Daniel Sorabji/AFP/Getty Images 3/30 Armed police at London Bridge Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 4/30 Emergency personnel tend to wounded on London Bridge Yui Mok/PA Wire 5/30 Daniel Sorabji/AFP/Getty Images 6/30 Daniel Sorabji/AFP/Getty Images 7/30 Debris and abandoned cars remain on London Bridge Chris J Ratcliffe/AFP/Getty Images 8/30 People walking down Borough High Street Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 9/30 Armed Police officers on London Bridge Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 10/30 People flee along Borough High Street Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 11/30 Police officers outside the Barrowboy and Banker Public House on Borough High Street Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 12/30 Shocked onlookers in Borough High Street Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 13/30 Police sniffer dogs on London Bridge Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 14/30 Armed Police talk to members of the public outside London Bridge Hospital Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 15/30 People run down Borough High Street Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 16/30 A helicopter lands on London Bridge Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 17/30 An armed officer on London Bridge Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 18/30 Police officers on Borough High Street Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 19/30 Emergency personnel on London Bridge Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 20/30 Armed police on Borough High Street Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 21/30 Armed Police officer looks through his weapon on London Bridge Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 22/30 People run along Borough High Street Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 23/30 Police at the scene on Southwark Bridge Carl Court/Getty Images 24/30 A paramedic rushes to the scene Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 25/30 An armed officer on London Bridge Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 26/30 A paramedic at the scene Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 27/30 Armed police on Borough High Street Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 28/30 Emergency personnel on London Bridge Yui Mok/PA Wire 29/30 Police officers outside the Barrowboy and Banker Public House on Borough High Street Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire 30/30 People are lead to safety away from London Bridge Carl Court/Getty Images A statement posted on the group's media page said: "A detachment of Islamic State fighters executed yesterday's London attack." Islamic State has often made similar claims even if the attackers had no direct links with the militant group but are instead inspired by the IS ideology. It's the third attack this year that Islamic State has claimed in Britain, after the bombing in Manchester and the Westminter car and knife attack. The three attackers in Saturday's attack have not been identified. Twelve people were arrested as armed police carried out raids in East Ham and Barking on Sunday. Prime Minister Theresa May pledged a new era of clamping down on terrorism after the attack as she declared "enough is enough" and condemned the "evil" of the perpetrators. Christine Archibald, a Canadian woman, was named as the first victim of the deadly attack.It took multiple votes and more than 7 hours, but the NH House did choose a new speaker Wednesday – Hudson Republican Shawn Jasper. Listen to the sounds from the State House in the broadcast version of this story. Support from Democrats lifted Jasper to an upset win over former Speaker Bill O’Brien, who Republicans nominated to lead the House last month. The first sign that yesterday might not end well for Bill O’Brien, came early, when Republicans tried to alter the proposed rules for electing a Speaker. Instead of a vote by secret ballot – which has been the norm in contested elections – O’Brien’s allies moved to require a roll call vote, to ensure that every lawmaker’s preference in the Speaker’s race would be public. Windham Republican David Bates proposed the new rules. He mostly pitched this as way to speed things up but also acknowledged the change would make it harder for other candidates to challenge O’Brien. “We hope that members will adopt these rules and have our organization day proceed as orderly as possible.” But order wasn’t the order of the day. Democrats, who had never seen the GOP rules, immediately cried foul. “When I came here to vote today I came by a mountain of ballot boxes,” said Jackie Cali-Pitts, who represents Portsmouth. “Which mean we were prepared to vote by paper ballot, and I believe that voting in an open ballot is wrong.” The new rules were also criticized by the man who would ultimately become speaker, Hudson Republican Shawn Jasper. He suggested the push for new rules without giving notice to Democrats wasn’t fair. “We have been promised that we would have a different kind of house and here we are on our very first, really procedural, vote, and we have a very clear idea of where we are going now.” But few could have predicted where the house would end up yesterday. The route was circuitous. For most of the day O’Brien and his allies scrambled to hold things together. They fought parliamentary rulings of the house clerk, and called for a recess mid-debate for a closed door caucus with state GOP chair Jennifer Horn. They also worked to make the case that electing Bill O’Brien would not deal a blow to collegiality. Rep Rick Ladd represents Haverhill. “He has the knowledge, the caring attitude and the stated desire to work with members on both sides of the aisle, and this is our opportunity.” And here’s O’Brien himself: “I hope that all of you understand that if I am elected speaker, my office door is always open. That this process will always be open, and that I want to talk with every one of you.” When it was Shawn Jasper’s turn, his backers stressed his ability to work with others, and to disagree without being disrespectful. Jasper himself, suggested O’Brien and his allies weren’t interested in dialogue, only getting their way. “I just came out of a caucus where I was essentially yelled at for 15 minutes without a change to respond,” Jasper said, eliciting jeers. “The House will be in order, the member is allowed to Speak,” said House Clerk Karen Wadsworth. “And this is my concern, this why I am standing here," Jasper continued. "The House deserves better. We deserve to respect each other. I am a Republican, and I know many will say I’m not. I was a Republican before I even registered to vote.” But without the support of Democrats Jasper could not have won. After the first ballot, in which Bill O’Brien fell 4 votes shy of the majority he needed, Jasper got in the race, and the Democratic nominee for speaker Steve Shurtleff, dropped out. Democrats then backed Jasper. Prior to the final votes, Jasper sought to reassure members of his party that if he was elected, Republicans would lead every committee. But Jasper also said that under his watch, the Speaker’s role would be less political. “The Speaker should really not be policy this chamber should not be the political arm of this body, that belong to the minority offices and the majority offices.” Within the hour, the Speaker’s gavel was his. After the 195 to 178 vote Jasper looked stunned, and relieved. And he said he’d save any public reflection for another day. “This is not a time to make a speech, I understand what a difficult day it was for all of us. It is not my time now, it is your time. So there will be no speech from me today.” On that last point, the new House Speaker, and the guy most expected to be House Speaker seemed to agree. Bill O’Brien left the hall without comment before the tally of the final vote was announced. Scroll down for photos and tweets from Wednesday's session. NH House votes are in 377 cast. 189 to win. O'Brien 178. Jasper 195, and new speaker. Wow. — Josh Rogers (@joshrogersNHPR) December 3, 2014 It's official: Republican Shawn Jasper wins speakership w/ combo of Dems & anti-O'Brien Repubublicans #nhpolitics — Kathleen Ronayne (@kronayne) December 3, 2014 Jasper and O'Brien decide no more speeches. New ballots being passed out right now. — Josh Rogers (@joshrogersNHPR) December 3, 2014 380 votes cast, 191 needed. O'Brien 187, Jasper 190. On we go. — Josh Rogers (@joshrogersNHPR) December 3, 2014 Reminder: Ballots now being counted for O'Brien v Jasper. Either needs majority to win...so it IS possible we could have a third ballot... — Kathleen Ronayne (@kronayne) December 3, 2014 6.5 hours in and we're in an intra-party GOP battle for the speakership. Who would have thought #nhpolitics — Kathleen Ronayne (@kronayne) December 3, 2014 Rep Shawn Jasper tells the house his Speakership would be about "respect." Dem Steve Shurtleff bows out. Now renomination of O'Brien. — Josh Rogers (@joshrogersNHPR) December 3, 2014 @NHJennifer now addressing GOP caucus. O'Brien standing behind her, facing Reps. — Josh Rogers (@joshrogersNHPR) December 3, 2014 NH house votes 222-157 to allow 15 minute recess called for by O'Brien for GOP caucus. — Josh Rogers (@joshrogersNHPR) December 3, 2014 Out of recess. O'Brien moves for 15 min GOP caucus. Jasper takes to floor: "We need to move on." — Josh Rogers (@joshrogersNHPR) December 3, 2014 NH House votes 199-182 to reopen nominations for Speaker. 15 min recess. — Josh Rogers (@joshrogersNHPR) December 3, 2014 #NHHouse voting on whether or not to re-open nominations for speaker following first vote. #NHPolitics http://t.co/UV7lsoUHuV — NH Public Radio (@nhpr) December 3, 2014 O'Brien backer Steve Stepanek R- Amherst, challenges ruling of house clerk, that blank ballots count as ballots cast. Things getting testy. — Josh Rogers (@joshrogersNHPR) December 3, 2014Yesterday I was Googling for something else and accidentally happened upon anarchist Emma Goldman's 1911 essay, "The Tragedy of Woman's Emancipation." Never having read it before, I gave it a scan, and was shocked to discover that with minor alterations for changes in the law, Goldman's concerns about women and emancipation bear a striking resemblance to the contemporary debate about women's happiness and "having it all." From the assumption that gender equality has been achieved to concerns about equality of access not leading to equality of outcomes (such as equal pay and respect), to the broader question of whether or not women may find more happiness in work or in their families, which work takes them away from, Goldman more than 100 years ago identified the tensions in the transformation of women's roles that still tug at us today: Emancipation has brought woman economic equality with man; that is, she can choose her own profession and trade; but as her past and present physical training has not equipped her with the necessary strength to compete with man, she is often compelled to exhaust all her energy, use up her vitality, and strain every nerve in order to reach the market value. Very few ever succeed, for it is a fact that women teachers, doctors, lawyers, architects, and engineers are neither met with the same confidence as their male colleagues, nor receive equal remuneration. And those that do reach that enticing equality, generally do so at the expense of their physical and psychical well-being. As to the great mass of working girls and women, how much independence is gained if the narrowness and lack of freedom of the home is exchanged for the narrowness and lack of freedom of the factory, sweat-shop, department store, or office? In addition is the burden which is laid on many women of looking after a "home, sweet home" -- cold, dreary, disorderly, uninviting -- after a day's hard work. Glorious independence! No wonder that hundreds of girls are so willing to accept the first offer of marriage, sick and tired of their "independence" behind the counter, at the sewing or typewriting machine. They are just as ready to marry as girls of the middle class, who long to throw off the yoke of parental supremacy. A so-called independence which leads only to earning the merest subsistence is not so enticing, not so ideal, that one could expect woman to sacrifice everything for it. Our highly praised independence is, after all, but a slow process of dulling and stifling woman's nature, her love instinct, and her mother instinct. Nevertheless, the position of the working girl is far more natural and human than that of her seemingly more fortunate sister in the more cultured professional walks of life teachers, physicians, lawyers, engineers, etc., who have to make a dignified, proper appearance, while the inner life is growing empty and dead. The narrowness of the existing conception of woman's independence and emancipation; the dread of love for a man who is not her social equal; the fear that love will rob her of her freedom and independence; the horror that love or the joy of motherhood will only hinder her in the full exercise of her profession -- all these together make of the emancipated modern woman a compulsory vestal, before whom life, with its great clarifying sorrows and its deep, entrancing joys, rolls on without touching or gripping her soul.Read story transcript Homa Hoodfar's recent trip to Iran did not go as expected. "It ended up being a bigger trip than I planned," Hoodfar tells The Current's Anna Maria Tremonti. The anthropologist who studies the state of women in government was picked up by the Iran's Revolutionary Guard in June at her family's apartment in Tehran. Homa Hoodfar reunited with sister Katayoon Hoodfar. (Susan McKenzie/CBC) Hoodfar was sent to Evin prison — the Iranian detention centre notorious for torture, mock executions and brutal interrogations. "Iran was not even in a footnote in my book. But then they took that as a reason why I was there," Hoodfar tells Tremonti, saying the guards thought she was trying to meddle in an Iranian parliamentary election and bring her feminism into politics. "I didn't think they would imprison me," Hoodfar tells Tremonti. Hoodfar spent 112 days in the detention centre. During that time interrogators threatened to keep her in prison for years and told her they would send her dead body back to Canada. "I kept saying, well I had 65 years of [a] good life, I have achieved a lot of what I wanted. Most people don't even have that chance so it's okay if my life is going to be in prison." Hoodfar tells Tremonti she was moved to different cells during her incarceration and approached her time in prison as field work. "[It] was very difficult but after the first week, I thought... I'm an anthropologist and I'm here." Iranian-Canadian university professor Homa Hoodfar was released from Iran, Sept. 26. (Oman News) Hoodfar says she observed how she was interrogated but also interviewed the many inmates she met. "I made mental notes and because I didn't have a pen and pencil initially, I wrote with the tail of my toothbrush on the marble stone," says Hoodfar, a process she says helped her cope with the situation. "They had their purposes but then I thought I have my purpose which is doing anthropology of interrogation." On Sept. 26, Hoodfar was released on what Iran calls "humanitarian grounds" and is now home in Montreal. She says her notes are an important record of what has happened to her. "Even on the 19-hour flight from Oman to Montreal, I had no sleep. I just kept writing and writing because I didn't want to forget." Listen to the full conversation at the top of this web post. This segment was produced by The Current's Lara O'Brien.Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Around 48,000 patients take the anti-epilepsy drug in the UK Drugs giant Pfizer has been fined a record £84.2m by the UK's competition watchdog for overcharging the NHS for an anti-epilepsy drug. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) also fined distributor Flynn Pharma £5.2m for the 2,600% overnight price increase for the drug in 2012. NHS spending on the capsules, used by 48,000 UK patients, rose from £2m a year in 2012 to about £50m in 2013. Pfizer rejected the findings and said it would appeal against the decision. UK prices for the drug were many times higher than in Europe, the CMA said. 'Extraordinary' rises Philip Marsden of the CMA said: "The companies deliberately exploited the opportunity offered by de-branding to hike up the price for a drug which is relied upon by many thousands of patients. "These extraordinary price rises have cost the NHS and the taxpayer tens of millions of pounds." Before 2012, Pfizer manufactured and distributed the drug, which was branded Epanutin. Pfizer then sold the UK rights to distribute the phenytoin sodium capsules to Flynn Pharma, which de-branded the drug. That allowed the firms to charge more for the drug because it was no longer subject to a pricing scheme agreed between the NHS and the drugs industry, the CMA said. However, Pfizer said the drug was a loss-making product, and that the deal with Flynn "represented an opportunity to secure ongoing supply of an important medicine for patients with epilepsy". "Pfizer believes the CMA's findings are wrong in fact and law and will be appealing all aspects of the decision," it said. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The CMA tells the World at One why they fined Pfizer a record £84.2m 'Beggars belief' The drugs giant said the increased price of the drug was still 25% to 40% below the cost of an equivalent medicine by another supplier to the NHS. But the CMA said by its calculations "all such losses would have been recovered within two months of the price rises." Flynn Pharma said the CMA was "making a serious error" and that it would appeal in a bid to overturn the CMA's findings. "It beggars belief that the CMA seeks to punish Flynn for selling phenytoin capsules at a significant discount to phenytoin tablets," said David Fakes of Flynn Pharma. The firms have between 30 days and four months to reduce the price to a level acceptable to the CMA, and two months to appeal against the CMA decision to the Competition Tribunal. The fine will go to the Treasury rather than the NHS directly, although the health service could try to seek damages. 'Best possible value' Drugs industry body the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry said it "does not in any way support or condone the practice of 'price hikes' to generic medicines". "Whilst we can't comment on individual companies and an appeal being made, it's appropriate that the complexities of this case are considered through the ongoing legal process," the organisation said. The government is seeking to tighten up regulation of generic drugs price rises. The Health Service Medical Supplies (Costs) Bill passed its third reading in the House of Commons on Tuesday. A Department of Health spokesperson said: "Yesterday, our bill to ensure we can control high prices of generic medicines passed through the House of Commons - we are absolutely determined to ensure that no pharmaceutical company can exploit the NHS. "We very much welcome the fines issued today, which show that any such exploitation will not be tolerated."Shamrock Shake {McDonalds Copycat} – A vanilla-mint shake with chocolate swirl and whipped cream! Perfect for St. Patty’s Day! So, funny story about St. Patty’s Day. I told you that it is actually my favorite holiday. No really, it is. Because everything is green. (queue cheesy smile) But when I was growing up we had some debate at our house. See, my mother’s side is Irish. But my father hasn’t a drop of Irish blood. Most of us just celebrate St. Patrick’s Day for the fun of it. My siblings and I always took it seriously cause well, we’re like a quarter Irish. But my dad…. he refuses to celebrate it. He purposely wears red white and blue on St. Patrick’s Day every. single. year. And do not pinch him. Ohhhhh do not pinch him. That would be a big fat mistake. Tempting I know, but just don’t do it. I’m looking out for your health. Me? I’m all kinds of decked out on St. Patty’s Day. My senior year in high school I wore green shoes, green socks, and a green track suit to school on St. Patty’s Day. I’m telling you, I take it very seriously. Plus I don’t like getting pinched so that encourages the green-wearing. But this recipe. Have you ever tried a Shamrock Shake from McDonalds? They only have it for one month of the year – March. And baby oh baby is it good stuff. Gonna be honest, not usually a Mickey-D’s fan but for this shake? Yeah I’m a fan once a year. But now I don’t need to leave my house to get a Shamrock Shake AND I can have it all year long! Woot woot! My husband and I downed this stuff faster than you can say – “drink up!” Annnnd then the brain freeze came.WASHINGTON, D.C. (WSAZ) -- President Obama declared Saturday that a major disaster exists in the State of West Virginia and ordered Federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts affected by severe storms, flooding, landslides, and mudslides. The President's action today makes federal funding available to affected individuals in Greenbrier, Kanawha, and Nicholas counties. Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the disaster. Federal funding is also available to state and eligible local governments, as well as certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency protective measures. Funding is also available for hazard mitigation meaures statewide. W. Craig Fugate, Administratior, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Department of Homeland Security, named Albert Lewis as the Federal Coordinating Officer for federal recovery operations in the area. FEMA said that damage surveys are still continuing in other areas, and more counties and additional forms of assistance may be designated after assessments are fully completed. FEMA asks residents and business owners who sustained losses in the designated counties to apply for asssistance by calling 1-800-621-FEMA.Intel's long-vaunted Ultrabooks are finally coming to market, and while they're going to be shipping with a range of price points and designs, they're all going to be very thin. The U300s is naturally the thinnest, 14.9mm thick at the front and the rear thanks
great that there’s nothing wrong with this? There’s no right or wrong, now is it dude?” Then you take a sharp knife and take his manhood and hold it in front of him and say, “Wouldn’t it be something if this [sic] was something wrong with this? But you’re the one who says there is no God, there’s no right, there’s no wrong, so we’re just having fun! We’re sick in the head! Have a nice day.” If it happened to them, they probably would say, “Something about this just ain’t right.” What sort of fucked up bet is this…? I guess the only thing keeping Robertson from raping, shooting, and beheading other people is his fear of God and interpretation of biblical morality… in which case, I’m glad he believes. If he didn’t, they’d need to make a six-part HBO documentary about him. (via Right Wing Watch. Image via Wikipedia)× Expand Photo of Bryan Stevenson by Nina Subin Most trial lawyers engage, daily, with the emotions and vices that underlie human conflict—anger, jealousy, greed, spite. Some do more than engage: They adopt these vices. Bryan Stevenson is the rare exception. He has dedicated his life to healing anger and fear, and bringing light to the darkest corners of our criminal justice system. Harvard graduate, MacArthur fellow, and founder of the Equal Justice Initiative, Stevenson is vibrantly bright and thoughtful. He exudes hope. He lives much of his life among the dispossessed and hopeless. I first met Bryan Stevenson more than twenty-five years ago in Montgomery, Alabama. He was shepherding a small group of smart young lawyers through the grim reality of post-conviction work in death penalty cases in Alabama’s courts. Today, he speaks to large groups and travels the country. Stevenson calls on us to hurry after him through the death rows, prisons, impoverished communities, and despairing neighborhoods he serves, and to nurture, within ourselves and without, the emotions and virtues that heal. His new book, Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption, is a bestseller. I visited with him when he came to Madison, Wisconsin, where he had been chosen as the University of Wisconsin’s “Go Big Read” author. Hundreds of people turned out to pack a giant lecture hall and several adjoining spaces to hear Stevenson speak. Q:The message of hope in your book is unmistakable, but I suspect that the origin of the book lies in part with anger. I’m wondering if that’s right. Bryan Stevenson: I think of it as a burden rather than anger. I didn’t have to represent people on death row, I didn’t have to do the kind of work that I do, and I never wanted my choice to become something that made me angry. When I stepped into this world, I saw that we were all burdened by a certain kind of indifference to the plight of poor people. We were burdened by an insensitivity to a legacy of racial bias. We were tolerating unfairness and unreliability in a way that burdened me and provoked me. The book is an effort to confront this burden. I’m persuaded that if most people saw what I see on a regular basis, they would want change. I don’t think anybody who had been with me when I was holding a fourteen-year-old boy who was crying hysterically because he had been raped and abused in a jail cell would want him to stay in that cell. But our system of justice is so isolated. We’ve created these walls and barriers that shield what happens in our courtrooms and in our jails and prisons and in the margins of society with such effectiveness that most of us go through our lives with no consciousness about what these things really represent. Q: Working in the justice system, what caught you off guard about these burdens? Stevenson: It was the sense that people could actually know what the right thing is and still feel obligated to do the wrong thing because of politics or some other collateral concern. That was something I didn’t really anticipate. But it is structural and systemic. Q: You say outsiders would be appalled by the unfairness that you encounter within the justice system. But there are hundreds of thousands of people who are insiders in the justice system who don’t appreciate that they, or we, have to take responsibility for change. Why? Stevenson: We’ve all been acculturated into accepting the inevitability of wrongful convictions, unfair sentences, racial bias, and racial disparities and discrimination against the poor. I think hopelessness is the enemy of justice. We have too many insiders who become hopeless about what they can do. The defense attorney who has given up on talking about the presumption of guilt that gets assigned to people of color. The judge who has given up on trying to insist on the rule of law even when it’s inconvenient and unpopular. The prosecutor who has been corrupted by the power that he or she has accumulated through mandatory sentencing schemes. You can be a career professional as a judge, a prosecutor, sometimes as a defense attorney, and never insist on fairness and justice. That’s tragic and that’s what we have to change. We’ve made finality more important than fairness. We shield even clear violations of people’s rights if [objections] aren’t raised at the right time in the right way. Q: After wrongful convictions are overturned, apologists often say, “Look, that proves the system works.” That’s an infuriating claim for many of us who work in criminal justice. In your book you’ve assigned instead the term “provocative” to that claim. What do you mean by that? Stevenson: In April, I walked out of a Birmingham city jail with a man named Anthony Ray Hinton who had spent thirty years behind bars for a crime he did not commit. He was locked down in a five-by-seven cell twenty-four hours a day for thirty years. The evidence of his innocence was presented to the state in 1999. The prosecution had said a gun they found in his mom’s home matched bullets found at the murder scene, and based on that evidence and that evidence alone, they convicted him. We got the best gun experts in the country to look at that gun and those bullets and say, “These do not match, that man is not guilty.” The state fought us even after that evidence was presented because the prosecutors were more comfortable with the prospect of executing an innocent person than with acknowledging that they had put an innocent man on death row. Eventually we got the U.S. Supreme Court involved, we got the case overturned, and he walked out of jail. It was a really glorious, wonderful moment. But I’ve spent a lot of time with Mr. Hinton over the last six months, and what we have done to him is nothing short of criminal. That’s what’s provocative to me—that we can victimize people, we can torture and traumatize people with no consciousness that it is a shameful thing to do. And it’s not the first time we’ve done it. The greatest evil of American slavery was not involuntary servitude but rather the narrative of racial differences we created to legitimate slavery. Because we never dealt with that evil, I don’t think slavery ended in 1865, it just evolved. Q: If we were to replace a culture of assigning blame in the criminal system with a culture of humility, a recognition that mistakes are bound to happen, would that get us anywhere? Stevenson: I absolutely think we need a paradigm shift where we’re not motivated by fear and anger. We’ve got politicians competing with each other over who can be the toughest on crime. Whenever society begins to create policies and laws rooted in fear and anger, there will be abuse and injustice. We have to step away from the politics of fear and anger and start asking ourselves the more basic question: What are we trying to achieve? If we did that, then we’re not going to put people in jails and prisons who aren’t a threat to public safety and spend billions of dollars warehousing them when it doesn’t accomplish anything. We’re going to use those dollars to actually promote care and treatment. That paradigm shift is something that we have to have all the way through the system. Our police officers become warriors who are using the fear and anger paradigm to battle against whole communities. We don’t need police officers who see themselves as warriors. We need police officers who see themselves as guardians and parts of the community. You can’t police a community that you’re not a part of. That paradigm shift is part of how we create true custodians of justice. If you’re just the person with power, exercising that power fearfully and angrily, you’re going to be an operative of injustice and inequality. Q: You’ve spoken powerfully about the persistence of racism and fear in the criminal justice system. Expand on that. Stevenson: I don’t think there’s any question that our system treats you better if you’re rich and guilty than if you’re poor and innocent. The presumption of guilt and dangerousness that gets assigned to some people is going to compromise their ability to get to a fair outcome. I also think our comfort level with tolerating disparities based on race has made us comfortable with all kinds of other disparities and all kinds of unfairness. The Bureau of Justice is now projecting that one in three black male babies in this country will go to prison. That is unbelievable. It wasn’t true in the twentieth century, it wasn’t true in the nineteenth century, it became true in the twenty-first century. And we’re not talking about it. For Latino boys, it’s one in six. We need to start talking about the forces that are creating this kind of reality. I’m still shocked that we have these data that are so disturbing—a 640 percent increase in the number of women being sent to prison [from 1980 to 2010], almost 70 percent of whom are single parents with minor children and most are not going for violent crimes. Q: Would you talk about how this relates to the legacy of slavery? Stevenson: I think there is a contempt for the human dignity of people who were enslaved. You couldn’t see them as fully human and so you didn’t respect their desire to be connected to a family and a place. That was the only way you could tolerate and make sense of lynching and the terror that lynching represented. We did horrific, brutal, barbaric things to people during these lynchings, mutilating bodies and cutting off extremities and taking parts of the body as a souvenir. What kind of a society does that? Only a society that doesn’t think of that person as fully human. That disconnect means you’re necessarily not going to respect their aspirations of identity, family, and connectedness. And that’s true today. We haven’t dealt with that fundamental disconnect, that fundamental contempt for these people because of their race or their ethnicity. That, to me, is the essential problem. Can we get our society to begin to acknowledge the cruelty, the barbarism of these institutions and what that means and what that says about us? Q: Your grandfather was murdered by teenagers when you were a teenager yourself. Did that draw you to, or initially repel you from, the work that you’re now doing with juveniles in prison? Stevenson: When my grandfather was murdered, the question my grandmother and family members were asking was: Why would someone do that? We were more preoccupied with the circumstances that would create children acting in this way. There are many places in this country where the majority of children are traumatized by the time they’re four and five. They’re in households where they see violence and where people are always shouting. They need the same kinds of interventions that our combat veterans need when they come back from war. Unfortunately, our current system only thinks in one language, which is punishment. Q: How do we make it more acceptable to speak of love, compassion, mercy, or redemption in our system of justice? Stevenson: I think we have to affirm the things that matter to us. We have a relationship to one another. We can’t have a healthy, strong relationship until we learn to say, “I’m sorry.” I don’t know any two people who’ve been married or in a strong relationship for a long time who haven’t learned to say, “I’m sorry.” We haven’t learned how to do that when it comes to dealing with the shameful parts of our history. The other thing is we have to believe in things we haven’t seen. Part of what constrains us is that we haven’t actually seen what a loving system of justice looks like because we’ve been so fearful that that’s not going to be as harsh and punitive as we think it should be. Ultimately, I think we have to want more. We have to aspire to something that feels more like freedom than what we have in this country. We’re not free, we can’t relate to one another who are different without bumping into each other and creating these tensions and fears. There is a better, freer place that we can achieve in this nation, but we’d have to want it. I use this Reinhold Niebuhr quote in my book: “Love is the motive, but justice is the instrument.” If you love your country, then you need to be thinking a lot more critically about what justice requires. If you love your community, then you need to be insisting on justice in all circumstances, and that’s not something we’ve done. ω This interview originally appeared in the December 2015/January 2016 issue of The Progressive magazine. Dean A. Strang is a criminal defense lawyer in Madison, Wisconsin. He is the author of Worse Than the Devil: Anarchists, Clarence Darrow, and Justice in a Time of Terror (University of Wisconsin Press, 2013) and appears as a defense attorney in the Netflix series, Making a Murderer.Tim Farron resigned yesterday as leader of the Liberal Democrats because the conflict between his evangelical faith and the values of a progressive liberal party had become unmanageable. His official statement can be read here. During the election campaign he had struggled in particular to explain his position on gay rights. Under media interrogation he insisted that he supported “equality under law, equal dignity and that includes people whatever their sexuality”. But he clearly also felt bound to maintain some awkward private religious opinions that were at odds with his political convictions. It’s perhaps not surprising that people concluded that he was “out of step with his own party”—and indeed with the prevailing moral mood of British society. Some have argued in the aftermath that British liberalism is not nearly as fair-minded and tolerant as it thinks it is. The director of the Liberal Democrat Christian Forum said that “his resignation reflects the fact we live in a society that is still illiberal in many ways and is intolerant of political leaders having a faith”. Farron appears to agree. If he has become the subject of suspicion because of his beliefs, then “we are kidding ourselves if we think we yet live in a tolerant, liberal society”. But the strategic quarantining of personal faith from public policy was surely unworkable, especially for a party leader. We can regard it as a brave experiment in Christian political engagement, but I think in the end it’s evidence that the church in the post-Christian West has not yet worked out where and how it fits in. Are they all condemned? Farron’s experience bears comparison with Russell Vought’s Senate confirmation hearing last week. Vought was vigorously challenged by Bernie Sanders over his belief that salvation is secured through Christ alone: I don’t know how many Muslims there are in America, I really don’t know, probably a couple million. Are you suggesting that all of those people stand condemned? What about Jews? Do they stand condemned too? … I understand that you are a Christian. But this country is made up of people who are not just—I understand that Christianity is the majority religion. But there are other people who have different religions in this country and around the world. In your judgment, do you think that people who are not Christians are going to be condemned? Vought had articulated an unexceptional evangelical position regarding Islam following the Larycia Hawkins controversy. He argued in an online article that Muslims stand condemned because they have rejected Jesus as God’s Son. “If Christ is not God, he cannot be the necessary substitute on our behalf for the divine retribution that we deserve.” Three passages from the Gospels are cited in support of the exclusivist position: They said to him therefore, “Where is your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” (Jn. 8:19) The one who hears you hears me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects him who sent me. (Lk. 10:16) Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. (Jn. 3:18) New wine in old paradigms There are all sorts of issues raised here, but at one level at least I think these controversies serve to underline the need for a radical rethinking of the evangelical paradigm. The marriage of Jewish particularism with a philosophical universalism in the early centuries, sustained first by the political expansionism of European Christendom, then by an absolutising rationalism, has bequeathed modern evangelicalism with a religious model which makes personal salvation a matter of fundamental existential necessity. The overriding mission of evangelicalism, therefore, is to get people saved. The only name by which they may be saved is the name of Jesus. People who deny that Jesus is God and Saviour will be “condemned”, quite possibly to eternal conscious torment. That’s not the biblical paradigm. The Bible tells the story of a people chosen to serve the living God in the midst of the nations. This proved an extremely difficult mission to sustain, for two main reasons: 1) because of old-fashioned sin the people of God found it very difficult to stay true to its calling; and 2) the surrounding pagan nations were powerful and aggressive. These two factors were closely connected: Israel sinned, abandoned its vocation to be a royal priesthood and holy nation, and—more or less as a consequence—suffered invasion, oppression and exile at the hands of its powerful neighbours. Two things happened in the New Testament to overturn this pattern. First, the people of the living God was saved from the recurring political-religious plight. It was saved by the death of Jesus from the natural human sinfulness that time and again led to national disaster and which currently left them subject to a brutal Roman occupation. When Jesus told the Jews that he alone revealed the Father or told the disciples that the Jews who rejected them were rejecting also him and the God who sent him, what was at issue was the salvation of Israel in the first century AD. Russell Vought prooftexts. Like all good evangelicals he doesn’t understand the story. The nation was on a broad road leading to destruction; only a few would find the narrow road that would lead to life. When Peter declared to the Jewish Council in Jerusalem following the healing of the crippled man that “there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12), he was not talking about humanity’s existential quandary. He was talking about first century Israel and the historical crisis it faced. That the man was healed “by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified” was a clear sign that God had raised Jesus from the dead and had made him the cornerstone of a renewed people of God (Acts 4:10-11, 16). Sooner or later this ”crooked generation” would be destroyed by Rome. Only by calling on the name of the one whom YHWH had made Lord and Christ could Israel hope to be saved (Acts 2:36, 40). Secondly, a growing number of Gentiles became part of this saved people of God in anticipation of the coming judgment on the Greek-Roman world, the end of the idolatrous oikoumenē, the beginning of a new order of things. They were themselves, therefore, saved from a world that was passing away; they became citizens of the kingdom to come (cf. Col. 1:13-14). This adds a significant level of complexity to the story—we should expect that from history. The people of God became a hybrid Jewish-Gentile community that prefigured the coming reign of Jesus as Lord over the nations of the Roman empire. Subsequent developments have seen the end of that historical construct and the rise of secularism. But as far as the church is concerned, the basic paradigm doesn’t change. The aim is not to convert the whole world. The aim is not to foist our values on everyone else. That is simply unrealistic. The aim is to maintain a concrete, potent and credible witness, as a holy and righteous people, as a new creation in microcosm, to the God who created heaven and earth. Straws in the wind Tim Farron’s story is another straw in the strong winds of cultural transformation that are blowing through Western societies. It illustrates painfully the fact that Christians are struggling to come to terms with the loss of credibility, with the sense of alienation, with the shifts in values, with the new eschatological horizons that are coming darkly into view. I think we will manage this transition better if we revert to the old biblical paradigm of being a priestly people, serving the living God, in the midst of powerful and inhospitable cultures. It is a key part of the story by which we identify ourselves that we have been saved by the death of Jesus, who was then given authority over all things for the sake of his body (cf. Eph. 1:20-23). It’s our story, and no one can deny us the right to tell it. It doesn’t make evangelism unnecessary. It doesn’t mean that people are no longer saved. It doesn’t mean that evangelicals shouldn’t get involved in politics. It doesn’t settle the intramural debate over gay sex. But the salvationist paradigm has to go. It’s not biblical and it’s not helping.Comcast founding family donates $25M to Philadelphia children's hospital The founding family of Philadelphia-based Comcast donated $25 million to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. The donation will be used toward improving pediatric genetic research and development, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. The Roberts Collaborative for Genetics and Individualized Medicine will focus on developing research in a number of fields, including inherited disorders, mitochondrial disease, cancer and autism. Aileen Roberts, wife of Comcast Chairman and CEO Brian Roberts, said her position on the hospital's board of directors motivated the family's donation, according to the article. The collaboration will allow the hospital to use the latest technology to search a patient's DNA code for variations that may affect an individual's health or response to therapy procedures. The affiliation will also fund the creation of a genomic data repository, a family support and counseling center and a program to train medical students and residents in personalized pediatric care. More articles on leadership: Michael Kors and wife donate $750k to Memorial Hospital Mark Zuckerberg and wife announce $3B initiative to eradicate major diseases by end of century Thomson Reuters predicts Nobel Prize winners © Copyright ASC COMMUNICATIONS 2019. Interested in LINKING to or REPRINTING this content? View our policies by clicking here.In an Avengers: Age Of Ultron trailer, the robot villain compares the Avengers to puppets, too tangled up in the strings of their conceptions of morality to make the big changes they might otherwise be capable of as heroes. The rest of the trailer offers glimpses of the destruction Ultron (James Spader) can unleash upon the planet freed of such “strings,” as a deeply creepy version of the song “I’ve Got No Strings” from Disney’s Pinocchio plays in the background. It’s a clever trailer, showing that Disney can marry its hot new licenses with its old properties. That connection also provides a first look into one of the movie’s dominant themes: the burden of fatherhood. Advertisement Pinocchio tells the story of a man who dreams of having a son, but can only craft an artificial one. Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) never really talks about wanting kids, but what he wants from Ultron is something fathers have wanted from sons for millennia: someone to take over the family business. Stark is aging and tired of saving the world. He’d like to retire from his responsibilities, but wants to know that they’ll be left in good hands. What (or who) better to provide him with the peace he dreams of than something he creates? When he discovers an incredibly advanced artificial intelligence tucked into Loki’s scepter, he recruits Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) to use it to create Ultron—a project they apparently dreamed up some time ago but never were able to achieve. Stark has already built a legion of robots, but they’re capable only of basic crowd control. He wants an intelligent instrument for global peacekeeping. But your dreams for your children don’t always work out, as any parent whose kid decides they’d rather try journalism than take over the family practice knows. (Sorry, Dad.) Ultron rejects Stark after finding all of humanity unworthy as he scrolls through a montage of the species’ most destructive failures (reminiscent of the same info dump that causes Leeloo to lose faith in The Fifth Element). He quickly strikes out on his own, taking a pair of superpowered orphans (Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch) under his wing and engaging in a rigorous program of self-improvement while trying to destroy his creator. Advertisement Stark’s influence on Ultron’s character is obvious: a true credit to James Spader, who portrays a sociopathic version of Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man. He’s prone to sarcasm and self-aggrandizement, but also shows he’s picked up some of Stark’s favorite sayings during his negotiations with weapons dealer Ulysses Klaue (Andy Serkis). When Klaue recognizes Stark’s line and realizes that Ultron must be one of Stark’s creations, the comparison enrages Ultron, who doesn’t want to be anything like his weak father or brainless elder siblings. It’s a shame that the film doesn’t do more with this compelling thread—especially since a recent telling of the story of Ultron digs deeper into his relationship with his creator. The 2010 animated series Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes! cleaves closer to the comic books, where Hank Pym, a.k.a. Ant-Man, is the creator of Ultron. In the series, Ant-Man is a pacifist who built Ultron as a combination guard and counselor for a supervillain prison. When this version of Ultron, like the film version, decides that peace on Earth is best achieved through the destruction of all humanity, Ant-Man is devastated in a way Tony Stark never is. As Pym uses his own brain waves as a model for Ultron, he decides that the robot’s evil must lie somewhere in him. It’s the true guilt of the father of a wayward son who wonders if he failed him through his own nature, nurture, or a combination of the two. Advertisement Stark is more concerned with convincing his team that it was a good idea to experiment with an unknown AI without consulting them. Despite Stark saying he needs Banner’s expertise to create Ultron, his fellow mad scientist seems to have all the impact of a doctor who performs an in-vitro fertilization procedure. In the animated series, Pym is Ultron’s primary creator, but Iron Man clearly takes parental responsibility for the film version. The two “fathers” have conflicting visions for Ultron’s purpose, with Stark thinking he’d be more useful as a weapon and even secretly modifying some versions with guns. When his teammates discover this artillery, Stark looks as sheepish as any parent caught letting their kid do something their spouse forbade. The creation of Vision ups the stakes even more. In the film, Ultron designs the human-android hybrid to be another stage in his own evolution. In keeping with the Pinocchio theme, Ultron aims to make himself a real live boy, but this misses the symmetry created by the comic-book narrative where Ultron creates Vision as his own son. In Earth’s Mightiest Heroes!, Vision is meant to be the perfect lieutenant to fight the Avengers. When he’s defeated, Vision returns home to beg forgiveness. Ultron’s cold indifference hints at the frustration kids can feel when they tell their parents about a mistake they make and don’t get the reaction they expected. Ultron’s not angry; he’s barely even disappointed. He has such a grand plan that he doesn’t really care about the results of his son’s actions. That coldness, contrasted with the passion Vision witnesses while fighting Captain America, convinces the android to switch sides, much to Ultron’s outrage. This vicious cycle of fathers who have their expectations for their sons shattered by betrayal is tragically missing in Age Of Ultron. Vision is the second creation of Banner and Stark using Stark’s loyal AI Jarvis and the cosmic magic of the Mind Stone. Maybe there’s a metaphor here for the courage found in parents willing to have a second child after losing their first one, but Vision’s immediate goodness in opposition to Ultron’s instant decision to choose evil appears unearned. Parenthood should be more complicated than that. Advertisement In the annals of the Avengers, Tony Stark struggles with his father’s legacy and Thor feels he can’t live up to Odin’s expectations. In Age Of Ultron, we learn that Black Widow and Hulk will never be parents. Ultron then loses his adopted kids when Pietro and Wanda turn against him, but as they were never made in his image, the betrayal has far less impact. Perhaps Joss Whedon thought the film could use a happy family to provide some contrast when he inserted Hawkeye’s secret wife and kids. But the Avengers are a team filled with daddy issues, and there’s more that could have been done to show how Ultron and Stark’s relationship is sadly far from unique.I'm not going to shout treason, because it is your right to write and sign this letter even though it weaken the United States and inflames conflict. I am going to say that writing this letter is ghastly short-sighted. Diplomatic negotiations cannot please everyone, let alone people that don't even come to the table. To demand that half of the United States Senate be given more consideration than five nations, the Iran government, and the executive branch is beyond insane. If you want something to come out of negotiations, then try to achieve that through negotiations. If you want to attack Iran, control Iran, control the world.... then your sense of power and your sense of what is right is out of proportion. If you think that talking will never work, then of course war will always result. That's what happens when you settle your differences without talking. There is no reason for you to undermine another's attempt, let alone the attempts of seven major powers because of your own views. This is bigger than you, believe it or not. Fortunately, you do have your own power, so when the results of negotiations are brought to the Senate, you can then try to work out your own version of how you and the rest of the world can mange to coexist. If you keep wanting to threaten and control the rest of the world as you see fit, it may not even harm you now.... but eventually our future will be swallowed up by the results of endless reliance on fear, force and noncooperation. Death, debt, enmity, estrangement, stagnation, fear, instability, and weakness. Because, yes, building is hard and slow to yield benefit, and hope is so much less appealing than fear. But that is the world I want to live in. Kindly let people with different views than yours continue to work toward their futures even when you don't agree with it completely. It's an important part of being civilized and living in a world full of people with different views.During this year’s EVO, which is an annual video game tournament that focuses on fighting games, a Super Smash Bros. fan asked PlayStation All-Stars: Battle Royale director Omar Kendall why his upcoming brawler is a Super Smash Bros. rip-off. Kendall responded by saying, “we fully admit [PlayStation All Stars] borrows from many different kinds of games including Smash, but our goal is not solely replicate the Smash Bros. experience.” Kendall also requests that fans of Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros. series approach PlayStation All-Stars “with an open mind.” “PlayStation All Stars is its own game. I think that’s really the only way I can answer that. I understand that Smash players – some Smash players, not all Smash players do this – will sort of base how successful PlayStation All Stars as a game is on how accurately it recreates the Smash Bros. experience. But that’s not really our goal.” “Our goal is to create a unique combat experience for PlayStation All Stars that we fully admit borrows from many different kinds of games including Smash, but our goal is not solely replicate the Smash Bros. experience.” “I just really would ask that players like you, approach it with an open mind.”Update: After less than 24 hours, Visa has again prevented all credit card payments to WikiLeaks. My original post is below. Would-be WikiLeaks donors who've been waiting six months to make credit card contributions to their favorite secret-spilling group should seize the chance. In a move that may be a response to legal pressure from the group or may yet be a slip-up, Visa and MasterCard are again allowing payments to WikiLeaks through its Icelandic payment gateway DataCell. Late last week, WikiLeaks and DataCell gave me a copy of a legal complaint the group had planned to file Thursday with the European Union Commission, accusing the card companies and their Danish payment processor Teller of abusing their market positions by cutting off WikiLeaks' financial sources. Neither Visa nor MasterCard has responded to that threat, and even now a Visa spokesperson merely tells me that the company is "looking into the situation." Update: The spokesperson now adds: "We have not reinstated Datacell and are looking into how transactions are being made." But in the meantime, Visa, MasterCard and American Express payments have all inexplicably opened to DataCell and WikiLeaks through another payment processor, according to DataCell. "Today we have observed that an alternative payment processor that we have contracted with, has in fact opened the gateway for payments with Visa and Mastercard, and now also for American Express Card payments, which is an option we did not had before," DataCell wrote in a statement on its website. "We choose to interpret this, as that Visa and Mastercard has in fact given in to our demand that the payment services was reinstated. In other words DataCell is happy to report that we are now able again to process donations to Wikileaks (and that we in general are able to receive payments via international Credit cards for DataCell's professional services)." A reprieve in the financial embargo of Wikileaks couldn't come at a more needed time for the group: WikiLeaks has been actively raising money, even auctioning seats at a lunch with founder Julian Assange and Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Zizek. Assange's reported $1.7 million dollar book deal may also have hit a snag, leaving a large hole in the group's budget. But given that Visa declined to confirm that it's purposefully reopened payments and MasterCard has yet to respond to my request for comment, I hesitate to declare the card companies' blockade over. If this is indeed a window of sunshine in the financial clouds over WikiLeaks, it may be brief. Here's DataCell's full statement. [Hat tip to @WLLegal]We’re the Mageia community, and we are very happy to announce the release of Mageia 2! We’ve had a great time building our community and our new release, and we hope you enjoy using it as much as we enjoyed making it. You can get started right now – see what’s available, choose your version and download it from http://www.mageia.org/2/. To find out more about Mageia 2 – what’s new and what’s going on in the Mageia community – read on: What’s new in Mageia 2? Mageia 2 is a completely new release; you can check the Release Notes to learn more about what’s inside. You can also take a look at the list of packages upgraded from Mageia 1, by checking the Mageia Apps Database: Why would you choose Mageia? Good Software Mageia 2 is built from the best Free and Open Source software with a constantly expanding choice of apps – there is something for everyone’s taste. Here are some of the nice things included in Mageia 2: KDE 4.8.2 – KDE 4.8.2 SC, the current release of the popular KDE desktop razorqt 0.4.1 – The latest release of the new lightweight Qt desktop LXDE Sugar GNOME 3.4.1 XFCE 4.8.3 Digikam and Showfoto 2.6 – The latest release of these leading photograph management systems VLC 2.0.1 – The latest version of the popular do it all media player Flash Player Plugin 11.2 – Up to date and secure version of Adobe’s popular web content player Skype – Easy installer for this common VOIP client Firefox ESR 10 – Long Term Support version of the Firefox Browser Chromium Browser 18 – The latest version of the Open Source upstream project for Google’s Chrome Browser GIMP 2.8 – Featuring the all new single window interface Amarok 2.5 -Popular media player written in Qt For more information, check the Release Notes for the complete list. Great Community Mageia is a community as well as a distribution. This means that you can be part of the teams putting your distro together; your voice is welcome as we work out where Mageia is going and how we’re getting there. Mageia is all about communicating. We talk together on IRC, on the forums, on the wiki, on mailing lists; we meet often, and we welcome your feedback on Facebook, Google+, Twitter, Identi.ca, Diaspora… We’re a community distribution and we’re very happy for companies to be part of our community. We’ll even credit you! Join us – be part of making your software the way you want it. Mageia’s bug reporting system is open to everyone, as are the mailing lists and community support, making it easier for you to have your voice heard and follow what is happening – and you don’t need to subscribe or pay to have access to the fully tested and prompt security updates. Nice New Clothes Not only has Mageia’s look been updated, but the appearance of applications has been unified, giving a smoother appearance regardless of desktop: Welcome to Mageia 2!2014 Baseball Hall of Fame Predictions by Kenny Shirley January 2014 January 12, 2014 The 2014 Baseball HOF voting results
ical reasoning is different from using models, constructs, or ideal types meant to capture essential qualities of real phenomena (which a metaphor need not do). This statement was challenged by another colloquium participant, who asserted that constructs and models were metaphors in the same way that a map was a metaphor for the actual highways, roads, and streets whose configuration it depicted. After all, the map “abstracted from” some essential characteristics of the real phenomena that it represented. Klein’s critic was misled into equating metaphors with models and constructs just because both were abstract. But, of course, as Mises emphasized repeatedly, all thought is necessarily “abstract.” When we say that a disruptive co-worker is a “hurricane,” a brave warrior is a “lion,” or an under-performing athlete is a “dog,” these are metaphors that refer to real phenomena that we perceive and that are part of our living experience. They are abstractions in that they do not call to mind the multifarious characteristics of these really existing things things in all their particularity; but neither do they deny them. In these examples they refer to one outstanding attribute of an animal or natural occurrence by which we wish to characterize a person’s behavior. Metaphors may also employ mythical or literary figures such as unicorns, ogres, classical demigods, witches and so on, but their purpose is always to highlight an outstanding characteristic of the person or thing to which it is compared. The purpose of an economic construct or model is completely different. Let us take the construct of the evenly rotating economy. It is an entirely fictitious construction in which change is completely absent and which is populated by automatons who repeat the same round of activities over and over again and never experience surprise or regret, profit or loss from the outcome of their endeavors. This construct is completely imaginary and does not refer to any realizable state of affairs in our world. In fact it deliberately specifies conditions that falsify reality. It is not a metaphor, it was not formulated to make our rhetoric more vivid, intelligible or compelling; it is a tool of thought used by economists to analyze the cause and essence of profit and loss. Other economic models, like the ”plain state of rest,” are also abstract, but do not falsify reality. For example, the plains tate of rest describes the outcome of the process by which real people acting under conditions of uncertainty interact to bring about actual market prices and exploit the mutual benefits of exchange. It is abstract in the sense that it does not refer to the actors’s hair color, weight, age, religion, etc., but it does not make any false or contradictory analytical assumptions. And it also is not a metaphor, comparing one thing to a different thing, but the description of the essence of a real process of human interaction. Klein’s provocative presentation evoked many other thoughtful comments, challenges, and objections during the colloquium, but in my judgment Peter expounded and defended his position superbly.2nd episode of the first season of Black Mirror "Fifteen Million Merits" is the second and penultimate episode of the first series of British science fiction anthology series Black Mirror. It was written by series creator and showrunner Charlie Brooker and his wife Konnie Huq (credited as Kanak Huq) and directed by Euros Lyn, and first aired on Channel 4 on 11 December 2011. In a world where most of society must cycle on exercise bikes in order to power their surroundings and earn currency called "Merits", the episode tells the story of Bing (Daniel Kaluuya), who meets Abi (Jessica Brown Findlay) and convinces her to participate in a talent game show to escape the slave-like world around them. The episode is a science-fiction dystopia which features a parallel to reality shows and figures such as The X Factor and Simon Cowell. The episode received positive reviews. Some reviewers praised the episode's visual style and thought-provoking nature, along with the actor's performances, and believe it to be superior to previous episode "The National Anthem"; other commentators criticised the episode for being unoriginal.[1][2] Plot [ edit ] A society lives in an enclosed, automated space, with nearly every surface an interactive video screen with personalised entertainment and frequent advertising. They ride on stationary bikes to generate power in exchange for "merits", a form of currency. The society shuns overweight people, who are tasked with janitorial jobs and subjected to humiliation via a game show, Botherguts. Bingham "Bing" Madsen (Daniel Kaluuya) has recently inherited millions of merits from his dead brother. Overhearing Abi Khan (Jessica Brown Findlay) singing in a restroom, he encourages her to enter Hot Shot, a reality contest where winners are able to forgo bike riding and live luxuriously. Both thinking the entry ticket costs 12 million merits, Abi reluctantly lets Bing buy her a ticket. Bing then realises it costs 15 million merits, almost his entire stock, but he buys the ticket anyway. Abi goes to the audition with Bing accompanying. Abi is required to drink a beverage labeled "Cuppliance", and goes out to sing "Anyone Who Knows What Love Is" by Irma Thomas for judges Hope, Charity and Wraith (Rupert Everett, Julia Davis, Ashley Thomas, respectively). Though impressed, they say there are no more positions for singers, and Hope suggests she is better suited for Wraith's pornography show WraithBabes. Despite Bing's protests from the wings, Abi caves into pressure from both the crowd and judges and accepts. One day, while watching entertainment in his personal cell, Bing sees an advert for WraithBabes featuring Abi. Bing is forced to watch the ad as he cannot afford to skip it, and when he looks away, a high-pitched noise sounds until he looks at the screen. Bing angrily bashes one of the screens, shattering it. He picks up a shard of glass and cuts into the back of his hand where the Hot Shot temporary tattoo remains. Inspired, he hides the shard under his bed, along with the used container from Abi's Cuppliance. He spends the next few months single-mindedly earning merits and living frugally to re-earn the 15 million merits and buy another Hot Shot entry ticket. At his audition, Bing hides the glass shard in his trousers and pretends that he has already drunk Cuppliance by showing them the empty container. He starts his performance with a dance number, but midway through pulls out the shard and threatens to slice his neck. Wraith goads him to do it, but the other judges encourage him to speak. Bing angrily rants about the system they live under, talking about the heartlessness and artificiality of it. After some discussion between the judges, Hope offers Bing his own regular show on one of his channels. Bing is shown recording his show, which consists of him ranting while holding the glass shard to his neck. He finishes with an advert for a doppel accessory. Bing lives in much larger quarters, and the episode ends with him looking out from his room onto what appears to be a vast green forest. Production [ edit ] Conception and writing [ edit ] This episode was the first Black Mirror episode to be written, though it aired following "The National Anthem".[3] It was written by Charlie Brooker and his wife Konnie Huq; an inspiration for the episode was Huq's remark that Brooker would "basically be happy in a room where every wall was [an iPad screen]".[4] Huq had conceived of a future where the walls of every house would be a touch-screen television, whilst Brooker had been inspired by avatars on the Xbox 360 and Wii. Huq had also had an idea that gyms should be powered by the energy produced by its exercise equipment.[5] Additionally, the episode is based on the "narrative in talent shows", where "there are a lot of people who do a job they hate for little reward, and one of the main means of salvation that's held up is to become an overnight star."[3] At the time, Huq was presenting The Xtra Factor, a reality series companion show. She had previously presented children's television show Blue Peter and noted that many children wanted to be famous without knowing what they would be famous for. The episode was also influenced by The Year of the Sex Olympics, a 1968 dystopia which comments on reality television.[5] Brooker compared the episode to the "1984" ad produced by Apple, Inc. for the Apple Macintosh computer.[6] He and Huq nicknamed the episode the "Screenwipe Story" because of Bing's similarities to Brooker's televised rants on Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe.[5] The ending went through various drafts. One idea featured Bing and Abi living together, both unhappy with their lives; another idea had Bing deliver his stream and anxiously pore over the ratings for it. One ending revealed that the exercise bikes were not connected to this; Jones comments that the viewer thinks this anyway.[5] Filming [ edit ] Euros Lyn directed the episode; Brooker had written reviews of Lyn's work on science fiction programme Doctor Who and Lyn was familiar with his articles in The Guardian and his show Nathan Barley. Daniel Kaluuya was cast as Bing Madsen, based on an audition in which he performed the scene where Bing rants on Hot Shot. Kaluuya would later be cast in 2017 horror film Get Out by Jordan Peele because of the strength of his speech in the final episode. Jessica Brown Findlay plays Abi, having finished working on historical period drama Downton Abbey. Rupert Everett plays Judge Hope, Julia Davis plays Judge Charity and Ashley Thomas plays Judge Wraith.[5] Filming took place in Buckingham, on a disused university campus.[7] Due to the small budget, every scene takes place on one set, which was redressed for each location.[5] The sets feature working screens as it was decided that using visual effects would not really be possible.[4] Production designer Joel Collins gives the example that when Kaluuya swiped his hand in front of the screen attached to his bike machine, a crew member would press a button to trigger the screen's response. An illustrator and a team of animators worked on the digital avatars used, with every cast member being assigned an avatar, and hundreds more avatars appearing in the Hot Shots audience. Many audience reactions were shot so that they could be inserted as appropriate responses to the story and dialogue.[7] The "cycling chamber" shown is one of thousands in the building; a low budget meant this building could only be shown sparingly.[5] Bing's screen displays different programmes. Whilst gameshow Botherguts was fictional and had to be filmed, Endemol allowed their gameshows Don't Scare the Hare and The Whole 19 Yards to be displayed on the screens. Additionally, adverts for the fictional pornography channel WraithBabes needed to be filmed; two real pornographic actresses were hired, with one of the actresses bringing her boyfriend to participate in the shoot. In the WraithBabes video which Abi appears in, more graphic elements were shot but a version was chosen where the actor puts his thumb in Abi's mouth to give a sense of "weird violation" rather than titillation.[5] To inform Kaluuya's portrayal of Bing, Lyn and Kaluuya discussed Bing's backstory in great depth, considering Bing's relationship with his deceased brother. Brooker says that in the scene where Bing smashes up his bedroom, Kaluuya accidentally cut his foot, and this moment was included in the final cut. Kaluuya worked with a choreographer for the dance which Bing performs on Hot Shot. His Hot Shot performance was filmed in two takes, with three cameras on Kaluuya. The rant was written by Brooker "in a real rush", to imitate Bing's delivery, and contains lines that do not make complete sense, such as "You're sitting there slowly knitting things worse".[5] Judge Hope was inspired by talent competition judge Simon Cowell, as well as BBC Radio 1 DJs from the 1970s. Davis and Everett had both had the idea of doing Australian accents, but only Everett was allowed to use the accent. To distance Judge Hope from singer George Michael, Everett removed his glasses during his first scene.[5] Music [ edit ] The episode features an original soundtrack by Stephen McKeon. McKeon agreed with Lyn that the score should use live musicians and "sound natural" as a contrast to the artificiality of the setting. The music for Bing's character is Western in genre, chosen to match his cell's personalised theme and to evoke the symbolism of a hero in Western film, which Bing unsuccessfully tries to embody by "saving" Abi.[5] The music for pornography channel WraithBabes features voices by Tara Lee, McKeon's 16-year-old daughter. The scene in which Bing works hard to achieve 15 million merits is five minutes long; the music had to build throughout, and McKeon used a sample of an exercise bike in his composition. The song "Anyone Who Knows What Love Is (Will Understand)" by Irma Thomas was chosen by Brooker to stand out from the dystopic setting. Brooker wanted a catchy song with a 1960s style. It recurs in later Black Mirror episodes.[5] Broadcast scheduling [ edit ] By coincidence, "Fifteen Million Merits" was scheduled to air on 11 December 2011, at the same time as the final of one series of ITV's The X Factor. Brooker contacted Channel 4, who moved the programme to a later slot. Trailers for the episode noted that it would air after The X Factor final, and one trailer ran on ITV during the final itself. Brooker commented that Hot Shot was not meant to "directly be" The X Factor, as talent shows have different roles in the fictional setting of the episode.[5] Museum exhibit [ edit ] Scenes from "Fifteen Million Merits" were featured at a Barbican Centre exhibit entitled "Into the Unknown: A Journey Through Science Fiction". The entrance contained a 6-foot (1.8 m) high installation containing extracts from the episode across multiple screens.[8] Analysis [ edit ] The episode falls under the genres of dystopia, science fiction and drama.[9][10] Brooker calls it "an incredibly reductive piss-taking version of capitalism".[5] Lambie compares it to dystopian novels Nineteen Eighty-Four, Brave New World and We, due to the plot revolving around a "doomed relationship".[10] Bing is a tragic hero according to Wallaston.[11] In regards to the pacing, David Sims writes that the episode is "economical [...] with the information it gives you".[9] Richards notes that Hot Shot is "a caustic satire on TV talent shows";[2] it is widely considered to be based on The X Factor, with Judge Hope in the role of Simon Cowell.[9][11][2] Reviewers have also drawn comparisons to American Idol.[12] David Lewis of Cultbox compared Botherguts, one of the fictional entertainment shows that makes fun of overweight people in the society, to Brooker's previous work TVGoHome.[13] Sims uses the metaphor that Bing is "stuck inside a cellphone", and that his life is a game of Candy Crush.[9] Connolly calls Bing's cell a "little tomb made out of Kinect-equipped iPads".[1] Sims notes that the "doppels" each person has resemble Mii avatars.[9] Surette comments that the episode shows a "class system", with the unfit being assigned janitor jobs – a lower position than working on the exercise bikes. He also notes that one could compare the world to that of a dull office job.[12] Bing can be seen as a satire of Brooker himself, as both can be described as a "bilious TV critic turned TV presenter".[2] His character speaks very little for most of the episode before his stream of consciousness-style rant at the judges.[9] Howard said Abi's storyline "rings chillingly true in our world of Instamodels and reality stars", giving the example of Kim Kardashian, and opines "Stardom, for women, equates to sexual objectification - it's unavoidable".[14] Surette writes that the episode provides a "look forward into our celebrity-obsessed culture".[12] The forest seen from Bing's window at the end of the episode can be interpreted as real or a computer-generated landscape.[13][1] Sims writes "It can't be [real], can it?"[9] Reception [ edit ] "Fifteen Million Merits" premiered on Channel 4 on 11 December 2011 at 9:30 p.m., where according to 7-day figures from the Broadcasters' Audience Research Board, the episode was watched by 1.52 million viewers.[15] In 2012, the episode was nominated in the category Best Production Design at the British Academy Television Craft Awards.[16] Critical reception [ edit ] The episode received positive reviews. Many critics agreed that this episode was better than the previous, "The National Anthem". Writing for The A.V. Club, David Sims opined that it is a "grander work in every way",[9] while Wollaston calls it "much better", "more artful" and "moving".[11] Sims gave the episode an A, describing it as "visually seamless" and "a dazzling piece of science fiction that builds its world out slowly but perfectly over the course of an hour". He called Bing "perhaps too inscrutable" but says the ending is "devastating and smart".[9] Tim Surette of TV.com said that the episode is "one of the most beautiful and haunting hours of science-fiction television you'll [ever] see". Surette assessed that, "Brimming with gorgeous visuals, a moving score, and a fully realized future that might not be too far off, there's never a moment where '15 Million Merits' is anything less than gripping, scary, and thought-provoking. [...] '15 Million Merits' wants you to look in the mirror and do something about it."[12] Sam Wollaston of The Guardian described the episode as "original, thoughtful, thought-provoking television". Wollaston remarked that "all the performances are good" and that the world is "striking to look at and beautiful".[11] Ryan Lambie of Den of Geek raved that "Fifteen Million Merits" contains "some of the finest production design, music and acting [he has] seen in a genre television show all year". Criticising that "some aspects [...] are a little too shrill", referring to Dustin's abrasiveness and Hope's obvious satire of Cowell, Lambie gave an otherwise overwhelmingly positive review, critiquing that "the warmth of Bing and Abi's brief romance, contrasted against the coldness of TV screens, jeering avatars and manipulative reality show judges, is among the most moving I've seen in for a while, and the main reason why Fifteen Million Merits is such a captivating piece of genre television."[10] Alexandra Howard of The 405 wrote that the episode is the one that "stuck with [her]", due to its commentary on the objectification of women; Howard commented that Black Mirror "makes you reflect upon the world and realise that you are also part of the problem".[14] Sam Richards of The Telegraph gave the episode four out of five stars in a review which argued that the episode explored "familiar tropes" with "style, savvy and lashings of acerbic humour".[2] David Lewis of Cultbox rated the episode three out of five, commenting that "the moral is more sledgehammer than subtle" but Bing and Abi holdings hands is "sweet" and the golden ticket appearing with Bing's doppel on Abi's screen is "genuinely touching"; Lewis called the episode "profoundly depressing – highly watchable, but utterly wretched".[13] Brendan Connolly of Bleeding Cool was "disappointed" by the episode, as it was a "fairly prosaic story situated in an all too familiar future world, semi-fraught with overplayed dangers". The review criticised the "bit of a leap" required to accept that Abi would "choose a life of televised sex abuse over a life of menial labour". However, Connolly stated that "the show really punched out through the screen and hit [him]" in its final scene, due to the ambiguity of whether the forest is real, and uncertainty of how Bing sees his situation.[1]Although it might seem on paper like one of the easiest tasks in all of driving, parking can actually be quite a challenge for some motorists. Whether it’s something to do with spatial relation abilities being thrown off by moving slowly, wanting to impress the opposite sex or something else altogether, there are some people who simply stop their cars in bizarre, messy fashions. On the other hand, even the best parkers have been known to pick spots that turn out to be not-so-swell. No matter what the cause, though, the Internet is overflowing with examples of automobiles sitting stationary in positions that range from awkward to outrageous. With that in mind, we decided to assemble 20 of our favorite examples of motorcar docking misadventures, along with some insightful (or, you know, not) commentary. Without further ado – or any regard to ranking or order – here they are. I’m (Partially) on a Boat! While this pic is often used as an argument against distributing drivers licenses to women (sometimes jokingly, sometimes not), we think the real issue raised by this picture is there is a real, a pent-up demand for yachts with garages. One of Those Days… You know the meaning of the phrase “adding insult to injury?” The owner of this booted Porsche 924 most certainly does. It’s Not Polite to Stair Even if you’re in danger of missing your train, and the stairs leading down to the platform are slightly wider than your Ford Fiesta, it’s not a good idea to actually drive down there…unless you’re trying to protect your fellow commuters from the Terrible Secret of Space. Where my hose at? Just in case the threat of a ticket or a tow isn’t enough of a deterrent from parking in front of a hydrant, let’s throw in a couple broken windows for good measure. And if that isn’t enough, well…how long does Dalmatian poo have to sit on automotive upholstery before it stains? Wreckin’ It Old School Yes, it’s an early ‘70s Impala and yes, it’s draggin’ the bumper, but there’s nary a hydraulic cylinder or Dayton wire wheel in sight. At least Granny thinks it’s fly…or fail. Jeremy Clarkson Approves Scientists have been trying to create a type of asphalt that lasts longer and provides a smoother ride for decades. Apparently, they had far less trouble creating one that has an appetite for camping trailers. Ohhh Yeah? …and that, boys and girls, is why the Kool Aid Man isn’t allowed to drive in Europe. Aw Crap… At first, Marc didn’t think much of throwing the nest and eggs that were in his rain gutters in the trash. By next morning, though, he had changed his tune. What Do You Mean I Get an “Automatic F?” Jane really hated being placed on traffic school duty, and wished there was a way to get out of it. It soon became clear that she had wished a bit too hard. In Russia, Trees Hug You! “Vladimir?” “Da?” “Why is your car between trees?” “Couldn’t find real hammock, so I improvise.” Out to Launch Can’t tell the difference between a truck and a boat? There’s an app for that. (Just kidding…we hope.) Well That’s the Pits Ever have someone tell you to go crawl into a hole and die? We haven’t (lately), but this Jeep might very well have. Time Expired “Oh bollocks! I told Uncle Rupert to cut his eulogy down from 40 pages, but would he listen?! Noooo….” What’s the Swedish for “Bow chika wow wow?” We knew GM cut a few corners when developing the second generation Saab 900, but we didn’t think the process was quite so…NSFW. Water You Going to Do Now? As bad ideas go, history would judge the car hot tub to be right up there with the solar-powered night light and the Internet dating service for amoebas. Tilting at Windmills, er, Cute Utes “There, I’ve done my good deed for the day: I’ve parked while still leaving room behind me. I’ve earned that soyfrappamochacinolatte.” How Does It Feel? A rolling stone might not gather moss, but it is quite handy at ensnaring ham-fisted Astra drivers. Thanks for the Tip Intended to help differentiate it from its Ford Fusion twin, the Mercury Milan’s Variable Gravity System was quickly and quietly discontinued after a series of “incidents.” Better Than Any Amusement Park Ride We’re not saying engineers should give up on trying to combine automobiles and monorails. We’re just saying that they should do their homework on it first. Clearly, He’s Hedging His Bets We all know a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, but what’s the equivalent of a car in the bush? Two cars in the driveway? A dozen pizzas? Inquiring minds want to know!By Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi Since the beginning of Russian airstrikes in Syria, the north Latakia fighting front has emerged as a key battleground as regime forces- including irregular militias like the Muqawama Suriya and the Syrian Social Nationalist Party’s Nusur al-Zawba’a– and Shi’a militias like the Iraqi Harakat al-Nujaba’ seek to make advances and consolidate the remaining rump state. Contrasting with the Aleppo front but similar to developments in north Hama, the north Latakia front has remained largely at a stalemate, with the two main frontline areas being Jabal al-Akrad and Jabal al-Turkoman. The question then arises of which insurgent factions are operating on this front. In general, these factions are diverse in nature, ranging from Western-backed groups to jihadists. Further, they tend to acknowledge that they do not operate alone but rather cooperate with multiple other groups. This is so despite the fact that the last two major offensives launched by rebel forces in Latakia province- summer 2013 (A’isha Mother of the Believers Battle) and spring 2014 (al-Anfal Battle)- were spearheaded by foreign jihadists, with the area having a reputation as a hangout for muhajireen. For the purposes of this survey of factions, it is useful first to consider the distinctly local groups, and then contingents of more well-known and widespread rebel and jihadist coalitions and factions that are participating on the Latakia frontlines. 1st Coastal Division The 1st Coastal Division, which operates in the Jabal al-Turkoman and Jabal al-Akrad areas, is a declared Free Syrian Army [FSA] faction that was announced on 21 October 2014 as a merger of three rebel groups in Latakia province: Liwa al-‘Adiyat fi al-Sahel al-Souri, the First Brigade in the Mid-West Front, and the Storm Brigade (Liwa al-Asifa). The FSA affiliation of 1st Coastal comes as no surprise. For example, Liwa al-‘Adiyat was previously involved in the Supreme Military Council (SMC)-affiliated conglomeration known as Ahfad al-Rasul, which has since become defunct. The Mid-West Front similarly had links with the SMC, as when SMC leader Salim Idriss toured the Latakia frontline in the summer 2013 offensive. The Storm Brigade was formed in early 2013 as a merger of five local brigades in Latakia province. Sub-formations of these brigades have evidently carried over into 1st Coastal, such as the A’isha Mother of the Believers Battalion that was also the name of a sub-formation of the Storm Brigade. A’isha Mother of the Believers Battalion, previously a sub-formation of the Storm Brigade but now the 1st Coastal as per the merger. The 1st Coastal formation statement affirmed that “the mission of this division is to bring down the Assad regime, and secure stability and security for the free Syrian people.” Further, the statement called on “all factions operating in the Syrian Sahel [coastal area] to unite for the sake of realizing the near victory.” The 1st Coastal has received TOW missiles, which it notably used to down a helicopter in a separate incident on the same day in late November that the Russian pilots and their aircraft were shot down by Turkey over north Latakia. Though the leader of the Storm Brigade component- Basil Zemo- was killed in October reportedly in Russian airstrikes, 1st Coastal continues to have a prolific output of videos and other media content advertising its operations. Though the division does not espouse a particular ethnic or sectarian platform, its membership primarily consists of local Arabs. That said, at least one Turkmen contingent appears to exist within 1st Coastal: the Mustafa Battalion, whose leader- Abu Rashad al-Turkomani– was declared to have been killed in the Jabal al-Turkoman area in early October, along with his companion Abu Rabah. 2nd Coastal Division As the group’s emblem suggests, the 2nd Coastal Division is a Syrian Turkmen brigade operating primarily in the Jabal al-Turkoman area. The group’s spokesman, whom this author interviewed, claimed that the brigade has some 2000 fighters and was formed approximately a year ago (some time after 1st Coastal) as a merger of some local brigades. The leader of the brigade is one Bashar Mulla. The group’s spokesman says that constituent groups of 2nd Coastal include the Yaldram Bayazid Brigade, the Sultan Abd al-Hamid Brigade, and the 1st and 4th Murad Brigades. The claimed figure of 2000 is likely to be an exaggeration though, and the spokesman for another group on the Jabal al-Turkoman front- Katibat Jabal al-Islam- asserted that 2nd Coastal probably has no more than 500 members. The extent of media output and the ethnic minority composition of 2nd Coastal would suggest that the brigade is likely smaller than 1st Coastal. Similar to 1st Coastal, it identifies as part of the FSA, and offered condolences to 1st Coastal under this moniker on the death of Basil Zemo. 10th Brigade The 10th Brigade is another declared FSA faction. Like 2nd Coastal, it is based primarily in the Jabal al-Turkoman area, though it also operates in Jabal al-Akrad. According to the media representative for the 10th Brigade, the group’s beginnings ultimately trace back to a union of a number of local Latakia countryside battalions in August 2012. From the beginning these brigades considered themselves FSA. That said, the brand of the 10th Brigade did not come to public light until the following year, as the 10th Brigade was announced to be a part of the SMC-linked Mid-West Front in the summer of 2013. Indeed, soon after that declaration, the 10th Brigade was identified as a participant in the offensive push towards Assad’s ancestral village of al-Qardaha, though its role back then could only be described as minor and auxiliary at best. Moving forward to the present day, the 10th Brigade’s media representative offered a quite realistic view of the nature of operations in an interview with this author: “The 10th Brigade in the Sahel since its establishment and until today has participated in all the defence battles that have occurred in Latakia countryside, just as it answered demands to provide support on all the fronts that the Assad forces tried to assault: and the most important part is ribat [frontline maintenance duty], for as is well known on the ground of reality but not well known in the media, ribat on the frontlines constitutes more than 80% of the military operations that include battles, provisions of assistance and the like, and it constitutes most of the operations, which lead to attrition.” In total, the representative put current ribat operations at six fronts in Jabal al-Turkoman and Jabal al-Akrad. Despite its FSA identity, the 10th Brigade has also provided training for fighters not necessarily linked to the FSA networks. The most notable case concerns fighters from Homs who later emerged as the Jaysh al-Sunna faction that is part of the Jaysh al-Fatah coalition, which controls the majority of Idlib province. As explained by the 10th Brigade representative: “After the fleeing of the fighters from besieged Homs, we received some of them in the 10th Brigade camp in the Sahel that is considered the largest camp for a military faction…but the revolutionaries who fled from Homs and whom we received did not have any moniker at that time except ‘Revolutionaries of Besieged Homs’, and there was not among them at that time any military activity. But after that they decided to head to the regions of Idlib and we heard as others had heard that they had called themselves Jaysh al-Sunna and had become part of the Jaysh al-Fatah operations room, and we have no connection with them outside of the aim of bringing down the regime of the dictator Bashar al-Assad and building a state guaranteeing a life of dignity and freedom and securing a future for the children of Syria in the most preferable manner possible.” In keeping with an FSA identity, the 10th Brigade professes rejection of sectarian and ethnic distinction in its language, insisting that its members are of Syrian identity alone. Farqat Asifat al-Hazm Farqat Asifat al-Hazm is a faction whose name translates as the “Determination Storm Division.” Its members are mostly local Arabs from Latakia and Baniyas, the latter having once been a focal point of insurgent unrest in Tartous province until put down through sectarian massacres by regime forces aided by the Muqawama Suriya militia in 2013. Farqat Asifat al-Hazm operates solely in the Jabal al-Turkoman and Jabal al-Akrad areas in Latakia province, and it was established in April 2015. The establishment of the group was announced in a video by one Abd al-Majid Dabis, who summarised the division’s aims as “freedom, security and equality for the Syrian people in all its components.” Abd al-Majid Dabis had been involved with the SMC, also known at the time as the Council of Thirty. The opposition site all4Syria notes that alongside Abd al-Jayyid in the announcement video appears Hadhifa al-Shughri, who is the leader of a local Latakia province brigade called Farqat Abna’ al-Qadisiya (Sons of Qadisiya Division). Based on this point and the similarities in emblems for the groups (see below for Farqat Abna’ al-Qadisiya emblem), it is likely that the two organizations are closely linked to each other. Interestingly, Farqat Abna’ al-Qadisiya also maintains a da’wa office, which has engaged in activity in the Latakia countryside. Activities of the da’wa office of Farqat Abna’ al-Qadisiya According to Farqat Asifat al-Hazm’s spokesman, [outside] aid for Farqat Asifat al-Hazm stopped three months ago and the group is hoping that Turkey will provide support. He also emphasized that the brigade’s primary aim above all is the downfall of the regime: “Before the talk of a civil or democratic state, we want to bring about the downfall of the regime and get rid of Russia and the regime on account of their crimes against the people. After the downfall, let the people choose what it wants. We will not interfere with their will.” Overall, Farqat Asifat al-Hazm appears to be a more minor component of the north Latakia insurgency in comparison with 1st Coastal, 2nd Coastal and the 10th Brigade. Liwa al-Sultan Abd al-Hamid Liwa al-Sultan Abd al-Hamid translates as the Sultan Abd al-Hamid Brigade. It will be recalled that the 2nd Coastal claims that a formation with this name is affiliated with it. However, the Sultan Abd al-Hamid Brigade profiled here is claimed by its own media representative to be an independent Syrian Turkmen faction, so to avoid confusion it will hereafter be denoted as Liwa al-Sultan Abd al-Hamid. Liwa al-Sultan Abd al-Hamid, under the leadership of one Omar Abdullah and operating in Jabal al-Turkoman, first emerged in January 2015 as a merger of three local battalions: Omar al-Mukhtar, Omar ibn Abd al-Aziz, and Othman Ghazi. Omar Abdullah at the time claimed the new formation’s numbers exceeded some 300 fighters- considerably smaller than the numbers 2nd Coastal claims. Ideologically, Liwa al-Sultan Abd al-Hamid seems similar to the other FSA-identifying formations in north Latakia. As the media representative for the group stated to this author: “Our manhaj [program] is that we want to remove oppression from this people. We do not want a Turkmen authority or state, but rather we want to bring down this tyrant and oppressor Bashar.” Vehicles of the Omar al-Mukhtar Battalion of Liwa al-Sultan Abd al-Hamid Members of the Othman Ghazi Battalion. Note the Liwa al-Sultan Abd al-Hamid emblem on the vehicle. Katibat Jabal al-Islam Katibat Jabal al-Islam means the “Mount Islam Battalion.” According to the media representative for this group interviewed by the author, Katibat Jabal al-Islam was established in 2012 and is independent. The group operates in the Jabal al-Turkoman area and is primarily Syrian Turkmen in ethnic composition, though it also claims to have Arabs in its ranks as no distinctions are supposedly made on ethnic grounds in accordance with the group’s ideology, which appears to be of jihadist orientation. Indeed, the group’s representative affirmed that the ideological program is the same as that of Syrian al-Qa’ida affiliate Jab
Rosa’s two innings, even though they’re just that. Farrell spent some two minutes of his five-minute postgame interview with media talking about De La Rosa, even with veteran lefty Jon Lester making a strong spring-training debut. “Physically ahead of what a realistic plan would be for him,” Farrell said. “It’s two innings in spring training, but a very impressive two.”Throughout Roy G. Biv, Stewart sprinkled in quotes that expressed strongly felt beliefs about color, "ideas you could roll around in your head for a while like a caramel melting on your tongue,” she says. So I ask her to explain one of these confections: Why is pink the navy of India? “Fashion icon Diana Vreeland said this–I’m such a fan of her pronouncements, which manage to be both insightful and slightly mad,” Stewarts says. “I take Vreeland’s quote to mean that pink in India operates as a default color, a basic shade around which many different color-palettes grow. Strictly speaking I couldn’t tell you if she’s right or wrong about that observation, if India is really that awash in pink, but don’t you devoutly wish it to be true?” To her assertion that brown is the color of death, she responds: “Not to put too fine a point on it, but: brown is the color of feces, which puts that color at the end of the life cycle. But the browns of feces, mulch, fertilizer also feed new shoots of life.” One entry in the brown chapter is about bole, a very old English word for brown that describes either a soft reddish-brown clay, a tree trunk, or the color of either of these. She writes: “Picture it: a late winter afternoon, bare of all leaves, one bole sprouts quietly out of another. Brown comes from brown and returns to it.” Orange, she asserts, is a violent color. Why? “As queer as a clockwork orange,’” Stewart notes, is the Cockney expression that inspired the title of Anthony Burgess’s 1962 novel A Clockwork Orange. “It’s roughly the equivalent of our ‘three-dollar bill,’ something so odd that it can’t be trusted. I like how Burgess describes his intent in his book’s introduction: a person programmed only to perform good or evil ‘has the appearance of an organism lovely with color and juice, but in fact only a clockwork toy to be wound up by God or the Devil … or the almighty state.’” While Stewart says she likes orange, she notes that it has a rich history of signaling cheapness and vulgarity, and, “it doesn’t require much of a leap to taint a lower-class color with associations of violence.” And what about prisoners’ orange jumpsuits, I ask? Wouldn’t wearing a symbol for violence breed more violence? Stewart argues that orange prisonwear is for visibility, “especially during perp walks, and as a strong visual signifier separating those in the cage from those who aren’t.” As she describes in the book, “correctional facilities in Cleveland County garb their prisoners in pink shirts and yellow-and-white-striped pants. Dressing like a gaudy Easter egg is apparently part of their punishment.” I always wanted to know why green was considered lucky and unlucky. How can the color that dominates the natural world symbolize such extremes of fortune? “It’s unanswerable in a sense, but let’s consider some of the evidence,” she says. “In China, men hesitate to wear green hats, because the phrase ‘to wear a green hat’ in Chinese sounds exactly like the one that means ‘to be cuckolded.’ Green cars and magazine covers are both stigmatized as unlucky for murky reasons. I relate in the book a controversy over whether or not Napoleon was killed by his own green wallpaper. On the lucky side of things, we have green as the auspicious color of Islam and Muhammad, Confucius’s praise of the 10 virtues of jade, theater’s green room and all the explanatory lore about how it earned its name. It’s hard to say what about green prompts so many conflicting responses, but nonetheless the through-line is there.”× Police seek suspect who tried to sexually assault teens at Monarch Ski Area CHAFFEE COUNTY, Colo. — Police are looking for a suspect who allegedly tried to sexually assault a pair of teenage girls at Monarch Ski Area. Both cases were reported in the past two weeks. In at least one of the incidents, the suspect was armed and fired a shot to frighten the victim, the Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office reported. Both victims were teenage girls boarding the ski lift alone. In each case, the suspect reportedly rode the ski lift with the victim, then followed her down the ski run to a point where he then forced them into the trees and tried to sexually assault her. In the second incident, the victim said the suspect pulled a handgun and fired the weapon in an attempt to coerce her to cooperate. In both instances, the victims were able to escape and the suspect fled the scene. The suspect is described as a white male in his teens, standing approximately 5’8” to 6’1” and weighing approximately 140 pounds. He is believed to have red hair and possibly some freckles on his face. Monarch management has cooperated fully with the investigation, the sheriff’s office said. Anyone with information in the case was asked to contact either Sgt. Andy Rohrich at 719-207-0056, or Det. Claudette Hysjulien at 719-239-1600.SAN ANTONIO -- A church on the North Side has been vandalized with graffiti that could be a response to views by presidential candidate Donald Trump. The tagging was done in black spray paint against the brick building's entrance into the Gethsemane Lutheran Church inthe 600 block of Avalon Road. It reads, “No to wall” and Islam or die” in all capital letters. Below those words is a large, stenciled symbol, although it's unclear what the symbol means. “This is something else,” said Eric Miletti, the church’s pastor. “They did put some time into this.” Miletti said he's unsure if the tagging has anything to do with views expressed by Trump, who has talked about strengthening the border wall between Mexico and the United States and about imposing tighter restrictions on immigration from Muslim countries, and he’s not sure why the tagger would chose his church for the message. The church doesn’t have a large immigrant population or a ministry focused on immigrants, he said. He’s disappointed that someone vandalized the church he's been preaching at for the past two years. Miletti said church member first noticed the vandalism Monday morning while tending to a pumpkin patch the church has been sponsoring since last week on its lawn. The pastor said police were notified and a report was filed. Miletti previously worked at a church in San Juan, Puerto Rico, before coming to Gethsemane. twhite@mysa.comWest African CFA franc (XOF) Central African CFA franc (XAF) Usage of:West African CFA franc (XOF)Central African CFA franc (XAF) The CFA franc (in French: franc CFA [fʁɑ̃ seɛfɑ], or colloquially franc) is the name of two currencies, the West African CFA franc, used in eight West African countries, and the Central African CFA franc, used in six Central African countries. Both currencies are guaranteed by the French treasury. Although separate, the two CFA franc currencies have always been at parity and are effectively interchangeable. The ISO currency codes are XAF for the Central African CFA franc and XOF for the West African CFA franc. Both CFA francs have a fixed exchange rate to the euro: 100 CFA francs = 1 former French (nouveau) franc = 0.152449 euro; or 1 € = 6.55957 FRF = 655.957 CFA francs exactly. Usage [ edit ] CFA francs is used in fourteen countries: twelve nations formerly ruled by France in West and Central Africa (excluding Guinea and Mauritania, which withdrew), plus Guinea-Bissau (a former Portuguese colony), and Equatorial Guinea (a former Spanish colony). These fourteen countries have a combined population of 147.5 million people (as of 2013),[1] and a combined GDP of US$166.6 billion (as of 2012).[2] The ISO currency codes are XAF for the Central African CFA franc and XOF for the West African CFA franc. Evaluation [ edit ] The currency has been criticized for making economic planning for the developing countries of French West Africa all but impossible since the CFA's value is pegged to the euro (whose monetary policy is set by the European Central Bank).[3] Others disagree and argue that the CFA "helps stabilize the national currencies of Franc Zone member-countries and greatly facilitates the flow of exports and imports between France and the member-countries".[4] The European Union's own assessment of the CFA's link to the euro, carried out in 2008, noted that "benefits from economic integration within each of the two monetary unions of the CFA franc zone, and even more so between them, remained remarkably low" but that "the peg to the French franc and, since 1999, to the euro as exchange rate anchor is usually found to have had favourable effects in the region in terms of macroeconomic stability".[5] Name [ edit ] Between 1945 and 1958, CFA stood for Colonies françaises d'Afrique ("French colonies of Africa"); then for Communauté française d'Afrique ("French Community of Africa") between 1958 (establishment of the French Fifth Republic) and the independence of these African countries at the beginning of the 1960s. Since independence, CFA is taken to mean Communauté Financière Africaine (African Financial Community),[6] but in actual use, the term can have two meanings (see Institutions below). Another school of thought believes the CFA means Currency Fixed Against the French Franc. History [ edit ] Creation [ edit ] The CFA franc was created on 26 December 1945, along with the CFP franc. The reason for their creation was the weakness of the French franc immediately after World War II. When France ratified the Bretton Woods Agreement in December 1945, the French franc was devalued in order to set a fixed exchange rate with the US dollar. New currencies were created in the French colonies to spare them the strong devaluation, thereby facilitating imports from France.[citation needed] French officials presented the decision as an act of generosity. René Pleven, the French minister of finance, was quoted as saying: In a show of her generosity and selflessness, metropolitan France, wishing not to impose on her far-away daughters the consequences of her own poverty, is setting different exchange rates for their currency. Exchange rate [ edit ] The CFA franc was created with a fixed exchange rate versus the French franc. This exchange rate was changed only twice: in 1948 and in 1994. Exchange rate: 26 December 1945 to 16 October 1948 – 1 CFA franc = 1.70 FRF (FRF = French franc). This 0.70 FRF premium is the consequence of the creation of the CFA franc, which spared the French African colonies the devaluation of December 1945 (before December 1945, 1 local franc in these colonies was worth 1 French franc). 17 October 1948 to 31 December 1959 – 1 CFA franc = 2.00 FRF (the CFA franc had followed the French franc's devaluation versus the US dollar in January 1948, but on 18 October 1948, the French franc devalued again and this time the CFA franc was revalued against the French franc to offset almost all of this new devaluation of the French franc; after October 1948, the CFA was never revalued again versus the French franc and followed all the successive devaluations of the French franc) 1 January 1960 to 11 January 1994 – 1 CFA franc = 0.02 FRF (1 January 1960: the French franc redenominated, with 100 "old" francs becoming 1 "new" franc) 12 January 1994 to 31 December 1998 – 1 CFA franc = 0.01 FRF (sharp devaluation of the CFA franc to help African exports) 1 January 1999 onwards – 100 CFA franc = 0.152449 euro or 1 euro = 655.957 CFA franc. (1 January 1999: euro replaced FRF at the rate of 6.55957 FRF for 1 euro) The 1960 and 1999 events were merely changes in the currency in use in France: the relative value of the CFA franc versus the French franc/euro changed only in 1948 and 1994. The value of the CFA franc has been widely criticized as being too high, which many economists believe favours the urban elite of the African countries, who can buy imported manufactured goods cheaply at the expense of farmers who cannot easily export agricultural products.[citation needed] The devaluation of 1994 was an attempt to reduce these imbalances. Changes in countries using the franc [ edit ] Over time, the number of countries and territories using the CFA franc has changed as some countries began introducing their own separate currencies. A couple of nations in West Africa have also chosen to adopt the CFA franc since its introduction, despite the fact that they were never French colonies. European Monetary Union [ edit ] In 1998, in anticipation of Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union, the Council of the European Union addressed the monetary agreements France had with the CFA Zone and Comoros and ruled that: The agreements are unlikely to have any material effect on the monetary and exchange rate policy of the Eurozone In their present forms and states of implementation, the agreements are unlikely to present any obstacle to a smooth functioning of economic and monetary union Nothing in the agreements can be construed as implying an obligation for the European Central Bank (ECB) or any national central bank to support the convertibility of the CFA and Comorian francs Modifications to the existing agreements will not lead to any obligations for the European Central or any national central bank The French Treasury will guarantee the free convertibility at a fixed parity between the euro and the CFA and Comorian francs The competent French authorities shall keep the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the Economic and Financial Committee informed about the implementation of the agreements and inform the Committee prior to changes of the parity between the euro and the CFA and Comorian francs Any change to the nature or scope of the agreements would require Council approval on the basis of a Commission recommendation and ECB consultation Institutions [ edit ] There are two different currencies called the CFA franc: the West African CFA franc (ISO 4217 currency code XOF), and the Central Africa CFA franc (ISO 4217 currency code XAF). They are distinguished in French by the meaning of the abbreviation CFA. These two CFA francs have the same exchange rate with the euro (1 euro = 655.957 XOF = 655.957 XAF), and they are both guaranteed by the French treasury (Trésor public), but the West African CFA franc cannot be used in Central African countries, and the Central Africa CFA franc cannot be used in West African countries. West African [ edit ] West African CFA franc coins The West African CFA franc (XOF) is known in French as the Franc CFA, where CFA stands for Communauté financière d'Afrique ("Financial Community of Africa") or Communauté Financière Africaine ("African Financial Community").[9] It is issued by the BCEAO (Banque Centrale des États de l'Afrique de l'Ouest, i.e., "Central Bank of the West African States"), located in Dakar, Senegal, for the eight countries of the UEMOA (Union Économique et Monétaire Ouest Africaine, i.e., "West African Economic and Monetary Union"): These eight countries have a combined population of 102.5 million people (as of 2013),[1] and a combined GDP of US$78.4 billion (as of 2012).[2] Central African [ edit ] Central African CFA franc coins 1000 Central African CFA francs The Central Africa CFA franc (XAF) is known in French as the Franc CFA, where CFA stands for Coopération financière en Afrique centrale ("Financial Cooperation in Central Africa"). It is issued by the BEAC (Banque des États de l'Afrique Centrale, i.e., "Bank of the Central African States"), located in Yaoundé, Cameroon, for the six countries of the CEMAC (Communauté Économique et Monétaire de l'Afrique Centrale, i.e., "Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa"): These six countries have a combined population of 45.0 million people (as of 2013),[1] and a combined GDP of US$88.2 billion (as of 2012).[2] In 1975, Central African CFA banknotes were issued with an obverse unique to each participating country, and common reverse, in a fashion similar to euro coins. Equatorial Guinea, the only former Spanish colony in the zone, adopted the CFA in 1984. Gallery [ edit ] A 1 CFA franc coin. 500 West African CFA francs. 1000 Central African CFA francs. See also [ edit ] General: References [ edit ]President Putin has acted against the activities of foreign NGOs The Russian foreign ministry said the council, which promotes British culture abroad, was operating illegally. The British PM's office denied that the Council had acted illegally. Russian officials have said the move was a retaliatory measure in the ongoing dispute over the London murder of Russian exile Alexander Litvinenko. Relations between the UK and Russia have worsened since the former KGB agent was murdered in November 2006. In July, Britain expelled four Russian diplomats over Moscow's refusal to extradite a key suspect in the murder. Russia followed by expelling four British diplomats. NGOs curbed Russian foreign ministry officials said the British Council had violated Russian laws, including tax regulations. The Russian Foreign Minister linked the move to the Litvinenko case But in an interview with the BBC, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov explicitly linked the order to Britain's expulsion of Russian diplomats in July. He said Russia had been left with no choice but to retaliate over the affair. Both the British Council and the UK Foreign Office said the council was fully compliant with Russian tax laws and operates on the basis of an agreement signed in the 1990s. The council announced three months ago that it was closing nine regional offices by the end of the year and transferring operations to Russian partners. Those closures leave the headquarters in Moscow, plus offices in St Petersburg and Yekaterinburg. But a spokesman for UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown rejected the Russian allegations. "The British Council's activities in Russia are compliant with Russian and international law under the Vienna Convention and the 1994 cultural agreement between Britain and Russia," he said. "The Council is fully entitled to operate in Russia, both in Moscow and elsewhere. We, the Council and its Russian partner organisations have every intention that its programme will continue," the spokesman said. A British Council spokeswoman told the BBC that the council intends to continue its operations in Russia at the three remaining offices. The council is a registered charity funded by the British government. Its stated purpose is to promote British culture and education and build relationships between people in the UK and other countries. Moscow has acted to curb NGOs in recent years, accusing foreign governments of using them for political purposes.Italy’s House of Parliament is set to hold two hearings on the risks, promises and opportunities posed by bitcoin and other digital currency technologies this June as the government seeks to conduct broader fact-finding on the subject. The events will bring together local lawmakers, academics and international representatives from the bitcoin industry. The first meeting is set to take place on 11th June, featuring participation from parliament member Stefano Quintarelli and Senate Vice President of Treasury and Finance Committee Francesco Molinari, among others. Organised by digital payment advocacy group CashlessWay, the second event will take place on 26th June. Notable speakers will include Stefano Pepe, co-founder of independent local trade association Bitcoin Foundation Italy, parliament member Sergio Boccadutri and Robocoin CEO Jordan Kelley. Speaking to CoinDesk, Boccadutri said that the events will mark the first time that the country’s institutions, businesses and entrepreneurs will be able to discuss bitcoin and its potential impact on Italy’s economy openly. The lawmaker said: “My goal is to create, for the first time, a real and rational debate about cryptocurrencies, studying all the aspects of the new phenomenon: not only the business opportunities, but also the tax implications and the controls to avoid criminal activities.” The news follows a January proposal authored by Boccadutri that sought to impose cash-like restrictions, including mandatory reporting requirements, on bitcoin transactions exceeding €1,000. Technical overview Sebastiano Scrofina, of local bitcoin consultancy and 11th June meeting organiser CoinCapital, indicates the first of two unaffiliated meetings will focus on educating lawmakers, law enforcement agencies and members of Italy’s traditional banking industry. Scrofina expects around 15 representatives from parliament to attend what he called a “high-level discussion” on digital currency: “Oftentimes, in Italy, politicians just don’t dig deeper into the topic. Our goal is to explain in detail the technology, the block chain, the difference between bitcoin and altcoins and block chain forensics in technical detail.” The closed meeting will run from 14:30 to 18:50 local time, and also feature an open question-and-answer session. Eye toward regulation In contrast to the 11th June meeting, the second event will be open to the public and will involve international participation in the form of Robocoin CEO Kelley, though the final speaker schedule has yet to be confirmed. As yet, Boccadutri is the only member from the parliament attending, though he has been perhaps the most active lawmaker on the topic. Boccadutri eventually tabled his controversial January proposal, but has continued to advocate for the Italian government to learn more about digital currencies. For example, on 5th June, Boccadutri called for the country’s House Budget Committee to conduct an inquiry of the technology, arguing that the research is necessary so that Italy can keep pace with regulators in other nations such as Germany and the US that have been more active on the issue. Boccadutri said: “A survey from the point of view of the legislature is necessary, from my point of view, to deepen the treatment of so-called ‘transactions’ that occur in digital currency in our country.” The Palermo native further indicated that such findings would also be beneficial should the government decided to regulate such financial activity domestically. Community debut Members of the local bitcoin ecosystem said they will be ready to rise to the occasion this June in what will be the first presentations by the community to the government body. Andrea Medri, a member of Bitcoin Foundation Italy and local digital currency trading platform The Rock Trading, will be attending the 11th June event as a spectator and the 26th June event as a speaker. He indicated that he looks forward to the 26th June meeting, as it will provide the local ecosystem the opportunity to showcase a common strategy, as well as educate Boccadutri on the concerns of the community. CoinCapital’s Scrofina echoed this assessment, saying his organisation’s event marks an important advancement in what he hopes will become an ongoing discussion in Italy: “This is a good first step, it means the legislators want to just learn more about the phenomenon.” Montecitorio Palace in Rome via Shutterstock“Saying ‘I’m sorry’ is the same as saying ‘I apologize.’ Except at a funeral.” – Demetri Martin Today was the Day of Atonement. As an atheist, I find it hard to appreciate atonement in its cosmic, maybe-not-even-possible sense. But I can certainly appreciate the power of a good apology. A few days ago, there was a… Actually, I just realized that since this involves a real case going on at a real hospital with possible legal ramifications, it would be a terrible idea for me to describe it, so I’m going to change it around so far that it bears no resemblance to the original except a certain ambiguity around the idea of apologies. So, a few days ago, there was a mishap at my hospital. A patient was having some pain, but was already heavily sedated already and further painkillers might be dangerous. I am still a lowly intern and wasn’t sure what to do, so I called up my attending, who told me to go ahead and administer the drugs. This was late at night, so immediately after doing that I signed the patient over to night shift and went home. The next morning I came in and learned the patient had gotten loopy from being over-sedated and fallen down trying to walk to the bathroom. This can start a minor panic in a hospital, because we tend to have elderly people who don’t tolerate falls very well, and a bad one can mean anything from broken bones to a big lawsuit. But in fact, the patient hadn’t gotten any broken bones or head injuries or anything like that. He had scraped his elbow. My attending came in a little after me, heard there was a fall, and freaked out that was some critical injury. I said “Oh, don’t worry, he just scraped his elbow.” The attending was very relieved, and we went into an office and discussed how to change our painkiller policies and prevent problems like this in the future. A nurse heard the comment and when the patient’s wife came to ask about what had happened, she told the wife that the doctor had said the injuries weren’t a big deal. The wife then very reasonably filed a complaint against me, because all she knew about me was that I had administered the drug that caused the problem and that I had dismissed the resulting fall as “not a big deal”. The complaint made its way up to a Head Honcho, who called me in for a meeting. I explained that I had consulted my attending about using the drug, and that what I had said had been said in private as an attempt to communicate that the patient was okay. The documentation supported me on both counts and I was Cleared Of Wrongdoing (thank God). I then said I would call up the patient’s wife to apologize. The Head Honcho told me that I was quite right to want to call the patient’s wife to explain what had happened, but that I hadn’t done anything wrong and I shouldn’t sell myself short by saying “I’m sorry” or “I apologize” or any permutation thereof. It wasn’t about legal issues – the wife has already said she’s not suing us. He was just a nice guy and and thought it would be unfair to make me “confess” to something not my fault. This incident has gotten me thinking about what exactly “I’m sorry” is supposed to mean. First, it can mean “This problem was entirely the fault of my own moral failings. I admit to these moral failings, will try to give you whatever recompense I can, and will do everything possible to make this not happen again.” For example, I cheat on my wife. Then I realize that was wrong and I apologize to her. It’s unambiguously my fault I cheated, and I accept that fault. Second, it can mean “You are sad. I am sad that you are sad. I wish that this had not happened.” For example, as per the quote at the top, I go to a funeral and tell the family I’m sorry about their loss. Third, it can mean “You are sad. The reason seems to be very tangentially related to me or my actions, but no reasonable person would call it my fault. I am sad that you are hurt and if I could have prevented that I would have.” For example, a doctor tries her best to save a patient, but the patient still dies. She tells the family “I’m sorry I couldn’t do more.” Or my friend in China is upset and I say “I’m sorry I can’t be there to help you get through this.” Or the hero tells the villain “I’m sorry it had to end this way” before shooting him. Crucially but annoyingly, the first and third meaning are almost opposite each other. The first one is a way of saying “This is my fault”. The third one is a way of saying “This isn’t my fault.” They are both polite, deferential, and respectful of the pain that the victim is suffering. But only one of them admits wrongdoing. Unfortunately, the English language really doesn’t have a great way of politely and deferentially being respectful of someone else’s pain that you are tangentially related to other than saying “I’m sorry”. And also unfortunately, the English language really doesn’t have a great way of saying “This was not my fault” without sounding impolite, disrespectful, and like you’re trivializing the other person’s pain. This is why myself and the Head Honcho are having so much trouble getting together a good statement to give to the patient’s wife. All of his proposed statements sound something like “I heard you were concerned about my conduct in the case of Mr. X. I appreciate your distress, but I was not the one who chose to administer that drug, and when I described your husband’s injury I only meant that it wasn’t medically critical. The implication that it wasn’t a big deal was a misinterpretation by the nurse who gave you that statement.” This is completely honest, yet it oozes “I am a callous businessperson who is concerned entirely with covering his own ass and doesn’t care about your pain.” But all of my proposed statements sound something like: I’m very sorry that your husband fell. I handed off the decision to give painkillers to a more senior doctor, but I recognize that this was partially my fault as well. Likewise, although I only meant to say that your husband’s injuries were not medically critical, I realize I could have chosen my words better. Please accept my apologies for this distressing incident.” This makes me sound like a potentially decent person and a responsible doctor. But as the Head Honcho points out, there’s a sort of dishonesty in admitting more blame on paper than I’m willing to admit in my heart. Like, it’s true that I could have chosen my words more carefully, but if someone else were to accuse me of this, I would instantly object that since I had no idea someone would overhear them, distort them, and report the distorted version to someone else, there’s no reason I should have wanted to. The level of misinterpretation that happened to me could have happened to practically anyone at any time if they had the same bad luck – that utterance was not unusually careless by normal human standards. The miniature angel on my right shoulder tells me I should do everything I can to let this woman know that I care about and regret her suffering, even at the cost of my own pride. It tells me I should accept “heroic responsibility” – that anything that happens is my fault at least far enough that I can learn from it and use it to be a better person next time. But the miniature Robin Hanson on my left shoulder tells me that I am just signaling my own virtue and responsibility while secretly I don’t believe any of what I’m saying. Right now I’m leaning towards the angel (not that it matters; I can recommend, but the Head Honcho will make the final decision). I think my outlook is that people are reasonable: the patient’s wife, upon hearing what really happened, will read between the lines and realize it wasn’t quite my fault, but will appreciate my phrasing it in a way that emphasizes the importance I place on her concerns. I have talked to the patient’s wife before, I respect her, and I trust her to be a good apology-accepter. The Head Honcho, who doesn’t know the patient’s wife, might worry otherwise. Perhaps she will be the sort of person who, when I give my apology, won’t buy it. She’ll shout “You could have chosen your words better?! No sh*t, Sherlock!! You chose those words in a very hurtful way, you’re irresponsible, and I’m going to ask the hospital to fire you for not caring about offending people!!” Not only have I just made her angrier, but I’ve also abandoned my one advantage in this situation – the fact that I didn’t really do anything wrong. By admitting to some wrongdoing, I can no longer make the defense I made above – the one where I couldn’t reasonably expected my words to be twisted in that particular way – without being accused of backtracking and flipflopping and outright lying. II. I feel privileged to be hanging around basically decent people like my patient’s wife, and so to have a lot of options in terms of how to apologize. You know who has it really bad? Politicians. I cringe every time I see a story in the media about politicians apologizing or not apologizing. Politicians can either give the first sort of statement I mentioned – a very dry “It’s not my fault” sort of statement – and look like shifty sleazy people even if, in fact, it was not their fault. Or they can try to give an apology of the same type I was considering above, and then have all their words twisted and used against them forever until they eventually have to backtrack on it and get torn to pieces for doing so. Suppose that an attractive female Senator is bringing a motion to the floor, and a male Senator mutters to himself under his breath “I’d like to motion her to the floor.” Unbeknownst to him, his Official Senate Lapel Microphone is on and broadcasts his statement to the entire C-SPAN watching public (so, like, five people). Of course, the entire nation instantly suspends talking about boring things like the war in Syria or anthropogenic global warming to focus on the new scandal. “Sexism In The Senate?” the cover of TIME says. “Are Female Senators Just Objects For Men’s Amusement?” asks the cover of US News. And eventually the sound of a million screeching voices and the occasional death threat convinces Male Senator With Microphone that he should probably apologize or something. Male Senator With Microphone probably feels terrible. He embarassed himself in front of his colleagues, he offended the female Senator he was talking about, disrupted the proceedings of the Senate, annoyed millions of average Americans, and maybe in some vague way contributed to sexism. He certainly has every reason and every right to feel bad. On the other hand, noticing – just to one’s self! – that other people are attractive seems like a harmless and rather universal thing to do, and is hardly anything to feel bad about. The most honest apology he could give would probably be “I’m sorry I said that aloud instead of just thinking it. I didn’t realize my microphone was on at the time. I will be more careful in noticing when my microphone is and isn’t on in the future.” But of course that would mean the end of his political career. Everyone would say he was so tone-deaf and out-of-touch that he couldn’t realize the problem was that he was sexist, and not that he got caught being sexist. And the cries for his head would grow three times louder. He could go a little further than that and remain honest. He could say something like “I am sorry that lots of people were offended by my statement. I did not mean to hurt anyone’s feelings and I will try to do better in the future.” And then the newspapers, in front page headlines, would gleefully point out that he had only apologized “that people were offended” and not actually admitted wrongdoing. People would shake their heads and talk about how politicians always gave stuttering non-apologies, and eight different activist groups would hold large public demonstrations demanding he show real contrition instead of trying to “deflect the issue”. Or he could go all out. He could say “I’m incredibly sorry that I wronged Senator Y in that way. Clearly I have some sexism issues I need to work on. I promise I will never do it again and I hope the American people can forgive me for being a bad Senator and a bad person.” And then he would be torn to pieces. First, everyone will demand he resign, throwing his own words about being sexist and a bad person back at him. Then, if he doesn’t resign, they will demand he “atone” for his misdeeds by oh, let’s say doing everything that feminist lobby groups want all the time, with the threat of getting constant “I GUESS SENATOR X WASN’T REALLY SINCERE ABOUT WORKING ON HIS SEXISM” any time he can’t comply quickly enough. And the worst part will be that he will have no defense, because deep in his heart he knows he has given up his pride, his integrity, and his right to stand up for himself in order to very temporarily quiet the hordes. This Hobson’s Choice between three terrible options is all the average politician has when accused of anything – whether or not the original accusation is even fair (and I have a gut understanding of this, having previously been a politician myself). So is it any wonder that the average politician usually responds by denying all wrongdoing and accusing someone else? III. I am okay at apologizing for intellectual mistakes. There I can get new data and realize I was wrong. This is one reason I so want to apologize for prescribing the wrong painkiller. I thought listening to my attending’s advice and giving that painkiller would be okay. Events proved me wrong. I can apologize for my misjudgment without a hint of dishonesty. The same is true of honest mistakes, like coming to work late because I accidentally set my alarm wrong. If anything, I over-apologize for these until everyone is sick of hearing me and tries to reassure me with “Really, it’s just an alarm. Not the end of the world.” But I’m not very good at apologizing for moral mistakes. When I think courses of action are clearly wrong, I don’t do them. When I think courses of action are clearly right, I do them, but then I tend to continue thinking they are right and don’t see anything to apologize for. Actually, my Yom Kippur was kind of a bust. I tried really hard to repent and I couldn’t really think of anything especially bad I did. It’s not that I’m a bad person, just that
apped pockets, a rear vent and three cuff buttons. This kind of coat is often known as the “Crombie” coat, named for the brand who made this style popular. It’s like a chesterfield but shorter. Blue Sharkskin Suit Not much is seen of this wool sharkskin suit, but it appears to be the same style as the other O’Connor suits that we see more of. Bond wears it with a solid navy tie and a white shirt with a point collar. It has either double cuffs or cocktail cuffs. Bond wears black Crockett & Jones Norwich derby shoes with Dainite rubber soles with this suit. Black Herringbone Three-Piece Suit and Bridge Coat The black herringbone wool three-piece suit is different than the other suits in Spectre, made in Tom Ford’s Windsor cut. The Windsor is one of Tom Ford’s most popular designs. The jacket buttons two and has medium-wide peaked lapels and strong, straight shoulders with roped sleeve heads. The jacket is detailed with straight pockets with flaps, a ticket pocket, a single vent and five cuff buttons. The Windsor jacket is slightly longer than the O’Connor jacket. The waistcoat has six buttons with five to button and four welt pockets. The trousers are similar to the O’Connor suit’s trousers but have a slightly fuller leg and no turn-ups. With this suit Bond wears a white shirt from Tom Ford that has a pinned eyelet collar and two-button cocktail cuffs. The tie is black with a subtle texture. Bond wears black Crockett & Jones Camberley double-monk boots with Dainite rubber soles with this suit. Over the suit, Bond wears a knee-length double-breasted bridge coat made in black brushed wool. It has eight buttons on the front with four to button, an ulster collar, slash pockets, a button-on half belt in the back, a rear vent and three cuff buttons. Ivory Dinner Jacket The new Spectre trailer reveals James Bond’s first ivory dinner jacket since A View to a Kill, released 30 years ago. Not much can be seen of this ivory silk and viscose blend faille dinner jacket, but it is made in the Windsor style and has medium-wide peaked lapels. The wide peaked lapels make this dinner jacket most closely resemble Sean Connery’s ivory dinner jacket in Diamonds Are Forever. Bond wears a black cummerbund, and most likely black trousers, under the dinner jacket. The white dress shirt is from Tom Ford with a spread collar, double cuffs and a pleated front. The black diamond-point bow tie that Bond previously wears in Dr. No and Quantum of Solace returns. Compared to the bow tie in Quantum of Solace, this bow tie is pointier. Bond also wears a red boutonnière in his lapel, paying homage to Goldfinger. The muted colours of the trailer make the flower look darker and duller than it likely is in reality. The images here have been partially colour-corrected to look more true to the actual colours of the clothes. The trailer’s colours are often muted and have a very warm cast. After Spectre is released, this blog with have more thorough reviews of all the clothing in the film.By Stefan Klumpp on April 8, 2015 - 11 Minutes Mobile Jazz is an engineering and design agency. But unlike our peers, when it comes to working at Mobile Jazz we are becoming known for sometimes taking a rather different approach to the work/life balance. Unlike most companies out there, our main objective is to optimize for happiness, rather than profit. And besides the happiness and satisfaction of our clients, which is important to us, we focus even more on our own happiness. One of our core philosophies is to give every employee the freedom to work from wherever they want. That can be from our beautiful headquarters in Barcelona, but it can also be from a tropical island or a skiing cabin in the Swiss Alps. Some of us have been taking heavy advantage of such remote working possibilities over the past three years. Remote working can succeed if you’re disciplined and well organized. But then the office also has its benefits, like very short and direct communication channels, easy collaboration and heavily increased creativity. And of course playing Mario Kart or having a BBQs on our office terrace. So we asked ourselves why not combine the two. Mixing beautiful and interesting locations with a highly productive and creative office environment. This gave birth to the MJ Remote Office. Why would you want to work from a tropical island? “Where to go?” — that was our first question. And for reasons I can’t really explain everyone instantly had this picture of a tropical island in mind: a beautiful beach with white sand and turquoise water. A big wooden table below a palm tree. A laptop, a smartphone and a mango fruit shake. That’s it. We were already sold on the idea. But we also knew that such a location would probably not look like how we imagined. We needed to do some preparation work. Why did we decide on Thailand? Honestly, there are many incredible locations in the world which we could have chosen. But we also didn’t want to make it more difficult for this first experiment than needed. The key factors we were looking for are: Easy access (flights, visa, etc.) A fast and stable Internet connection (absolutely crucial when working remotely) A time zone that overlaps with our headquarters in Barcelona and with the US where most of our clients are. Good (touristic) infrastructure. We don’t need luxury. But we did want things to work out without having constant problems. And dealing with people that speak English and are already used to Western values and needs simplifies that a lot and reduces your chances of having constant headaches or even desires to kill someone right on the spot. So we decided on a country which we already knew quite well from our personal travel experiences: Thailand. And in particular a tropical island called Koh Samui. Some of us had been there before, so we knew our way around and even had some local Thai friends that could help us in setting everything up. The Setup Accommodation This took us much longer than expected. Even though we quickly found a lot of affordable and nice locations through our contacts, we somehow got obsessed with finding the perfect location. We wanted a house that could support 6-8 people comfortably and allow for both a relaxed personal life and a quiet work zone. Additionally we wanted to be in nature while not being too far away from the main locations for grocery shopping, eating out, yoga and other activities. We finally found a peaceful place in the hills above Chaweng (the main town on Samui) with several houses that have their own living area, separate bed and bathrooms, kitchens and pools. Two houses with 4 bedrooms Two living spaces. One being used as an office. High-speed Internet (very important!) Terrace, pool and BBQ Initial price 135,000THB (~3,375 €) Negotiated price 80,000THB (~2,000 €) 500 € per room per month Kinda expensive for Thailand, but it was the perfect location for us. Mobile Internet Being connected is important. Especially when being in a different time zone than the people you’re working with. There’s always something coming up and you might need to respond quickly so that other people are not stuck. Luckily mobile Internet is fast and cheap in Thailand. We got pre-paid SIM cards with AIS. The regular rate is 400 THB (~10 €) for 1 GB, but they run many promotions so we ended up with 5GB for the same price. Also most restaurants and bars provide free WiFi, however, the speed is usually much slower compared to using the cell network. Getting around The best way to get around in Thailand is by using a scooter. To rent a nice 150cc scooter we paid 5000 THB / month (~125 €). You can also get a cheaper deal for less powerful scooters. Safety first! Pretty much everyone in Thailand uses motorbikes and scooters without a helmet, which is kinda stupid, as you see accidents happen daily. We didn’t want to take that risk and got helmets at the closest supermarket for 450 THB (~11.25 €) each, which we donated to some locals friends before we left. Whether they’re using them is unclear, as riding with a helmet is not that fashionable in Thailand it seems. Food & Restaurants Thailand is all about the food and the restaurants. You can get an amazing meal for less than 10 €. Thai curries, ribs, rice & noodle dishes, fish, roasted duck, tiger prawns and squid combined with all sorts of delicious fruit shakes. But beware, let them know that you’re new to Thai food and want a moderate spice level. A few of us have been crying multiple times. Besides the food itself, the restaurant locations are amazing. Most of them are situated right on the beach and others are on top of a hill with a panoramic view over the island or just above an overhanging cliff. It can’t get much better than that. There’s also the night market in Lamai, which is basically a street full of food stands, where you can taste exotic food like grasshopper, crocodile and all sorts of bugs. Work Life Even though we went there to work together and live together, we quickly realized that we’re still different people with sometimes quite opposite interests. For example some of us preferred to go to yoga early in the morning and start working at noon until late at night, while others preferred to start working in the morning and go out partying in the evenings. So it was sometimes actually hard to “hang” out together. However, we always tried to have dinner together and used that time to coordinate trips at the weekend. The time zone differences are bearable if you don’t need to have a full 8 hours of communication every day. And that’s sometimes even a good thing for developers, who can work on their code without distractions and then sync up later. With our headquarters in Barcelona it was actually quite easy to communicate. Same with San Francisco. The only problem location for us was New York, which was exactly 12 hours behind and there are only a few hours of overlap every day. It didn’t happen often, but sometimes the Internet or electricity went down. At times it was just for a few minutes, other times several hours. Working in technology, not having electricity or Internet is not an option. Social Life For us it felt quite easy to make new friends. Be it locals or foreigners. Everyone is very open to meet new people and make new connections. As we went to yoga class every morning and also had breakfast there we met a lot of foreigners who were on either a short escape from their busy work life or on a longer search for the meaning of life. Either way, all of them were quite unique and added a lot to our Thailand experience. We also had a great time with the locals in Samui. While they definitely have a very different culture and way of living, they’re generally quite open to connect with foreigners that show respect for them and genuine interest in their lives (i.e. not being a sleazy sex tourist). The best part of knowing locals (regardless of where you are) is that you start to become a part of the local community yourself. You get access to places that you didn’t know existed and can experience things that you’d never be able to do as a tourist. And on top of that it’s always good to have a local friend to help you out when things go wrong. Learning Experiences This trip was not only work and fun for us, but also a lot of great learning experiences. Many of those were very personal and partly philosophical. But here are a couple of them that were more of a practical nature and can be applied by anyone who’s considering such an adventure: Jet Lag: it takes about 3 days to get accustomed. Take that into consideration for your planning, especially your work schedule. It takes time to figure out basic things: where to get food, where to do laundry, etc. A tropical island is, well, tropical. You want to get a place that has A/C. Otherwise focusing on work will be very difficult A tropical island is, well, tropical. You want to get a place that has A/C. Otherwise focusing on work will be very difficult We’re used to working together every day. However living together is a whole different thing. Everyone still has their own interests, priorities and rhythm. All those things need to be respected. It’s impossible to do everything with everyone all the time. Thai culture is different. There’s no rush for anything. Everything will take longer than what you’re used to. Different perceptions of what “quality” means. What is good enough for them, is often not good enough for us. Always happy. Always smiling. You need one month to get accustomed. Ideally stay longer in order to really enjoy the experience. Schedule less work, so you can enjoy the life there and go explore. Conclusion We really liked the experience of doing this with our team and can highly recommend trying it out for yourself and your team. It requires a fair bit of preparation and discipline and the experience will most likely be different than what you expect before hand, but it adds a lot of value to your personal growth and team building. For us at Mobile Jazz we enjoyed this work adventure so much that we’ve already started to plan two additional trips MJ Skiing: we’re renting a hut in the Austrian Alps and will spend the sunny days skiing and snowboarding and work in the evenings and during the days when the weather isn’t that great. (UPDATE: this has already happened by now and we’ll publish a blog post about it very soon) MJ Mauritius: one of our latest employees is from Mauritius. So it’s quite obvious that we need to go there. Tools for Working Remotely Additionally, to further support our remote work life we’ve started to develop tools that allow us to stay in touch with the people that were left at our headquarter in Barcelona, but also our customers that come from different places around the world themselves. One of those tools is Bugfender, a modern remote logger tailor-made for mobile development. If you’ve ever been involved in the development process of a mobile application, I’m sure you came across a scenario where you or your developers simply weren’t able to reproduce a serious bug that some of your customers were experiencing. To resolve such issues you usually had to connect the problematic device to your development machine via USB. But what are you going to do if the customer that is experiencing this specific problem happens to live 500 kilometers away? Bugfender is solving this problem by providing us with real-time access to the device’s debug log console. While initially considered as an internal tool for Mobile Jazz, we’ve received some interest from other people and decided to make it a publicly accessible service. If you’re interested to learn more about Bugfender check out our website http://bugfender.com/ or you can directly sign up here. Read about our latest retreat in the Costa Brava »Mexico recorded more than 2,000 murders in May, the highest monthly homicide rate in 20 years and a bloody milestone in the country’s continuing war on drugs. As some cases involved multiple killings, some 2,186 investigations were set up for a total of 2,452 murders – an average of three people killed every hour. The previous monthly high for murder probes was 2,131 in May 2011. "This is the overwhelming and absolute failure of [Mexican President Enrique] Peña Nieto's public safety policy," Alejandro Hope, a Mexican security analyst, told BuzzFeed News. At least 4 dead after gunmen storm office of Mexico’s ruling party (GRAPHIC VIDEO) https://t.co/coAA01cTer — RT (@RT_com) May 6, 2017 Analysts put the surge down to increased demand for heroin in the US. Others believe that the legalization of marijuana in some US states has caused cartel profits to fall and has led gangs to generate cash through extortion and kidnapping. Last month, the federal government announced that it had captured or killed 107 of its 122 top criminal targets since President Nieto took office in December 2012. But some have questioned Nieto’s tactics, believing their success leads to increases in violence as gangs battle to fill the vacuum left by neutralized crime bosses. "The recent return to 2011 murder rates is a symbolic moment – President Enrique Peña Nieto started his administration promising a less militarized approach to the fight against drug cartels, a step away from the 'war on drugs' strategy," the Britain-based International Institute for Strategic Studies said in a study on countries conflicted with armed conflict. "But Pena Nieto is nowhere near fulfilling his original plan of reducing the military presence on the streets. On the contrary, the go-to solution to the recurrent security crisis has been the dispatch of federal forces, frequently military ones, in place of inefficient, badly equipped and often corrupt local police forces." The country has had 9,916 murders in the first five months of this year – an increase of 30 percent for the same period last year. Rival factions have been battling for control of the drug cartel in the western state of Sinaloa since its kingpin, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, was extradited to the US in January. Some 154 people have been killed in the conflict, the highest number in six years.Second Lt. Sage Santangelo wrote for the Washington Post about her experience attempting and failing to complete the Marine Corps' Infantry Officer Course and the overall process of introducing women into combat roles. She talked about the rigors of the test while not offering any details on the secretive course that is meant to keep Marines in the dark about what it entails. An accomplished athlete who has played hockey in high school and has climbed 14,000-foot peaks, Santangelo wrote about how she couldn't finish the first day's Combat Endurance Test, and what steps could be taken to allow women to pass it. Santangelo is one of 14 female officers to attempt the course. None have passed it yet. However, Santangelo believes a woman will. She points to the female enlisted Marines who have completed the enlisted infantry course as one reason why. In fact, she said one reason no woman has passed is because no female officers have been allowed to retake the course like their male counterparts. She said this offers a distinct advantage to male officers who have a better idea of a few of the challenges they will have to overcome. Santangelo emphasized that she believes the standards for the course should not be reduced to accommodate women. But she writes that those standards should remain the same from the time women enter the Corps. Otherwise, women are not as prepared as men to complete the course. She used the Marine Corps' decision to back off from its requirement for women to complete pull ups in Basic to pass the fitness test as an example. "I believe that I could pass, and that other women could pass, if the standards for men and women were equal from the beginning of their time with the Marines, if endurance and strength training started earlier than the current practice for people interested in going into the infantry, and if women were allowed a second try, as men are," Santangelo wrote. She said she was told she couldn't attempt the course again because women are not allowed to serve in combat roles and it would delay her training. However, she poked a hole in that reasoning saying she has to wait 12 months to report to flight school. Santangelo wrote that she appreciated the opportunity to attempt the Infantry Officer Course as the Marine Corps is leading the way among its sister services in offering women opportunities in combat roles. She said the next step is figuring out ways for women to excel in those infantry roles. "Now, instead of passively evaluating their performance, we need to figure out how to set women up to excel in infantry roles. My hope is that the Marine Corps will allow every Marine the opportunity to compete. And that when we fail, our failure is seen simply as a challenge to others to succeed," Santangelo wrote.Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2015 August 29 The Seagull Nebula Image Credit & Copyright: Dieter Willasch (Astro-Cabinet) Explanation: A broad expanse of glowing gas and dust presents a bird-like visage to astronomers from planet Earth, suggesting its popular moniker - The Seagull Nebula. This portrait of the cosmic bird covers a 1.6 degree wide swath across the plane of the Milky Way, near the direction of Sirius, alpha star of the constellation Canis Major. Of course, the region includes objects with other catalog designations: notably NGC 2327, a compact, dusty emission region with an embedded massive star that forms the bird's head (aka the Parrot Nebula, above center). Dominated by the reddish glow of atomic hydrogen, the complex of gas and dust clouds with bright young stars spans over 100 light-years at an estimated 3,800 light-year distance.Companies Lose Billions Due to Workplace Depression — Study Carrie Galeas Blocked Unblock Follow Following Nov 29, 2016 A major bug in workplaces that hampers the productivity of companies across the world is workplace depression. It eats into the revenue of organizations and has a far-reaching impact on the overall growth of a company. According to a recent study by the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), depression accounts for more than $246 billion loss a year for nations like Brazil, Canada, China, Japan, Korea, Mexico, South Africa and the United States. The study was an effort to analyze the effect of depression at workplaces in terms of productivity in countries with different cultures and economy. The survey found that highly educated employees suffer more if they continue to work while depressed. It is because they also try to manage others and this worsens the scenario. The same team of researchers had conducted a European study on workplace depression in March 2014, urging employers to identify employee depression and initiate adequate measures to tackle their mental health conditions. Lead researcher Dr. Sara Evans-Lacko said that in the absence of a proper plan, employers have to incur heavy losses due to workplace depression. Unless governments and employers make it a priority, they would continue to bear the enormous costs of depression due to absenteeism and loss of productivity. Key takeaways from the study The researchers made some key observations after examining the data collected from the aforementioned eight countries. Some of the key points are: · On an average, 1 percent of a country’s GDP is lost because of depressed workers reporting to work even when they are unwell (presenteeism). The collective cost for the eight countries came to £175 billion. · In Japan, absenteeism is higher than presenteeism because workers fear losing their jobs if their depression is revealed at work. · It is better to take time off work to recover from depression rather than reporting to work despite suffering from it. The cost of attending work by depressed employees is 5–10 times higher than recuperating at home. The U.S. and Brazil are the worst sufferers of productivity losses due to presenteeism. It is $84.7 billion and $63.3 billion respectively. · When it came to reporting previous diagnosis of depression by the respondents, China reported 6.4 percent, South Korea reported 7.4 percent, Canada reported more than 20 percent, U.S. reported 22.7 percent and South Africa reported 25.6 percent. · The figures from China and South Korea may be deceiving and could be much higher, partly because there is a cultural reluctance to disclose mental health issues. The data revealed that Asian countries suffer lower productivity losses due to depression. · Japan incurred the highest aggregate costs linked to employees taking time off for depression. With 22 percent people availing 21 or more days of leave, the cost came to around $14 billion. This predicts that employees tend to overstay at work until their conditions deteriorate completely. · The researchers also found that depression in South Africa was the highest at 25.6 percent, which is much higher than the average of 15.7 percent across the eight countries. “These findings suggest that depression is an issue deserving global attention, regardless of a country’s economic development, national income or culture. The growth of mental illness worldwide also suggests the scale of the problem is likely to increase,” said Dr. Evans-Lacko. “Interventions which support employees with depression need to be developed, adapted, implemented and evaluated across all countries to mitigate the high costs of workplace depression,” she added. Dealing with depression Living with depression is challenging. It is the leading cause of disability worldwide, affecting up to 350 million people, says the World Health Organization (WHO). However, early and effective treatment can go a long way in managing symptoms and people can lead normal and healthy lives after recovery. If you or your loved one is suffering from depression, contact the Arizona Depression Helpline for any information related to depression treatment centers in Arizona. Call at our 24/7 helpline number 866–233–3895 for more information. Our helpline for depression is an authentic resource that can guide you to the best depression treatment center in your vicinity.When I moved to Greenpeace I assumed I would spend less time talking about defending human rights and more time talking about protecting our environment. Of course a healthy environment is a basic human right, but the increasing intimidation of those striving to achieve a green and peaceful planet is a growing concern. My last post was about four friends who were detained in Denmark for nearly three weeks for demanding world leaders in Copenhagen act to stop a climate disaster. This time I have news of two colleagues who face up to ten years in jail for exposing institutional corruption in the Japanese government's whaling programme. I am traveling to Tokyo this week for the trial of Junichi Sato and Toru Suzuki. It is not only their liberty that is at stake - it is the fundamental right to peacefully investigate and expose corruption, to challenge authority and to do so without fear of reprisal. Thankfully I have hope, as today I can tell you a UN human rights body has already given its verdict on the case and, in a hugely significant opinion, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention found that their treatment by the authorities breaches no fewer than five articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. I would love to tell the whole story of the large-scale embezzlement inside the so-called'research' whaling programme, but it is so extensive there's not enough space. You can read it all here, but the short version is a simple story that almost any journalist will recognise as a straightforward public interest investigation. In 2008, Junichi - the programme director of Greenpeace Japan - got a tip-off from a former whaler that members of the crew routinely siphoned off whale meat to keep or sell privately and that is was done with the knowledge of the government officials on board. The informer made several other claims, including about terrible waste, with tons of meat thrown overboard daily because quotas were too high to properly process the animals being killed; that scientists saw suspected tumours but just cut them out, leaving the rest for human consumption without reporting the findings to the International Whaling Commission. Bear in mind that this is supposed to be science, and is paid for by the taxpayers of Japan. The Greenpeace investigation culminated with Junichi and Toru securing one of dozens of boxes of whale meat - mislabeled to disguise the contents and clearly destined for private use instead of public sale. They kept the box as evidence. After going public with their findings, the Tokyo District Prosecutor did begin an investigation. He shut it down the same day that Junichi and Toru were arrested for theft and trespass. They were held for 26 days, 23 of them without charge, often tied to chairs while they were questioned, without a lawyer present. They face up to ten years in jail for doing what any courageous citizen would do - expose corruption. Last year Amnesty International filed a complaint to the Working Group about the treatment of the two men. Numerous advocacy groups, lawyers, politicians, and a quarter of a million individuals raised concerns about this case. The Working Group opinion is unequivocal: They [Sato & Suzuki] acted considering that their actions were in the greater public interest as they sought to expose criminal embezzlement within the taxpayer-funded whaling industry. Their willingness to cooperate with the police and the Public Prosecutor concerning the manner in which they obtained the evidence of their allegations of corruption and their attitude of conciliation and collaboration have not been recognised... The right of these two environmental activists not to be arbitrarily deprived of their liberty; their rights to freedom of opinion and expression and to exercise legitimate activities, as well as their right to engage in peaceful activities without intimidation or harassment has not been respected by the Justice system. With this ruling - which you can read in full here - I have hope that the government will do the right thing. Prime Minister Hatoyama's government was not in power when this prosecution began; it is not his government that is guilty. He came to power promising to end corruption and I challenge him to be true to his word.Tim Kaine and Mike Pence wasted no time hitting each other, and the top of the other party’s ticket, in Tuesday’s night’s vice presidential debate in Farmville, Va. Kaine went on the offensive in his opening remarks, characterizing Republican nominee Donald Trump as someone who puts himself and his own interests first. He was then asked by moderator Elaine Quijano about Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton’s low trustworthy ratings, fueled in part by questions over her use of a private email server and the dealings of the Clinton Foundation. But he turned the question right back on Trump. “As a candidate, [Trump] started his campaign with a speech where he called Mexicans rapists and criminals and he has pursued the discredited and really outrageous lie that President Obama wasn’t born in the United States,” Kaine said. “I can’t imagine how Gov. Pence can defend the insult-driven, selfish, me-first style of Donald Trump.” Quijano then asked a similar question to Pence, pressing him on Trump’s temperament and perceived “erratic” behavior. But Pence was determined to hit back at Kaine, and responded directly to his criticism of Trump. “Senator, you and Hillary Clinton would know a lot about an insult-driven campaign,” he said. “It really is remarkable.” The Indiana governor went on to criticize Hillary Clinton for her tenure as secretary of state, naming the crises in Syria and Russia as examples of the Obama administration’s “weak” foreign policy, which he said had “weakened America’s place in the world.” Kaine countered by commending Obama and Clinton for killing Osama bin Laden and closing the Iran nuclear deal. When Pence touted Trump’s business acumen, Kaine, who frequently interrupted Pence, brought up the fact that Trump, who has yet to release his tax returns, claimed a loss of nearly $1 billion in 1995. “You are Donald Trump’s apprentice,” Kaine concluded of Pence. “Gov. Pence doesn’t think the world is going so well, and he’s going to say it’s everybody’s fault.”DePaul could be in the beginning stages of relocating its men's basketball team to an arena closer to the school's Lincoln Park campus in Chicago. According to a draft of the school's 2018 strategic plan, DePaul would like to "to seek opportunities to bring men's basketball back into the city." The plan is expected to be voted on at the next board of trustees' meeting. The Blue Demons have played at the Allstate Arena, previously called the Rosemont Horizon, in Rosemont, Ill., since 1980. They hold a 311-141 record at the arena. Still, the venue's location -- about 15 miles away from DePaul's Lincoln Park campus -- hasn't created much of a homecourt advantage. "Students, faculty, staff, alumni and fans of DePaul men's basketball have often expressed the desire for the team to play home games closer to the Lincoln Park campus. A proposal to explore opportunities that address this desire is among many ideas on a wide range of issues that are part of the current draft of the university's next long-range strategic plan. At this time, no specific plan for this idea has been developed and reports that a location has been chosen is speculation. The strategic plan is pending trustee approval. "The university has a great relationship with Allstate Arena, where the men's program has played the past 32 seasons and we most recently hosted the women's NCAA 1st and 2nd rounds this season." A basketball arena in Chicago could be more attractive to local recruits and improve student attendance. DePaul averaged 9,413 fans at home Big East games this season. The DePaul men's basketball team is undergoing a rebuilding process under second-year coach Oliver Purnell. The Blue Demons were 12-19 and 3-15 in the Big East this past season. They return three starters and eight of their top-10 players next season.40 Pages Posted: 23 Oct 2015 Date Written: October 23, 2015 Abstract This paper discusses the regulation of mass metadata surveillance in Europe through the lens of the landmark judgment in which the Court of Justice of the European Union struck down the Data Retention Directive. The controversial directive obliged telecom and Internet access providers in Europe to retain metadata of all their customers for intelligence and law enforcement purposes, for a period of up to two years. In the ruling, the Court declared the directive in violation of the human rights to privacy and data protection. The Court also confirmed that the mere collection of metadata interferes with the human right to privacy. In addition, the Court developed three new criteria for assessing the level of data security required from a human rights perspective: security measures should take into account the risk of unlawful access to data, and the data’s quantity and sensitivity. While organizations that campaigned against the directive have welcomed the ruling, we warn for the risk of proceduralization of mass surveillance law. The Court did not fully condemn mass surveillance that relies on metadata, but left open the possibility of mass surveillance if policymakers lay down sufficient procedural safeguards. Such proceduralization brings systematic risks for human rights. Government agencies, with ample resources, can design complicated systems of procedural oversight for mass surveillance – and claim that mass surveillance is lawful, even if it affects millions of innocent people.A major victory for gun rights was won in Wisconsin, hopefully setting a precedent that could go nationwide. The state Supreme Court has ruled cities can not ban people from carrying weapons on city buses. The decision was a long-time in the making. In 2005, Madison’s City Transit and Parking Commission instituted a rule barring weapons on buses. It was challenged in 2013, but the city refused to budge, so a lawsuit was filed by Wisconsin Carry, Inc. And they just won their case – due in large part to the state’s strong constitutional protections for the bearing of arms. But the biggest reason was the state’s “shall issue” statute of 1011, which gives permit holders the right to carry “anywhere in the state” with certain rare exceptions. The Truth About Gunsreports: In 2013, the legislature passed a further statute to strengthen state pre-emption of firearms laws. That statute forbade local governments from passing ordinances or resolutions that regulated the possession, bearing or transportation of any knife or firearm, among other things. Wisconsin Carry relied on Act 35 and the “Local Regulation Statute” for their arguments. Wisconsin Carry decided to focus on striking down the City of Madison weapon ban, and not to broaden their argument to constitutional issues. That may have been a tactical error. At the oral arguments, the Supreme Court justices asked if there were any constitutional arguments to strike down the City bus ban. The state supreme court has also changed considerably. There are only two far-left justices left on the court, the rest are constitutional originalists. The decision took five months to render. In their decision, the courts affirmed the state’s constitutional protection of the right to keep and bear arms as “fundamental and pre-existing prior to the Constitution.” In that decision, the justices cited several other states that had effectively neutered their own state constitutions’ right to arms. Rather than simply apply the words of Wisconsin’s new amendment, the 2003 case was an example of an “everyone else has neutered amendments we do not like” argument. In Madison, and all across the State of Wisconsin, individuals may now exercise their right to bear arms on public transport, without fear of legal prosecution. Facebook has greatly reduced the distribution of our stories in our readers' newsfeeds and is instead promoting mainstream media sources. When you share to your friends, however, you greatly help distribute our content. Please take a moment and consider sharing this article with your friends and family. Thank you.Amazon's huge investments in streaming programming seem to be paying off. Amazon Prime Instant Video, the Netflix-like streaming video service that comes as part of Amazon's $99 per year Prime loyalty program, continues to grow. Its share of Internet traffic being piped into homes during peak times -- roughly 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. -- has more than doubled in the last 18 months, from 1.27 percent in March 2013 to 2.58 percent in September, according to a new report from Sandvine, a company that makes broadband network equipment and sells it to Internet providers. Prime Instant Video is nowhere close to Netflix, which continues to account for more than one-third of traffic going to American and Canadian homes during peak evening hours. Yet Amazon's growth suggests that the company's increased spending on video and perhaps even its streaming hardware is bearing fruit. The figures, which Sandvine releases in a report twice each year, offer a rare glimpse at how much people are watching Netflix, Amazon and other streaming services, which are notoriously tight-lipped when it comes to viewership data. Amazon has not said how many Prime members it has -- one analyst pegs it at 30 million to 40 million in the U.S. -- though people tend to sign up for Prime primarily for the free two-day shipping. Amazon Prime Instant Video isn't available in Canada. Netflix has more than 36 million paying members in the U.S., though the company doesn't say how many it has in Canada. Sandvine's report comes as Amazon has been investing heavily in Prime and Prime Instant Video. Amazon this year signed a deal with HBO to add some HBO shows to its Prime Instant Video catalogue. The deal was rumored to cost Amazon more than $300 million for three years of shows. Amazon also saw critical acclaim with its original series "Transparent," a comedy/drama starring Jeffrey Tambor that came out in September. Amazon has been beefing up its Prime benefits of late. Prime members spend more money, shop more frequently and buy more expensive items than non-members, so Amazon has been sweetening the pot to get people to join. This year, Amazon has added unlimited photo storage, a streaming music service as well as discounts on Amazon hardware to Prime membership. Amazon this year also came out with two new media players that you connect to your TV to stream programming from the Internet. Amazon's Fire TV streaming box went on sale in April, and its recently announced Fire TV Stick
success on a global scale,” Index Ventures partner Jan Hammer said. BitPay now processes over US$1 million per day in transactions from 30,000 customers, 50% of whom are in the US.This all started on a hiking trip to Žbevnica more than 10 years ago. I had my new GPS with me and a friend of mine had a GPS connected to a Windows ME phone. The hike was great, but when we returned to our cars, we were surprised to see that one GPS claimed we had walked 6.2km, while the other reported 6.7km. One claimed our elevation gain (i.e., the sum of all uphill parts of our hike) had been 300m, while the other reported it as 500m. Being a programmer (and eventually a GIS programmer), I was immediately intrigued by the problem. I said to myself, “this should not be that hard to fix with a simple script.” After all, GPS tracks are just a list of tuples in the form of (latitude, longitude, elevation), right? Well, not really. And thus began my excursion into the fascinating world of GPS tracks, tracking errors, and, more generally, GIS programming. Geospatial Information Systems (GIS) is a huge and complex domain, encompassing map projections and geodetic datums)), raste and vecto data processing, and remote sensing. A comprehensive introduction to this domain would be well beyond the scope of this article. And since focusing on a specific problem can often be a useful way to introduce oneself to a new domain anyway, I’ll present a few specific GIS challenges I encountered and some possible solutions; namely: How to recognize, understand, and programmatically correct GPS tracking errors How to compute and derive additional useful information from GPS tracks For starters, GPS tracks are not just a series of (latitude, longitude, elevation) tuples. Many GPS-enabled devices will also provide metadata like time, heart rate, and so on. Some GPS devices will even provide information on how accurate the data is; a.k.a., “dilution of precision”. But, unfortunately, most GPS devices – especially the lower-end ones that dominate the market – won’t provide this information and we are left with the challenge of deducing the accuracy of the device on our own (and ideally correcting accordingly, where possible). Let’s start with one possible algorithm to detect low-end GPS devices (like most smartphones) which usually have low-quality GPS data. Elevation errors and idiosyncrasies If you live in certain parts of the world you may have noticed something strange about GPS elevation accuracy when you record tracks with your smartphone. When you check the elevations they are consistently recorded as higher or lower (by a constant value) than the right elevation. For example, I live in Višnjan (Croatia) and my Android keeps telling me that I’m roughly 35-40 meters above the actual elevation. For example, here’s a GPS elevation graph from a short hike I took a few months ago: Two things to note here. First, the “hill” in the first part of the recorded GPS data was completely fabricated by the device. Whereas the graph would seem to indicate that the highest point in our hike was just a few hundred meters from the start, in reality it was around 4km later. Second, what is perhaps more important (and not visible on the graph) is that the entire graph is inaccurate. The altitude values were consistently reported as being roughly 30-40 meters higher than they were in reality, as we’ll discuss in more detail further on in this article. When we can detect that the track has these errors, we can deduce that the device is probably a low-quality GPS. These are the kind of things that can happen with cheap GPS devices. And when we can detect that the track has these errors, we can deduce that the device is probably a low-quality GPS which can therefore be expected to have other errors as well – not just elevation errors – that are common to such devices. Startup elevation errors There are essentially two techniques that GPS devices employ to determine elevation: “GPS altitude” (as reported to the device by the GPS satellite system) and “barometric altitude” (calculated by the device based on barometric pressure readings). Neither is perfect. GPS altitude values can have many small errors (typically in the range of +/- 10m), which can be particularly problematic if we later decide to compute the cumulative elevation gain. Barometric altitude, on the other hand, is sensitive not only to altitude but also to weather conditions, which can introduce its own set of inaccuracies. Some devices therefore employ a hybrid approach, using barometric readings to record elevation but using GPS readings to help (re)calibrate those values, to help account for weather (pressure) changes and so on. With such devices, when starting the track, the barometric elevation can be completely wrong, but then by recalibrating it with more and more GPS satellite data, the elevation data becomes more reliable. It is therefore not uncommon with such devices to encounter the type of “fake hill” startup error that we observed earlier on our elevation graph. Ongoing GPS elevation inaccuracies To explain the consistent error in altitude reporting, we need to return to our elementary school geography. Geography teachers usually explain that the Earth is not a sphere but an ellipsoid. If this were, in fact, strictly true, altitude would be easy to compute mathematically. But it’s not. The Earth is irregular; in reality, it’s more like a potato resembling an ellipsoid than a perfect ellipsoid, which means for GIS development you need a detailed altitude dataset for almost every point on the earth. In geodesy, this reference ellipsoid (a.k.a. datum) is a mathematically-defined surface that approximates the geoid, the “truer” figure of the Earth. Moreover, it’s important to recognize that even these datums are merely approximations of the actual shape of the Earth’s surface. Some work better in certain parts of the world, and others work better in others. As an example, the image below (generated using my Ruby library) shows how the Earth differs from one of the most commonly used ellipsoid models (the WGS84 datum). Black portions represent parts of the Earth above, and white represents parts of the Earth below, the ideal ellipsoid (continental and island contours shown in red). You can see that India is below the WGS84 ellipsoid with the southern part being the absolute minimum (almost -100 meters!) and Europe is above it. Since low quality GPS devices don’t employ any such datums, they are really just computing the elevation assuming a perfect ellipsoid. Hence, their consistent inaccuracy. Detecting and correcting GPS elevation errors In GPS app development, detecting that a device that recorded our track has these types of errors can be done using the Earth Gravitational Model EGM2008 dataset, also sometimes referred to as the “geoid undulations” dataset. With EGM2008, we can approximate the difference between the actual earth surface and the ideal ellipsoid. With EGM2008, we can approximate the difference between the actual earth surface and the ideal ellipsoid. But to know if our GPS track has this error we need one more thing – the real elevation. A public database that can be helpful for this purpose is the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM). SRTM is a raster-based database that provides elevation values at a resolution of roughly every 30m (at the equator) for the USA and every 90m for the rest of the world. For example, when computing SRTM values for points in the above track, a different graph (the blue line) emerges: A small annoyance here is the rough edges of the the graph, but this is easily smoothed. Note that by smoothing we lose little (if any) precision, since SRTM itself is only providing discrete points at equidistant positions, between which we need to interpolate in any case. Here’s a version of the preceding graph with a red line overlay representing the smoothed SRTM data: All of this can be done easily, incidentally, using my GPS Python libraries: srtm.py: a python parser for Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) elevation data gpxpy: a simple python library for parsing and manipulating GPX files (GPX, the GPS Exchange Format, is a lightweight XML data format for GPS data) For Ruby users, there’s also my Geoelevations.rb parser library for SRTM and EGM2008 undulations. Having detected these anomalies, depending on the type of software we are working with, we can either (a) auto-correct the errors ourselves or (b) simply inform the user that inaccuracies have been detected in their elevation data. Also, since there are different algorithms that can be used to programmatically correct for these GPS elevation errors, we may want to give the user the option to select which algorithm to employ (e.g., does the user want us to just use the smoothed SRTM data “as is” or does the user want us to use the SRTM data to help correct the elevations reported by the device). Smoothing the track and removing outliers If a football player were to wear a GPS device and record a game, the resulting track would be a mess. The playing field would be densely filled with a track consisting of lots of sharp turns, accelerations, and decelerations. Fortunately, most cases where people use GPS will not have this same pattern – GPS track lines (and accelerations) will be relatively smooth. In such cases, erratic points in our track can be presumed to be error-induced and such outliers can therefore be reasonably removed with a smoothing function. As a GIS developer, smoothing is most commonly achieved by iterating through the points and changing the coordinates based on the values of the neighboring coordinates. For example, we can change every latitude and longitude with an algorithm such as the following: points[n].latitude = points[n-1].latitude * 0.3 + points[n].latitude .4 + points[n+1].latitude .3 points[n].longitude = points[n-1].longitude * 0.3 + points[n].longitude .4 + points[n+1].longitude .3 The bigger the coefficient, the bigger the impact of the corresponding neighboring point o the modified location of the current point. The coefficients I use in this example (0.3, 0.4, 0.3) are somewhat arbtitrary, but in most cases you will want their sum to equal 1.0. (A more sophisticated approach, for example, would be to use the distance between points and then, the closer the point, the bigger the corresponding coefficient.) Here is an example of a track with lots of random errors: Note how the track does not follow the path well, has lots of sharp and jagged turns, and sometimes veers entirely off the expected path. After a few “smoothing” iterations, this same track is transformed to: While that’s much better, it is still admittedly imperfect. Note that there are still places (particularly near the middle of the path) where the track still veers off the road. There are other things you can try. In certain regions, and for certain GPS applications, you can also use the OpenStreetMap (OSM) data to try to guess the right path and then “snap” the points to this new line. While this can often be helpful, it can also be imperfect, such as in cases where the OSM data contains two parallel lines (for example a highway and nearby road) or many close paths. If we can deduce that the track was a hiking track, and have an option to snap to a highway or a nearby path, we can safely assume that the hike was along the path and not the highway. In such cases, a possible solution would be to try to detect the type of the activity, using some of the techniques discussed further on in this article. If we can deduce, for example, that the track was a hiking track and have an option to snap to a highway or a nearby path, we can safely assume that the hike was along the path and not the highway. Also note that, while this example demonstrates smoothing of surface coordinates (i.e., longitude/latitude), smoothing can be an equally valid technique for eliminating aberrations in elevation or temporal data, or even in heartrate and bicycle cadence data. Examples of additional benefits and uses of smoothing could include: Computing total elevation gain. To compute the total elevation gain in a track it is not enough to just sum all the small “jumps” uphill because they will often contain small errors. Smoothing the elevation before doing the sum can often help alleviate this issue. To compute the total elevation gain in a track it is not enough to just sum all the small “jumps” uphill because they will often contain small errors. Smoothing the elevation before doing the sum can often help alleviate this issue. Outlier removal. After “smoothing”, points which are too far away from the track can be more easily detected. These can often then be assumed to be outliers and the user can be prompted to ask if they should be removed. There is one kind of problem where this algorithm falls short: in some cases the GPS will record a smooth path, but the path will be “shifted” by a constant difference in some direction. In such cases, smoothing may further smooth the line but won’t correct this shift error. An additional less obvious, yet significant, issue with the simplistic smoothing technique we’ve described is that the transformation modifies all (or almost all) points in the path, even those which may not be in error. Although this simpler approach tends to be a reasonable solution for the average GPS user, more sophisticated smoothing algorithms are certainly employable in GIS programming. In some cases, it may even be better to simply remove outliers without performing any smoothing depending on the user, device, and application. Detecting maximum speed Detecting the maximum speed of a track is fairly simple if we have the coordinates and timestamps of all points on the route. Just compute the speeds between points and find the highest value. Seems straightforward. But remember, we’re dealing with low-end GPS devices and we don’t fully trust the data, which can have significant ramifications for our calculation. If a device records a location every 5 meters and at one point makes a mistake by misplacing the point by 10 meters then that part of the track may seem to be 3x faster than it was! One common approach in the GIS development world is to extract all the speeds between points, and then just remove the top 5% (i.e. use the 95th percentile) hoping that the eliminated 5% represent the majority of the errors. But this is admittedly unscientific and does not ensure correct results. In my experimenting with this technique, I tried different values for percentiles and found that some worked well for one GPS device some worked well for others. Some work well for hiking and others for bicycling. But in most cases, the results just didn’t feel right to me. After trying many algorithms, what did work for me was simple: to add another filter to remove extremes, not only by speed, but also by distance, as follows: Sort points by distance between neighbors and remove the top 5%. (Optional:) Smooth the track (horizontally and/or vertically). Sort points by speed between neighbors and remove the top 5%. This algorithm yields fairly credible results, even for tracks from cheap GPS devices with random errors. From my experience, this algorithm yields fairly credible results, even for tracks from cheap GPS devices with random errors. Deducing activity type In many cases, average speed is sufficient to determine the activity type. If the average speed is 5kmh, for example, it is probably a walking/hiking track, whereas if the average speed is 30kmh, it is probably a cycling track, and so on. But if the average speed is 12kmh, you can’t be certain if the user was mountain biking or running. In such cases, the maximum speed can sometimes help differentiate between the two types of activities. Specifically, we can use the fact that runners rarely reach a speed more than twice their average, while cyclists do so regularly (e.g., while going downhill on a not-too-challenging path). Accordingly, a track with an average speed of 12kmh and a maximum speed of 18kmh was probably recorded while running, whereas a track with an average speed of 12kmh and a maximum speed of 30kmh was probably recorded while mountain biking. (Of course, we must be sure that our calculated maximum speed is right, in order for this to work reliably.) Percentage of visible sky: A clever proxy for GPS error detection The precision of each GPS measurement (i.e. latitude, longitude, and elevation) very much depends on the number of satellites which were visible at the moment of recording. So if we could somehow determine how many satellites were “in view” at the time of each recording, we could use that as a way of approximating the accuracy of that recording. If we somehow knew, for example, that all needed GPS satellites were in view, we could assume a high degree of accuracy for the corresponding GPS data. Conversely, if we somehow knew that no GPS satellites were in view, we could assume the data to be error-prone. But before you get too excited, consider the complexity of attempting to solve such a GIS problem. First of all, you would need to know which GPS satellite system(s) your device was capable of communicating with. There’s the original USA-based Global Positioning System, the European Gallileo, and the Russian GLONASS system. Some devices work work with all of these satellite types, but many do not. And many devices don’t even report which system(s) they use. But there is a clever way to circumvent this complexity and achieve a crude approximation of the number of satellites in view: use the percentage of visible sky as a proxy for the number of visible satellites. Less visible sky means that our GPS can “see” (or be seen) by fewer satellites. But how can we calculate the percentage of the visible sky on any point on Earth? The solution is actually quite simple: we can calculate the horizon line around us using the SRTM data discussed previously. For example, this is the horizon if You are in the valley bellow Triglav (the highest peak of Slovenia) as computed using SRTM: (For those interested, my code to create this image can be found here.) This image is basically made of layers of equidistant elevation graphs as seen from a central point. The darker the blue area, the more distant the elevation layer; the lighter the blue area, the closer the elevation layer. The highest points drawn represent the horizon line. If a GPS satellite is below this line in the sky, our device probably can’t see (or be seen) by it. (Note, though, that although the image is drawn as flattened rectangle, in reality you would need some basic knowledge of spherical geometry to properly compute the area below the horizon.) This method can be helpful in situations such as mountain hiking where you may go from being in a deep canyon (with poor GPS reception) to being on a mountain ridge (with much better reception). This can be a useful indicator of which parts of your track may be more error-prone. Another thing to keep in mind is that this is no silver bullet for detecting GPS elevation errors. First of all, most parts of the Earth are not mountainous and, even when they are, it is in our psychology to overestimate elevations; the actual percentage of the visible sky is greater than 75% in the vast majority of inhabited regions. But nonetheless, this method can be helpful in certain situations, such as mountain hiking where you may go from being in a deep canyon (with poor GPS reception) to being on a mountain ridge (where the satellite reception is probably much better). While this method is not an absolute measure of how many errors the track has, it can be a useful indicator of which parts of your track may be more error-prone than others. Wrap up We’ve discussed some of the more common types of GPS tracking errors to expect with low-end GPS devices. We’ve provided an understanding of what causes them as well as some GIS programming techniques for correcting them. In some cases, we can correct the track with a high degree of confidence. In other cases, we can at least alert the user to portions of the track that appear questionable. In cases where we are unsure, there is always the option of enabling the user to fix the track himself, aided by aerial imagery and maps. Our probabilistic guesses can help highlight those portions of the track where we’ve detected a higher probability of errors. In many cases, the techniques we’ve outlined can be a satisfactory “80% solution”, providing users of low-end GPS devices with a reasonable level of automated improvement of the accuracy of their GPS tracks.Noisebridge, the renowned hackerspace that’s been in the Mission for nine years, will “almost certainly” have to leave its Mission Street space by August 2018, when its lease expires. “Despite our best efforts to fly under The Storm, The Great San Francisco Reckoning has finally fallen upon us, and Noisebridge is staring displacement in the face in 2018,” wrote the hackerspace in a fundraising call posted on its website on Monday. The cost of space per square foot has more than tripled since the group began its lease, the post said. The group is now seeking donations. “A lot of donations,” it says. “More donations than Noisebridge has ever gotten before.” The hackerspace is one of the most well-known in the Bay Area and has served as a low-barrier educational and collaborative hub for the technologically inclined and disinclined alike. It moved into the Mission in 2008, but outgrew its first 1,000-square-foot space here and subsequently relocated to its current 5,200-square-foot space at 2169 Mission St. In the note, the group stressed its importance to the community. “We believe that San Francisco needs a hackerspace that is open to as many people as possible as often as possible,” it says. “We also strongly believe that the residents and guests of our town deserve a space to pursue their hopes, interests and ambitions at their own pace in a safe space where lack of funds is no barrier to entry.”BERKELEY — A 21-year-old Berkeley man will be sentenced in May to 21 years to life in prison for killing a 72-year-old woman during an attempted carjacking in 2014, a defense attorney said Tuesday. Kamau Berlin pleaded no contest in December to second-degree murder and carjacking in connection with the Sept. 19, 2014, stabbing of Emeryville resident Nancy Jo McClellan. She died on Oct. 8, 2014, about three weeks after a passer-by interrupted the attack at Russell and Otis streets in Berkeley and called police. Related Articles Man arrested in Berkeley carjacking charged in killing 78-year-old Oakland man Friends remember Berkeley carjacking victim: ‘She was one of a kind’ Police: Woman stabbed in attempted Berkeley carjacking dies McClellan was a gardener at the Berkeley Zen Center at 1929 Russell St. and had attended a wedding there that day. Police said Berlin stabbed McClellan twice in the neck while trying to steal her 2000 Honda Civic. In a covert patrol car recording presented as evidence by the prosecution at his preliminary hearing last year, Berlin admitted to killing McClellan and said she “did not deserve this.” He told his mother during a recorded jail visit that he needed a ride home that night and began hitting the victim with brass knuckles after seeing her with a car, according to court testimony. Police found a wounded McClellan in the backseat of her car. Berlin was arrested in the neighborhood with blood on his clothes and face. Berlin was ordered to trial last year on charges of murder in the course of attempted carjacking and robbery — punishable by life in prison without the possibility of parole — as well as elder abuse resulting in death, second-degree robbery and attempted carjacking with a deadly weapon. A formerly charged special allegation that Berlin tried to sexually assault McClellan was not proven and dismissed by the preliminary hearing judge. All but the murder charge was dismissed as part of his plea deal in December. Assistant Public Defender Kathleen Ryals said Tuesday that Berlin is expected to be sentenced in May.The peerage is a legal system comprising both hereditary and lifetime titles in the United Kingdom (as elsewhere in Europe), composed of various noble ranks, and forming a constituent part of the British honours system. The term peerage can be used both collectively to refer to the entire body of nobles (or a subdivision thereof), and individually to refer to a specific title (modern English language-style using an initial capital in the former case but not the latter). British peerage title holders are termed peers of the Realm. Under present custom, only members of the royal family are nowadays created hereditary peers; the last non-royal creations of hereditary titles were in the Thatcher era, since when Her Majesty's Government (HMG) (whether Conservative or Labour) has refrained from such recommendations. New Labour, elected to power in 1997, sought to eject all hereditary peers from Parliament but PM Tony Blair relented by allowing 92 members to remain by legislation enacted in 1999.[1] The House of Lords' purpose is now that of a revising legislative chamber, scrutinising and potentially changing proposed Parliamentary Bills before their enactment. Its membership for the most part comprises life peers, created under the Life Peerages Act 1958, which includes those who can add value in specific areas of expertise in parliamentary debates, as well as former MPs and other political appointees from respective political parties. Peerages are created by the British monarch, like all Crown honours, being affirmed by Letters Patent affixed with the Great Seal of the Realm. HMG recommends to the Sovereign who to be elevated to the peerage, after external vetting by the House of Lords Appointments Commission. The Sovereign, traditionally the fount of honour, cannot hold a British peerage[2] (although the British Sovereign, whether male or female, is informally accorded the style of "Duke of Lancaster"). All British subjects who were neither Royal nor Peers of the Realm were previously termed Commoners, regardless of wealth or other social factors, thus all members of a peer's family are (technically) commoners too; the British system thus differs fundamentally from continental European versions, where entire families, rather than individuals, were ennobled. Nobility in Britain is based on title rather than bloodline, and correspondingly HRH The Princess Royal (Princess Anne) who enjoys Royal status as daughter of The Queen, opted for her children to be Commoners by refusing offers of titles, despite their being grandchildren of the Sovereign (qv. Peter Phillips and Zara Tindall). Certain personal privileges are afforded to all peers and peeresses, but the main distinction of a peerage nowadays, apart from access to the House of Lords for life peers and some hereditary peers, is the title and style thereby accorded. Succession claims to existing hereditary peerages are regulated by the House of Lords Committee for Privileges and Conduct and administered by The Crown Office. Baronage evolution [ edit ] The modern-day parliamentary peerage is a continuation of the renamed medieval baronage system which existed in feudal times. The requirement of attending Parliament was both a liability and a privilege for those who held land as a tenant-in-chief from the King per baroniam, that is to say under the feudal contract a King's Baron was responsible for raising knights and troops for the royal military service. Certain other office-holders such as senior clerics and Freemen of the Cinque Ports were deemed barons. This right, entitlement or "title", began to be granted by decree in the form of a Writ of Summons from 1265 and by Letters Patent from 1388. Additionally, many holders of smaller fiefdoms per baroniam ceased to be summoned to parliament, resulting in baronial status becoming personal rather than territorial. Feudal baronies had always been hereditable by primogeniture, but on condition of payment of a fine, termed "relief", derived from the Latin verb levo to lift up, meaning a "re-elevation" to a former position of honour. Baronies and other titles of nobility became unconditionally hereditable on the abolition of feudal tenure by the Tenures Abolition Act of 1660, and non-hereditable titles began to be created in 1876 for Law Lords, and in 1958 for Life Peers. Peerage divisions [ edit ] In the UK, five peerages co-exist, namely: Ranks [ edit ] Peers are of five ranks, in descending order of hierarchy: Duke comes from the Latin dux, leader. The first duke in a peerage of the British Isles was created in 1337. The feminine form is Duchess. , leader. The first duke in a peerage of the British Isles was created in 1337. The feminine form is Duchess. Marquess comes from the French'marquis', which is a derivative of'marche' or march. This is a reference to the borders ('marches') between England, Scotland, and Wales, a relationship more evident in the feminine form: Marchioness. The first marquess in a peerage of the British Isles was created in 1385. The feminine form is Marchioness. Earl comes from the Old English or Anglo-Saxon 'eorl', a military leader. The meaning may have been affected by the Old Norse 'jarl', meaning free-born warrior or nobleman, during the Danelaw, thus giving rise to the modern sense. Since there was no feminine Old English or Old Norse equivalent for the term, 'Countess' is used (an Earl is analogous to the Continental 'count'), from the Latin 'comes'. Created circa 800–1000. Viscount comes from the Latin 'vicecomes', vice-count. Created in 1440. The feminine form is Viscountess. Baron comes from the Old Germanic 'baro', freeman. Created in 1066. In the Peerage of Scotland alone, a holder of the fifth rank is not called a 'Baron' but rather a 'Lord of Parliament'. Barons in Scotland were traditionally holders of feudal dignities, not peers, but they are considered minor barons and are recognized by the crown as noble. The feminine form is Baroness. Baronets, while holders of hereditary titles, are not peers since baronetcies have never conferred noble status, although socially they came to be regarded as part of the aristocracy. Knights, Dames and holders of other British non-hereditary chivalric orders, decorations, and medals are likewise not peers. The titles of peers are in the form of '(Rank) (Name of Title)' or '(Rank) of (Name of Title)'. The name of the title can either be a place name or a surname. The precise usage depends on the rank of the peerage and on certain other general considerations. Dukes always use 'of'. Marquesses and Earls whose titles are based on place names normally use 'of', while those whose titles are based on surnames normally do not. Viscounts, Barons and Lords of Parliament generally do not use 'of'. However, there are several exceptions to the rule. For instance, Scottish vicecomital titles theoretically include 'of', though in practice it is usually dropped. (Thus, the 'Viscount of Falkland' is commonly known as the 'Viscount Falkland'.) Geographic association [ edit ] A territorial designation is often added to the main peerage title, especially in the case of Barons and Viscounts: for instance, Baroness Thatcher, of Kesteven in the County of Lincolnshire, or Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, of Hindhead in the County of Surrey. Any designation after the comma does not form a part of the main title. Territorial designations in titles are not updated with local government reforms, but new creations do take them into account. Thus there is a Baron Knollys, of Caversham in the County of Oxford (created in 1902), and a Baroness Pitkeathley, of Caversham in the Royal County of Berkshire (created in 1997). It was once the case that a peer administered the place associated with his title (such as an Earl administering a County as High Sheriff or main landowner), but lordships by tenure have not been commonplace since the early Norman period.[3] The only remaining peerages with certain associated rights over land are the Duchy of Cornwall (place), which appertains to the Dukedom of Cornwall, held by the eldest son and heir to the Sovereign, and the Duchy of Lancaster (place), which regular income (revenue) appertains to the Dukedom of Lancaster, held by the Sovereign whose government owns the capital and all capital gains on disposals. In both cases due to the particular function of bona vacantia in these areas, these titles afford rights encompassing the whole territorial designation of the holder, donated by the holder now to registered charities. Separate estates, smaller than counties, form the bulk of the two duchies. Types of peers [ edit ] Hereditary peers [ edit ] An hereditary peer is a peer of the realm whose dignity may be inherited; those able to inherit it are said to be "in remainder". Hereditary peerage dignities may be created with writs of summons or by letters patent; the former method is now obsolete. Writs of summons summon an individual to Parliament, in the old feudal tradition, and merely implied the existence or creation of an hereditary peerage dignity, which is automatically inherited, presumably according to the traditional medieval rules (male-preference primogeniture, unlike the succession of the British crown, which is determined by absolute primogeniture). Letters patent explicitly create a dignity and specify its course of inheritance (usually agnatic succession, like the Salic Law).[4] Some hereditary titles can pass through and vest in female heirs in a system called coparcenary. Once created, a peerage dignity continues to exist as long as there are surviving legitimate descendants (or legitimate agnatic descendants) of the first holder, unless a contrary method of descent is specified in the letters patent. Once the heirs of the original peer die out, the peerage dignity becomes extinct. In former times, peerage dignities were often forfeit by Acts of Parliament, usually when peers were found guilty of treason. Often, however, the felonious peer's descendants successfully petitioned the Sovereign to restore the dignity to the family. Some dignities, such as the Dukedom of Norfolk, have been forfeit and restored several times. Under the Peerage Act 1963 an individual can disclaim his peerage dignity for his own lifetime within one year of inheriting it. When the holder of a peerage succeeds to the throne, the dignity "merges in the Crown" and ceases to exist. All hereditary peers in the Peerages of England, Scotland, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom were entitled to sit in the House of Lords, subject only to qualifications such as age and citizenship, but under section 1 of the House of Lords Act 1999 they lost this right. The Act provided that 92 hereditary peers — the Lord Great Chamberlain and the Earl Marshal, along with 90 others exempted through standing orders of the House — would remain in the House of Lords in the interim,[5] pending any reform of the membership to the House. Standing Order 9 provides that those exempted are 75 hereditary peers elected by other peers from and by respective party groups in the House in proportion to their numbers, and fifteen chosen by the whole House to serve as officers of the House.[6] Representative peers [ edit ] From 1707 until 1963 Scottish peers elected 16 representative peers to sit in the House of Lords. Since 1963 they have had the same rights as Peers of the United Kingdom. From 1801 until 1922 Irish peers elected 28 representative peers to sit in the House of Lords. Since 1922, when the Irish Free State became a separate country, no Irish representative peers have been elected, though sitting members retained their seats for life. Life peers [ edit ] Apart from hereditary peerages, there exists peerages that may be held for life and whose title cannot be passed onto someone else by inheritance. The Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 and the Life Peerages Act 1958 authorise the regular creation of life peerages, with the right to sit in the House of Lords. Life peers created under both acts are of baronial rank and are always created under letters patent. Since the loss of the right of hereditary peers to sit in the House of Lords as a result of the House of Lords Act 1999, majority of the House of Lords is made up of life peers. There is no limit on the number of peerages the sovereign may create under the Life Peerages Act. Normally life peerages are granted to individuals nominated by political parties or by the House of Lords Appointments Commission, and to honour important public figures such as the Archbishop of Canterbury[citation needed] and the Prime Minister on their retirement.[7] Until the formal opening of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom on 1 October 2009, life peers created under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act were known as "Lords of Appeal in Ordinary" or in common parlance "Law Lords". They performed the judicial functions of the House of Lords and served on the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. They remained peers for life, but ceased to receive judicial salaries at the age of 75. Under the terms of the Act, there may be no more than 12 Lords of Appeal in Ordinary under the age of 75 at one time. However, after the transfer of the judicial functions of the Lords to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, the Act ceased to have meaningful effect. Under the House of Lords Reform Act 2014 and the House of Lords (Expulsion and Suspension) Act 2015 a life peer may lose membership of the House of Lords permanently in one of four ways: Resignation or retirement effected by writing to the Clerk of the Parliaments; Automatic expulsion through failing to attend a single sitting of the House throughout a whole session of more than six months duration without leave of absence, being suspended for that session or being exempted by the House for special circumstances; Automatic expulsion through conviction of a criminal offence where the punishment is imprisonment for more than one year; Expulsion by resolution of the House.[8][9] While these provide for non-membership of the House of Lords, they do not allow a life peer to disclaim their peerage in the same way that a hereditary peer can disclaim theirs. Styles and titles [ edit ] Dukes use His Grace,
This is no guarantee that the movie will actually be made. We’ve seen many prospective sequels get as far as scripts, but never reach the big screen because talks fizzled out. (Yes, we’re looking at you “Ghostbusters 3.”) But if there is enough momentum here, maybe this “Rogert Rabbit” follow-up could actually see the light of day. After all, we didn’t put the original on our list of movies we’d actually want to see get a 3D rerelease for nothing. “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” was a 1988 comedic film noir that melded animation with live action. Directed by Robert Zemeckis, the movie starred the since-retired Bob Hoskins, Christopher Lloyd and Kathleen Turner as the voice of femme fatale Jessica Rabbit. Charles Fleischer voiced Roger Rabbit, and would hopefully return for this new project. Do you want to see a sequel to “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” be made? Tell us in the comments section below or on Facebook and Twitter.WASHINGTON — Lockheed Martin is protesting the US Army's decision to award Oshkosh a contract to build its Humvee replacement, the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV), according to a company statement Tuesday. "Lockheed Martin does not take protests lightly, but we are protesting to address our concerns regarding the evaluation of Lockheed Martin's offer," it said, adding, "we firmly believe we offered the most capable and affordable solution for the program." Oshkosh beat out both Humvee-maker AM General and Lockheed for the $6.7 b illion low rate initial production contract award to build 16,901 vehicles, but the entire contract is expected to be worth up to $30 billion. AM General, which submitted its Blast Resistant Vehicle - Offroad as its bid has decided not to file a protest with the Government Accountability Office. "AM General continues to believe that the BRV-O was the right choice for JLTV. However, we believe a protest would ultimately result in a distraction from our current growth business areas, including meeting the significant current and future needs of our customers in the United States and around the world." AM General cites its 230,000 Humvees "currently serving as integral tactical vehicles of fleets around the world." And the company announced today it had secured a six-year, $428.3 million contract to provide the Army with M997A3 HMMWV-configured ambulances for domestic disaster relief by the Army, Army Reserve and Army National Guard. The Government Accountability Office will have 100 days to review the program and issue a decision on the protest. Any work that would be performed under the contract must stop during the review period. × Fear of missing out? Fear no longer. Be the first to hear about breaking news, as it happens. You'll get alerts delivered directly to your inbox each time something noteworthy happens in the Military community. Thanks for signing up. By giving us your email, you are opting in to our Newsletter: Sign up for our Early Bird Brief Previous contract awards from the Pentagon, such as the Air Force's KC-X tanker program and its Light Air Support contract, saw heavy political pressure from representatives of the losing companies. So a statement by Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, is notable. "I believe Lockheed Martin has valid concerns over the JLTV contract award and under such circumstances, it is appropriate to file a protest and seek an independent review of the contract award by the [GAO]," said Boozman, who represents the Camden location where Lockheed would have produced the JLTV. " I look forward to the results and am confident that GAO will conduct a thorough review to ensure the Army complied with all applicable acquisition laws and regulations." "Arkansas and its citizens should be proud of the efforts to win the JLTV contract," said Rep. Bruce Westerman, R-Ark. "Should Lockheed Martin's appeal prove successful, the Fourth District of Arkansas stands ready to supply the military's needs." Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, previously released a statement, soon after the award, that expressed disappointment.Some people are fans of the Pittsburgh Steelers. But many, many more people are NOT fans of the Pittsburgh Steelers. This 2016 Deadspin NFL team preview is for those in the latter group. Read all the previews so far here. And buy Drew’s new book here. Your team: Pittsburgh Steelers. Your 2015 record: 10-6. Let’s see how it ended. Oh, that’s unfortunate. And by unfortunate, I mean fantastic. You dirty filthy rotten shitbags. Advertisement Your coach: Mike Tomlin. The Bullfrog! Old Tomlo! The Fourth Down Roulette Wheel! Not even Andy Reid makes more baffling fourth down choices than this man. Let’s take you back to October, when Tomlin made the following fourth down choices with barely over two minutes to go and then on into overtime… 4 th and 5: Missed 43-yard Josh Scobee kick and 5: Missed 43-yard Josh Scobee kick 4 th and 4: Missed 41-yard Josh Scobee kick, Snoop Dogg very angry and 4: Missed 41-yard Josh Scobee kick, Snoop Dogg very angry 4 th and 2: Stuffed QB sweep using a 900-year-old Mike Vick. With an empty backfield, no less. God I hate the empty backfield QB run. NO ONE IS EVER FOOLED and 2: Stuffed QB sweep using a 900-year-old Mike Vick. With an empty backfield, no less. God I hate the empty backfield QB run. NO ONE IS EVER FOOLED 4th and 1: Hilariously overthrown ball to Antonio Brown that deserves honorary status as a fade route Advertisement And while I admire Tomlin for going for two more often than any other head coach, he also mismanaged THAT in the playoffs, when a missed two-pointer allowed the Bengals to come all the way back from 15 down. The Steelers would have lost that game had Vontaze Burfict not turned into John Wayne Gacy at the end. As always, some other moron team comes drooling along to make the Steelers look good when what they really deserve to be thrown into a trash compactor. God, they’re insufferable. But enough about Tomlin. Let’s talk about these assistant coaches. Here’s Mike Munchak, pulling dreadlocks with CLASS: Your browser does not support HTML5 video tag.Click here to view original GIF Advertisement Oh, and look! It’s Joey Porter, heading onto the field because he’s just SO FIRED UP FOR STEELER NATION… Remember when Joey Porter owned a pack of wild dogs that killed a miniature horse? Or when they killed a neighbor’s dog? I do. Fuck Joey Porter so, so hard. He and Munchak are perfect avatars for the Steelers franchise as a whole. This is a miserable band of cheap-shot artists who believe every team is dirty except for them. When a Steelers player aims low, that just means he WANTS IT MORE. Totally different than if a Ravens player does it. Advertisement Also, Keith Butler blows. Your quarterback: Rapey McGreyPenis, who ends every season with a playoff loss because half his vital organs and joints have stopped working by January. You may not even get good numbers from a healthy Big Ben this season because half the goddamn offense has already been suspended for smoking weed. That’s Pittsburgh for you. Smoke some weed, lose a season. Take Gio Bernard’s goddamn head off, and the ref swallows his flag whole. This is an offense that is the best in football only in theory, because none of its best players are ever on the field at the same time. It’s Big Ben playing with 10 Josh Gordons. By the way, watching Big Ben play gets more awkward by the year. He is the Nate Parker of Western PA. Oh, and he’s TOTALLY on board with Trump for President, even if someone with an IQ 100 points higher than him managed to talk him out of publicly endorsing the man. Advertisement What’s new that sucks: You already know that Le’Veon Bell (three games) and Martavis Bryant (whole season!) are suspended for violating the league drug policy and have already been forced to apologize for LETTING DOWN STEELER NATION, as if the Steelers faithful aren’t themselves hopped on meth-laced cups of Iron City 50 weeks a year. But the even bigger news is that Heath Miller is gone, which means these people can no longer scream out HEEEEEEEEATH whenever the old tight end catches a three-yard pass at the two. That’s a huge blow if you’re a 300-pound unemployed person who lives to twirl a urine-colored towel around your head every Sunday. Miller’s replacement is Ladarius Green, who apparently has CTE in his ankle. What has always sucked: James Harrison. Yes, he’s still here, and he’s still the worst possible representative for speaking truth to power in the NFL. Under normal circumstances, it’s pretty easy to get me to side against Roger Goodell. But here we have a 38-year-old roid freak (strange how his football ability magically reappears whenever he goes back to the Steelers, who have a long and storied history of PED usage, eh?) who once allegedly smacked his girlfriend in the face (Steelers brass defended Harrison because he wanted to baptize his kid and the girlfriend didn’t), and who nearly had his kid eaten by his own dog. What is with this team and dogs? Can’t ONE guy on this team just buy a dachshund? James Harrison is the worst. When it comes to choosing between him and Goodell, I choose the asteroid. Again, Harrison is the perfect example of a Steelers organization that has gotten away with being evil for so long that they believe they can do no wrong…that all of their thoughts and deeds deserved to be canonized. Look at Cody Wallace here: Advertisement Disgusting. Did you know the Steelers still employ Dr. Joseph Maroon, who said this about concussions? There are more injuries to kids from falling off of bikes, scooters, falling in playgrounds, then there are in youth football. No wonder Wallace has no problem headhunting out in the open. Keep in mind that Art Rooney II, himself a former prosecutor, is the one who signed off on this collection of wannabe prison guards and paid-off quacks. Earlier this year, Rooney backed the Chargers and Raiders proposal for moving to LA, only to lose out to the Rams and Stan Kroenke. Rooney then engaged in some very upright and private and formal tsk-tsking of the whole enterprise. Advertisement And why did Rooney support a little shit like Spanos? I’ll tell you why: Because Rooney is just another lucky asshole who had an NFL team fall into his lap by birthright. Of course he’s gonna support a fellow Tommy Boy who is looking to keep the gravy train going. Rooney is one of those repugnant NFL heirs who gets tagged with “Mister” everywhere he goes, cloaking his unfathomable lifetime advantages in a haze of bullshit classiness and billions of dollars. Wanna know why the NFL pushes that “Football Is Family” garbage on everyone? Rooney is why. Rooney has weaponized the term “Family” to obscure his glaring lack of intellectual and moral credibility, and his bologna-stuffed patrons have done likewise. Steeler Nation is a cruise ship you can never get off of. They all deserve to have cans of diced tomatoes hurled at their heads. Also, Todd Haley is still here. And he still wears shorts to every practice because he’s a macho, Camaro-driving butthole. What might not suck: Antonio Brown is a living god. Let’s remember some Steelers: Mike Merriweather Eric Green Levon Kirkland Jon Witman Dennis Dixon Hear it from Steelers fans! Chad: Vontaze Burfict is the best player on our team. Lucas: Rather than go nuts for the best wideout in the league (can’t imagine why not), these mouth-breathing, savaged-by-NAFTA subhumans spent the past decade saucing themselves over every reception by a pasty-ass tight end—a tight end who couldn’t get yards after the catch if he were matched up against Rudy Goddamn Reuttiger. HEATHHHHHHH. Heinz Field on Sundays is basically the stadium-wide equivalent of a recessive gene. Advertisement Bene: Fuck Neil O’Donnell. Dave: On Friday, everyone with a DeVry level education and an un-important job wears their Big Ben or Heath jerseys and jeans that are four inches too small and talks about how much of a beat down the next opponent is. On Sundays, Giant Eagle is fucking packed in the morning, and you can’t go anywhere near downtown because people from the surrounding counties decided they could venture into the big city even when Kenny Chesney isn’t here to keep things ‘Murican. People drive around like maniacs, decked out in the jerseys they wore to church, and bitch about how Mike Tomlin isn’t the right guy for the job. At least once per week, someone will call into the radio and suggest that Haley take over as head coach while Tomlin becomes the defensive coordinator. Already this summer, D’Angelo Williams has been told to stick to sports over the radio at least ten times, and I only hear the blather when I forget to change the station after a Pirates game is on in my car. It’s going to be a nightmare. Meanwhile, the Rooneys will ask taxpayers to pay for more seats or some shit like they always do. The Rooney Rule is their only real accomplishment. That and letting Christopher Nolan blow up the field. But to get to the worst part. The team doctor, Dr. Joseph Maroon, was a CTE denying, and is now a CTE minimizing, quack, who was heavily relied upon by the league. He worked so hard to discredit Bennett Omalu that he drove him out of the state. Their continued association with Dr. Maroon is a disgrace and an insult, and it makes it really hard to give them $10 for a beer. I’ll still do it though, because I’m an asshole with no self control and the only way to tolerate Tom from Greensburg in the seat next to you is to drink. At least we know we’ll go 11-5 and lose to the Patriots in the playoffs. Tim: Advertisement Brandon: We don’t only have redneck fans! The Steelers also have douchebag corporate fans, just like the Bay Area teams! Folks feel bad for Pittsburgh because they think it’s the gutted remnant of a bygone steel industry. But do you know what replaced steel? BIG HEALTHCARE. Everyone fucking hates the healthcare industry. It’s like Silicon Valley for people without new ideas. Phil: The Ravens went 5-11 last year. The Steelers lost to them - twice. Doug: I attended a game between the Patriots and Steelers at Heinz Field. A drunk yinzer (redundant, I know) tried to fight another guy in a Steelers jersey...because the guy was from Boston. Advertisement Chris: The first thing that people see when they leave ALL of the terminals of our overbuilt, monotlithic, “dead mall” shithole of a poor excuse of an airport is a fucking statue of Franco Harris. You might remember Franco Harris as the guy seen holding a cardboard cutout of Joe Paterno recently. Franco Harris is a total dickfaced fuckface, and he looks like Ernie from Sesame Street with an ISIS beard. So let’s ignore the fact that Franco Harris is a mentally deficient shit-troll (and that was before he was vociferously defending the guy that covered up serial child abuse for 36 years) and give him a statue. This will make the misery that is Pittsburgh’s Airport and region of the world all the more depressing. Advertisement Grayson: The Pittsburgh Steelers. A franchise so used to success that anything less than the culmination of the Stairway to Seven turns us all into bitter, angry pricks hell bent on digging up even the most miniscule of dirt on our opponents to feel better about ourselves. These fans have blue collars shoved so far up their asses that despite the Steelers having one of the biggest fan bases in America, you actually aren’t a true fan unless you’re sucking back Roethlisburgers at Peppi’s every football Sunday. We’re always down an integral piece of the puzzle come playoff time and I imagine we’ll be close-but-not-close-enough every January for the next 5 years. And that is the suckiest thing of all. Advertisement Andy: I only went to two games last year, and believe me, that was more than enough. My friend still has season tickets and when he has an extra, he calls me. The first one was Steelers vs Cincinnati: the ‘Lev Bell blew out his knee and we wear those terrible bumblebee unis once a season’ game. Two very loud and very drunk Yinzers sit behind us. They begin screaming at the top of their lungs during the National Anthem and don’t stop. How someone is that hammered at 1pm on a Sunday, I’ll never know. Anyway, they scream throughout not only the game, but also during TV timeouts, during any stoppage in play and during halftime. I’m pretty sure that in the 500 level, NONE of the players can hear them, but they wanted to be sure. Finally, mid 3rd quarter, the guy of this couple starts yelling “Get loud, you assholes!” He was complaining to his girl all game about how no one was “loud enough” and how “only true fans stay loud.” After another “C’mon you pussies, get loud!” He then spilled his beer and fell. His girl, also drunk, decided that it was time to leave and the guy was booed on his way out. The following week, a last second Steeler win vs. Oakland, we had the same two behind us again, this time, they were with a friend. The friend kept screaming “PUSH ‘EM BACK!” Nonstop, for about 45 minutes. The drunk couple left this game early, too. Fuck my life. Also, fuck Mike Tomlin’s clock management skills. Advertisement Holden: Lived in Pennsylvania for twenty-five years and Pittsburgh for seven of those years. I moved to Austin a year ago to get away from the bullshit winters and this bullshit fanbase. I worked for a few hotels right near the stadium - players and coaches stayed there. Here are some recollections: Ike Taylor nearly crashed his Jaguar into the front window and then yelled at a valet when the valet asked him to move his car off the sidewalk. A 17-year-old Bieber look-alike in a pink tank-top came into the bar at 4pm on a Sunday night game-day and cold-cocked a girl in the mouth. The Steelers fans around him cheered. A 150-year-old man turned a PT Cruiser into a mobile Steelers fan thing. The night that Ben threw 6TD’s against the Colts in 2014, I was driving a shuttle full of drunk fans back to the hotel from the stadium. One of them said Andrew Luck looked like a pregnant Mel Gibson. I still don’t understand this comment. LeGarrette Blount got high on our hotel terrace four nights a week. The game when Brad Wing shanked a punt against the Bucs, allowing them to win the game, was on my birthday. Brad Wing told me to go to hell when I said “Good evening”. Fuck the Rooney family for their faux-professionalism and fuck Mike Tomlin for that one time I saw him on a bus. Advertisement Justin: Re: the team There is an offensive tackle playing quarterback. Re: the city: Pittsburgh is still a toilet straddling the dividing line between the midwest and the east coast. Culturally, it’s Kentucky. Re: the fan base: In typical Pittsburgh fashion, everything is Steelers related, even your fucking wedding. Alex: Every year you can bet that Steelers will be crushed by some inferior opponent. I can’t imagine what Bill Belichick would accomplish with this kind of roster. Advertisement Bud: If there’s one game in Mike Tomlin’s tenure as the Steelers head coach that perfectly encapsulates the type of coach he is, it’s the Ravens game from this past December. I cannot and will not ever understand how this team is capable of putting up seven hundred-thousand points one week to an AFC title contender, and then committing seven hundred-thousand turnovers the next week against a 4-12 team. Saying the Ravens got up for the rivalry game is not a valid excuse. They were absolute butt last season. We should have beaten them by thirty or more, Ryan Mallett was on the team for twelve fucking days before having to start against us. We play to the level of our competition every week, and have done it for the past seven years. Enough. Advertisement Hank: Nothing ties jean shorts, white New Balance kicks, and a mullet together like a Steelers jersey. I’m already sick of the fans and camp hasn’t even started yet. Luke: 95% of Steeler fans are just glad Big Ben’s alleged rapes happened before people started finally making a big deal about sexual assault. Advertisement Tim: Jeremy: I just got off the phone with my mother, a dyed-in-the-wool Steelers fan from birth, that reminds me why my team sucks. Here’s the rant she went on - this is near verbatim. Mom: “There are a lot of rumors here that the Rooneys are shopping Le’veon Bell after the season. Getting busted twice for smoking weed and getting suspended in back-to-back seasons. That’s not the Steelers Way. As Mike Tomlin says, ‘The Standard is the Standard.’ The Bengals and Ravens can get away with that crap. But not the Steelers. “ Meanwhile, in reality… Joseph: Roethlisberger’s weight fluctuates as if he’s gearing up to be a stand-in for whichever Christian Bale film is out this year. Advertisement Sam: The average Steelers fan’s cholesterol is higher than his or her credit score. The one exception might be the couple I saw wearing Polamalu and Roethlisberger jerseys in the Mona Lisa room at the Louvre. Either that, or they just won the post-wedding raffle down at the VFW Hall. Dan: We’re the worst parts of American Exceptionalism personified in football form: We had nothing to do with any of the team’s successes, but we sure as hell won’t let any forget for one second that no one else has won more than 6 Super Bowl titles. Jesus fuck, if the Steelers win a seventh Super Bowl, the smug parade is going to remake the hole in the ozone layer. Advertisement Steven: 75% of Steelers fans think that Bill Belichick colluded with LeGarrette Blount to steal theSteelers playbook and quit the team so he could sign with the Patriots and a season later told Matthew Slater to fuck up that coin toss in an effort to lose and keep the Steelers out of the playoffs. Can you believe that? What the hell is wrong with the other 25%? Clint: Antonio Brown makes an incredible play and has the AUDACITY to celebrate... so many hard R’s. Fans want Tomlin want fired after every loss. Every white person who catches the ball until the end of time will be showered with the sounds of HEEAATH. Advertisement Kevin: Because a Troy Polamalu jersey tucked into jeans shorts with no belt, mid length plain white socks and white running shoes is considered perfectly acceptable attire 365 days a year in Pittsburgh. Charlie: The worst part about being a Steeler fan is encountering other Steeler fans. Prime example: I’m driving to the gym and get caught behind a school bus. Said bus stops at a shitty trailer, little kid runs off to greet her mother. This child’s mother (who easily weighs 300 plus pounds) is standing on the porch drinking a Keystone light pounder, smoking a Marlboro 1000 and wearing a worn out screen printed Big Ben jersey. On a Tuesday at 2 in the afternoon in May. This is the average Steeler fan. Advertisement Jim: Our fans are the absolute worst fair weather fans there are. Every fucking year one of our teams suck, the general response is, “Oh well, (insert sport here) season starts soon.” Jesus Christ I want to kick half of my fellow yinzers in the dick hole every time I hear that shit. Anything short of a championship and they’ll burn you at the stake. Anyways, I have season tickets and sit in front of a dude who is the epitome of yinzer nation, you know, the ones who don’t shut the fuck up all game and continue to yell and scream even during timeouts. One game, he wasn’t even paying attention and kept yelling “Deeeefeeeeese.” After a few minutes, someone finally yelled, “We’re on offense, asshole,” to which he sat down and verbally consoled himself. Later at another game, I hear him say to his girlfriend, “If we score here, you’re giving me a blowjob later.” This is Steelers Nation. Whatever. I love our city. I love our teams, but I fucking hate our fans. Oh yeah, one final note. A friend of mine who lives in Wheeling, W.Va., and loves the Steelers likes to claim Wheeling is a “suburb of Pittsburgh.” It’s not. Fuck yourself, inbred. Advertisement Submissions for the Deadspin NFL previews are now closed. Next up: Seattle Seahawks.A rendering of an ice skating rink that will be erected in Wicker Park on Dec. 5 and open until March 1, weather permitting. The rink is not refrigerated and requires the temperature to be below freezing. View Full Caption Culllitan Quinn Landscape and Architecture CHICAGO — After a series of successful fundraisers, the Wicker Park ice skating rink will be built at the neighborhood's namesake park on Saturday. Volunteers with the Wicker Park Advisory Council's WickerICE committee will be working with the Chicago Park District to erect the skating rink starting at 7 a.m. Saturday at Wicker Park, 1425 N. Damen Ave. After the rink is built, the Chicago Fire Department will come out to add the water, the WickerICE group said in a news release. The skating rink will likely not open this weekend, however, as the committee still has to determine when weather conditions will allow the rink to stay open daily, the group said. The group is also holding a meeting next week to determine the rink's schedule for hockey, open skate and other events. An opening date and other information will be posted on the WickerICE Facebook page next week, the group said. The skating rink at Wicker Park was made possible due to volunteers and crowdsourced funding, the group said. A GoFundMe page has garnered more than $31,000 for the rink. Local bars in the area also held fundraisers for the rink, and area businesses have agreed to pay for advertising on the rink's walls. Volunteers with the park advisory council will be on hand Saturday selling WickerICE beanies, with proceeds going to the skating rink and other local endeavors. The beanies will be on sale at the park from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and are $20 each. Enough money has been raised to cover the rink's expenses this year, and the group said any additional money raised will go toward next year's rink. The rink will also be maintained and staffed by volunteers, the advisory group said. More than 80 area residents have agreed to maintain the site, helping to resurface the ice, answer questions and ensure rules are followed. Ice skates will not be available for rent at the facility, the group said. Skating at the rink will be free to the public. Outside of a smattering of private ice rinks, there are just eight free outdoor rinks in Chicago Park District parks. For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here:Select to highlight: Tags \| People \| Institutions \| Precedents \| The High Court has this morning set aside their prenuptial agreement in a landmark ruling in Thorne v Kennedy, a decision that lawyers warn will open the doors to fresh legal challenges by other former spouses. This High Court decision was pre-ceded by the original decision in the Federal Circuit Court, Thorne & Kennedy [2015] FCCA 484, and the following appeal in the Full Court of the Family Court, Kennedy & Thorne [2016] FamCAFC 189. The couple met online in 2006 on a “website for potential brides” when the husband was 67 and she was 36. “At the time, Ms Thorne, who was an eastern European woman, was living in the Middle East. She was 36 years old. She had no substantial assets,” five of the seven judges, including Chief Justice Susan Kiefel, said in a joint judgment. The husband, known as Mr Kennedy, had assets of at least $18 million. He was divorced from his first wife and had three adult children. Soon after he met the wife online, he told her that if they married, “you will have to sign paper. My money is for my children.” However, this morning the High Court unanimously set aside the binding financial agreements they signed before and after the wedding because they were the result of “unconscionable conduct”. A majority of judges also said the wife, known as Ms Thorne, signed the agreements because of “undue influence”. The judges agreed that she was “powerless” and had “no choice” to act in any way other than to sign the prenuptial agreement. About 11 days before the wedding, Mr Kennedy told Ms Thorne if she did not sign a binding financial agreement the wedding was off. By that stage, her parents and sister had travelled to Australia for the wedding and were also staying at the husband’s home. An independent lawyer advised Ms Thorne not to sign the agreement because it was drawn solely to protect his interests. She understood it was the worst agreement the solicitor had ever seen, but signed it anyway. She told the court this was because she was dependent on Mr Kennedy and believed she had no choice. She signed it four days before the wedding. The agreement said the wife was to receive a total payment of $50,000 adjusted for inflation in the event of separation after at least three years of marriage. It also provided for the wife to receive a penthouse worth up to $1.5m, a Mercedes and continuing income, in the event the husband died prior to either party signing a “separation declaration”. The couple separated after living together for about four and a half years. They had no children. The husband died in 2014 and was substituted in the litigation by the executers and trustees of his estate, who were two of his adult children. The Federal Circuit Court set aside the agreements, finding that they were signed “under duress born of inequality of bargaining power where there was no outcome to her that was fair and reasonable”. However, the Full Court of the Family Court of Australia ruled the agreements were binding, and said there had not been duress, undue influence or unconscionable conduct on the husband’s part. The High Court this morning disagreed. It said the primary judge’s conclusion of undue influence was open on the evidence and it was unnecessary to decide whether the agreements could have also been set aside for duress. The case will now be sent back for the Federal Circuit Court to decide how the property pool should be divided between the two. She had sought orders for $1.1 million plus a lump sum spousal maintenance order of $104,000. Prominent family lawyer Paul Doolan said the decision was likely to lead to further challenges to binding financial agreements by others. “The decision of the High Court will likely open the door to many other applications being made in future to challenge prenups,” he said. He said when looking at whether prenups and postnups could be set aside, the High Court had said that relevant factors may include whether the agreement was said to be non-negotiable, the emotional circumstances when it was made including any threats to ‘sign the prenup or the wedding’s off’, whether a party was given time for careful reflection before it was signed, and the independent legal advice received and how long they had to reflect on it. Related Family Law JudgmentsSocialize. Get up-to-date. Share your ideas. Meet the BikePGH Staff, Board, and other community members! Get up-to-date on our projects and work of 2017 and get a preview of things to come. We will follow with a discussion where staff will field your questions as we look ahead to the future and ask for your ideas and feedback about the changes you want to see in our city. Become a Member For the next three weeks, you get a free gift when you join as a Sustaining Monthly Member! For less than the price of a Primanti’s sammich you can support our advocacy work for better, safer bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure. Click here to become a member and join us at our Annual Members’ Meeting on October 24. Join BikePGH Details: Date: Tue, October 24, 2017 Time: 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM EDT Location: Point Park University Lawrence Hall Ballroom – 3rd Floor 212 Wood Street Agenda: 6:00-6:30pm – Arrive, have light snacks, drinks, and meet the staff and other BikePGH members + Activity 6:30-7:00pm – BikePGH presents the year’s accomplishments and future projects & programs 7:00-8:00pm – Discussion 8:00pm –? – Socialize and keep the conversation going at a nearby restaurant/bar TBD FAQs What are my transport/parking options getting to the event? Bike – Use the Award Winning Pittsburgh Bike Map to find the best route for you. Bike parking is available outside of Point Park’s Academic Hall on Third Ave, there are racks on the street, as well as in the parking garages. Healthy Ride bike share stations are also available nearby. Walk/Bus – Use the Port Authority trip planner to get Downtown. Nearly 100 bus routes travel through this neighborhood. Drive – Metered street parking is available in addition to many parking garages. The nearest parking garage is located at 228 Blvd of the Allies. Do I have to bring my printed ticket to the event? No, but please check in upon arrival. Email jane@bikepgh.org or call the office at 412-325-4334 with any questions! Sign up for Bike Pittsburgh’s newsletter, The Messenger, to get the latest news on events, bike and pedestrian infrastructure, and fun, delivered straight to your inbox. Twice monthly emails, no spam. SIGN UP!Everything Al-Astal says is based strictly on the Qur’an. It would be refreshing, therefore, for a moderate Muslim spokesman to explain exactly how Al-Astal is misunderstanding and misinterpreting the Qur’an, and to show why he is wrong on Islamic grounds. That is, however, one thing we can count on not happening. “Hamas MP Al-Astal: We Must Massacre Jews, Impose Jizya Poll Tax on Them,” from MEMRI, March 6: In a recent address, Hamas cleric and MP Yunis Al-Astal said that the Koran indicates that “we must massacre [the Jews]… to prevent them from sowing corruption in the world.” Al-Astal further said: “We must restore them to the state of humiliation imposed upon them… They must pay the jizya security tax while they live in our midst.” The address was aired on March 6, 2014, on the Hamas-owned Al-Aqsa TV, broadcasting from Gaza. Following are excerpts: Yunis Al-Astal: In today’s show, we will discuss the demand that the Palestinian people recognize [Israel] as a Jewish state, so that the occupation will graciously hand them out scraps. I would like to begin by quoting what Allah said about them: “The worst of beasts in the sight of Allah are those who disbelieve. They are the ones with whom you made a covenant, but they break their covenant every time.” […] That’s Qur’an 8:55-56. The obvious question is: What is the solution to this gang of people? The Al-Anfal chapter of the Koran provides us with the answer. After He said: “They are the ones with whom you made a covenant, but they break their covenant every time,” Allah added: “If you gain mastery over them in a war, use them to disperse those who follow them that they may remember.” This indicates that we must massacre them, in order to break them down and prevent them from sowing corruption in the world. They are the ones who still spark the flame of war, but Allah has taken it upon Himself to extinguish it. […] “If you gain mastery over them in a war, use them to disperse those who follow them that they may remember” is Qur’an 8:57. We must restore them to the state of humiliation imposed upon them. They should be dhimmi citizens. This status must be imposed upon them by war. They must pay the jizya security tax while they live in our midst. […] “Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, (even if they are) of the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued.” — Qur’an 9:29 However, in Palestine, where they are occupiers and invaders, they cannot have the status of dhimmis. This is because they are considered to be kuffar harbi, infidels at war with Islam, and thus must simply be killed.On its 100th anniversary, get the facts on the epic World War I struggle. 1. The Allies wildly underestimated their enemies. Long called the “sick man of Europe,” the Ottoman Empire had suffered one military defeat after another in the lead-up to World War I. Its reputation was so bad, in fact, that the British and their main allies, the French, half-thought they would cause the government to collapse simply by showing up. With their modern battleships busy fighting Germany, they almost exclusively employed outdated models during the Gallipoli campaign. They also made little effort to gather intelligence on the opposing Ottoman force. Lacking adequate maps, the steep gully-filled terrain caught them by surprise. And to top it off, most of their troops were inexperienced. Graphic map of the D
containing high levels of lead, mercury, manganese, arsenic, and other heavy metals, all of which were hazardous for human consumption. Locals who ate fish from the bay upon which Minamata sat ended up becoming sick, especially the elderly and the very young. Due to joint pressure from Chisso and Japanese culture, it was determined to be shameful to accept compensation for being injured or killed by Chisso’s negligent actions. To this day, payouts totaled a low $11,000 per person at maximum, while many were unable to even obtain payment due to failing to be certified as having Minamata disease. Legal battles over loss of life and quality thereof rage on to this day. The Bhopal Gas Tragedy is regarded as the world’s worst industrial catastrophe of all time. A perfect storm of lack of government oversight, underfunded and underpaid workers, and sheer negligence and incompetence led to this horrifying disaster which ended up affecting over half a million people. Government agencies have varied in their totals dead from 2,259 on up to 15,000, with over half a million sustaining injuries minor to fatal. Union Carbide Corporation (now a Dow Chemical Company subsidiary) built a plant in Bhopal that was meant to produce pesticides for agricultural use. The plant apparently started off with poor management, with instruments being checked half the standard number of times per hour. Unlike similar plants built in the US, the Indian plant was not prepared for any sort of problems of this magnitude, including failure to notify local authorities of the nature of the dangerous chemicals being produced. Water hoses designed to bring down gas leaks–which in effect knock the gas down by diluting them before they can get into the atmosphere–were found to spray water at a height of only 13 meters, which was inadequate for knocking gas down. Up to the actual disaster, numerous workers died or were severely injured in an unusually high number of incidents that revealed managerial incompetence and a lack of training. In December of 1984, one of the tanks entered a runaway reaction that caused the venting of a vast amount of poisonous gas. To this day, similar to Minamata’s issues with Chisso, the city and citizens of Bhopal are still battling Union Carbide and Dow in court. The most dramatic example of both government incompetence and untrained workers leading to disaster remains the Chernobyl disaster. Displacing over 336,000 people permanently while leading to the evacuation of vast swaths of Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia, it remains one of the most destructive economic and ecological disasters. Nearby Pripyat, with a population of 50,000 at the time, remains completely deserted and stands as it did on that day in 1986. Thanks to the disaster, over 600,000 people were considered highly exposed and many will have higher cancer rates than normal people, although the disaster itself was largely a blow to Soviet Russia’s pride and economically damaging to a growing prosperous region in Ukraine. Fewer than 50 direct deaths are actually attributable to the disaster, although radiation poisoning is among the most horrific and stunning ways to die. All over the world countries that are capitalist or communist, monocultural or multicultural–all are susceptible to highly damaging disasters. The BP oil spill is not unique, but it certainly is a tragedy. Let us all hope that it is cleaned up soon, and that it ultimately causes less damage than these disasters did. You may also enjoy reading The War on Terrorism vs. Mother Nature: Death Tolls and Failed Prophecies: Major Doomsday Predictions That Did Not Come True!Natural gas can either leak out as methane, or be flared as CO2 before going to market. CREDIT: Shutterstock The bad news is that humanity has dawdled for so long that our only realistic chance to avoid multiple, irreversible, catastrophic climate impacts is to slash both carbon dioxide and the “super pollutants” like methane sharply starting as soon as possible. As Dr. Jeffrey Sachs, Director of Columbia’s Earth Institute, told MSNBC Tuesday: We’ve been told the basic falsehood that somehow fracking is going to save us, which is basically the opposite of the truth. What kind of good news can the world expect after ignoring near-unanimous expert advice for 25 years? Well, we can almost certainly avert the worst impacts for billions of people, but only by aggressively curtailing both CO2 (which lingers in the atmosphere for hundreds of years) and the super pollutants (which are much more potent at trapping heat in the short-term than CO2, but which have a much shorter atmospheric lifetime). Some confusion has been generated on this issue by a Tuesday New York Times piece, “Picking Lesser of Two Climate Evils,” which frames our optimum climate strategy as a choice between targeting CO2 and targeting super pollutants like methane, hydrofluorocarbons, and black carbon, that together cause some 40% of the warming we’re experiencing now. But that is a “false choice,” as longtime NASA climate scientist Drew Shindell explained to me. We have to do both to maximize lives saved and minimize the chances of dangerous warming. That’s a point Climate Progress has made consistently. The New York Times piece builds off an analysis by climatologist Raymond Pierrehumbert on “Short-Lived Climate Pollution” (SLCP). He concludes that an “implementation of SLCP mitigation that substitutes to any significant extent for carbon dioxide mitigation will lead to a climate irreversibly warmer than will a strategy with delayed SLCP mitigation. SLCP mitigation does not buy time for implementation of stringent controls on CO2 emissions.” I think that conclusion is correct: Absent an effort to sharply reduce CO2 emissions ASAP, everything else is a sideshow if not an outright distraction. But I think this assertion by Pierrehumbert is not tenable: “There is little to be gained by implementing SLCP mitigation before stringent carbon dioxide controls are in place and have caused annual emissions to approach zero.” That seems to me a false choice, suggesting that humanity is somehow incapable of reducing all greenhouse gases at the same time. Also, it ignores the risk that we might cross irreversible warming thresholds in the coming decades that further accelerate warming — such as permafrost melt — before the impact of the CO2 reductions can be felt. And it ignores the very low cost of reducing SLCPs compared to the relatively higher cost of reducing CO2 as you approach zero (i.e. after you have exhausted all of the low-cost CO2-reduction strategies). The SLCPs account for much of current warming, and they must be dealt with. The case where this matters most is natural gas, since natural gas is mostly methane, leaks at every point in the production and distribution process, but also releases CO2 when burned as a fuel. Methane is a whopping 86 times stronger at trapping heat than CO2 over a 20-year time scale, but “only” 34 times stronger over a 100-year time scale. And, as the IPCC wrote in its recent review of the science, “There is no scientific argument for selecting 100 years compared with other choices. The choice of time horizon is a value judgement since it depends on the relative weight assigned to effects at different times.” The key point is that using natural gas to replace coal poses risks in all time periods. And, when you do the math based on actual observations of methane leakage, it turns out, as I’ve discussed, “By The Time Natural Gas Has A Net Climate Benefit You’ll Likely Be Dead And The Climate Ruined.” As Sachs told MSNBC, “We have to move decisively” to carbon-free energy sources, including renewables and even nuclear. “This is pretty basic stuff.” Here are more of Dr. Shindell’s thoughts on the subject: I would strongly argue that there are two distinct environmental problems, one is long-term climate change for which CO2 is the dominant driver, and one is the combination of near-term climate change and air quality, for which SLCPs dominate. I don’t believe society is only capable of considering one problem at a time so that putting effort into cutting SLCPs would undermine efforts to cut CO2 — we consider multiple problems all the time (e.g. promoting clean water does not undermine promoting clean air, and there are countless such examples). Demanding that CO2 reductions be made first, as has been promoted by some of the anti-SLCP crowd, runs the danger of blocking any action on SLCPs for many many years given the dismal state of progress on CO2. That would lead to many premature deaths that could have been prevented, larger near-term climate change that is already affecting people around the world, etc. So there are dangers either way if solving one problem is stalled due to the other, and so it’s important to keep working on both in my opinion. If our leadership can’t manage two environmental problems at once, then rather than choosing one or the other I’d say we should choose new leadership. SLCP reductions don’t buy time for CO2 reductions, but they do provide more time for adaptation and improve the chances of avoiding tipping points by delaying the time at which we reach them so that if CO2 reductions take place they’ll have more time to have their impact. Since Prof. Bob Howarth of Cornell has been remarkably prescient in raising concerns about methane leakage, I asked him to comment on Pierrehumbert’s findings: 1) It is a false choice to say we must rely on coal or natural gas. When I conclude the greenhouse gas footprint of natural gas is worse than that of coal on the decadal time scale, I am not arguing for coal. Rather, we should wean ourselves from all fossil fuels, and natural gas is not a bridge fuel towards doing so. 2) He ignores potential tipping points in the climate system which we increasingly run the risk of hitting if we do not reduce methane emissions. If the tipping points are hit, we will have runaway global warming that will be devastating. And we cannot avoid warming the planet to dangerously high temperatures (1.5 to 2 deg C) over the coming few decades by reducing carbon dioxide emissions. We must reduce methane emissions to lower this rate of warming on this time scale. 3) And yes, he ignores the problems with global climate disruption over the coming few decades, apparently feeling any damage on this time scale is OK if we are address the long-term problem. I think I have done a good job of summarizing these issues and arguments in my May 2014 paper (Howarth, R. W. 2014. A bridge to nowhere: Methane emissions and the greenhouse gas footprint of natural gas. UPDATE: Dr. Michael Tobis — climate blogger and modeler par excellence — points out that if we just reduce CO2 use sharply, then we would see a short-term boost in warming from the reduction in sulfate aerosols associated with the sharp coal reductions (see here). So that is yet another important reason we need to go after both coal and SLCPs. The post No False Choices: To Preserve A Livable Climate, We Need To Slash Both CO2 And Methane ASAP appeared first on ThinkProgress.Amazon's Kindle Fire falls short of the iPad in a satisfaction survey but has some big upsides, said market researcher Changewave Research in a note released Thursday. The Kindle Fire has become surprisingly popular because it's affordable yet versatile for its price. And the numbers bear this out. Bob O'Donnell of IDC told CNET this week that he believes Amazon shipped just under five million units in the latest quarter. "That's huge. Remember they didn't ship until early November so that's essentially two months," O'Donnell said. (Amazon does not reveal exact numbers.) So, what do all of these users like about the Fire? Cost overwhelming but the screen and ease of use rank up there too (see chart below). That said, it isn't the iPad's equal in overall satisfaction rating. "While the 54 percent Very Satisfied rating for the Kindle Fire is considerably below the 74 percent rating of the industry leading Apple iPad, it is higher than the 49 percent average rating for all of the other tablet devices combined," Changewave said. And what do users dislike about the Fire? No volume button ranks first in dislikes, while the lack of camera is second, and battery life third (see chart). ChangeWave also asked shoppers where they'll be spending their money online over the next 90 days and found that Amazon continues to outperform all of the other major online retailers included in the survey combined (see chart at bottom). "One-in-five respondents (20 percent) say they'll spend more money online at Amazon.com vs. 11 percent less--numbers that overwhelmingly dwarf the other online retailers surveyed," Changewave said. Changewave Research Changewave Research Changewave Research Changewave ResearchEU offers carrot, stick to Africa to help curb migration African migrants sit on top of a border fence during an attempt to cross into Spanish territories, between Morocco and Spain's north African enclave of Melilla, November 21, 2015. Europe plans to coax as well as pressure African governments to help curb migration northward using a mixture of aid and trade levers under proposals put forward on Tuesday by the EU executive.As Africa's biggest donors, divided from the world's poorest continent by a sea that is failing to deter many from attempting risky crossings, EU leaders want to see their trade-and-aid euros used to help solve their migration crisis, though that has brought criticism from African governments and rights groups. "We propose to use a mix of positive and negative incentives to reward those third countries willing to cooperate effectively with us and to ensure that there are consequences for those who do not," Frans Timmermans, the deputy head of the European Commission, told the European Parliament in Strasbourg. One focus of EU pressure will be the reluctance of some African governments to take back their own citizens deported from Europe. The Commission said some 8 billion euros ($9 billion) was on offer over five years for aid targeted at giving Africans more incentive to stay at home, though much of that must come from EU states and much is money already promised. SEE ALSO :Equity, BOA among best in customer care services-report Timmermans noted the deal he has negotiated with Turkey to staunch flows of Syrian refugees and other migrants to Greek islands - a deal achieved by offering Ankara financial and diplomatic concessions and criticized by human rights groups - and said there was a need to curb renewed crossings from North Africa to Italy, which have claimed nearly 3,000 lives. "We must do the same that we have done on the route through the Aegean also in the southern Mediterranean to find solutions, sustainable solutions," the former Dutch foreign minister said. His Commission colleague, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, dismissed a suggestion from Libya's fragile, U.N.-backed government that Brussels might pressure Libyans to take back migrants who set sail from its coast, as Turkey now does. Europe's plan was to get irregular migrants from Africa who do not qualify for asylum back to their home countries, she said, noting that few Libyans themselves make the crossing. MIDEAST, AFRICAN PRIORITIES SEE ALSO :May tries to break Brexit deadlock with EU concessions Jordan and Lebanon in the Middle East, the main hosts along with Turkey of Syrian refugees, would be priority recipients of help under the EU's new migration "compacts", which the Commission said aimed to leverage EU funding with private investments that could reach tens of billions of euros. Five African states - Nigeria, Senegal, Mali, Niger and Ethiopia - will also be targeted to curtail migration to Europe. Aid could be focused on easing conflicts or economic difficulties that prompt people to emigrate as well as on border security, EU officials said, while other incentives may include preferential trade terms and easier visa access to the EU. The plan is part of a strategy responding to a surge in arrivals in the past year that has divided EU governments and posed a serious threat to the Union's cohesion and credibility. On Tuesday, the Commission also proposed a revamp of its Blue Card work permit scheme to expand legal immigration options for skilled workers and support for EU governments to give migrants training and other help to integrate in Europe. SEE ALSO :Role of regulators to top meet The proposals will require detailed discussion and approval by EU governments and the parliament. Speaking in the chamber, Manfred Weber, conservative leader of the biggest party in the EU legislature welcomed a move to "speak clearly" to Africa and warned of "trade consequences" for states that do not cooperate. But he cautioned on expanding the Blue Card scheme, saying the priority must be jobs for Europeans before immigrants.Britain’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) admits it made an “erroneous” report to the UN when it denied that child abuse was rife in the British overseas territory of St Helena. The FCO has been accused of lying to the United Nations over “endemic” child sex abuse in the remote South Atlantic island to cover up allegations, including a case of a police officer having raped a four-year-old girl and another police officer having “mutilated a two-year-old.” Two child protection whistleblowers who worked on the island are now suing the FCO and the UK Department for International Development for constructive dismissal. Claire Gannon and Martin Warsama, UK social workers who worked on St Helena, which has 4,000 inhabitants, were shocked by what they found on the island. They said they were victimized after reporting abuse, then were threatened and eventually forced to leave. The FCO then commissioned a report by children's charity the Lucy Faithfull Foundation. The report was not published, but the findings were leaked to the whistleblower website. It found there was a “persistent” culture of abusing teenage girls and a “cultural acceptance of the premature sexualization of children” on St Helena. Girls were subjected to “violent and brutal” attacks, the report said. READ MORE:Sexual abuse rampant in British overseas territory, report covered-up When the FCO was asked by the UN about the island in 2013, the FCO said the LFF report found “no evidence of sexual exploitation.” However, the FCO has now told the Sunday Times: “It was a former member of St Helena government staff who included the erroneous line in the report, and we have now changed the clearance process so it can't happen again. When we found the line included, we had it changed, and the UN have accepted that change.” Gannon’s witness statement says: “The FCO … even lied to the UN in order to cover up the child abuse and police corruption. The FCO said that having had the benefit of the LFF report, there were no issues on the island … they know that to be entirely untrue. The Lucy Faithfull Foundation report stated the exact opposite,” the Sunday Times reports. The report had revealed that: * St Helena has a culture of acceptance of child abuse * There are a number of serial child sex offenders and serial victims on the island * Female victims of child abuse are dubbed “slags” by islanders and persecuted * Juries only convict the most serious sexual abuse cases * Puberty, rather than the age of consent, is considered acceptable for sex * Police are too accepting of older men’s relationships with underage girls * Brutal sexual conduct is considered the norm on St Helena It also raised concerns that a British-funded airport due to open in 2016 could make St Helena a magnet for sex tourists wanting to have sex with young girls. It warned: “Existing vulnerabilities and confusions on St Helena in respect of sexual conduct might prove ripe for exploitation by more sophisticated visitors.Ukraine ships third batch of new Oplot tanks to Thailand Ukraine has shipped a third batch of 10 new main battle tanks (MBT) Oplot assembled at Malyshev Plant (Kharkiv) to Thailand under a contract signed in 2011 worth over $200 million. The third batch recently arrived to the Sattahip Naval Base by sea. The batch was prepared for shipping to the customer in December 2015. The next batch shipment to Thailand is scheduled for 2016. Ukraine seeks to finish the contract in full by late 2016. "Delivery of 29 more tanks under contract will be finished this year if the military agency agrees it," the source said. The Oplot tank has been developed by the Kharkiv-based Morozov Design and Engineering Bureau. The first two Oplot tanks entered service with the Ukrainian Armed Forces in May 2009. An over $200 million contract for the delivery of 49 Oplot tanks to Thailand was signed in 2011. The Malyshev company started implementing the contract in April 2012. Investment in the tanks' serial production amounts to $30 million, according to the company management. Experts estimate the Oplot tank has an 80% processing complexity coefficient, one of the world's highest among new combat vehicles. The tank has advanced systems of protecting communication and control gear, including an active system for countering smart weapons, as well as night vision instruments and a remote- controlled machine-gun.This package is for a professionally created mockup based on this Medialoot resource. We will customize your design and content to look just like the preview images but with your images, logo, text, and colors. Deliverables Our designers will send you the final customized mockup in high-resolution PSD, PNG, or JPG formats, along with all source files used to create it. You'll get a complete license to use these source files and this resource. Current turnaround time is 1-2 business days depending on complexity. A single round of revisions is included: we can make one round of tweaks if you aren't happy with something. If need more revisions or want something that isn't included we can probably do that for you at our standard rate of $85/hr. 100% money-back guarantee. No matter what the reason, if you aren't happy we'll send you a refund.Pigs exercised daily to ‘better’ taste Black pig farmers in Baoding, Hebei Province have their animals under a strict daily exercise regimen, which involves "platform diving" twice a day - in an effort to improve the quality of their meat for customers. Employees of the pig farm owned by Changxin Black Pig Breeding Company in the city's Tangxian county regularly bring the black pigs to a three-meter-high platform, where the pigs are then put on a slide - where they drop down in mid-air before hitting the water. According to the employees, the exercises are good for pigs in terms of boosting immunity, increasing their appetite and accelerating growth, which ultimately produces better meat quality. These pigs can sell for three times the price of ordinary pigs in the market, they said. "The pigs exercise twice a day, each time for an hour and a half," said Zhao Weidong, manager of the company. "It helps cut back on their fat to make their meat more lean, and also helps give their meat better flavor."Recently widowed, Debbie Venetz receives a Meritorious Service Medal on behalf of her late husband Sgt. 1st Class Anthony Venetz at Fort Bragg in North Carolina in February 2011, just weeks after his death in Afghanistan. The circumsntances of his death would later be called into question. Photo courtesy of Debbie Venetz WASHINGTON — In the eight years that her husband deployed repeatedly to Iraq and Afghanistan, she learned to be good at not having him around. So when the knock came to tell her that Sgt. 1st Class Anthony Venetz wouldn’t make it back from Afghanistan that last time, she was prepared, even in her grief, to pick up the pieces. Debbie Venetz wore white to his funeral — she didn’t care whether people thought she was crazy. The 29-year-old widow wanted to celebrate her husband and let their 7- and 3-year-olds know that while they will miss Daddy, life will go on. But nothing could have readied her for the nearly six-year battle ahead to restore her husband’s honor and secure benefits for their family. Debbie took on the Army. She faced down a withering backlash as she pressed for a more thorough investigation into his death. She sought powerful allies — colonels and generals — to push the case forward. But mostly, she never stopped believing that her husband died the way he lived as a Green Beret — honorably and in service to his country. Last month, 5½ years after Anthony’s death and five years after the Army ruled that his accidental overdose in Afghanistan was “not in the line of the duty,” an Army review board reversed that finding. A “not in the line of duty” ruling has severe consequences on families of deceased servicemembers, and the Army makes those determinations infrequently. If a soldier dies while serving, particularly in a combat zone, he or she is presumed to have died “in the line of duty” or while in service to their country. Even most suicides are considered “in the line of duty.” Their families are eligible for benefits based on the length of service and salary. A “not in the line of duty” finding — a consequence of intentional misconduct — means those benefits are not given to the family. For Debbie and the children, that meant an estimated $1,200 a month from the Army’s Survivor Benefit Plan; GI Bill benefits; and possibly money from the Department of Veterans Affairs. She could be able to get all of the benefits retroactively. Debbie read the review board’s report, fuming. She could not come to grips with what she’d endured — a criminal investigation and two “line of duty” investigations (the second one completely refuting the original); appeals rejected without explanation; the petition to the corrections board — all so that the Army could come to the conclusion she knew to be right all along. “I am probably more heartbroken,” she said. “This was the man who was one of the best soldiers out there, and after he died, he got thrown under the bus.” The Army declined to comment on the report, as has Army Central Command, which controls operations in Afghanistan. Special Operations Command, which encompasses Special Forces, deferred to Army public affairs. Mistakes from the start Anthony Venetz was found dead Jan. 28, 2011, in his quarters at Camp Montrond in Afghanistan, just two days before he was to fly home. He was 30 and had recently arrived at the Special Forces camp at Bagram Air Field on his way out of the country. He had been part of a 12-man Special Forces detachment, belonging to Company A, 2nd Battalion of the 7th Special Forces Group. The team had been operating from a small outpost in rural southeastern Afghanistan with a few dozen U.S. and Afghan infantry. The mission to conduct outreach with local villages had met with resistance. He’d been wounded twice on that deployment alone and had earned a Bronze Star with “V” device for valor for remaining in a firefight for two days after he was shot in the leg on Sept. 29, 2010. He showed “selflessness, dedication to duty and courage under fire,” according to his medal citation, and helped to repel the enemy and save lives “in keeping with the finest traditions of military heroism.” That medal was awarded to him Jan. 17, 2011 — 11 days before his death. He barely had time to recover from the September 2010 incident when he was wounded a second time on Nov. 30, 2010. His vehicle was struck by a roadside bomb. Pretty rattled, he was treated for a concussion and a perforated eardrum, then released as he prepared to travel home. Records and testimony show that he was still suffering from headaches so severe they induced vomiting. He also had a bad cough, and his leg was still causing him pain. “Beaten up” was how one colleague at Camp Montrond described him. The night before he died, he went to the team surgeon with congestion and a fever, according to the investigation. He was alive at 10 a.m. the next day but was found dead at about 12:30 p.m. Mucinex and the cough medicine the doctor had given him were by his bed. No other drugs or packaging were found. The autopsy revealed a deadly combination of opiates, a class of tranquilizers known as benzodiazepines and marijuana in his bloodstream. There was no indication of previous drug use, and a pathologist determined it was a one-time event. At home, Anthony was buried with full honors at Arlington National Cemetery, his wife receiving the folded flag and the jarring gun salute, finding comfort in the knowledge that her husband had served his country. It wasn’t until the end of August that she learned the command had conducted a “line of duty” investigation and ruled against him in death. Unexpected The findings took nearly everyone who knew Anthony by surprise. His wife was flabbergasted. His death was shrouded in uncertainty, but she knew him. Her husband had no tolerance for illicit drugs, especially on the battlefield. Later, one of his men would attest to Anthony finding drugs on one of his guys and angrily throwing the packet into the river. Anthony was on his way home, about to start jumpmaster school at Fort Benning, Ga. — something he’d been eager to do to further his career — and he knew there would be drug testing. He had gone to see a medic. Why would he do that if he was taking illegal drugs? Something didn’t add up, she thought. She and others were also perplexed by the circumstances of that first investigation. Instead of being conducted within 30 days of his death, as it was supposed to be, it was done nearly seven months later and was finished within a week. Her husband’s record was filled with “among the best” evaluations, ratings of “excellence” and “superior” and commendations for his service in combat. He was praised for his professional development, his leadership and his bravery. “He was one of those out-front, dynamic people you wish you had a unit full of,” said Rep. Steve Russell, R-Okla., in an interview with Stars and Stripes. Russell was Anthony’s battalion commander in Iraq in 2003 and wrote a book about the unit’s part in the capture of deposed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. “Those of us who served with him knew there had to be some other explanation,” Russell said. ‘Gold Star wife’ It didn’t take long for Debbie to recognize what she was up against. She was knocking on doors, approaching Special Forces commanders at events, doggedly looking for help. She got used to the sting when they would reject her pleas. One commander at an event in late 2011 where Anthony was posthumously being awarded another Purple Heart looked her in the eye and said, “I don’t think you are a Gold Star wife,” referring to the wives of fallen servicemembers. “They actually already gave me a gold star,” she retorted. Debbie kept pressing her case, capturing the attention of Col. Miguel Howe, the acting commander of 7th SFG. Howe didn’t get to the 7th SFG until after Anthony had died and was not aware of the “line of duty” findings. The more he read through the paperwork that Debbie gave him, the more perplexing he found it. “Nothing made sense,” said Howe, now retired and the director of the Military Service Initiative at the George W. Bush Institute in Dallas. “In terms of the professional reputation and the demonstrated record of not only the high performance but the valor … of the soldier, that did not jibe with one incident, one event.” Howe was not comfortable with an investigation that occurred so long after the death and without the knowledge of the unit. No additional interviews had been done. He believed that a more thorough probe was warranted. In January 2012, he appointed an investigator — an Army major — and sent him out to start an investigation from scratch. It’s not that Howe believed there was something nefarious. More likely, the intensity of operations in Afghanistan in 2011 was such that legal actions and administrative work took a back burner, he said. “I don’t think it was negligent intent on their part,” he said. “It simply fell through the cracks, and once they discovered seven months after the fact that they had not conducted a “line of duty” investigation, it was just something that needed to be completed. Given the parameters of Sgt. Venetz’ death … they thought it was easy to get done and cross off the list.” The second investigation took seven months and resulted in a 700-page report. The investigator traveled to Afghanistan and talked to everyone who was around when Anthony died. He spoke with members of the unit, pored over Debbie’s military records and interviewed colleagues. On March 11, 2012, as that investigation was underway, an Army soldier attached to the same Special Forces detachment that Anthony had served in walked into a village in southeastern Afghanistan and began spraying bullets at villagers. Staff Sgt. Robert Bales killed 16 people and injured six in the worst mass murder by an American soldier during combat since Vietnam. The killing shocked Americans and Afghans alike, and while the Special Forces team tried to understand what had happened, their leaders had to handle the political fallout. The 12-man team of the 7-216 detachment could feel the heat from above, said Capt. Danny Fields, team leader at the time. The team was sent home and dispersed. It was in the context of these events that the second investigation into Anthony’s death — which concluded that the “not in the line of duty” finding should be reversed — began reaching the desks of the Special Forces leadership. Debbie and Fields wondered whether that contributed to the poor reception the investigation received by some senior special operations commanders all the way up to then-Brig. Gen. Christopher Haas, commander of the Army Special Forces Command. “Haas wanted nothing to do with it,” Debbie said. “I almost feel like commanders just wanted to shut everything down.” Fields, who has since left the Army, said he came to the same conclusion. “It completely blows my mind. You’ve got the backing of this 700-page-long investigation to counter an investigation that took a week,” Fields said. “It’s endorsed by two full-bird colonels. But in front of Haas, [the ruling] doesn’t get overturned.” Haas, now a major general in Afghanistan, did not respond to requests for comment. Starting over The second investigation revealed that the original investigator was an Air Force captain who had never conducted a “line of duty” investigation by himself and had been given a packet of papers that included previous interviews and was told that he should finish the report within seven days. That captain, who was not named in the report, said later he did not know he was allowed to ask for an extension. He did not conduct any interviews on his own. There was missing medical paperwork that was never recovered. He acknowledged that the major who questioned him for the second investigation was far more thorough. The second investigation concluded that while there was an illicit mix of drugs in Anthony’s bloodstream, there was no indication he was abusing drugs. It was unlikely, the report concluded, that he had intentionally ingested a drug cocktail for recreation, given the person and soldier he was; that he had a brain injury and was in pain; and that he was days from going home. The most likely scenario: He had taken pills from a trusted person thinking they could give him some relief. Army regulation gives a soldier the benefit of the doubt when it comes to “line of duty” investigations. A “not in the line of duty” finding requires “substantial evidence” of “intentional misconduct or willful negligence.” Army Central Command did not release the number of U.S. deaths related to operations in Afghanistan that were determined to be “not in the line of duty.” But defense records indicate it’s a small percentage. Of the 1,673 Army Afghanistan-related deaths since 2001, 341 were labeled nonhostile; the Army has said most of those would be determined to be “in the line of duty.” The evidence in Anthony’s case did not add up to a “not in the line of duty” finding, the second investigation concluded. By January 2013, Howe and his boss, Col. Tony Fletcher, commander of 7th SFG and of special operations in Afghanistan where he was deployed with part of the group, had endorsed the investigation and strongly recommended that the initial finding be overturned. Then bureaucracy set in. Howe sent the recommendation to Special Forces and Special Operations commands, but officials said they didn’t have the authority to overturn the decision. Army Major Command? Again, no authority. Finally, the report reached the Casualty and Mortuary Affairs Operations Center, which on March 29, 2013, with little explanation, upheld the original finding. Debbie pushed from her end, and — with urging from Howe and Fletcher — officials at Casualty and Mortuary Affairs agreed to reconsider the appeal. However, on June 26, 2013, they dismissed the second investigation in one sentence, then concurred with the original investigation that Anthony died “not in the line of duty.” Moving forward Debbie had reached the end of the administrative line. Her only recourse was to file an appeal with the Army records correction board. Tired of fighting and wanting a new start for her family, she and the children moved to San Antonio, away from Eglin Air Force Base and Anthony’s unit. But she wasn’t done. She was angry. She created a Facebook page called Justice for SFC Anthony and posted her frustrations. She also sought support from the survivors’ outreach services at Joint Base San Antonio, where one representative got interested in the issue and started showing the case around. Meanwhile, a lawyer appointed by Casualty and Mortuary Affairs was trying to help put together a packet for the records correction board, using mostly information from the second investigation. The work was slow, and the lawyer was unsure exactly how to word things, Debbie said. One day, she was with her kids at a military event, and Debbie recognized a general who used to be with the 7th SFG. She sent her kids across the field to keep him there, and when she caught up, she told him she knew his friends Howe and Fletcher. “They tried to help me,” she told him. “Will you help me?” A week later, she met with him in his office, and he helped guide the lawyer to file the application to the correction board in January 2015. Then they waited. A year passed. Nothing. Finally, Debbie reached out to Russell, by then a congressman, who took up the mantle. He had his military liaison start a congressional inquiry with the Army review board and, ultimately, wrote a letter to the Army secretary asking why it was taking so long. When the decision came down last month, Debbie could do little more than ask questions. “What really happened that night?” she asked. And she wondered: How do you make sure this doesn’t happen to other families? “A lot of people would have walked away,” she said. Howe said he used to counsel his new majors by telling them that the Army is the world’s largest bureaucracy, and one of their primary responsibilities will be to mitigate the impact of that bureaucracy on their soldiers and families. Not everyone has the “warrior ethos” that kept Debbie fighting for as
.S. face dangers if they are sent back to their home countries. He now wonders if history will be repeated. “How is the Canadian government going to respond in the event that the Salvadorans and Hondurans, and probably some Nicaraguans, with no alternative but to look for refuge in another nation, instead of going back to their lands of origin, cross the border into Canada?” The question is increasingly relevant as a deadline approaches for the renewal or expiration of those groups’ special immigration designation, known as Temporary Protected Status, or TPS. The protections are afforded to citizens of 10 countries that have been ravaged by conflict or natural disaster. Article Continued Below The U.S. Department of Homeland Security told 58,000 Haitians in late May that they should prepare to return home when their TPS expires in January. That advisory coincided with a wave of thousands of Haitian migrants crossing into Canada, most in July and August. But 195,000 Salvadorans, 60,000 Hondurans and 2,500 Nicaraguans are also awaiting word on their status. The current designations are set to expire in January for Hondurans and Nicaraguans, and in March for Salvadorans. “We’re preparing for the worst … because we have not gotten the best signals from this administration,” said Daniella Burgi-Palomino, a senior associate with the Washington-based Latin America Working Group, which is lobbying U.S. lawmakers for a TPS extension. The problem, she said, is that the decision to extend or rescind protections for TPS nations lies solely with President Donald Trump and his secretaries of homeland security and state, not with the U.S. Congress. “I think the Haiti precedent is very likely for the three countries,” Burgi-Palomino said. The campaign to rally support for extended protections is gathering steam across the United States. In North Miami, which is home to the largest population of Haitian expatriates, city council passed a resolution in April urging the Trump administration to grant Haitians with TPS the usual 18-month extension. It was ultimately unsuccessful. Article Continued Below There have been other campaigns to encourage local and state lawmakers to put pressure on the Trump administration. Reports this week said nearly 100 Democratic and Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives have signed a petition urging extended protections for Salvadorans and Hondurans. “We’ve got Republicans and Democrats. It’s a humanitarian issue,” said North Miami Councilman Alix Desulme, who was born in Haiti and who travelled to the country this summer on a TPS fact-finding mission. “Haiti is not ready for anything. I don’t think Haiti is ready for the Haitians who are there now, so imagine 58,000 folks heading back to Haiti!” Desulme said. Conditions are not much better in the three Central American countries seeking TPS extensions, Sanabria said. “(El) Salvador and Honduras have demonstrated that they do not offer the best conditions for deportees or returning expats,” he said. “Those economies and societies are facing the same challenges that they did before civil war erupted there. The conditions of forced migration remain in those societies.” After a 12-year civil war broke out in El Salvador in 1979, pitting left-wing revolutionaries against U.S.-backed government forces, hundreds of thousands of Salvadorans sought refuge in other countries. Many were welcomed to Canada, which had more permissive policies specifically designed for Salvadoran refugees. In 1982, the Trudeau government allowed into Canada many of those Salvadorans who had been denied asylum in the U.S. and were facing deportation. According to a 1986 report by the Library of Parliament, Canada took in 2,000 Latin American refugees in 1983, 75 per cent of them from El Salvador. But there was a change in government and, later, a change in immigration policy when thousands of Salvadoran asylum-seekers arrived in Canada between 1986 and 1987, resulting in emergency shelters being erected in churches, Salvation Army buildings and even on the CNE grounds in downtown Toronto. In 1987, the Conservative government of Brian Mulroney passed immigration changes requiring Salvadorans to obtain a visa before entering Canada and forcing refugee claimants to wait in the United States for their asylum hearings. Activists across the U.S. are fighting to head off the next, potentially larger, wave of migrants coming to Canada. Some are appealing to employers in the hope that Trump will listen to the economic arguments for allowing housekeepers, hospitality workers and other, often low-wage, workers to remain in their jobs. “No employer wants to start again, to have to hire and train new workers,” said Wendi Walsh, president of Unite Here local 355, which represents hospitality workers in the Miami area. “This isn’t a partisan issue … This isn’t the Republican party standing unified. This is President Trump appealing to his most ardent supporters.”The European Parliament's Conference of Presidents (COP) met today in Brussels. Following a presentation by EP Brexit coordinator Guy Verhofstadt, a clear majority of group leaders were of the view that continued lack of clarity or absence of UK proposals on separation issues as well as the latest developments in Brexit negotiations meant that it was more than likely the assessment on “sufficient progress” on the first phase of Brexit negotiations is unlikely to have been met by the October European Council. The COP also decided that the Parliament will adopt a resolution in the October I session that will primarily focus on the rights of EU citizens in the UK and UK citizens in the EU, post - Brexit. The resolution will also outline the European Parliament’s priorities with regard to Ireland/Northern Ireland and assess the situation on the financial settlement. The Parliament's resolution will also state whether sufficient progress has been reached on the three separation issues, which is a prerequisite for talks to progress to the second phase of negotiations. The EP President Antonio Tajani said: "Given the current state of play of negotiations and the current position of the UK, it would seem very difficult that sufficient progress can be achieved by October on separation issues in order to enter phase 2 of the negotiations. In this case I would think it wise for the European Council to postpone this point to its December meeting."Donald Trump attends the South Florida Tea Party's third annual tax day rally Saturday, April 16, 2011 at Sanborn Square in Boca Raton, Fla. Sounding increasingly like a candidate, Donald Trump repeatedly told a raucous tea party crowd Saturday he has the qualities needed in the White House and the conservative ideals necessary to seal the Republican nomination should he decide to run. (AP Photo/Palm Beach Post, Gary Coronado) Donald Trump (credit: Gary Coronado/Palm Beach Post/AP) — Possible presidential candidate Donald Trump received several draft deferments from military service during the Vietnam War, according to purported Selective Service records that appeared online. The website TheSmokingGun.com says it received an extract of the records from the National Archives and Records Administration. The records TheSmokingGun.com obtained show that except for a three-week period, “The Donald” was classified 2-S – deferred due to college study – from July 28, 1964 until January 1, 1968. On July 9, 1968, Trump’s status switched to 1-A, meaning Trump was available for unrestricted service. Three months later on October 15, 1968, the real estate mogul’s availability was restricted to only periods of war or national emergency, having received a result of disqualified on his Armed Forces Physical Examination. Trump was ultimately classified 4-F, medically unqualified for military service, on February 1, 1972 – over three years later. On Tuesday, Trump neglected to mention his multiple deferments, instead suggesting it was pure chance he didn’t get drafted. “Well, I actually got lucky,” Trump said. “I had a very, very high number, and they never got up to that number.” Does this change your opinion about Trump? Sound off below in our comments section.LONDON (Reuters) - Ecuador said on Thursday that talks with Britain on a standoff over WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange were at an impasse as the Australian prepared to spend a third year holed up at the country’s London embassy. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange speaks to the media outside the High Court in London December 5, 2011. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett Assange, 42, fled to the South American country’s embassy in June 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden to face allegations of sexual assault and rape, which he denies. He says he fears Sweden could extradite him to the United States to try him for one of the largest information leaks in U.S. history if he agrees to go. Ecuador, which has granted Assange political asylum, wants London to assure him safe passage to Quito. But Britain has surrounded the Ecuadorean embassy with police officers round the clock ready to detain him if he leaves it. Ecuadorean Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino flew to London a year ago to meet his British counterpart to try to broker a deal. Both countries agreed at the time to create a working group to try to resolve the standoff. But Patino said on Thursday the two had not even managed to set up the working group. “There seems to be an impasse from a legal point of view,” Patino told reporters through a translator, speaking via video link from Ecuador. “We could not agree on specific objectives for the group so we haven’t even formed the group a year later.” Assange told the same news conference that his lawyers had advised him there was still a “serious risk” he would be extradited to the United States if he gave up political asylum. Complaining he hadn’t seen his children for four years, he said “some of them” had been forced to move locations and change their names after threats against their lives had been made by unspecified individuals. Assange’s lawyers will launch legal proceedings in Sweden next week to try to get the case there against him dropped, he said.I don't think there are any significant political barriers and it would be a good symbol of international cooperation. The question is what does ISRO currently have to offer as a partner? And what could they have offered in 1996 when the designs were being finalized? Does ISRO have the budget to support contributing to the ISS? It is an expensive project. Brazil, at one time, was to be involved, but they had to back out because they couldn't afford it. Canada provided the robotic arms of both the Space Shuttle and ISS, which were essential to assemble the ISS and are essential today for berthing operations and important for EVA. They also provided astronauts like Chris Hadfield. JAXA provided the JEM laboratory, external pallet, and the HTV that provides important supplies and experiment racks. They also provided astronauts like Koichi Wakata. ESA provided the Columbus laboratory, the MPLMs, and the ATV cargo vehicles. They also provided astronauts like Paolo Nespoli. There has been talk of India contributing a payload rack. They can submit experiment proposals, but preference needs to be given to proposals from the nations paying for the facilities and to proposals deemed to benefit the nations paying for the facilities. NASA has its own funding difficulties and it would not be politically popular to have US tax dollars funding ISRO work. It's unlikely ISRO would be able to secure an astronaut spot without significant financial contribution. There are six spots. Three belong to Russia and three to the US and the US is obligated to allocate some of its spots to the other three partners. Russia may be willing to sell one of their seats to ISRO. But my understanding is that the ISRO Astronaut Training Centre in Bangalore is still under development and that an agreement to have an Indian astronaut fly on a Soyuz last year was canceled because of funding.After a tumultuous week for Ed Miliband, the Labour leader will seek to get back on the front foot with a speech in Central London. When word of this speech originally appeared in the papers earlier this week it was talked of as an opportunity for Miliband to take on critics of his leadership – but instead, the focus looks to be on restating Miliband’s intention to fight the general election next year on the ‘core belief’ that Britain should “work for the many, not just a privileged few”. He will also attack the current “zero-zero economy” – with zero-hours contracts at the bottom and zero levels of tax paid by the richest – as well as urging Labour to “keep our eyes on the prize of changing this country”. We’re expecting speeches and interventions from Cooper, Balls, Hunt and Umunna in the days after Miliband’s speech, all based around the idea of an economy “for the many not the few”. Miliband’s speech will also contain pointed attacks not just on David Cameron and the Tories, but also on Nigel Farage and UKIP in what appears to be a recognition that UKIP are a threat to Labour. Here are the key extracts we’re expecting: On the “zero-zero economy”: “Our country only works for the privileged few today, not for most people. That is not just a slogan or some theoretical idea, it is rooted in the real lives of people in every part of our country. “People asking why are they being told there is a recovery when they aren’t feeling the benefits, people working so hard but not being rewarded, young people fearing that they are going to have a worse life than their parents, people making a decent living but still unable to afford to buy a house, people who worry that one of the foundation stones of their security – the NHS – is under threat. “And people asking why they are on zero-hours contracts while those at the top get away with zero tax. This zero-zero economy is a symptom of a deeply unequal, deeply unfair, deeply unjust country; a country I am determined to change. “We know what we’re fighting for. We are fighting for a country that works for everyday people, and not just a privileged few; a recovery that works for you and your family; the next generation doing better than the last; and the NHS there when you need it. “Let’s fight for a fairer, more just, more equal Britain.” On the desire of Labour’s opponents to “throw us off course”: “You need resilience in this job. You need fight. But above all, you need belief in what you are doing. Not belief based on a longing to have a picture on the wall down the stairs of Downing Street, not belief driven by a sense of entitlement that it is somehow Labour’s turn. Instead, belief driven by how we must change the country. That is why I am in this job, that is why it matters to me, that is what drives me on. “We’re in a fight, but not because our opponents think we’re destined to lose. We are in a fight because they know we can win. And, between now and the election, they are going to use every tactic to try to destabilise, distract us and throw us off course. Our task is simple: not to be distracted, but to keep our eyes on the prize of changing this country.” On the core belief of the Tories: “They have a core belief, just like we do, but its content couldn’t be more different. They believe that the success of the country comes from a few at the top. And as long as they’re doing well, Britain is doing well.” On how Labour’s focus will be on wealth creation rather than “big spending”: “There was a huge financial crash only a few years ago and it left our country with a deficit that has to be paid down. That’s why change has to be about big reform, not about big spending. Big spending won’t solve the problems of an economy that doesn’t work for working people and we won’t have the money to do it. “So we will be the wealth creators, not just the wealth distributors; the devolvers of power, not the centralisers, and the reformers of the state, not the defenders of it.” And whilst accepting mistakes in the past on immigration, Miliband will also take a prolonged swipe at UKIP: “Just as we should apply the values of the British people in the way our country is run, so too on immigration. A sense of fairness and community which means that we can’t simply allow wages to be undercut, that entitlements should be earned, and that people should learn English and be part of our society. “We will be talking more about immigration as a party and we should. But always on the basis of Labour values, not UKIP values. What we will never do is try to out-UKIP, UKIP. I think it is time we levelled with people about UKIP. It is time we had a debate about where they really stand. “Piece together the different statements from Mr Farage and his gang and think about what it says: ‘working mothers aren’t worth as much as men; life was better when there wasn’t equality for gay and lesbian people; you feel safer when you don’t have someone who is foreign living next door; the NHS should be privatised; rights at work, whether they come from Europe or from here, are simply a barrier to economic success. And they say let’s get out of the European Union’. “Their answer is to return to a more unequal, more unjust past. Mr Farage, you go to live in that world if you want to. But I don’t think the people of Britain will follow. We’re Britain, we’re better than this. Because we know you can’t build a vision of the future if you don’t believe in equal rights. You can’t succeed as a country if you try to close yourself off from the world. You can’t make a fairer country if you try to destroy our National Health Service.”China wants everyone to bring it down a notch as the Carl Vinson carrier strike group closes in on the waters near the volatile Korean Peninsula. A story on Chinese state-run television urged both North Korea and the United States to "remain calm and observe restraint." President Trump addressed the growing tensions on the peninsula on Twitter Tuesday morning, saying that the U.S. would take action if the Chinese could not exert its influence and stop the Kim regime's nuclear tests and rocket tests. "North Korea is looking for trouble," Trump tweeted. "China decides to help, that would be great. If not, we will solve the problem without them!" North Korea is looking for trouble. If China decides to help, that would be great. If not, we will solve the problem without them! U.S.A. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 11, 2017 The escalating rhetoric comes as the U.S. struggles with how to put an end to the growing threat from North Korean missiles to the U.S. and its allies in the region, including Japan and South Korea. During a recent meeting, China and the Trump administration agreed to keep talking about the North Korea situation. China is urging the U.S. to directly engage with the nuclear-armed regime of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Over the weekend, the head of U.S. forces in the Pacific made the unusual move of announcing that he was canceling planned port visits in Australia for Vinson and her escorts and redeploying the carrier to the waters near the Korean Peninsula. The release did not mention Korea specifically, but officials told Navy Times the move was a message to both nervous allies and to the North Korean regime. The Kim regime has launched about half a dozen missiles since Trump took office in January, which is seen as a test of the new administration. One missile failed and the others plunged into the Sea of Japan without causing any damage. The carrier strike group brings with it a ton of firepower, including the strike and air-combat capabilities of the Hornets, early warning radars, electronic-warfare capabilities and more than 300 missile tubes on the carrier’s escorts. North Korea, for its part, responded to news of the carrier’s redeployment with predictable bluster, warning of "catastrophic consequences." × Fear of missing out? Fear no longer. Be the first to hear about breaking news, as it happens. You'll get alerts delivered directly to your inbox each time something noteworthy happens in the Military community. Thanks for signing up. By giving us your email, you are opting in to our Newsletter: Sign up for the Navy Times Daily News Roundup "We will hold the U.S. wholly accountable for the catastrophic consequences to be entailed by its outrageous actions," according to a statement from its foreign ministry. The rising threat has prompted the U.S. and South Korean governments to agree to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense missile system, known as THAAD, designed to shoot down missiles. That prompted strenuous Chinese opposition and widespread anxiety over the move in South Korea itself. North Korea's missiles are already capable of striking many key U.S. allies, including Japan and South Korea. Experts warn that the tests show North Korea is getting closer to its goal of producing a nuclear-tipped rocket able to reach the United States, and that it's working on solid rocket fuel that can enable a launch with very short notice.The movie has been on for less than 10 minutes when some punk with a short attention span decides that whatever he has to tell his friend back home can't wait until after the closing credits roll. The dumbbell powers-on his smartphone, piercing the darkness with its distracting blue glow. Quicker than you can say Sho Kosugi, a team of black-clad ninjas descend upon him to put an end to the loutish behavior. Too bad the Prince Charles Cinema in Leicester Square won't allow it's roving band of auditorium assassins to use shurikens or puffs of smoke to permanently silence offending patrons. The theatre recently hired -- if you can call free movies in exchange for their services employment -- a team of auditorium security guards dressed as members of a feudal Japanese society of mercenary agents (highly trained in martial arts) to put an end to talking and texting in the dark. Reader fashionista Siobhan Braun take note: the 'ninjas' attack dressed in black, form-fitting Lycra costumes known as morphsuits. The all-in-one accoutrements should be big sellers at costumes stores come Halloween. The only thing more distracting than a cellphone going off in the dark is a group of black-clad frustrated dinner-theater players scrambling to silence it. If theatregoers don't already know to place their cellphone in the glove compartment of their car before entering an auditorium they have pus for brains and all the ninjas in the land aren't going to scare any sense into them. Source: Digital SpyWASHINGTON (AP) — Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee on Sunday said being gay is akin to choosing to drink alcohol or use profanity — lifestyle choices he says are appealing to others but not to him. The former Baptist pastor, who is weighing a second run for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, also claimed that forcing people of faith to accept gay marriage as policy is on par with telling Jews that they must serve “bacon-wrapped shrimp in their deli.” That dish would run afoul of kosher rules in the same way Huckabee sees asking Christians to accept same-sex marriages. “We’re so sensitive to make sure we don’t offend certain religions, but then we act like Christians can’t have the convictions that they have had for over 2,000 years,” Huckabee said. Huckabee has made cultural issues the cornerstone of his likely White House bid. The former Baptist pastor is counting on social conservatives and evangelicals who have great clout in early nominating Iowa to help him. His comments about gays and lesbians seem targeted at the conservative corners of his party. Yet he also included a pitch for inclusion in his remarks. Huckabee said he appreciates different viewpoints on gay marriage, adding that he has gay friends. “I accept a lot of people as friends maybe whose lifestyle I don’t necessarily adhere to, agree with or practice. Doesn’t mean that I can’t have a good relationship with anyone or lead them or govern them,” Huckabee said. But he remained steadfastly opposed to rights for gays and lesbians, although research has found a biological basis for their attraction to others of the same sex. “I don’t chuck people out of my circle or out of my life because they have a different point of view. I don’t drink alcohol, but, gosh, a lot of my friends, maybe most of them, do. You know, I don’t use profanity, but, believe me, I have got a lot of friends who do,” Huckabee said. “Some people really like classical music and ballet and opera. It’s not my cup of tea. I would like to think that there’s room in America for people who have different points of views without screaming, shouting and wanting to shut their businesses down.” Such rhetoric is central to Huckabee’s efforts to engage social conservatives. In recent weeks, Huckabee has picked fights with the White House over President Barack Obama’s friendship with Beyonce Knowles. Huckabee says the Obama daughters should not treat the entertainer as a role model because she is overly sexual. In his latest book, Huckabee also says Beyonce’s husband, rapper Jay-Z, is more of a “pimp” than a spouse. Huckabee spoke on CNN’s “State of the Union.” ___ Follow Philip Elliott on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Philip_ElliottThe "tablet that can replace your laptop" just got a discount -- albeit for a limited time only. Most Surface Pro 3 models at Microsoft stores (online and physical retail stores in the U.S.) are getting a $100 discount. That includes the $999 model (now $899), the $1,299 model (now $1,199), and the $1,549 model (now $1,449). All those models come with either Core i5 or Core i7 processors and 128GB or 256GB of storage. (Note that similar discounts can be found at online retailers like Amazon.) The only model that didn't get discounted was the entry $799 model with the Core i3 processor and 64GB of storage. A variety of free sleeves are also being offered as part of the deal. The offer is valid from January 30, 2015 until February 7, 2015, according to Microsoft fine print on the main Surface Pro 3 sales page. The sleeve promotion is good through April 5. The Pro 3 has plenty of competition at the Microsoft store. For instance, an attractive alternative just arrived -- the 2015 Dell XPS 13, which starts at $899. The 13-inch Dell laptop uses a Broadwell Intel processor (Surface Pro 3 comes with an older Haswell chip) and weighs in at only 2.6 pounds. The $899 Dell model does not come with a touch screen, though, and sports a lower-resolution 1,920x1,080 pixel display. The Surface Pro 3 has a 12-inch 2,160x1,440 pixel touch display and, with the Type Cover keyboard, weighs about 2.4 pounds. Original post updated to reflect: The sleeve promotion is good through April 5, while the Surface Pro 3 discount is good through February 7.(CNN) -- Under fire from tens of thousands of users, the social networking site Facebook said early Wednesday it is reverting to its old policy on user information -- for now. Backlash against Facebook began after a consumer advocate site flagged Facebook's policy change. The site posted a brief message on users' home pages that said it was returning to its previous "Terms of Use" policy "while we resolve the issues that people have raised." The "Terms of Use" is the legalese tacked on to the bottom of most Web sites that details what the site's owners can do with the information that users provide. Facebook, the Web's most popular social networking site, has been caught in a content-rights battle after revealing earlier this month that it was granting itself permanent rights to users' photos, wall posts and other information even after a user closed an account. The popular site allows users to create personal profiles where they can then connect with one another, upload photos and share links. The site boasts more than 150 million active users. Member backlash against Facebook began over the weekend after a consumer advocate Web site, The Consumerist, flagged a change made to Facebook's policy earlier in the month. The company deleted a sentence from the old Terms of Use. That sentence said Facebook could not claim any rights to original content that a user uploaded once the user closed his or her account. Don't Miss Facebook faces furor over content rights It replaced it with: "You may remove your User Content from the Site at any time.... (H)owever, you acknowledge that the Company may retain archived copies of your User Content." In response, Chris Walters wrote in the Consumerist post, "Make sure you never upload anything you don't feel comfortable giving away forever, because it's Facebook's now." Thousands of indignant members either canceled their accounts or created online petitions. Among them were more than 64,000 who joined a group called "The People Against the new Terms of Service." iReport.com: Too much information posted online? On Monday, Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg tried to quell the controversy by saying the company's philosophy is that "people own their information and control who they share it with." But members were not appeased because the site did not fix its Terms of Use. The company, in its post Wednesday, said it was returning to its previous Terms of Use because of the "feedback" it had received. "As Mark expressed in his blog post on Monday, it was never our intention to confuse people or make them uneasy about sharing on Facebook," company spokesman Barry Schnitt said in a blog post. "I also want to be very clear that Facebook does not, nor have we ever, claimed ownership over people's content. Your content belongs to you." iReport.com: Your thoughts on Facebook's about-face Schnitt said the company is in the process of rewording its Terms of Use in "simple language that defines Facebook's rights much more specifically." "Well that worked pretty fast," wrote member Al Reford of Vancouver, British Columbia. "Numbers count when giving feedback :)" And Shahrzad Grami of St. Paul, Minnesota, added: " YAYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!! nice job guys! i won't be canceling my account after all." All About Facebook Inc. • VancouverSekai Project Interview: Bringing Visual Novels To The West By Ishaan. September 12, 2014. 5:01pm This week, Sekai Project have released visual novel Planetarian for Steam in English. Developed by Key’s Visual Art’s label, the game costs $9.99 (although, it’s discounted at $7.49 until September 19th) and you can grab it here. Prior to its release, SIliconera caught up with Sekai Project CEO, Raymond Qian, to ask a few quick questions about the company and how they’ve been able to rise through the ranks of visual novel publishers so quickly. Sekai Project as a company kind of came out of nowhere. I have to ask—where did the money come from, to allow you to get the company set up and be able to pay your staff? Raymond Qian, CEO: The initial funding for Sekai Project came from the founders themselves. We chose to self-fund the company rather than seek outside investment. Needless to say, the early months were lean as we worked to acquire and release projects. How many members does Sekai Project consist of in total? How many are full-time staff and how many are hired on a project-by-project basis? The core Sekai Project team consists of four members, including the two founders. We mostly contract out the work for each project. The number of contractors for each project varies, but usually there is one or a team of translators and editors, and a couple for QA. I’m interested in the logistics of running a small company where there isn’t really one big office that houses all your employees. How do you manage Sekai’s production pipeline? Do you use things like Microsoft Project to allocate tasks and come up with schedules for everyone and their projects, or is it a looser process than that? Working without an office has been an interesting challenge. A lot of our internal communication is conducted through live chat rooms. We also hold weekly meetings to summarize the latest updates. To keep track of everything we’ve recently started using Office 365’s SharePoint platform. Let’s start talking about specific projects. You started out relatively small with Narcissu being published on Steam. How did you get that to happen? Was that a less “commercial” project you just did on your own time and money? Comparatively speaking, Narcissu was an easy project to acquire. One of the members on our team is personal friends with the creator, Stage☆Nana, and through him we acquired the rights to redistribute the game on Steam. Since Narcissu was released as a free game by request of the creator, there were no licensing issues to deal with either. The big news was obviously the licensing of Planetarian and Clannad. Visual Arts’ president is said to be quite business-savvy and has supposedly been skeptical about how visual novels could be profitable in the West. How did talks between you and VA begin? We were introduced to President Baba of VisualArt’s through a mutual acquaintance at an event in Tokyo. We proposed the idea of localizing planetarian as a good starter since it had previously been localized on iOS. President Baba was receptive to our ideas and after a meeting in Osaka at VisualArt’s headquarters, we were able to get the ball rolling with not only planetarian but with Clannad as well. We are hopeful that with the success of these projects, in partnership with VisualArt’s, more titles will hit the West in the future. You’ve been able to work with a lot of creators that fans thought were previously inaccessible or disinterested in the West. For some reason, they appear to trust you. There has to be something you’re doing that other publishers aren’t. What do you think it is? Some of us also believed in the past that some Japanese creators do not have any interest in the West for a number of reasons. Nevertheless, we’ve realize that isn’t necessarily true. Knowing the right people and having the opportunity to have an open dialog with Japanese creators and game developers is just the thing to make these localization projects a reality. Understanding the needs of Japanese creators is very essential to this process. What do you think their needs are, and could you give examples of how one developer’s needs might differ from another’s? Considering that we bear the costs for localization in most cases, you might assume that Japanese creators would be happy about getting “free money”—especially for titles that are no longer in print. For a creator, it’s not just about the money. Reputation and an appreciation for their works is just as important. Taking Western perceptions of visual novel games and past incidents such as that involving the game RapeLay into account, we pay extra attention to addressing any worries the creators might have. How easy has it been for you to get set up on Steam? I remember there was a time when the general opinion was that Valve weren’t fond of the idea of visual novels being available on Steam, but obviously they’ve come a long way since. What was the back- and-forth with Valve like? At the beginning we had to go through Steam’s Greenlight platform just like everyone else. The most difficult part was proving to Valve a sizeable fan base for visual novels exists. We have the community to thank for making this process much easier. Hadaka Shitsuji is a game that you’ve mentioned wanting to license, if it were ever possible. Is the Boys Love/Yaoi market something you’re interested in, in general? Are you talking to any creators in that field? The mention of Hadaka Shitsuji was more of a joke than anything else. However, we won’t rule out the possibility of getting involved in the BL/Yaoi market. It stands to be seen what approach we’ll take to get games like that on to Steam that would be both acceptable to Valve and to the fan base. What are some games you’d like pursue? Stuff from companies that you aren’t already dealing with, at least to the public’s knowledge. There’s so much speculation around in this industry, we’d rather celebrate when deals are inked instead of feeding more rumors. I’m sure you get this question a lot—Type Moon? We certainly do get that question a lot but we won’t rule out the possibility. In this industry, you never know what might happen!Notwithstanding the failure of its ambitious bid to become a part of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), India is all set to become a member of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) next week — one of the four export control regimes of which Delhi has been aspiring to become a member. Advertising The Sunday Express has learnt that Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar is all set to sign the instrument of accession into MTCR, which could happen as early as on Monday, in a ceremony to be attended by the MTCR chair troika — envoys from France, Netherlands and Luxembourg. The MTCR chair troika comprises the past, incumbent and future chair of the group. “Membership of one export control regime can be reinforcing on others, since India’s credentials are vetted in one and the remaining three can follow the example,” said an Indian official. [related-post] Watch Video: What’s making news India’s efforts to become a member of the MTCR began after the Indo-US nuclear deal in 2008. New Delhi has been keen to become a member of the four export control regimes — MTCR, NSG, Australia Group and Wassenaar Arrangement. But with the nuclear deal stuck over liability issues, New Delhi’s bid to become a member of MTCR only gained momentum from April 2015, after the liability issue was resolved and the US lent its full support. Advertising The government made its case in June and October last year, but Italy raised objections in the 34-member grouping — membership is decided by consensus (like NSG) — since it was upset with India over the Italian marines dispute. With both the marines being allowed to return to their country, Rome has dropped its objections. India’s application was thus admitted and there were no objections from any MTCR member under the “silent procedure”. According to the “silent procedure”, a 10-day period is given by the chair for raising objections. If there are no objections, the new member can be admitted. The members of this international non-proliferation regime agreed to admit India early this month, coinciding with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the US. Admission to MTCR will open the way for India to buy high-end missile technology, also making more realistic its aspiration to buy surveillance drones such as the Predator, made by General Atomics. India makes a supersonic cruise missile, the Brahmos, in a joint venture with Russia that both countries hope to sell to third countries, a development that would make India a significant arms exporter for the first time. Membership of the MTCR would require India to comply with rules, such as a maximum missile range of
a harder time explaining why commodities across the board are rising in price, particularly gold and silver, which are traditional hedges against currency depreciation. The following chart (from this website) shows an index of oil prices in terms of US paper dollars and in grams of gold: As the chart indicates, from the late 1940s through the early 1970s, the price of oil as measured in US dollars or grams of gold moved in lockstep. But then starting in 1972 — shortly after Nixon closed the gold window — the two lines started diverging, with the gulf widening dramatically in recent years. Although the chart unfortunately ends in December 2007, the pattern since then is largely the same: Oil shot up more and crashed harder in 2008, but both oil and gold have risen tremendously since the advent of Bernanke's extraordinary programs to "provide liquidity." Conclusion Call me cynical or paranoid (or both), but I actually try not to get too worked up about Ben Bernanke's public statements. I really don't think powerful bankers would go to all the trouble of establishing a cartelization device only to hand over the keys to a Princeton professor. Nonetheless, it's always amusing to actually analyze the justifications the nominal Fed chair gives for the policies that cause boom-bust cycles and erode the purchasing power of the dollar. I can only hope that Bernanke is as smart as his two predecessors and knows enough to resign just before the stock market crashes again.In a time when multiple music venues across Toronto have been closing their doors, CityNews has learned that all the necessary government hurdles have been cleared to open a new mid-sized venue in the city’s east end. The unnamed venue, to be operated by Live Nation, would occupy part of a building that currently houses Champions Off-Track Betting at 1661 Queen Street East, just steps from Coxwell Avenue and Woodbine Park. According to the area councillor, the venue would seat 2,700 people, host up to 150 events per year, with a target opening date of October 2018. Coun. Josh Colle chairs the Toronto Music Industry Advisory Council. He says the venue would fill a current gap in the city’s music scene. “We’re great on the smaller end of venues and, of course, we’ve got the big Air Canada Centres,” Colle told CityNews. “But something like this that’s kind of more mid-range is often what’s identified by the industry as a gap in the Toronto venue kind of ecosystem.” City officials have yet to receive any formal drawings for the venue. An application for a minor variance to alter the existing building was submitted to the city on July 27, 2016 by EMM Financial Corp. In an email to CityNews, Live Nation would only say discussions are ongoing with the landlord and that the company is not in a position to comment at this time. “We’re very excited to host a venue of this size, any live music venue in the east end, the sleepy east end,” said Beaches-East York Coun. Mary-Margaret McMahon. McMahon adds that the proposal has passed all the necessary zoning hurdles and has the blessing of all three levels of government. “We think it’s a great location. It’s just on the streetcar line, there’s an express buses, there’s buses right up to the subway station,” said McMahon. McMahon is also downplaying any potential concern from local residents about noise or an influx of traffic. “You have to be aware of the economic value to your neighbourhood and promoting and supporting our local musicians. Most of us go to concerts at some point. So it’s like going to Massey Hall or the Danforth Music Hall. So if we go to a concert in someone else’s ward, we can also host people for music events in our ward.” “I think it shows the strength of the music industry,” said Colle. “While some have closed… there are venues opening too.”Veteran investigative reporter Bruce Livesey was fired by Global News shortly after talking to CANADALAND about the fact that management had pulled his documentary, The Koch Connection, from their broadcast schedule. As CANADALAND reported in February, Livesey’s documentary about the billionaire Koch Brothers and their ties to Canada was set for broadcast on Global News’ 16×9 investigative newsmagazine, only to be pulled from the broadcast schedule and scrubbed from Global’s website shortly before it was set to air. Global News manager Ron Waksman told CANADALAND at the time that the documentary was not “killed, cancelled or dropped” but was merely delayed as it was not yet ready for broadcast. Waksman told us it would likely air in the next season. CANADALAND has since learned that this is not the case. Journalist Bruce Livesey Global News fired Livesey, killing his Koch piece along with two other investigations they had commissioned from him. In an interview on this week’s podcast, Livesey tells that the explicit reason given to him by Ron Waksman for his termination was the fact that he briefly spoke to CANADALAND, off-the-record, about the documentary’s removal from broadcast. Ron Waksman did not respond to our requests for comment, but Global News’ communications department did issue a statement calling our questions “completely unfounded” and attributing their actions instead to “journalistic responsibility,” as Livesey’s work “didn’t meet our standards for balance”. Bruce Livesey challenges this on two grounds: 1.At no point in the months he spent investigating and producing the documentary in close collaboration with Global’s team was the issue of balance ever raised with him. The Koch Connection was, he says, approved for broadcast by 16×9 Executive Producer Laurie Few and signed-off on by Global’s libel lawyer. 2. Global News claims that firing Livesey and cancelling his upcoming reports was what responsible journalists had to do when faced with his imbalanced journalism. Yet when they pulled The Koch Connection from broadcast, they re-ran a piece called The Man who Took on Putin, in its place. This documentary was also produced by Livesey. Ultimately, this comes down to Livesey’s word and reputation. In terms of his word, he says Ron Waksman directly cited his conversation with CANADALAND as the reason why he was being fired. Global denies this on behalf of Waksman, who won’t comment. As for his reputation, Bruce Livesey directs us to his bio, which describes his 30+ year career investigating corporations for dozens of major news orgs in print and television. [email protected]If you usually have your car radio set to the sonorous voice of Cecil Palmer as you drive through desert wastelands glowing with strange orbs of light while being followed by a menacing government agency, then you need the Welcome to Night Vale book, which may also possibly need you. Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor first transfixed us with their Lovecraftian take on small-town America in 2012, and its tentacles have spread to strange merch, live shows, and now, a novel that or may not be illegal to have in your possession. Like every product of Night Vale, it is the color of a chemical sunset and branded with that telltale eye that reflects the crescent moon. You could check it out of the library if you’re ready to brave the lethal bite of the librarians. Haunted by angels that are definitely not angels, two-headed plastic flamingos that are actually portals to unknown places, and the faceless old woman who lives in your house and rearranges your things as the house itself wonders about citrus fruit, Welcome to Night Vale teleports you to the town where it’s perfectly normal for everything to be just a little off. More than just a little off. Alright, almost everything is seriously off, and most of the residents think of this as normal. When spreadsheet drone Diane encounters a mysterious man at work who neither her boss nor the tarantula that secretly crawls on her boss’ head have no record of, she can’t shake the feeling that something is more twisted than usual, even in a place where the warped reality factor is quite high. Pawn shop owner Jackie Fierro receives a puzzling note that will not leave her hand after buying one of Diane’s tears. These two unlikely sleuths take us on a tour de force of Night Vale from the forbidden Dog Park to Big Rico’s Pizza (which has seen a downturn in business ever since wheat and wheat by-products were outlawed) and beyond in the search for answers in a place where the answer is almost always a menacing truth. If Welcome to Night Vale has you constantly questioning the state of the universe and whether or not you should be growing antlers as this point in time, then Fink and Cranor have succeeded with another indoctrination. Read it with a slice of invisible pie and a generous dollop of imagination.An investigation has revealed that over 100 top US universities have been hacked and injected with SEO spam with the purpose of boosting the search engine ranking of an online gambling site. The infections are still active on many sites, even today, and consist of just two-three words inserted inside the page's text, linking back to the online gambling portal. Whoever has done this has been very careful not to attract the user and webmaster's attention. All links inserted on these sites are disguised to use the same text foreground and background color, and hide the link's underline. As such, the links blend in the page's background, but search engines will detect it and use it to calculate a better search engine ranking for the linked site, in this case, the online gambling portal. Hacked websites were promoting an online gambling portal Israeli SEO firm eTraffic says it discovered the hacked sites after it investigated the mysterious apparition of a new online gambling service that managed to skyrocket to the first page of some Google search results for highly valuable keywords (search terms), such as "real money slots" or "slots." Their investigation revealed that countless of.edu and.gov websites were linking back to this new website, which is extremely peculiar since government and educational portals almost never link back to gambling sites. "Backlinks from TLD sites of.edu and.gov are highly coveted and possibly the most valued search engine optimization resource," eTraffic's Assaf Dudai explains. "Some of this [competitor gambling] site's links were coming from the most prestigious universities in the States, even one Ivy League – Stanford." At this point, it was obvious to eTraffic that, by the way links were disguised, someone had compromised these websites and inserted the URLs without the owner's knowledge. Many compromised sites run WordPress A few of the compromised sites Softpedia tested were all running on the WordPress CMS, one of today's most popular website hosting toolkit, but also one of the most hacked web platform. There have been multiple cases in the past when crooks took over WordPress sites, added them to a botnet, and posed as SEO boosting companies. Whenever a client would use their services, they would insert links to their customers on the hacked websites, helping them improve their SEO ranking, but by illegal means. Google penalizes websites that promote themselves using hidden links. It may be totally plausible that the gambling site's operators actually bought legitimate SEO services and aren't currently aware that their service is promoted using this illegal technique. Below is a list of all the top US universities linking back to the online gambling site, the pages where the links were inserted, and the keywords promoted on each page.Editor’s note: Sonny Singh is the chief commercial officer of BitPay. Digital currencies have come and gone, and despite the astonishing rise of bitcoin’s popularity over the past 18 months, the majority of the population has yet to board the bitcoin bandwagon. One of the things that has plagued digital currencies in the past has been the perception that they are a solution in search of a problem. Does anyone really need digital currencies like bitcoin? Who are they intended for, and what purpose do they really serve? Banks are focused on growth As the recession recedes into a distant memory, banks have begun to shift strategy – moving from containing costs and mitigating risks to focusing again on growth. A recent survey of 100 banks showed that in 2014, bank CIOs believed that the underbanked offered the second-greatest revenue opportunity over the next three years (second only to the “Mass Affluent” segment). A recent banking report from SWIFT and McKinsey entitled “Putting Growth First” demonstrated how banks could achieve sizeable revenue growth by targeting regions with sizeable underbanked populations. Banks’ core financial services — payments, loans, insurance, etc. — are under attack from a wave of innovative fintech startups, who are placing downward pressure on banks’ operating margins. The underbanked as a source of growth The success of the M-Pesa mobile banking initiative operated by Safaricom in Kenya, which helped reduce the percentage of those underbanked in the country from 60 percent to 25 percent, highlights the role that technology can play in serving the underbanked. But the underbanked are critically important to more developed markets, too. A staggering 68 million U.S. citizens do not use a bank. Meanwhile a survey by Goldman Sachs just last week found that 33 percent of American millennials thought that they would not need a bank in five years. It’s this alliance of the underbanked, millennials, and “the next billion” to come online over the next 10 years who will drive adoption of mobile payments and digital currencies. If banks do not support them, they risk missing out on a vital source of revenue. Customers are now in a position to start building their own financial infrastructure using a basket of companies that they know and trust. It’s incredibly straightforward to download a bitcoin wallet from the App Store or Google Play and start managing your money straight away. Interestingly, Facebook announced the launch of a mobile payments system through its Messenger app, meaning that financial transactions can now take place in the same app, with zero transaction costs. Snapchat has done something similar with SnapCash. Next-generation tech Faced with disintermediation, traditional financial institutions are starting to think about how they can integrate next-generation technologies to serve the underbanked. Now some fintech startups are offering the ability to load bitcoin on prepaid debit cards, without providing a guaranteed income to get set up. If an underbanked person uses these services with a bitcoin wallet, they then have a way of managing their money without needing a bank account. Their funds can be spent anywhere that cards are accepted. Customers gravitate toward services that reduce friction in their lives and shy away from the eye-watering transaction fees typically involved with services such as check cashing. Laborious and expensive transactions suddenly appear unnecessary and out-dated. A decentralized economy With the power firmly back in the people’s hands, banks must update their services to adjust. It will no longer be acceptable to charge large fees for simply cashing paychecks and sending money abroad. By supporting technology solutions such as bitcoin that truly help the underbanked, banks can tap into this vital source of revenue and growth. Bitcoin is maturing into a safe, secure system that offers tangible benefits for the underbanked. No longer a solution looking for a problem, it will be a way for many consumers over the next decade to gain access to financial tools while avoiding large transaction fees and service charges.Marcus Samuelsson, the executive chef and an owner of Red Rooster Harlem, tries to lose his own fame, too. Photo “You look for something easy, a place where you can be anonymous — and just be,” he said. He keeps returning to Charles’ Country Pan Fried Chicken at 151st Street and Frederick Douglass Boulevard, a bare-bones, dimly lighted 14-seat takeout place with a nonfunctioning A.T.M. “I just feel happy there,” he said. After breezing up on his bicycle from his Harlem apartment, a mile to the south, he orders the celebrated heritage $9.50 fried chicken with collard greens and candied yams at $2.50 each. Sometimes he’ll have the black-eyed peas, okra with tomatoes and corn, banana pudding and sweet tea. “I just want to come back again and again,” he said. The finger-licking authenticity of the chef Charles Gabriel’s egg-washed, flour-dredged, skillet-fried chicken was the “home base” when Mr. Samuelsson created his own buttermilk-and-coconut-milk pan-fried chicken at Red Rooster. And when Mr. Samuelsson craves a more luxe experience, he (like Mr. Boulud) heads to Barbuto for Mr. Waxman’s roast chicken, which is seasoned with the comfort “of friendship,” Mr. Samuelsson said, since “Jonathan and I have cooked together many times.” As for Mr. Waxman, he has his own favorite: Minetta Tavern, in Greenwich Village, where he invariably orders a dozen oysters and the $18 bone marrow with shallot confit, which “is cleaved in half and roasted, and addictive,” he said. Like him, some chefs opt for slightly more luxurious destinations. For Eric Ripert, the executive chef and an owner of Le Bernardin, the special spot is Balthazar in SoHo, “because it feels so comfortable to me, it is like home,” he said. He has been going since it opened in 1997. He always sits at the same banquette and usually has the seafood plateau, the steak tartare and the crisp, salty frites. Maialino is also a high-end spot, but it is the seeming simplicity and rock-solid consistency of the braised suckling pig with malfatti pasta there that draws April Bloomfield, the executive chef of the Spotted Pig. The dish “comes across as not fussy,” she said, “but it has so many layers, and it just makes you feel good inside.” She likes to claim one of the round tables for lunch on days off, and invariably takes a glass of verdicchio, “which is very chuggable.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. Dufour, a proprietor known for his restaurants’ informality, chooses the hauteur of vaulted Guastavino ceilings when in relaxation mode. Mr. Dufour, the executive chef of the popular diner-style restaurant M. Wells in Long Island City, Queens, which lost its lease last summer, said his favorite escape is the Oyster Bar in Grand Central. “It’s my place,” he said. “I always stop there, once a week, sometimes more. We usually decide to go there on the fly.” Photo He occupies a beige swivel seat at the U-shaped synthetic countertop there with friends and his wife, Sarah Obraitis, and on occasion savors the $10.95 clams casino. When he was cooking amid the funkiness of his former diner, Mr. Dufour was given to creating flourishes like the $16 General Tso’s sweetbreads with cherries, black pepper and mustard greens. But at the Oyster Bar, “give me two dozen oysters and three sea urchins, and I am a happy man,” he said. “It’s comforting there,” he added, because “you don’t have to talk with anyone about when you’re opening another restaurant.” Make that two: the first, in June, at P.S. 1 in Long Island City; later this year, he’ll open an 80-seat steakhouse there. Newsletter Sign Up Continue reading the main story Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Invalid email address. Please re-enter. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. Sign Up You will receive emails containing news content, updates and promotions from The New York Times. You may opt-out at any time. You agree to receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. Thank you for subscribing. An error has occurred. Please try again later. View all New York Times newsletters. It isn’t that these chefs don’t crave their own food. Mr. Waxman spoke for many when he explained that “you can never eat at your own restaurant because you find yourself paying attention to everything.” Mr. Boulud, however, said that as a practical matter, “I usually eat in my own restaurants all the time. It’s a miracle when I can get out.” But sometimes it just boils down to a yearning for the familiar. “Since I’m working all the time, I don’t have all that much chance to go to new places, so I tend to return to my favorites,” Ms. Robbins said about Ippudo. “You have to wait in line a really long time. But the food is good enough so it doesn’t matter.” She will probably sit under the bamboo-tree sculpture. “I’m getting hungry just talking about Ippudo,” she said. “I just might go there tonight.”Andy Hinchcliffe, who was on co-commentary at Anfield, was telling the story of Sadio Mane’s opening goal – a header scored after Philippe Coutinho had decided to take a corner short to James Milner. “They took a short corner, and I thought they weren’t going to score from there,” Hinchliffe exclaimed alongside the goal's third replay, as if Liverpool had absolutely taken the wrong decision by going short. And this is a viewpoint held by so many people in this country: that by opting against putting the ball into THE DANGERZONE you instantly forego a greater opportunity to score. While that is unquestionably true at Sunday League level, where a ball into the box inevitably causes chaos, Premier League teams are so well-drilled at set-pieces that corner kicks barely ever result in goals. (They are often cleared at the first time of asking, so one could argue that putting a cross into the box just allows for a greater chance of a counter-attack.)New research suggests that, to a modest extent, the answer is yes. Today a study team led by Christopher Monsere of Portland State University released a thorough analysis of new protected bike lanes in five major U.S. cities. The researchers videotaped the new lanes, conducted local surveys, and gathered data on cycling trends to get a full picture of life in these new corridors — comparing what they found to rider habits before the protected lanes were installed. They found that ridership increased anywhere from 21 to 171 percent, with about 10 percent of new riders drawn from other modes. That's great for committed riders and public health more broadly. But what about city residents who don't already ride a bike, perhaps due to safety fears? After all, it stands to reason that cities invest in bike infrastructure not just to secure the existing rider population, but to expand it. So is the assurance of a protected bike lane enough to make a cyclist of those who might otherwise choose another transportation mode? Not all bike lanes are created equal. A line in the pavement dividing cars from cyclists is nice, but it doesn't provide nearly the comfort of a protected bike lane — a track separated from vehicle traffic by a row of parked cars, or a curb, or at least a line of flexible posts. Cyclists who use protected lanes say they feel safer, and some studies show they truly are safer, with their risk of injury cut in half. The analysis focused on new bike facilities along eight city streets: Barton Springs, Bluebonnet, and Rio Grande in Austin; Dearborn and Milwaukee in Chicago; Multnomah in Portland, Oregon; Oak and Fell (a street couplet) in San Francisco; and L Street in Washington, D.C. Some of the corridors had an unprotected bike lane before the study, others had nothing at all. While the research looked at a range of measures, including safety and lane design, we'll focus on ridership here. Cycling rates rose on the new lanes across the board. The following chart, prepared by the researchers, shows street ridership counts based on an average of city data and video analysis. The biggest gains — with ridership more than doubling — occurred on two streets converted into two-way lanes. That's to be expected, but the fact that even streets with an existing bike lane saw a spike in ridership shows just how attractive protected lanes are: Via Monsere et al (2014) Those results are impressive, but on their own they have limited meaning, since cycling in these cities is on the rise everywhere. A better baseline comparison comes by placing ridership in the new corridors against general trends across the city. Here, too, the protected lanes performed well. Ridership in the new lanes beat the city average along all but one street — and on that street (Milwaukee) it matched the average. CityLab The key is not just whether the protected lanes attract more riders, but whether they attract new riders. In surveys, the researchers found that across all five cities, 65 percent of riders would have gone by bike along this street anyway, and that another 24 percent, evidently comforted by the protected lane, would have traveled by bike but gone a different route. Critically, 10 percent of the new riders would have taken another (unspecified) mode — a share that reached 21 percent along the Dearborn corridor in Chicago: CityLab (data for Bluebonnet not available) So protected bike lanes do seem to serve the double purpose of improving rider safety while also inspiring people to ride in the first place. There are some key caveats to keep in mind: the big percentage swings reflect relatively small total numbers, often in the tens of riders, and it's unknown how many riders made a true shift from driving (as opposed to from other transit modes). These are also five cities with growing bike cultures: it's unclear how well protected lanes would perform in places where cycling isn't already a rising subculture. But there's fewer of those places every day, which is precisely the point.I think Kotlin is an awesome modern programming language. Its learning curve is really small, you can have a look one day during the morning and at the end of the day you will probably know how to code some stuff. Is really enjoyable, is fun to use, it is concise, it has features that other modern languages have, it’s on continuous development by a really skilled team as JetBrains is, together with the support of the community since, yes, Kotlin is Open Source! I’m not going to spend time explaining features that Kotlin has and that makes our developer lives better, for that, you can have a look to the really good documentation, for practicing you have Koans that can be done in our IDE or in the web and the community is continuously publishing new and amazing content. On Android, Kotlin gives us, Android developers, a fresh air, a new reason for enjoying making apps, with Kotlin you write less code, that at the end of the day is really important, your code is nicer to read, it has less boiler plate, you become more productive since you spend less time writing same stuff again and again, and as I said before, with Kotlin you will have fun! A question that is always in the air, at least in the Android community, is: is Kotlin production ready? My answer… of course it is, JetBrains released the stable version 1.0 last year. Do you think that if had not been ready for production the smart guys at JetBrains would have released it? of course not. They use in some of their products and other great and recognised companies use Kotlin in production as well. Ok, ok, everything sounds good here, it should have something not-as-good, right? yes, one of the things the community is waiting anxious is tooling. Static analysis tools are really important when you work on a team. We have some lack of them still on Kotlin, of course you can do essential stuff like build, running tests, etc. but tools like checkstyle, pmd, findbugs, etc. that coming from Java are extremely important, still are not available on Kotlin (ok, we have the internal code analysis in IntelliJ but this is not enough though). So yeah, if you work on a big team, and static analysis tools are really important in your daily basis (they should be), you should think about this a little bit more. If you work on a small team, that you can keep control of “everything” go ahead! As conclusion, I would like to say that Kotlin is great, you will have lots of fun and you will be more productive using Kotlin (at least coming from the tuple Java-Android), you we still have some issues regarding static analysis tools, but if you can survive without that, go ahead, give it a try and you will love it! 😉1. Karp, Aaron.2018.‘Civilian Firearms Holdings, 2017.’ Estimating Global Civilian-Held Firearms Numbers.Geneva:Small Arms Survey, the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva,18 June. (Q13434)Full Citation 2. Jessica Dacey. 2016. ‘A Surge in Gun Permits.’ SwissInfo. 1 April. (N471) Full Citation 3. Karp, Aaron.2007.‘Completing the Count: Civilian firearms - Annexe online.’ Small Arms Survey 2007: Guns and the City.Cambridge:Cambridge University Press,27 August. (Q5)Full Citation 4. Le Matin (Lausanne). 2014. ‘Three Million Weapons May Remain Undeclared.’ 3 November. (N735) Full Citation 5. GunPolicy.org.2016.‘Calculated Rates - Switzerland.’ Historical Population Data - USCB International Data Base.Suitland, MD:US Census Bureau Population Division,22 December. (Q4826)Full Citation 6. Karp, Aaron.2007.‘Completing the Count: Civilian firearms.’ Small Arms Survey 2007: Guns and the City.Cambridge:Cambridge University Press,27 August. (Q4)Full Citation 7. van Dijk, Jan, John van Kesteren and Paul Smit.2007.‘Ownership of Firearms and Handguns in Countries and Main Cities (percentages): 1989-2005 ICVS and 2005 EU ICS.’ Criminal Victimisation in International Perspective: Key findings from the 2004-2005 ICVS and EU ICS.Vienna:United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime / UNODC,1 January. (Q11819)Full Citation 8. Tribune de Genève. 2017. ‘Nearly 876,000 Weapons Registered in Switzerland.’ 18 August. (N734) Full Citation 9. GunPolicy.org. 2019. ‘Estimated Number of Illicit Firearms.’ Definition and Selection Criteria. Sydney School of Public Health, 24 January. (G14) Full Citation 10. Karp, Aaron.2018.‘Military Firearms Holdings, 2017.’ Estimating Global Military-Owned Firearms Numbers.Geneva:Small Arms Survey, the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva,18 June. (Q13436)Full Citation 11. Karp, Aaron.2018.‘Law Enforcement Firearms Holdings, 2017.’ Estimating Global Law Enforcement Firearms Numbers.Geneva:Small Arms Survey, the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva,18 June. (Q13435)Full Citation 12. Switzerland.2018.‘Firearm Mortality 2012-2015.’ E-mail from Swiss Federal Statistical Office.Neuchatel:Federal Statistical Office,24 July. (Q13521)Full Citation 13. WHO.2016.‘Inter-country Comparison of Mortality for Selected Causes of Death.’ WHO Mortality Data Base.Geneva:World Health Organisation,1 December. (Q13354)Full Citation 14. Switzerland.2013.‘Firearm-related Deaths (Décès dus aux armes à feu) 1995-2011.’ Causes of Death Statistics (Statistique des causes de décès).Neuchâtel:Office Fédéral de la Statistique,1 July. (Q8371)Full Citation 15. Switzerland.2011.‘Headings of the Penal Code and Selection of Infractions: Elucidations and Evolution of Infractions (Titres du Code Pénal et Sélection d'Infractions: Elucidations et Evolution des Infractions) 2010.’ Police Statistics on Crime Annual Report 2010 (Statistique Policière de la Criminalité Rapport Annuel 2010).Neuchâtel:Office Fédéral de la Statistique / Département Fédéral de l'Intérieur,1 January. (Q4819)Full Citation 16. Switzerland.2010.‘Violent Infractions (Infractions de Violence) 2009.’ Police Statistics on Crime Annual Report (Statistique Policière de la Criminalité Rapport Annuel) 2009.Neuchâtel:Office Fédéral de la Statistique / Département Fédéral de l'Intérieur,1 January. (Q4818)Full Citation 17. Switzerland.2011.‘Violent Infractions: Elucidations and Evolution of Infractions (Infractions de violence: Elucidations et Evolution des Infractions).’ Police Statistics on Crime Annual Report 2010 (Statistique Policière de la Criminalité Rapport Annuel 2010).Neuchâtel:Office Fédéral de la Statistique / Département Fédéral de l'Intérieur,1 January. (Q4824)Full Citation 18. UNODC.2014.‘Homicides and Gun Homicides in Switzerland.’ Global Study on Homicide 2013: Trends, Context, Data.Vienna:United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC),10 April. (Q10346)Full Citation 19. UNODC.2013.‘Homicide in 207 Countries - Switzerland.’ Global Study on Homicide 2011: Trends, Context, Data.Vienna:United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime,26 June. (Q6210)Full Citation 20. Switzerland.2009.‘Intentional Homicides (Homicides Intentionnels) 2008.’ Police Statistics on Crime Annual Report 2008 (Statistique Policière de la Criminalité Rapport Annuel 2008).Berne:Office fédéral de la police,1 July. (Q4820)Full Citation 21. Switzerland.2007.‘Intentional Homicides (Homicides Intentionnels) 2006.’ Police Statistics on Crime Annual Report 2006 (Statistique Policière de la Criminalité Rapport Annuel 2006).Berne:Office fédéral de la police,1 June. (Q4821)Full Citation 22. Switzerland.2005.‘Intentional Homicides (Homicides Intentionnels) 2004.’ Police Statistics on Crime Annual Report 2004 (Statistique Policière de la Criminalité Rapport Annuel 2004).Berne:Office fédéral de la police,1 June. (Q4822)Full Citation 23. Switzerland.2004.‘Intentional Homicides (Homicides Intentionnels) 2003.’ Police Statistics on Crime Annual Report 2003 (Statistique Policière de la Criminalité Rapport Annuel 2003).Berne:Office fédéral de la police,1 April. (Q4823)Full Citation 24. Krug, E G, K E Powell and L L Dahlberg.1998.‘Firearm-Related Deaths in the United States and 35 Other High- and Upper-Middle-Income Countries.’ International Journal of Epidemiology.Atlanta:National Centre for Injury Prevention & Control, Centers for Disease Control & Prevention / CDC,16 April. (Q1301)Full Citation 25. WHO.2016.‘Inter-country Comparison of Mortality for Selected Cause of Death - Gun Homicide in Switzerland.’ European Detailed Mortality Database (DMDB).Copenhagen:World Health Organisation Regional Office for Europe,25 June. (Q12082)Full Citation 26. Krug, E G, K E Powell and L L Dahlberg.1998.‘Firearm-Related Deaths in the United States and 35 Other High- and Upper-Middle-Income Countries.’ International Journal of Epidemiology.Atlanta:National Centre for Injury Prevention & Control, Centers for Disease Control & Prevention / CDC,16 April. (Q1297)Full Citation 27. Butchart, Alexander, Christopher Mikton and Etienne Krug.2014.‘Country Profile: Switzerland.’ Global Status Report on Violence Prevention 2014.Geneva:World Health Organisation (WHO), United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP),10 December. (Q9464)Full Citation 28. Switzerland.2013.‘Methods of Suicide (Méthodes de Suicide) 1995-2011.’ Causes of Death Statistics (Statistique des causes de décès).Neuchâtel:Office Fédéral de la Statistique,1 July. (Q8370)Full Citation 29. Switzerland.2010.‘Methods of Suicide (Méthodes de Suicide) 1995-2008.’ Data on the Initiative for the Protection against Firearms Violence (Données sur l'Initiative Pour la Protection face à la Violence des Armes).Neuchâtel:Office Fédéral de la Statistique,8 December. (Q4816)Full Citation 30. Jackson, Thomas.2005.‘Global Gun Deaths.’ NISAT Firearm Mortality Database 2005.Oslo:Norwegian Initiative on Small Arms Transfers,1 January. (Q12)Full Citation 31. Krug, E G, K E Powell and L L Dahlberg.1998.‘Firearm-Related Deaths in the United States and 35 Other High- and Upper-Middle-Income Countries.’ International Journal of Epidemiology.Atlanta:National Centre for Injury Prevention & Control, Centers for Disease Control & Prevention / CDC,16 April. (Q1302)Full Citation 32. WHO.2016.‘Inter-country Comparison of Mortality for Selected Cause of Death - Gun Suicide in Switzerland.’ European Detailed Mortality Database (DMDB).Copenhagen:World Health Organisation Regional Office for Europe,25 June. (Q12083)Full Citation 33. Krug, E G, K E Powell and L L Dahlberg.1998.‘Firearm-Related Deaths in the United States and 35 Other High- and Upper-Middle-Income Countries.’ International Journal of Epidemiology.Atlanta:National Centre for Injury Prevention & Control, Centers for Disease Control & Prevention / CDC,16 April. (Q1298)Full Citation 34. WHO.2016.‘Inter-country Comparison of Mortality for Selected Cause of Death - Unintentional Gun Deaths in Switzerland.’ European Detailed Mortality Database (DMDB).Copenhagen:World Health Organisation Regional Office for Europe,25 June. (Q12084
middle of the legislative battle are PERA’s 550,000 current and future retirees, who fear what further changes will do to their retirement livelihoods. SecurePERA, a group that represents PERA members, argues that employees already bore the brunt of the sacrifices in the 2010 reforms. Some of the increased taxpayer contributions effectively came from the employees’ pockets, because PERA took a portion of each annual pay raise employees would have otherwise received. Retirees took an even bigger hit from benefit reductions, such as annual cost-of-living increases that were scaled back. Other Republican-sponsored bills would shake up the membership of the board of directors and give the treasurer access to financial information that today is considered confidential, two moves that Stapleton says are needed to increase accountability. PERA’s board of directors voted to oppose all three bills, and they’re unlikely to pass the Democrat-controlled House. “The Board did not believe that these bills would improve the administration of PERA or benefit the PERA membership in any way,” Timothy O’Brien, the board chairman, said in a statement. The contribution cap measure, in particular, is largely symbolic. Current law freezes contributions in 2018, anyway — and lawmakers would have to pass a bill to change that. But it sends a message to the PERA board to think carefully before asking taxpayers to spend more. Broader reforms aren’t expected to happen until next year at the earliest. But the statement bill from Republicans complicates legislation that was expected to be introduced this year to address the judicial division, which is in the worst shape of any of PERA’s retirement funds. PERA officials have declined to say what solutions they’re considering to shore up the judiciary, but in a message to its members, SecurePERA, the advocacy group, suggested that higher taxpayer contributions are among the options being negotiated. Because it was in better shape than the other divisions in 2010, the judiciary was exempt from the contribution increases required of other government agencies. “Many of the solutions the judicial division and PERA are talking about to reduce the number of years before the judicial division is 100 percent funded require additional employer contributions,” SecurePERA officials wrote in a message to their members. “This bill would prevent that fix.” The early message from Republicans is that’s just fine with them. “Maybe they need to come up with more creative financial (solutions),” said state Rep. Justin Everett, R-Littleton, who sponsored two of the three bills. “There’s other ways to skin a cat.”Block & Tackle previews the coming weekend of NFL football. Modern football is inherently hypocritical. It’s a game in which we ask large, freakishly strong men to collide at high speeds, but we make them wear helmets while they do it—for safety, you see. The sport is and always has been pervaded by the conflict between its thrilling athletic splendor and its damaging ugliness. Indeed, that mix of grace and repugnance is part of what makes football such an irresistible spectacle. Because of that, conscientious NFL fans must face the specter of pro football’s dark, destructive side. We ask ourselves, is the game worth it? Advertisement The people who run the league are supposed to make it easier for fans to answer “yes” to that question. Their job is to mitigate football’s inherent awfulness so that the enterprise is a good thing on the whole. Without the order instilled by the league, football would be a toxic chaos of violence with no set boundaries. Pro football games might break out in the middle of the street. Players would load themselves up with dangerous and exotic drugs, like marijuana. Coaches would wear non-approved sideline apparel. It would be madness, and the country wouldn’t stand for it. So when Roger Goodell took over as league commissioner in 2006, he cast himself as an avatar of order. Reacting to a spate of off-the-field player scandals that preceded his ascension to the crown, Goodell made it clear that he would be ruthless in punishing players for “conduct” issues. After Pac-Man Jones had yet another run-in with the police at a nightclub, for instance, Goodell suspended Jones for the entire 2007 season. ESPN.com’s report on the suspension featured not just one but two gray-haired white guys waxing idolatrous on Goodell’s “strong signal” and “terrific statement.” You’d think Leopold from The Simpsons had just walked through that door, and the senescent braintrust of NFL punditry did a collective discipline swoon. It was evident from the beginning, but it’s become even clearer over time that Sheriff Goodell is motivated not by a sense of social order but rather by a self-satisfied paternalism—one that exacerbates football’s worst qualities rather than holding them in check. Sure, if you need someone to throw the book at a black kid who likes to smoke a little weed, Goodell’s your man every time. But when we need someone to properly educate players about the risks of playing football, Goodell encourages us not to worry our pretty little repeatedly concussed heads about it. He would also rather not talk about pitiful cheerleader pay because he is too busy hawking pink jerseys that demonstrate the NFL’s commitment to women. Advertisement And now we face the infuriating Ray Rice debacle, in which a player trained, groomed, and exalted by the league used his football-burnished strength to knock his fiancée unconscious. Goodell’s handling of the situation has been a perfect bungling, from the inexplicably light punishment he issued at first to the “investigatory” interview he conducted with Rice’s wife while Rice himself was in the room. The most pitiful moment came this week when the TMZ video emerged and Goodell hurriedly tried to slip back into his Defender Of Justice superhero outfit, struggling to pull the tights over his wingtips as he shouted, “Suspend Ray Rice indefinitely—maybe forever!” Goodell has attempted to clarify his story this week—he never saw the tape, nobody in the NFL saw the tape, it would have been illegal to see the tape, okay it wouldn’t have been illegal but we still didn’t see it, in fact we never asked for it, not directly at least. I haven’t seen anybody outside of ESPN and official NFL media outlets giving the commish’s ever-evolving narrative much credence. It’s safe to assume a Nixonian level of mendacity from Goodell at this point—appropriately enough, now that he’s in a Nixon-esque fight to preserve his job. And that’s a shame because more than any of America’s other big sports, the popular, violent NFL needs a bulwark of calm sense against its ocean of raging testosterone. Instead, the commissioner is content to go for a swim. Look, I love football. I love the action, the teamwork, the reward of perseverance. I love the intricacies of the strategy. I love that the league is populated mostly by well-meaning, admirable, and often amusing characters. I love that you can examine the game on so many different scopes—a single play, a drive, a game, a season—and find intellectually stimulating stories to tell. I love football’s rhythm, the build-up of anticipation before each play and the exhilarating “snap” (I love that it’s called a snap) that sends everyone on the field into a frenzy. Advertisement In its present incarnation, though, I hate the league, because the NFL has me asking that fundamental question more often: Is football worth it? I’m willing to accept a bit of awfulness and hypocrisy for the sake of a wonderful pastime. I recognize that my passion for the sport is probably more vice than virtue, and I’m okay with that, for now at least. But I make the mental calculation of football good vs. evil more often these days, and the numbers are uncomfortably close; evil might be able to pull off a win in the electoral college. It’s obviously time for Goodell to go, but beyond that, it’s time for the NFL to grow up and recognize that the league’s function isn’t just to grow the game; it’s to protect the game from itself. Dallas Cowboys vs. Tennessee Titans — Sunday, 1:00 p.m. Eastern, Fox Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is generally understood to be, at best, a control freak whose ego has drained the team of potential from within, and at worst, Jerry Jones. But it wasn’t always that way. In 1995, with the Cowboys on track for their third championship in four years, Jones was widely portrayed as a maverick who did what it takes to win. (This was back when it was still possible to use the term “maverick” unironically.) Nike marketers found Jones to be so likable, or at least tolerable, that they made him the star of a Dallas spoof trumpeting that year’s big Deion Sanders signing. Advertisement In the commercial, which can be seen in the viewscreen above, I’m struck by Kevin Smith’s self-mocking turn as “The Gipper.” The Cowboys’ star cornerback for years, Smith had torn his Achilles tendon in the first game of 1995, which made Dallas even more eager to land Deion. It took nerve for Smith to mock a mishap that ended his season. But he already had two Super Bowl rings by then, which makes it easier to laugh at yourself, as does Nike’s money. The most remarkable thing about the ad is the presence of Jones. Even though ’90s nostalgia has refamiliarized us with America’s most Arsenio decade, it’s hard to recall a time when the NFL audience would embrace the image of Jerry Jones mugging for the camera as a tongue-in-cheek J.R. Ewing. Then again, it’s hard to recall television dreamboat Sasha Mitchell, but he was a thing, too: Man, George Kennedy’s performance really leapt off the screen, didn’t it? I bring up the dizzying peak of the Dallas Cowboys’ cultural influence so that younger fans might understand why so many viewers were tickled to see Tony Romo presiding over a fireworks show of interceptions on Sunday. It’s not just because the Cowboys have a knack for failing in spectacular fashion. It’s also because some of us will never forget the days when Jerry Jones was allowed to ride Larry Hagman’s coattails. Oh, and we had to watch Jerry eat pizza backward a couple hundred times, too: The Block & Tackle “use it in your gas tank to improve mileage” prediction: Tennessee 28, Dallas 22. Advertisement NFL weeks cannot be tamed “The opening Sunday of the 2013 NFL season was delightfully wild” —Bleacher Report, 9/9/2013 “DeAndre Hopkins, Martellus Bennett among early stars of wild Week 2” —Sports Illustrated, 9/15/13 Advertisement “Week 4 gets wild for NFC West, 49ers” —SB Nation, 9/30/13 “An offensive shootout between the Broncos and Cowboys was the highlight of a wild Week 5 in the NFL” —SB Nation, 10/6/13 “In what was a wild Week 6, Week 7 promises to be just as wacky” —Bleacher Report, 10/16/13 Advertisement “Did you miss any of the best catches, runs, or defensive plays from a wild Week 9?” —NFL Fanzone, 11/4/13 “A wild Week 10 in the NFL brought some surprises” —Time, 11/11/13 “The regular season is gearing up for what should be a memorable closing month after a wild Week 12 in the NFL” —SB Nation, 11/25/13 Advertisement “Seven videos that explain a wild Week 14” —NFL.com, 12/9/13 “NFL Turning Point, hosted by Football Night In America’s Dan Patrick, looks back at a wild Week 15” —NBC Sports, 12/18/13 “A wild Week 16 sets up a Week 17 in which many coaches will have no choice but to keep starters on the field” —ESPN.com, 12/22/13 Advertisement “Nine takeaways from a wild Week 17” —NFL.com, 12/30/13 “After a wild Week 1 in the NFL, much of the landscape has shifted” —Bleacher Report, 9/8/14 Just hand me my beer, Jon Arizona Cardinals vs. New York Giants — Sunday, 1:00 p.m, Fox Advertisement In the lead-up to Super Bowl XLIII in 2009, national columnists like Michael Wilbon and Rick Reilly wrote paeans to Larry Fitzgerald Sr., a sportswriter for a small Twin Cities newspaper who also happens to be the father of Arizona Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald. The elder Fitzgerald made a big to-do about maintaining his reportorial objectivity, a notion that sports reporters loved because it provided a chance to gas on about the nobility of their craft and The Way Things Should Be Done. Then Slate’s Josh Levin, apparently the only person who bothered to read Fitzgerald’s work, discovered that the vaunted reporter was indeed a total homer after all, and Levin’s article marked the moment when Larry Fitzgerald’s dad began to become less cute. Fitzgerald The First resurfaced this week when he used his Twitter account to complain about his son’s lack of targets in the Cardinals’ first game—Fitzgerald had one catch for 22 yards in Sunday’s win against the Chargers. This outburst forced Larry Jr. to distance himself from his father’s “inflammatory” remarks. “Disavowing your parents’ tweets” is the new “hiding your parents’ political comment-thread arguments from your Facebook feed.” Advertisement Note that Fitzgerald is quick to remind followers that his only concern is winning on Sunday (despite the fact that he’s tweeting in regard to a different concern). He says this so that commentators won’t deem this affair a “distraction,” which is the NFL world’s breathtakingly reductive term for any outside force that might cause players to consider something other than football. Fitzgerald probably addressed his familial flare-up swiftly enough to keep it at acceptable “potential distraction” levels. Fitzgate pales in comparison to Ray Rice’s awesome distracting powers, though, which have been deemed so potent that an NFL Total Access panel this week concluded that Rice’s downfall will actually distract the Ravens’ opponents even more than the Ravens themselves. So the distraction is spreading, and it may be time to address the alarming possibility that the focus-stealing effects of Rice’s suspension could spread to other sports. Maybe the question we really should be asking is, “How will the societal implications of the Ray Rice suspension impact the Detroit Tigers in their AL Central pennant race?” As for the Cardinals, they’ll be fine. The Block & Tackle “enclose it along with a self-addressed, stamped envelope” prediction: Arizona 24, New York 21. An appraisal of Fox Box 10.0 Advertisement Fox is the only network that dramatically overhauled its on-screen graphics this year (not counting the new CBS/NFL Network Thursday Night Football look). The new, cleaner Fox style is a marked improvement. It typically takes a few years for computer/smartphone interface design trends to filter down to TV, and here we’re seeing touches of the “flat design” movement make their way into Fox’s aesthetic. The new score bug, known as the “Fox Box,” is tighter, more readable, and altogether more pleasant than last year’s model, seen directly above, which looked like it belonged on the center console in a Chrysler minivan—how Fox created such a convincing facsimile of cheap plastic chrome is beyond me. Advertisement The typeface is surprisingly sophisticated, too, given Fox’s recent tendency to borrow fonts exclusively from 10-year-old first-person shooters. I mean, just look at the ampersand. It’s positively elegant, as an ampersand should be. I still don’t get the point of that on-field arrow, though. The down and distance are already listed in the score bug, so the arrow only serves to tell us which way the offense is going—information that a viewer who’s even passingly familiar with human anatomy should be able to deduce by looking at the players on the field. CBS, meanwhile, has made no notable changes to its score bug, seen here adorning a shot of the Miami tourism board. But after seeing Fox’s newly compact bug, CBS’ treatment feels too big. It’s time for the full-width bar to go away for good—Fox abandoned it a few years ago—because it effectively compresses the height of the viewable image, constricting the broadcast to what is practically a super-widescreen format. Football is well suited to the 16:9 viewing window, and network branding shouldn’t interfere with that. (That said, I do wish that Fox would move its bug around so it’s always behind the offense—as CBS used to do when it used a box-style bug—rather than always keeping it in the upper left.) Advertisement If Detroit Lions running back Joique Bell were a character from Girls, which character from Girls would he be? Marnie. On flipism Advertisement In Carl Barks’ Donald Duck story “Flip Decision,” Donald encounters a crackpot professor who extols the miracles of “flipism,” a philosophy in which all decisions are made by the toss of a coin. CBS color commentator Trent Green practiced his own variant of flipism as he mulled coin-toss strategy at the beginning of the New England-Miami game on Sunday. Watch how, with the gentlest prompting from Gumbel, Green flips his viewpoint to the opposite of what he was saying just moments ago. Greg Gumbel: The Miami Dolphins won the toss, and they have chosen to defer [their kick/receive option to the second half], which means that the Patriots will get hold of the football first. […] Trent Green: Well, it’s interesting, you know. You’re putting your defense on the field first. I understand why coaches make that decision, but as an offense, if you’re [Miami quarterback] Ryan Tannehill, you want the ball. Especially with this new offense, these new weapons. You want the ball right away. And Tom Brady, believe me, he’s excited to be getting the ball first, so—so this plays right into the Patriots’ hands. It’s a good challenge for the Dolphins defense coming out, first series. GG: On the other hand, if you stop the opposition right off the bat, that’s a little momentum boost, right? TG: It’s definitely a lift for the—not only a lift for the crowd, a lift for your sidelines, and you’re going to give your offense better field position. Advertisement Thus Green reached the broader conclusion that both approaches to the “take the ball or defer” dilemma can be effective, as long as your team plays better than the other team. That’s the beauty of TV-commentator flipism: Because you choose every possible answer, you always end up on the right answer. Alas, coaches cannot benefit from the Schrödinger’s cat approach favored by Green, as they exist in a singular universe where all possible outcomes collapse into one perceived timeline. So if you’re a head coach looking for the perfect coin-toss strategy, try flipping a coin. New England Patriots vs. Minnesota Vikings — Sunday, 1:00 p.m, CBS Advertisement Trent Green’s conception of the space-time continuum, in which all realities have an equal probability of giving your team “momentum,” is not unusual. In fact, NFL reporting contends with alternate-universe theory on a daily basis. Matt Vensel, a journalist with Minnesota’s Star Tribune, invited Patriots coach Bill Belichick on a typical flight of sci-fi fancy this week. The background: In the 2013 NFL Draft, the Patriots traded the 29th overall pick to the Vikings in exchange for four lower picks in the same draft. The Vikings used their No. 29 pick to select wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson, a move that is panning out nicely. The Patriots also got some good players with the picks they got from the Vikings. It seemed like everyone was happy. Still, the Star Tribune’s Vensel suspects that there’s a parallel universe out there—one in which the Patriots not only kept their pick but also used it to choose the same player the Vikings wanted, Cordarrelle Patterson, who went on to have exactly as much success in the Patriots’ system as he has with the Vikings. He posited the existence of this strange reality to Bill Belichick, who responded with one of those press-conference koans that Block & Tackle praised earlier this year: “We made the decision based on what we felt was best for our team,” he said. “That’s what we always do. We felt like at that time it would be the best thing for our team, and that’s what we did.” Advertisement Since he’s not a regular on the Patriots beat, Vensel may have been unfamiliar with Belichick’s quirky insistence on talking about things that actually happened. So he pressed forward with his line of questioning. If the Patriots had held onto their pick, Vensel wondered, would this have initiated a sequence of events that inevitably culminated in Cordarrelle Patterson becoming a New England Patriot? “I don’t know. We didn’t hold onto it, so,” he said. Bill Belichick may not be the most popular coach, but even his detractors must admit that few people could pack so much withering disdain into the word “so.” The Block & Tackle “give it the little blue ‘verified’ checkmark on Twitter” prediction: New England 28, Vikings 17. Advertisement Corrections department Due to an editing mistake by Block & Tackle production staff, the winners and losers in the following game predictions were mistakenly transposed when last week’s B&T column went to press: Minnesota vs. St. Louis, New England vs. Miami, Tennessee vs. Kansas City, Cincninnati vs. Baltimore, Washington vs. Houston, Buffalo vs. Chicago, Carolina vs. Tampa Bay, and San Diego vs. Arizona. We regret the error and appreciate the opportunity to correct the record. Fan Forum Check-In: Cleveland Browns Advertisement Fan Forum Check-In takes the pulse of fandom, one message board at a time. The Browns Board has “over 10,500 registered members” and claims to be “unique in that the hosted tailgate party near the West Bank of the Flats draws members in from all over the United States, Canada and a regular groups from the U.K. & Europe.” Despite a failed comeback rally that led to a deflating Week 1 loss against the Steelers, board members remain optimistic that other teams can also experience sorrow. Looking forward to the Ravens-Steelers Thursday night tilt, a user by the name of The Gipper (a Gipper-heavy column this week, I know) kicks off a thread in which he handicaps the two teams—literally, if he had his way. Tonight the Ravens and Steelers play in a Thursday night special. […] And, as normal, I do have a rooting interest in this game: I root for the meat wagon. And before you pansy asses go off saying that you should never root for someone to get injured, I say: numerous people in the NFL this week are going to be injured. There will even be several that get knocked out for the year. I think the Chiefs had to put 2 players in the IR just this past week. So, it is going to happen, so who better to have it happen to than these two teams. Advertisement Even with that fatalistic justification, a couple of board members protest The Gipper’s intention to root for debilitating violence. But not all, as TopDawg31 seconds the motion: Oh hell yeah when I grew up and learned about football the name of the game was kill the QB. I’ll admit, I didn’t know that. Given the growing concern for player safety, it’s probably a good thing that they changed the name to “football” at some point. Maybe league executives can be forward-thinking after all. Advertisement WalterWhite is the Browns fan who kicks off another thread, “Re-watched the Browns Steelers game…” with an 18-point recap of said game: I was shitfaced in Heinz Field when I watched it in person, now watching it on TV and here are my notes. […] 9. Donte Whitner is all bark, absolutely zero bite. […] 11. Armonty Bryant fucking slammed Big Ben. It was amazing. […] 14. The fake punt… That’s balls right there. […] 18. Gilbert burnt twice in the final 30 seconds. Why didn’t they fucking pull his ass earlier? The 20 yard pick up Gilberts dumb fucking ass was 6 yards away and laying on the fucking ground. God what a bum. Advertisement I bet WalterWhite has an auto-complete macro for the words “God what a bum.” It’s the most Cleveland Browns-fan phrase he could have used to complete his analysis. But not all Browns fans are so sour. Another user, miktoxic, pulls out to the big picture and calls WalterWhite out on his Cheetos-eating ways: walter. love you man but you got to realize some things. these guys are just starting to get back in the rhythm of things after healing from wounds, laying on their couch with kids and just trying to have a normal life. unless you live in the gym and dedicate your life 24/7 365 it might take a month or two to get back into the swing of things. hell it’s not like your bou manziel was in berea doing something to win the starting QB job. imagine you, after months of eating cheetos getting a call from your manager saying he has aperfect role for you playing a svelt tough guy in a movie starting in a month. you gonna be there in shape? Advertisement Damn straight, WalterWhite. Imagine YOU. But my favorite reply in the thread comes from timpiker. He has made 53 posts on The Browns Board, and his avatar is a picture of Chevy Chase from the “Mele Kalikimaka” scene in Christmas Vacation. For his reply, he quotes WalterWhite’s 676-word post in its entirety so that he can add: right on! America Online: It never really went away. Quick-Hit Picks Here are the rest of Block & Tackle’s final score predictions for the rest of the Week 2 slate. As a reminder, all Block & Tackle predictions are guaranteed to be correct. Advertisement Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Baltimore Ravens (last night, 8:25 p.m., CBS): Baltimore 19, Pittsburgh 11. The distraction of Ray Rice will be too much for the Steelers to overcome. Miami Dolphins vs. Buffalo Bills (Sunday, 1:00 p.m., CBS): Miami 21, Buffalo 15. The Bills will be dispirited when they realize that the original dog from the Bush’s baked beans commercials is probably dead by now, so they have been laughing at the corporate-sabotage antics of a replacement dog. New Orleans Saints vs. Cleveland Browns (Sunday, 1:00 p.m., Fox): New Orleans 26, Cleveland 20. Advertisement Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Washington (Sunday, 1:00 p.m., CBS): Washington 20, Jacksonville 10. Since the beginning of the 2010 season, Washington is 1-4 against teams named after cats and 6-8 against teams named after birds. Dallas Cowboys vs. Tennessee Titans (Sunday, 1:00 p.m., Fox): Tennessee 32, Dallas 28. The “Total Ultimate Dallas Opening” offers a tantalizing taste of the Sasha Mitchell-Dack Rambo collaboration we’ve always dreamed of. Advertisement Atlanta Falcons vs. Cincinnati Bengals (Sunday, 1:00 p.m., CBS): Cincinnati 28, Atlanta 14. Detroit Lions vs. Carolina Panthers (Sunday, 1:00 p.m., Fox): Detroit 23, Carolina 13. St. Louis Rams vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Sunday, 4:05 p.m, Fox): Tampa Bay more, St. Louis less. Because of an ongoing labor dispute at Raymond James Stadium, nobody will keep score in this game, so the officials will just kinda keep track of who seems to be winning. Advertisement Seattle Seahawks vs. San Diego Chargers (Sunday, 4:05 p.m., Fox): Seattle 31, San Diego 21. Houston Texans vs. Oakland Raiders (Sunday, 4:25 p.m., CBS): Oakland 20, Houston 19. Aside from the Atlanta Falcons, who went 1-7 in away games last year, the Houston Texans are the only team mentioned in this sentence. New York Jets vs. Green Bay Packers (Sunday, 4:25 p.m., CBS): Green Bay 28, New York 14. The Jets’ salary cap woes are so bad that they can’t even sign free-agent fans. Advertisement Kansas City Chiefs vs. Denver Broncos (Sunday, 4:25 p.m., CBS): Denver 38, Kansas City 18. Chicago Bears vs. San Francisco 49ers (Sunday, 8:30 p.m., NBC): Chicago 24, San Francisco 21. Jared Allen’s standout performance as Sandor Clegane on Game Of Thrones has provided inspiration for his teammates, many of whom aspire to their own careers in HBO prestige dramas. Philadelphia Eagles vs. Indianapolis Colts (Monday, 8:30 p.m., ESPN): Indianapolis 27, Philadelphia 20. Advertisement B&T prediction record last week: 16-0 (16-0 for 2014 season overall) Unfortunate corrections made: 8We love us a good girl-proposes-to-guy story. Hell, Offbeat Bride wouldn't be here if it weren't for one of those stories. Tribesmaid Kaharaminttu has one of those stories, including a delightfully adorkable Mario-themed ring box that is going viral. I've been planning on proposing since September last year, and once I'd purchased my rings in May, I knew I really had to go ahead and do it! I proposed on July 22, a Sunday. It was my mancreature's birthday on the 24th, but I had to work, so we decided to celebrate his birthday on the Sunday before instead. I made a big deal out of having his birthday present ready, etc. We woke up on Sunday morning and I made him breakfast in bed, and we ate our fruit salad together in bed, and drank coffee. How I managed to eat anything at all is beyond me! I'd been managing to keep myself pretty calm up until that morning! As I was making his breakfast, I was frantically telling my internet friends (who were in on it) that I was too chicken, and I wanted to call it off. They gave me a kick in the pants, and after our breakfast I told him I had to go and get his birthday present. So! I walk in with the box, which was concealed in a tiny paper bag, and he looks at the bag and goes "Well, it's not very BIG, is it?" I gaped at him, and then told me he was a size queen (sheesh!!!). The box was unveiled and I made him admire my hard work before he opened it… When he opened it I could only manage to squeak out "Wanna get married?" and he looked at the box and then at me with a confused and surprised expression. Luckily, he responded "Yes!"… and then followed it up with a pout and "But I want to be player one!!" We had discussed in the past how he felt about me proposing, and he had told me he thought it was silly that society expects only the male to propose. When he said that, I knew I was going to propose, even though I had always daydreamed about being proposed to. I'm so glad I was the one that popped the question!Last week, Texas grid operator ERCOT officially disbanded its Distributed Resource Energy & Ancillaries Market (DREAM) Task Force. That’s the group that’s been leading the discussion about how solar PV, batteries, demand response and other distributed energy resources could play a role in the state’s competitive energy markets. But that doesn’t mean that the DER-grid integration it was working on is being abandoned. To the contrary, it’s just getting started. Now that the high-level concepts are done, ERCOT is preparing to accept suggestions for actual market rule changes that bring distributed energy into the state’s energy and ancillary services markets, according to a participant in the process. “The task force was generally set up to help elevate the discussion about distributed energy resources (DER) market integration to a level that would have all of the stakeholders in the ERCOT marketplace pay attention to it,” said Chad Blevins, senior consultant with Austin, Texas-based law firm The Butler Firm and chairman of ERCOT’s Emerging Technologies Working Group. “Now that we’ve done that, market participants said we should really get into the part of the process where interested parties can write up and file a nodal protocol revision request,” he said. Known as NPRRs, these can be written by the utilities and energy companies involved, or by ERCOT staff, and will allow everyone involved to “have discussion about the nitty-gritty of the actual language. […] This is a step closer to the implementation of any potential change.” In fact, “Some market participants are already indicating that they have some changes in mind they may write up and file in the near future,” he said, Take the example of Shell Energy Services, an independent power marketer in Texas. At an ERCOT meeting last week where the DREAM task force was officially dissolved, the big commercial and industrial energy service provider presented a slide deck titled “ERCOT-Directed Dispatch of Price-Responsive Distributed Generation.” While the deck is filled with disclaimers, and far from a full proposal, it does lay out a list of values for distributed energy -- specifically, diesel and natural-gas-fired generators -- and how they could be brought into the market. Texas’ deregulated energy market, which lacks a mechanism for procuring long-term capacity, can undergo short but severe spikes in grid power prices, giving energy customers and suppliers reason to look for a hedge. Diesel and gas-fired reciprocating engines can connect at distribution voltage to avoid high interconnection costs, be sized and dispersed across the system, it noted. And, unlike “price-taking” resources like solar PV, which can’t control their output, generators can respond to price within a 1- to 5-minute interval, it noted. The broader goal is to “establish a marketplace where price-taking and price responsive resources can co-exist in an efficient” way, it notes. Shell’s presentation suggests allowing DERs to offer themselves to ERCOT’s Security Constrained Economic Dispatch, which sets the prices and manages the offers based on the locational marginal prices scattered throughout its service territory. Strategically located generators that can supply energy at a price lower than the higher nodal prices can guarantee a revenue for themselves, while helping to drive down prices in the price-formation stage, Shell noted -- something that’s theoretically good for everyone. Shell doesn’t suggest that these distributed generators would participate in the state’s frequency regulation markets right now. But if distributed storage resources emerge as a low-opportunity-cost provider, ERCOT could revisit the subject, it notes -- a nod to the potential for batteries to play a role in keeping grid frequencies stable. Blevins observed that Shell’s approach, as laid out in its slide deck, provides for “market-integrated distributed generation that can do a lot of things.” At the same time, “It doesn’t have some of the other aspects that we think about as part of the DER construct.” Specifically, it “doesn’t get into aggregations explicitly,” insofar as it appears to presume that all of its distributed generators are connected to ERCOT’s real-time, high-speed and high-security telecommunications system. Creating aggregations of more dispersed resources, like thousands of rooftop solar systems, smart thermostats, behind-the-meter batteries or plug-in electric vehicles, may require some different rules for how they respond to ERCOT’s dispatch signals, he noted. That will require the filing of an operating guide revision request, he said. OGRRs are proposals for how ERCOT participants could manage the interconnection of ERCOT’s wide-area network into platforms that manage aggregated DERs, while ensuring latency, reliability, security, and other pertinent issues, he said. Third-party solar providers like SolarCity, which has moved into the Texas rooftop market via its partnership with energy retailer MP2, may well have an interest in modeling the value of solar combined with smart thermostats and other demand-side resources. Behind-the-meter or distribution-grid-connected batteries could also be aggregated at the scale required to participate in ERCOT’s markets. Right now, California is in the lead when it comes to DER integration into wholesale energy markets. The California Independent System Operator launched its proposal for distributed energy resource providers last summer, approved a version in February, and is now working on its tariff development process. New York’s Reforming the Energy Vision proceeding is taking a longer-range, but potentially more radical, approach to DERs as grid assets, but hasn’t yet implemented any specific changes that would allow them to play in wholesale markets. Here’s a map from our recent GTM Research report, Regulating DER Participation in U.S. Electricity Markets: CAISO, ERCOT and NYISO, that lays out the key measures of each state’s approach toward integrating distributed energy into their wholesale markets.BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Jason Botterill has no second thoughts over leaving the defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins while they are in the midst of yet another playoff run. The lure of returning to the Buffalo Sabres, an organization with which Botterill ended his playing career, and the opportunity to make his mark as a first-time general manager outweighed the close ties he established and two championship teams he helped build over the past 10 years in Pittsburgh. "It's emotional, but at the end of the day, it's not a decision at all," Botterill said shortly after being hired Thursday. "I am 100 percent ecstatic about being here and being part of this organization right now and being back in Buffalo." And, the now-former Penguins associate GM joked, he's still in line to win a third championship ring a day after the Penguins advanced to the Eastern Conference finals with a 2-0 win over Washington in Game 7 of their second-round series. The Sabres are counting on the vast experience Botterill, 40, gained in working his way up the Penguins' ranks to rub off on a franchise in the midst of a six-season playoff drought and a team that owner Terry Pegula criticized for lacking structure and discipline. Botterill takes over three weeks after GM Tim Murray and coach Dan Bylsma were fired in Buffalo's second front-office housecleaning in 3½ years. In being groomed by both current Penguins GM Jim Rutherford and his predecessor, Ray Shero, Botterill oversaw a wide
Hat and the open source community are breaking the stranglehold of closed virtualization, enabling better performance, scalability, security -- and better economics. We're pleased to see momentum continue to build, changing the virtualization market just as we did with closed operating systems and enterprise middleware." "The new SUSE business has a strong focus on providing the easiest-to-use and most interoperable Linux solutions across physical, virtual and cloud environments. We're proud to be a founding member of the Open Virtualization Alliance that will help accelerate the adoption of virtualization solutions based on open source technologies. Customers want choice and simplicity without compromising performance. We're excited to be working with the Open Virtualization Alliance to encourage interoperability and help businesses understand and evaluate their virtualization options," said Alan Clark, executive director, open standards and initiatives, SUSE. For more information about the Open Virtualization Alliance: www.openvirtualizationalliance.org About BMC Business runs on IT. IT runs on BMC Software. Business thrives when IT runs smarter, faster and stronger. That's why the most demanding IT organizations in the world rely on BMC Software across distributed, mainframe, virtual and cloud environments. Recognized as the leader in Business Service Management, BMC offers a comprehensive approach and unified platform that helps IT organizations cut cost, reduce risk and drive business profit. For the four fiscal quarters ended March 31, 2011, BMC revenue was approximately $2.1 billion. Visit www.bmc.com for more information. About Eucalyptus Eucalyptus Systems provides IT organizations in enterprises, government agencies, Web and mobile businesses, and industry partners the most widely deployed software platform for on-premise Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) clouds. To date, over 25,000 Eucalyptus clouds have been started all over the world, including more than 20 percent of Fortune 100 companies. Eucalyptus is specifically designed for enterprise use, and the software platform is uniquely suited for hybrid clouds. Built as an open source product, Eucalyptus supports the industry-standard cloud API, Amazon Web Services, as well as all major virtualization platforms. The company has an active and growing ecosystem of customers, partners, developers and researchers that benefit from Eucalyptus' open, fast and standards-compliant path to cloud computing. For more information about Eucalyptus, please visit http://www.eucalyptus.com. About HP HP creates new possibilities for technology to have a meaningful impact on people, businesses, governments and society. The world's largest technology company, HP brings together a portfolio that spans printing, personal computing, software, services and IT infrastructure at the convergence of the cloud and connectivity, creating seamless, secure, context-aware experiences for a connected world. More information about HP (NYSE: HPQ) is available at http://www.hp.com. About IBM IBM is a leading supporter of Open Standards and Open Source software. For information on IBM's position on open standards visit: http://www.ibm.com/opensource for more information on open virtualization visit: http://www-03.ibm.com/systems/virtualization/infrastructure/open/index.html About Red Hat, Inc. Red Hat, the world's leading provider of open source solutions and an S&P 500 company, is headquartered in Raleigh, NC with over 65 offices spanning the globe. CIOs ranked Red Hat as one of the top vendors delivering value in Enterprise Software for seven consecutive years in the CIO Insight Magazine Vendor Value survey. Red Hat provides high-quality, affordable technology with its operating system platform, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, together with virtualization, applications, management and Services Oriented Architecture (SOA) solutions, including Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization and JBoss Enterprise Middleware. Red Hat also offers support, training and consulting services to its customers worldwide. Learn more: http://www.redhat.com. About SUSE SUSE is a leading provider of enterprise Linux solutions that increase agility, reduce cost and manage complexity in dynamic environments. With a portfolio centered around SUSE Linux Enterprise, the most interoperable platform for mission-critical computing, SUSE enables organizations to confidently deliver computing services across physical, virtual and cloud environments. With our award-winning products and ecosystem of partnerships, SUSE solutions empower thousands of organizations around the world. For more information, visit us at www.novell.com/linux. Media Contacts BMC Jennifer Brenner BMC Software w: 713-918-2421 Jennifer_Brenner@bmc.com Eucalyptus Systems Lisa Sheeran Sheeran/Jager Communication for Eucalyptus Systems press@eucalyptus.com 510-724-2267 HP Terri Molini HP terri.molini@hp.com 415-480-4355 IBM Erica Topolski IBM Media Relations +1 617 693 2816 ericat@us.ibm.com Intel Suzy Ramirez Intel Media Relations +1 503-264-0996 suzy.m.ramirez@intel.com Red Hat Leigh Day Red Hat Media Relations cantrell@redhat.com SUSE Ian Bruce Novell +1 781.464.8034 ibruce@novell.com This news release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. If such risks or uncertainties materialize or such assumptions prove incorrect, the results of HP and its consolidated subsidiaries could differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and assumptions. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements, including but not limited to statements of the plans, strategies and objectives of management for future operations; any statements concerning expected development, performance or market share relating to products and services; any statements regarding anticipated operational and financial results; any statements of expectation or belief; and any statements of assumptions underlying any of the foregoing. Risks, uncertainties and assumptions include macroeconomic and geopolitical trends and events; the competitive pressures faced by HP's businesses; the development and transition of new products and services (and the enhancement of existing products and services) to meet customer needs and respond to emerging technological trends; the execution and performance of contracts by HP and its customers, suppliers and partners; the achievement of expected operational and financial results; and other risks that are described in HP's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended January 31, 2011 and HP's other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to HP's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2010. HP assumes no obligation and does not intend to update these forward-looking statements. © 2011 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. The only warranties for HP products and services are set forth in the express warranty statements accompanying such products and services. Nothing herein should be construed as constituting an additional warranty. HP shall not be liable for technical or editorial errors or omissions contained herein. Certain statements contained in this press release may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements provide current expectations of future events based on certain assumptions and include any statement that does not directly relate to any historical or current fact. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors[ including: risks related to delays or reductions in information technology spending, the effects of industry consolidation, uncertainty and adverse results in litigation and related settlements, the integration of acquisitions and the ability to market successfully acquired technologies and products; Red Hat's ability to effectively compete; Red Hat's inability to adequately protect our intellectual property and the potential for infringement or breach of license claims of or relating to third party intellectual property; the ability to deliver and stimulate demand for new products and technological innovations on a timely basis; risks related to data and information security vulnerabilities; ineffective management of, and control over, Red Hat's growth and international operations; fluctuations in exchange rates; and changes in and a dependence on key personnel, as well as other factors] contained in Red Hat's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K (copies of which may be accessed through the Securities and Exchange Commission's website at http://www.sec.gov), including those found therein under the captions "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations". In addition to these factors, actual future performance, outcomes, and results may differ materially because of more general factors including (without limitation) general industry and market conditions and growth rates, economic and political conditions, governmental and public policy changes and the impact of natural disasters such as the earthquakes and related events in Japan. The forward-looking statements included in this press release represent Red Hat's views as of the date of this press release and these views could change. However, while Red Hat may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, Red Hat specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing Red Hat's views as of any date subsequent to the date of the press release. Red Hat, Inc. Red Hat, the Shadowman logo and JBoss are registered trademarks of Red Hat, Inc. in the U.S. and other countries. Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. Windows is a U.S. registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation. IBM, is a trademark of International Business Machines Corporation in the United States, other countries or both. Other company, product and service names may be trademarks or service marks of others. SOURCE Open Virtualization AllianceAs of now, state elections officials have reported that just shy of 6.5 million votes were cast in the duel between Brown and Republican Neel Kashkari. That means that backers of any potential 2016 or 2018 ballot measures to write state law could qualify their initiative for the ballot with as few as 325,000 valid signatures. Compare that with the existing threshold for a statutory initiative, which is 504,760. Big, big difference. "It's going to cost a lot less to qualify for the ballot," said Beth Miller, a GOP political strategist who was a top aide to former Secretary of State Bill Jones. For initiatives that seek to rewrite the state constitution, California's governance blueprint, the threshold for qualification could drop to close to 521,000 signatures -- compared with its current level of 807,615. And for a coming election cycle where everyone already expects a torrent of ballot initiatives, from legal pot to tax hikes and beyond, these super-low thresholds could make it a lot easier to get an issue in front of voters. Before anyone sounds the alarm over the potential boost in political power of well-heeled interest groups, consider that low initiative thresholds in 2016 and 2018 could also provide a boost to all kinds of grass-roots political efforts -- efforts, some would argue, that are exactly the kind of populist power envisioned when California created its direct democracy system in 1911. The actual threshold for initiatives won't be known until a formal certification of the Nov. 4 vote, which comes next month. Still, most expect the dismally low turnout -- now at just a little above 37 percent of registered voters statewide -- to set a new record for low participation in a California gubernatorial election. Now, consider a couple of other changes the low Brown-Kashkari vote totals could make to the initiative process. First, backers of initiative efforts often turn their energy and money to the ballot box when they fail to get action on their issue(s) at the state Capitol. Case in point: this fall's defeated Proposition 46, which grew out of a Sacramento stalemate on the issue of loosening the state law that caps pain-and-suffering awards in medical malpractice lawsuits. An easier path to the ballot may make activists on an issue less patient with the bickering and negotiating inside the Legislature. "I think that people who are frustrated with the legislative process will be looking to use the initiative process more quickly," said strategist Miller. But then consider the law signed by Brown this fall to make small but important changes to the initiative process. Those changes will allow initiative backers more time to gather signatures; a chance for the backers to amend their proposal even after filing it with state officials; and a window of time for legislators and the governor to enact a law rather than see the issue head to the ballot. Of course, even this tweak in election law would be impacted by the expected new, and low, threshold for initiatives: It mandates legislative hearings on a proposal after it has collected just 25 percent of the signatures needed for qualification. At current rates, that means that anyone who can get about 82,000 signatures will force the Legislature to engage on the issue. The threshold for getting an initiative on the ballot in California has waxed and waned in the past. But don't forget, the last record low turnout for a gubernatorial election was in 2002... which made it easier for critics of then-Gov. Gray Davis to qualify the recall measure that removed him from office in 2003. The new low bar for initiatives will last only for two election cycles. But even those election cycles will be different from earlier eras, under a still hotly debated change that was pushed through by Democrats in 2011: moving all initiative and referendum propositions to November ballots and off June statewide ballots. Translation: The statewide ballot on Nov. 8, 2016 and Nov. 6, 2018 could be long -- very long.Liberal filmmaker Michael Moore said he expects Donald Trump to be elected president and listed five reasons why the GOP nominee will win in November. "This wretched, ignorant, dangerous part-time clown and full time sociopath is going to be our next president. President Trump Donald John TrumpHouse committee believes it has evidence Trump requested putting ally in charge of Cohen probe: report Vietnamese airline takes steps to open flights to US on sidelines of Trump-Kim summit Manafort's attorneys say he should get less than 10 years in prison MORE. Go ahead and say the words, ‘cause you’ll be saying them for the next four years: 'PRESIDENT TRUMP,'" he wrote on his website. ADVERTISEMENT Moore said people need to face the fact that Trump will be the next president. He said Trump would likely focus on four blue states in the Rust Belt: Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. The four states have each elected a Republican governor since 2010, and Trump is polling ahead of Democrat Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonSanders: 'I fully expect' fair treatment by DNC in 2020 after 'not quite even handed' 2016 primary Sanders: 'Damn right' I'll make the large corporations pay 'fair share of taxes' Former Sanders campaign spokesman: Clinton staff are 'biggest a--holes in American politics' MORE in Pennsylvania and tied with her in Ohio. "Trump is going to hammer Clinton on this and her support of TPP and other trade policies that have royally screwed the people of these four states," he wrote, referencing the Trans-Pacific Partnership. He said the citizens of those states were "broken, depressed, struggling." His called his second reason "The Last Stand of the Angry White Man." "Our male-dominated, 240-year run of the USA is coming to an end. A woman is about to take over! How did this happen?! On our watch! There were warning signs, but we ignored them," he wrote. He said this gives men the sense that the "power has slipped out of their hands, that their way of doing things is no longer how things are done." His also said that Clinton is viewed as dishonest and untrustworthy, making it more difficult for her to get elected. "The enthusiasm just isn’t there. And because this election is going to come down to just one thing — who drags the most people out of the house and gets them to the polls — Trump right now is in the catbird seat," he wrote. Moore then focused on former supporters of Bernie Sanders Bernard (Bernie) SandersPush to end U.S. support for Saudi war hits Senate setback Sanders: 'I fully expect' fair treatment by DNC in 2020 after 'not quite even handed' 2016 primary Sanders: 'Damn right' I'll make the large corporations pay 'fair share of taxes' MORE. He predicted some Sanders supporters would reluctantly vote for Clinton but others would either stay home on Election Day or vote for a third party candidate. Moore said the last reason Trump would win is that millions of people would vote for him "just because they can." "Just because it will upset the apple cart and make mommy and daddy mad," he wrote.Winter photography is a challenge I often don’t succeed in, usually coming home with cards full of badly composed shots, boring overcast exposures and many failed attempts at trying something different to suit the environment I'm in. It sometimes makes me feel inadequate. However, when I do succeed, the feeling is euphoric and those are the moments I patiently wait for. For me, winter seems to bring the best results. What excites me about winter photography is the challenge of getting up when you are cold and tired, enduring chilling winds and occasional showers or snow in the hope that a small window of opportunity that can set this shot apart from any other photo. When I do succeed, the feeling is euphoric. The hard work pays off. In winter, snow simplifies the landscape. It gets rid of all the clutter and all the distractions that surround a prominent subject. What survives the suffocation of snow is usually an interesting subject that is for the most part worth investigating with the camera. It limits your options and forces you to think in a different way. It forces you to create artistically and takes away the temptation of copping out and taking just another ‘panorama from the carpark’. Snow sets a challenge for the willing and passionate photographer, often teasing your limits and occasionally beating you and your gear. There have been many times where I have given up halfway through a hike, or swore at the elements from body fatigue and cold feet. But then again, looking back at some of the images i've taken when in that place makes me appreciate the dialogue between earth and photographer. Snow is also a good recipient of colour. There is nothing better than getting up early, and capturing the subtle wash of purple and blueish tones in the alpine glow that transform the pre-dawn landscape. It changes the mood of the mountains and valleys. During my four-day trip into Aoraki National Park, I was lucky enough to experience this just once. Although my feet were frozen stiff, to the point where I actually had to walk around in circles for 10 minutes just to get the circulation back into my toes, I was gifted with a small 15-minute window in which I captured the tip of Aoraki/Mt. Cook still in a state of sleep. I felt like a photojournalist capturing a rare candid moment. I'd gotten the image I had hoped I would be lucky enough to get.In commemoration of the launch of Stormblood, we’re excited to welcome adventures back with the "Welcome Back to Eorzea" campaign! Pick up your adventures where you left off with special items that can be exchanged for item level 260 equipment during the campaign period! What’s more, we’re offering special incentives to those willing to transfer from high population Congested Worlds to designated low population Preferred Worlds. These includes a waiving of transfer fees, and 10 gold chocobo feathers which can be exchanged for in-game items. Learn more about new world and world population balancing incentives Welcome Back to Eorzea Campaign Eligibility Players who have subscribed to FINAL FANTASY XIV prior to January 15, 2017 and have not logged into the game launcher between Monday January 16, 2017 and Sunday, June 11, 2017. * Players who are playing the Free Trial version are not eligible. * To confirm eligibility, log in to the Mog Station, proceed to Your Account, and select "View additional items" under Service Account Status. You should find a listing which reads "Welcome Back to Eorzea Campaign (STORMBLOOD)." * Updated June 30, 2017. Campaign Period Monday, June 19, 2017 at 8:00 a.m. (PDT) to Thursday, July 20, 2017 at 12:00 a.m. (PDT) Campaign Bonus Items When logging into the game with an eligible character, you will be given 10 silver chocobo feathers that you can use to exchange for item level 260 gear (body and legs) and item level 230 weapons. Silver chocobo feathers can be exchanged via the Calamity Salvager NPC located in each city-state. * Silver chocobo feathers will be sent to characters via the Moogle Delivery Service. * If you have reached the maximum number of campaign item letters (20), you will need to delete previously stored/read campaign item letters to clear space so that the new letter can be delivered. * Bonus items will be delivered to all characters on an eligible service account. Be sure not to miss out on this great opportunity!Story highlights Alex Plank: After Newtown shooting, some people say autism is linked to violence Plank: These speculations are needless, untrue and hurtful He says people with autism are ethical but have trouble reading social signals Plank: We don't need more senseless finger-pointing at an entire community After the horrific shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, a parade of self-appointed experts tried to insinuate that people with autism are prone to inexplicable acts of violence because they lack the ability for empathy and social connection. This is because the shooter, Adam Lanza, had been diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, a form of autism. These speculations are needless, untrue and hurtful. I was diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome when I was 9 years old. I had a lot of anxiety when I was in school, not because I have autism but because other kids would often bully and ridicule me. I was a smart kid, but I was very socially awkward. Thankfully, my parents were very supportive and helped me get through many dark days. I got in trouble in elementary school for flapping my hands and twirling. I even got in trouble for sitting in my chair strangely. When the Columbine High School massacre occurred, my music teacher told the class to be nicer to me because, as she said, "look what can happen when kids are bullied." That really upset and embarrassed me. The comment made me feel as though I had more potential for violence, which is clearly false. Alex Plank In high school, I decided that I wanted to make contact with other kids who had been diagnosed with autism and were cast out by their own peer groups and looking for support. With my friend Dan Grover, we built WrongPlanet.net, a community for people who wanted to share their personal experiences with autism. We now have more than 70,000 registered members from around the world. After the shootings in Newtown, as I often do when a major news event occurs, I immediately went to my online community to see what other people were saying. One member asked, "How long before the media paints the gunman as a quiet loner with Asperger Syndrome traits?" As we now know, it didn't take too long. The same thing has happened before, like in the Colorado theater shooting, when Joe Scarborough irresponsibly speculated that the shooter, James Holmes, might have been "on the autism scale." He later clarified his comments, saying he did not mean to link autism with violent behavior. As the Newtown news unfolded, I noticed a huge traffic spike to our online community. When I checked the servers, I realized that people were finding the website by Googling search terms such as "autistic killers," "asperger's and criminal behavior" and "aspergers shooter." That gave me a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. I only hoped that the searches indicated that people wanted to find out the truth: that autism is not connected with violent acts. JUST WATCHED Children with autism are 'less violent' Replay More Videos... MUST WATCH Children with autism are 'less violent' 04:18 Most people with autism who I know of are deeply sensitive and ethical; we just have trouble reading social signals. Research has also shown that we are less likely to engage in criminal behavior. If anything, those with autism are more likely to be bullied or treated with scorn because we are a little different. Fortunately, not everyone has been listening to some of the so-called experts who are implying that autism has something to do with Lanza's horrible act. A chorus of intelligent voices, including CNN's Sanjay Gupta and Anderson Cooper, New York Times reporter Amy Harmon, author John Robison and Ari Ne'eman, the first openly autistic White House appointee, has done well to dispel the misconceptions. But the repetition of damaging stereotypes means more needs to be done to address the myths and stigma around autism, which puts people who are already at a high risk for bullying in even more danger. I was really touched when I saw the photo of Dylan Hockley, a 6-year-old boy with autism who died in the arms of his special-needs aide, Anne Marie Murphy, in Newtown. In the face of such terrible tragedy, we don't need more senseless finger-pointing at an entire community of people. We need more than ever to find our common humanity. Follow us on Twitter @CNNOpinionWilliamsport, Lycoming County -- Accompanied by his wife, 34-year-old Jonathan DePrenda of Williamsport arrived in Lycoming County Court Thursday afternoon. He pled guilty to involuntary manslaughter and other charges for a crime that cost him his job and another man his life. It was January 2014 when then Officer DePrenda responded to a high speed pursuit in Williamsport. Investigators say he topped speeds of 100 miles per hour when he slammed into a car while passing vehicles on East Third Street. The other driver, 42-year-old James Robinson of Williamsport, died in the fiery wreck. Before his plea and sentence, DePrenda told the court "I loved being a police officer. I wanted to fight evil. I'll never forget that night. I see this car and I cannot help this man. Our worlds collided." The victim's mother, who still grieves the loss of her son, didn't want to see DePrenda serve prison time and have his family suffer. She chose to forgive. "The way I raised my kids was to forgive those who do things against you. And it's something that James would have did so I had to forgive him," said Nancy Robinson-Westbrook. DePrenda was fired from the force last October as a result of the crash. Lycoming County District Attorney Eric Linhardt said DePrenda needed to be held accountable telling the courtroom, "Law enforcement has a higher responsibility to protect the well-being of the community. He'll no longer be a policeman and will carry a criminal record." Instead of prison time, a judge sentenced DePrenda to five years probation and 100 hours of community service. John Hernandez, who mourns the loss of Robinson to this day, did not want to cast judgment on DePrenda. "I forgive him because of the love of God I have... showed me the errors. Let it go. God will judge him."Voluntary Locomotion: New Findings in Spinal Cord Injury Therapy Previously, we discussed the possible impact of anxiety levels on the development and progression of cancer. This week, we look into a study that hints at another side of this phenomenon: the potential power of will and determination, a concept utilized as part of a large study examining the plasticity of neuronal systems after partial spinal cord injury. Anecdotal evidence exists for the positive effect of determination and proper therapy in the partial recovery from central nervous system injury. Well-known gains in function were made by Christopher Reeve, college football player Chris Norton, and even Kevin Pearce, who recovered from a traumatic brain injury suffered in 2009. In the recent study by van den Brand et al., food reinforcement was used alongside various therapy techniques to treat rats with paralyzed lower limbs, helping them regain voluntary control of hindlimb movement. While the rats used in the study had incomplete spinal cord injuries (cords were not completely transected), their injuries were severe and resulted in hindlimb paralysis. The authors designed a multi-system neuroprosthetic training program consisting of 3 essential features including: electrical stimulation of the spinal cord over lumbar and sacral segments, training on a treadmill with a harness, and the spinal administration of serotonin and dopamine receptor agonists. This litany of treatment was designed to assist in the reorganization of spared neuronal systems through mechanisms dependent on usage. At first, this combination of therapies promoted coordinated involuntary stepping on a moving treadmill. After treadmill stepping was achieved, the authors sought to achieve recovery of movements that require input from the brain: voluntary active use of the paralyzed hindlimbs. For this step, the rats continued to receive electrical and chemical spinal cord stimulation. A food reinforcer, such as chocolate or cheese, was set up as the target and focus to help stimulate active rat participation. Rats were gradually encouraged to move over the ground, and eventually over obstacles, aiming to enhance supraspinal contribution. All rats that received these treatments achieved restored voluntary locomotion in their hindlimbs. Each rat also showed remodeling of supraspinal and intraspinal neuronal projections, including in the motor cortex, and new pathways formed connecting the spinal cord to the brain. The over ground training was the key to this research: rats that were trained only to move on the treadmill did not regain connections between the brain and spinal cord and did not achieve voluntary locomotion. While many factors were involved, the presentation of food reinforcement was an important part of the recovery of voluntary movement in these rats. The added motivation from the food reinforcer assisted in the development of new neuronal connections and the ability to voluntarily move hindlimbs across the ground. Among the many exciting findings from this study, this raises some interesting questions. How important is the presence of a clear goal in the production of movement? How are conscious motivation and voluntary movement connected and how can this connection be further utilized to assist recovery from injury? Further Reading: van den Brand R, Heutschi J, Barraud Q, DiGiovanna J, Bartholdi K, Huerlimann M, Friedli L, Vollenweider I, Moraud EM, Duis S, Dominici N, Micera S, Musienko P, Courtine G. (2012). Restoring voluntary control of locomotion after paralyzing spinal cord injury. Science. Jun 1;336(6085):1182-5. To watch videos related to this study: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GypDY5IwpT8&feature=relmfu http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYejL34wAKw&feature=relmfu http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8ezKdfGIZQ http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=8GvDs7i36O0&NR=1.Springfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno spoke with Dr. Seuss Enterprises on Friday about its decision to pull a mural from The Amazing World of Dr. Seuss Museum after complaints from three authors that it contains a "jarring racial stereotype" of Chinese man with chopsticks. The mayor said he received a call from Susan Brandt, president of licensing and marketing for the company on Friday afternoon. "I told her next week it will be something else," Sarno said of the controversy. "You have to put your foot down and draw a line in the sand." He said he reiterated to Brandt that he wanted the "And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street" mural to remain in place. "I sense they are looking for a plausible compromise," Sarno said. The mayor said he believed that Springfield Museums President Kay Simpson had been "put under the gun by Dr. Seuss Enterprises and they felt they had to make a move on this." Prior to the announcement on Thursday night by the Springfield Museums and Dr. Seuss Enterprises, Simpson had written in a letter, "As a museum, we do not alter or edit an artist's work." Authors Mo Willems, Mike Curato and Lisa Yee of Northampton, who signed a letter to the Springfield Museums and posted it on social media, said they found part of the mural "deeply hurtful" and would not attend a planned Oct. 14 event there. Springfield Museums officials said they offered to meet with Willems, Curato and Yee, but they declined. The mural character in question was described by Geisel in his 1937 book as "a Chinese man who eats with sticks." In a statement to the media, Sarno said "This is political correctness at its worst, and this is what is wrong with our country. We have extreme fringe groups on both the right and the left dictating an agenda to divide instead of working together towards the betterment of our country." The mayor accused the authors of manufacturing an issue to boost their profile.The UK judge who ordered Apple to issue multiple statements saying that Samsung didn't copy the design of the iPad has been hired on by Samsung to act as an expert in an ITC investigation. In a court order, Jacob said he hoped Apple's "lack of integrity" was atypical. Samsung on Thursday contacted International Business Times to clarify that: "Sir Robin Jacob is not a legal representative of Samsung Electronics. A highly reputed intellectual property expert and academic, Sir Robin has been contracted as an expert by a law firm that represents Samsung Electronics in its case against Ericsson."The Rt. Hon. Professor Sir Robin Jacob has been brought on as one of nine "experts [...] working on behalf of" Samsung according to FOSS Patents. Samsung's counsel submitted the filing listing Jacob as an expert witness in court on Wednesday.Jacob will act as an expert in the U.S. International Trade Commission's investigation of Ericsson's patent infringement complaint against Samsung. Ericsson is seeking a U.S. import ban against multiple Samsung smartphones and tablets, including the Galaxy S III, Galaxy Note II, and Galaxy Tab.In November of last year, Jacob ruled that Apple had failed to properly comply with a court order that it should prominently display on its website that Samsung had not copied the design of Apple's iPad. Apple had updated its site with a link at the bottom, sending users to a linkless, logoless page with a statement saying Samsung had not infringed.The judge found Apple's wording in the statement insufficient, as well as its placement on Apple's web page. He ordered Apple to change the wording of the statement within two days, giving it an 11-point font and prominent display on the company's website front page.Speaking on Apple's initial attempt at complying with the court order, Jacob's opinion read: "I hope that the lack of integrity involved in this incident is entirely atypical of Apple."Of the many princesses available as a bride for Richard the Lionheart, King of England, Berengaria of Navarre was chosen to be his queen. There were two reasons for this choice. The first was for the usual dynastic purpose of having an heir. The second rationale was for strategic and political reasons relating to Richard’s desire to go on Crusade to the Holy Land. Berengaria was born c. 1170. Her parents were King Sancho VI the Wise of Navarre and Queen Sancha-Beata of Castile. We don’t know anything about Berengaria’s education but the court of Navarre had assimilated some of the troubadour and courtly love culture from southern France. The chroniclers did describe Berengaria as “wise” and she had an unsullied reputation. Richard may have seen Berengaria when she was a young girl on a visit to Pamplona in 1177. Richard was engaged to Alys, the sister of King Philip II of France for many years but the marriage was never celebrated. Alys had come to the English court of Richard’s father King Henry II when she was a young girl and she may have been seduced by King Henry and had his child. Richard needed King Philip’s participation in the Crusade and so delayed his marriage to Alys as long as he could. In the meantime he pursued an alliance with Navarre. While he was on Crusade, he needed someone to guard his holdings in southern France and King Sancho was in a position to defend Richard’s interests. In 1185, Berengaria was given the fief of Monreal near Tudela. Her sister’s didn’t receive any such gift so King Sancho may have been enhancing Berengaria’s status prior to a betrothal to Richard. Sancho would have considered Richard to be a splendid match for his daughter. While Richard was on a progress through his holdings in the south of France in 1190, he may have come to an understanding with King Sancho about the marriage. In the same year, Richard sent his formidable mother Eleanor of Aquitaine to retrieve Berengaria. Eleanor met Sancho and Berengaria in Pamplona. Although they were still trying to keep King Philip in the dark about the engagement, Sancho celebrated the meeting with a large banquet at the Palace of Olite. Berengaria and Eleanor left Navarre together, crossing the Alps in to Lombardy. They moved down to Pisa to await word from Richard. There was no ship to carry them so Richard had them continue to Naples where they finally embarked in February, 1191 accompanied by Count Philip of Flanders who was planning to join the Crusade. While the women travelled to meet him, Richard took Messina in Sicily. Philip knew Berengaria was on her way and was pressuring Richard to marry his sister Alys. In March, Richard finally told Philip he would not marry Alys as she had been his father’s mistress. Philip was angry but he needed to avoid embarrassment and was forced to agree that Richard could marry whoever he wanted. Berengaria arrived with little fanfare. It was Lent and the marriage couldn’t be celebrated so Richard sent Berengaria and his sister Joanna on a ship to the Holy Land. The women supposedly became separated from the fleet in a storm and came upon the coast of Cyprus where their ship might have been wrecked. Richard’s plans included taking Cyprus to utilize it for holding supplies for the Crusade. He used the excuse of the missing ship to attack and take the island. Richard and Berengaria were married in Limasol at the chapel of Saint George on May 12. The ceremony was performed by Richard’s chaplain Nicholas who later became the Bishop of Le Mans. Berengaria was then crowned queen by John, Bishop of Evreux. Richard settled on Berengaria all his Gascon properties beyond the Garonne River as her dower. They had three weeks together and then sailed on June 5, arriving at Acre on June 8. While Richard was fighting, Berengaria and Joanna were no better than captives, moving between
" rule that would see those accused of illegal file sharing having their internet connections cut off or suspended, offering a "more proportionate, specific and appropriate" way to tackle copyright infringement. Cafés, pubs and airports that offer Wi-Fi access are also concerned about the impact of the Bill. They have been told that they will not be exempt from its proposals, effectively meaning that Wi-Fi hot spots could be closed down, and businesses prosecuted, if it is found that customers have used those networks to download or share illegal or copyrighted material.This post was contributed by a community member. "It seems to me sad when … you give a platform to the charlatans. It is doing great damage to the struggle. It sows confusion and uncertainty where there should be no confusion and uncertainty." —Stephen Lewis There is a bill right now in play. HB 1589 …and amended version. The bill seeks to requirefirearms in this state to be sold or transferred through a licensed firearms dealer and provides for a criminal penalty for a violation. On its face it may seem like a "common sense" bill, but the fact is the bill is misleading.Deception abounds. sponsors and advocates for this bill use the word "background check," subtly implying that all kinds of guns change hands in the commerce stream without checks in place. This bill and its sponsors, subtly imply that all gun owners possess some requisite criminal intent; Subterfuge for the trading in illegal guns. One should drop the words, "Background Check," completely from the dialogue lexicon because it is a phrase co-opted by anti-gun left and I soundly reject it. The problem is this bill, in essence, would require all firearms transfers, be they loans or private sales, to be channeled through a licensed (Federal Firearms Licensed)FFL dealer in order to change ownership and possession. Yes, This bill would require that lending firearms to a friend would require processing through a NICS form 4473 porcess. To lend a firearm to a friend for a deer hunting trip would require processing through NICS! If I wanted to bequeath in my will, a substantial firearms collection to a close family friend, each and every firearm would require a NICS process. The bill is also insidious in that it opens the door to ancillary regulation and restriction in areas not exclusive to NICS processing, nor contemplated in our traditional use of firearms. Under the "exceptions" that is, those places where there would be lawful exceptions, this little new regulation is slipped in. Page 4 Line 24 of the bill states, (iii) that occurs at an established shooting range authorized by the governing body of the jurisdiction in which such range is located, provided the firearm is kept at such range during the entirety of the transfer. If a landowner wants to invite some friends over for some shooting and can safely do so on privately owned land, this language suggests that the new law will have a mechanism to catch people illegally transferring firearms (handing it over to a friend to try) for no other reason than a Zoning board has not given its implicit blessing to discharge firearms on that parcel of land by deeming it a "shooting range". Aside from the bills content, there are the legislative findings that are a complete sham. The bill starts off with, "It has been estimated that 40 percent of all firearms are sold in the United States by unlicensed people." That "fact" comes from a nearly 20-year-old study conducted during the Clinton Administration with a sample under 300…before the implementation of NICS. The rest of the information listed in the Legislative findings are from the whole cloth of the Brady campaign and Mayors against illegal guns. I am not going to detail here as it is so easy to cross reference. What bothers me equally is the ignorance and stupidity of some advocating for this bill to be rendered dead. Today, our second amendment rights rely more than ever on truthful, accurate information, not from excited emotional utterances bloviated into a microphone by a well-meaning pro-second amendment enthusiast. Stop guessing! We do not have to guess. We do not have to pad our facts with favorable urban myths. The facts are on our side! I heard a person recently defend non-NICS transfers taking place at Gun Shows saying they are only minimal. Indeed, some firearms are transferred without the NICS process, Antique Firearms. As defined in 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(16) the term "antique firearm" means any firearm manufactured in or before 1898, And modern Muzzleloading firearms with the exception of those that accept interchangeable modern ammunition barrels. Sale of contemporary and modern firearms simply do not happen. It is not legal. N.H. RSA 159:10 states, Any person who, without being licensed as herein provided, sells, advertises or exposes for sale, or has in his possession with intent to sell, pistols or revolvers shall be guilty of a class B felony if a natural person, or guilty of a felony if any other person. What does that mean? I cannot sell a gun to my next door neighbor? No, it does not mean that. In 2004 we had a case, State v. Timothy Geddes where Justice Robert Lynn made the distinction. "RSA 159 places no restrictions on the ability of private citizens to sell pistols and revolvers as long as this is not done with such frequency or regularity as to constitute a business." Point being, one simply cannot go to a gun show, set up a table and sell guns. One must be a licensed dealer. RSA 159:8 III provides, "No pistol, revolver, or other firearm shall be delivered to a purchaser not personally known to the seller or who does not present clear evidence of his identity; nor to a person who has been convicted of a felony." According to this law, any person who walks around with a gun to sell and sells it to simply anybody who happens by, is indeed, already breaking the law. Do some break the law? certainly, that is a fair assumption. But so do criminals who rob liquor stores with guns or nut jobs who shoot up movie theaters, schools and malls. This "gun show loop hole? is an urban myth and term of art from the Kool-Aid slurping hoplophobes who want to ban guns. Another pejorative made out of whole cloth. There is no Gun Show loophole, there is no Internet loop hole. New Hampshire has no specific law regarding a NICS process for gun shows because it simply in not needed. Dealers at Gun shows follow federal regulations and sell guns via 4473 NICS processing. New Hampshire also has no specific body of law dealing specifically with machine guns and other firearms that fall into a class three NFA (National Firearms Act) category, despite the fact that many other states that do. The simple reason for that is that the Federal law adequately deals with those guns as well. On Friday January 24, Politico.com rated New Hampshire the Number One state in America based on a study of the Census Bureau, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the FBI. Other factors included high school graduation rates, per capita income, crime rates and life expectancy. Indeed, the Granite State has very low crime rates reported in the face of so many people in this state buying, owning and carrying guns. "Gun Crime." There is no such thing as gun crime. this phrase "gun crime" is political buzz word crafted by the anti-second amendment charlatans on the left. These are simply, "crimes." When we see accounts of people killed with ball bats, we don't call it "Baseball crime," or, "Bat crime." Clearly, this current gun debate is not about fighting crime or preventing tragedy because this bill with all its draconian measures would not stop the killing sprees we've witnessed non-stop in the mainstream media. You cannot go to a gun show and buy a gun without a 4473 NICS process. You cannot buy guns on the internet (legally) without 4473 from a local dealer of your choosing. Finally, there is no local data provided that would show any need whatsoever for this draconian law. Right now, despite overwhelming opposition to the passage of this bill, the sponsors and the committee are committed to seeing it to the house floor. This is a hill they intend to die on. New Hampshire has always enjoyed a strong pro-second amendment culture and now we are doing battle with a bunch of outsiders sending in their people to monkey around in our state. Make no mistake about it. while our legislators shamelessly exploited the parents of dead Children from Newton Connecticut to come here to New Hampshire and make us more like them, none of their speeches, arguments or assertions laid any factual groundwork for why such a law is necessary in the Granite State. Now is the time to take ten minutes to go on nh.gov, find out who your legislator is and send them a message: Dear Representative: this law is dead, please ITL(inexpedient to Legislate) it.Dave van den Bergh and the U.S. U-15 national team traveled to Rosario, Argentina to participate in the 2016 International Festival Tournament and came away the champions. The U-15s opened the tournament with a 5-1 win over Club Atletico Talleres. Talleres got on the board in the 3rd minute via a Mateo Namani goal. However, Efrain Alvarez took over the match, scoring three goals and assisting on two more by George Bello and Cade Hagan. The U.S. tied Newell's Old Boys, 2-2, in their second match. Marco Ceja and Hagan scored for the U.S. In the third and final match, the U-15s took down Uruguay, 2-0, to clinch the title. Alvarez scored his fourth goal of the tournament and Giovanni Reyna added an insurance goal in the second half. Damian Las was in goal for the shutout and made two saves. This was van den Bergh's first tournament in charge of the U-15s and you can't ask for a better debut. Roster via U.S. Soccer: GOALKEEPERS (2): Damian Las (Chicago Magic; Norridge, Ill.), Kashope Oladapo (Portland Timbers; Happy Valley, Ore.) DEFENDERS (8): Axel Alejandre (Chicago Fire North; Chicago, Ill.), Noah Atanda (Bethesda Olney; Olney, Md.), George Bello (Ambush; Douglasville, Ga.), James Crath (Houston Dynamo; Houston, Texas), Max Goeggel (Ballistic United; San Francisco, Calif.), Jake O'Connor (CASL; Cary, N.C.), Peter Stroud (New York Red Bulls; Chester, N.J.), Juan Zuniga (Storm; Bluffton, S.C.) MIDFIELDERS (6): Efrain Alvarez (LA Galaxy; Los Angeles, Calif.), Gianluca Busio (North Carolina Fusion; Greensboro, N.C.), Gilbert Fuentes (Ballistic United; Tracy, Calif.), Cade Hagan (LA Galaxy; Naperville, Ill.), Jack Imperato (De Anza Force; San Jose, Calif.), Mikey Maunsell (Oakwood; Oxford, Conn.) FORWARDS (4): Marco Ceja (Central CA Aztecs; Bakersfield, Calif.), Julian Gaines (Lonestar Soccer Club; Austin, Texas), Kanoa Kelii (Maui United; Waianae, Hawaii), Giovanni Reyna (NYCFC; Bedford, N.Y.)Just two days ago, Colorado’s demon-hunting gay-exorcising state Rep. Gordon “Dr. Chaps” Klingenschmitt had his seat on House Health, Insurance and Environment Committee restored after having been stripped of it last month amid the controversy stemming from his statement that a brutal attack on a pregnant woman in the state was due to the “curse of God upon America” for legal abortion. Klingenschmitt eventually apologized for his remarks, suspended his daily television program, played the victim by lashing out at the media, and then generally kept his head down in the ensuing weeks in an effort to simply wait out the controversy. And now that it seems to have passed, Klingenschmitt held a town hall meeting last night to triumphantly announce that he is now running for a seat in the state Senate: What was billed as a town hall meeting turned into a half-hour tease for Rep. Gordon Klingenschmitt’s announcement that he plans to run for a state Senate seat. Klingenschmitt, R-Colorado Springs, went through a list of his accomplishments in the state Legislature Wednesday at the Airplane Restaurant. He also discussed his attempts to “fight for Republican principles” that didn’t make it through the Democrat-controlled House. He took a small handful of questions limited to constituents in House District 15, teasing his “plans for 2016” along the way, before announcing he plans to run for Senate District 12. The seat is held by Senate President Bill Cadman, who will reach his term limit in 2016. KRDO NewsChannel 13 captured video of Klingenschmitt’s announcement:Updated 7.50pm THE ASSOCIATION OF Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI) has won a European case, which will see the rules in relation to trade union rights for members of An Garda Síochána being changed. In June 2012, the AGSI lodged a complaint through the European Confederation of Police (EuroCOP) against Ireland’s implementation of the European Social Charter. The complaint alleged that it, and other police associations, did not enjoy full trade union rights in Ireland and that Articles 5, the right to organise, Article 6, the right to bargain collectively and Article 21, the right to information and consultation of the European Social Charter were violated as a result. A 42-page decision from the adjudicating body, the European Committee of Social Rights, which is binding, sets out the framework for such a decision, and one that applies to all members of An Garda Síochána. AGSI General Secretary, John Redmond who pursued the complaint on behalf of AGSI described the decision as, “a defining moment in our history and a significant decision for our future.” He said that while the AGSI hoped not to use its right to strike, they were urging the state to set up mechanisms to allow them access the Labour Relations Commission. The Association hopes that it will never have to resort to using its newly acquired ‘right to strike’ in pursuit of the rights and entitlements of the Sergeants and Inspectors we represent and we now urge the Government to work quickly to agree mechanisms which will give AGSI access to the Labour Relations Commission and the Labour Court. First published 6.45amAssociated Press TORRANCE — From a baby tiger cub to monitor lizards and a macaw, authorities have seized dozens of animals and filed charges against 16 people as part of what they say is the largest wildlife trafficking sweep in Southern California. Federal authorities call the sweep “Operation Jungle Book” and say it’s an effort to combat a growing illegal market for exotic animals that threatens the survival of species. “An insatiable desire to own examples — both living and dead — of these vulnerable creatures is fueling this black market,” Acting U.S. Attorney Sandra R. Brown said in a statement. Among the animals seized are king cobras, turtles, fish and a Bengal tiger cub that a California man said he bought on the streets of Tijuana, Mexico, for $300. Luis Eudoro Valencia has pleaded not guilty to smuggling the kitten into the U.S. after border officials found the cub lying on the passenger-side floor of his car in August. If convicted, Valencia faces up to 20 years in prison. The cub now lives at the San Diego Zoo. Among other pending cases are those of a man who is accused of using Facebook to illegally sell feathers from protected migratory birds and bald eagles, and three people alleged to have traded in protected live corals. “Wildlife trafficking does not stop at international borders, and it is our duty to protect imperiled species both at home and abroad,” said Ed Grace, acting chief of law enforcement for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.Tweet Russ has this excellent essay in today’s Wall Street Journal. Here are the final three paragraphs: If economics is a science, it is more like biology than physics. Biologists try to understand the relationships in a complex system. That’s hard enough. But they can’t tell you what will happen with any precision to the population of a particular species of frog if rainfall goes up this year in a particular rain forest. They might not even be able to count the number of frogs right now with any exactness. We have the same problems in economics. The economy is a complex system, our data are imperfect and our models inevitably fail to account for all the interactions. The bottom line is that we should expect less of economists. Economics is a powerful tool, a lens for organizing one’s thinking about the complexity of the world around us. That should be enough. We should be honest about what we know, what we don’t know and what we may never know. Admitting that publicly is the first step toward respectability.A car is seen driving through the ash from the volcano eruption under the Eyjafjallajokull glacier in Iceland, April 16, 2010. The volcano erupted for the second time in less than a month, melting ice, shooting smoke and steam into the air. Flights around the world have been canceled and passengers stranded as the ash cloud from the volcano affected operations at some of the world's busiest airports. (AP Photo/Omar Oskarsson) A woman reads a newspaper with the headline "Volcano alert" as she waits for the resumption of air travel on April 16, 2010 at the airport in Erfurt, eastern Germany. Air travel was disrupted all over Europe as a high-altitude cloud of volcanic ash from Iceland spread further over Europe. (JENS-ULRICH KOCH/AFP/Getty Images) Ground staff secure a plastic cover on the engines of an aircraft at Belfast City Airport in Northern Ireland, on April 16, 2010. Thousands more flights were cancelled around the world Friday as a cloud of volcanic ash from Iceland kept airspace across northern Europe closed, inflicting a second day of travel misery on passengers. (PETER MUHLY/AFP/Getty Images) Passengers gather in front of flight information screens at Roissy Charles de Gaulle Airport, Paris, as hundreds of commercial flights across northern Europe are canceled by a drifting plume of volcanic ash originating from Iceland, April 16, 2010. The Icelandic volcano that erupted Wednesday has sent an enormous cloud of microscopic ash particles across northern Europe, grounding aircraft across the continent. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena) Passengers rest in the departure hall of Copenhagen Airport, April 16, 2010 as the Danish airspace will remains closed until at least 2:00 am (0000 GMT) on April 17, 2010 due to ash from a volcano eruption in Iceland. (NILS MEILVANG/AFP/Getty Images) Italian tourists rest in the departure hall of Prague's Ruzyne airport on April 16, 2010 as flights were cancelled due to ash from a volcano eruption in Iceland. A huge cloud of volcanic ash from Iceland cast a growing shadow over Europe on Friday, grounding thousands more flights in the continent's biggest air travel shutdown since World War II. (MICHAL CIZEK/AFP/Getty Images) A flight information board indicates cancelled flights in a terminal at the Charles-de-Gaulle airport in Roissy, outside Paris, April 16, 2010 due to the ash cloud caused by an Icelandic volcano that turned northern Europe into a no-fly zone. (REUTERS/Benoit Tessier) Passengers stand in a queue to rebook their cancelled flights at the Pablo Ruiz Picasso Airport in Malaga, southern Spain, April 15, 2010. The European air safety organization said the disruption, the biggest seen in the region, could last another two days and a leading volcano expert said the ash could present intermittent problems to air traffic for six months if the eruption continued. REUTERS/Jon Nazca Stranded passengers soak up the sun in a solarium adjacent to the departures area of the Son Sant Joan Airport in Palma de Mallorca on the island of Mallorca, Spain, April 16, 2010. A huge ash cloud from an Icelandic volcano spread out across Europe on Friday causing air travel chaos on a scale not seen since the September 11 attacks. About 17,000 flights were expected to be cancelled on Friday due to the dangers posed for a second day by volcanic ash from Iceland, aviation officials said. (REUTERS/Enrique Calvo) A child using a laptop sits on a camp bed, provided by airport operator Fraport, at Frankfurt airport April 16, 2010. Due to a huge ash cloud from an Icelandic volcano, that caused air travel chaos across Europe, passengers in Frankfurt were left stranded and forced to stay overnight. (REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski) Travellers wait at the closed international Airport in Duesseldorf, Germany, April 16, 2010. Most countries in northern Europe suspended their air traffic due to ash clouds from the volcanic eruption in Iceland. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner) People wait for information in the departure hall of Sofia airport on April 16, 2010 as flights were cancelled due to ash from a volcano eruption in Iceland. Out of a total 91 incoming flights, only nine aircraft from Bucharest, Moscow, Munich, Rome, Tel Aviv and Vienna had landed during the course of the morning.(NIKOLAY DOYCHINOV/AFP/Getty Images) Passengers crowd the platform as a train arrives in Hamburg, Germany, April 16, 2010. Many travellers are trying to take the train as alternative for their cancelled flights. Flights at Frankfurt airport, the biggest in Germany, were halted indefinitely as a high-altitude cloud of volcanic ash from Iceland spread further over Europe. (PHILIPP GUELLAND/AFP/Getty Images) Passengers wait in the departure hall at the Vienna airport April 16, 2010, after a huge ash cloud from an Icelandic volcano spread out across Europe causing air travel chaos on a scale not seen since the September 11 attacks. About 17,000 flights were expected to be cancelled on Friday due to the dangers posed for a second day by volcanic ash from Iceland. (REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader) A Finnair aircraft is grounded at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport in Vantaa on April 16, 2010. Finland grounded all flights due to ash from an Icelandic volcano eruption, and will not permit any commercial flights until until 3:00 pm (1200 GMT) on April 18 at the earliest. (ANTTI AIMO-KOIVISTO/AFP/Getty Images) A passenger sleeps as she waits for the resumption of air travel in Frankfurt, Germany. Flights at Frankfurt airport, the biggest in Germany, were halted indefinitely as a high-altitude cloud of volcanic ash from Iceland spread further over Europe. (TORSTEN SILZ/AFP/Getty Images) A plume of volcanic ash rises into the atmosphere from a crater under about 656 feet (200 metres) of ice at the Eyjafjallajokull glacier in southern Iceland. A huge ash cloud from the Icelandic volcano turned the skies of northern Europe into a no-fly zone on Thursday, stranding hundreds of thousands of passengers. Picture taken April 14, 2010. REUTERS/Olafur Eggertsson This picture taken March 27, 2010 shows lava spurting out of the site of a volcanic eruption at the Fimmvorduhals volcano near the Eyjafjallajokull glacier some 125 Kms east of Reykjakik. With lava still gushing, a small Icelandic volcano that initially sent hundreds fleeing from their homes is turning into a boon for the island nation's tourism industry, as visitors flock to catch a glimpse of the eruption. (HALLDOR KOLBEINS/AFP/Getty Images) Lava spews out of a volcano in the region of the Eyjafjallajoekull glacier in southern Iceland, on March 21, 2010. The small volcano eruption that forced more than 600 people to flee their homes in Iceland over the weekend could conceivably set off a larger volcano, experts warned. (Fior Kjartansson/AFP/Getty Images) An aerial handout photo from the Icelandic Coast Guard shows a plume of steam rising 22,000 feet (6700 meters) from a crater under about 656 feet (200 metres) of ice at the Eyjafjallajokull glacier in southern Iceland. REUTERS/Icelandic Coast Guard/Arni Saeberg/Handout A plume of volcanic ash rises six to 11 kilometres into the atmosphere, from a crater under about 200 metres of ice at the Eyjafjallajokull glacier in southern Iceland April 14, 2010. REUTERS/Jon Gustafsson A Meteosat photo shows a dark cloud of volcanic ash spreading over Iceland. A volcanic eruption in Iceland fired ash across northern Europe forcing the closure of huge swathes of international airspace on Thursday which grounded hundreds of flights. The eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in southeast Iceland had already melted part of a surrounded glacier causing severe floods. (April 15, 2010) (HANDOUT/AFP/Getty Images) Tourists gather to watch lava spurt out of the site of a volcanic eruption at the Fimmvorduhals volcano near the Eyjafjallajokull glacier some 125 Kms east of Reykjakik on March 27, 2010. Up to 800 people were evacuated in Iceland early on April 14, 2010 due to the volcanic eruption under the Eyjafjallajokull glacier in the south of the island, police and geophysicists said. (HALLDOR KOLBEINS/AFP/Getty Images) An aerial handout photo from the Icelandic Coast Guard shows flood caused by a volcanic eruption at Eyjafjalla Glacier in southern Iceland April 14, 2010. The volcanic eruption on Wednesday partially melted a glacier, setting off a major flood that threatened to damage roads and bridges and forcing hundreds to evacuate from a thinly populated area. (REUTERS/Icelandic Coast Guard/Arni Saeberg) This April 14, 2010 image taken by the Icelandic Coastguard, shows floodwaters rising after the volcano under the Eyjafjallajokull glacier in Iceland erupted for the second time in less than a month, melting ice, shooting smoke and steam into the air and forcing hundreds of people to flee rising floodwaters. Authorities evacuated 800 residents from around the glacier as rivers rose by up to 10 feet. Emergency officials and scientists said the eruption under the ice cap was 10 to 20 times more powerful than one last month, and carried a much greater risk of widespread flooding. (AP Photo/Icelandic Coastguard) This NASA handout photo released on April 15, 2010 shows an image captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite of a natural-color image. A volcanic plume blows from Eyjafjallajˆkull Volcano in southern Iceland toward the east-southeast. The plume blows past the Faroe Islands and arcs slightly toward the north near the Shetland Islands. The plume’s tan hue indicates a fairly high ash content. Eyjafjallajˆkull (or Eyjafjˆll) is a stratovolcano composed of alternating layers of ash, lava, and rocks ejected by earlier eruptions. The huge cloud of ash from an Icelandic volcano drifted over northern Europe on Thursday, forcing the closure of vast swathes of international airspace and the cancellation of hundreds of flights. HO/AFP/Getty Images Inbound flight cancellations at Manchester airport are posted beside a notice of explanation that the disruptions are due to volcanic ash from Iceland. All London flights, including those from Heathrow, are suspended from 1100 GMT Thursday due to volcanic ash from Iceland that has already caused almost 300 cancellations, officials said. (ANDREW YATES/AFP/Getty Images) A passenger gestures as other passengers wait in check-in queues following the cancellation of flights, at Faro airport in Portugal April 15, 2010. Dozens of flights from Faro airport on the Portuguese tourist resort province of Algarve to northern Europe were cancelled due to a volcanic eruption in Iceland, which has thrown up a 6 km (3.7 mile) high cloud of ash and disrupted air traffic in northern Europe. (REUTERS/Carlos Brito) Airline passengers sit on the floor while awaiting information about flight cancellations in Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport, west of London on April 15, 2010. No flights will be allowed into British airspace from 1100 GMT until at least 1700 GMT Thursday due to an ash cloud from a volcanic eruption in Iceland, air traffic control services announced. (ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP/Getty Images) A glow appears on the skyline on March 21, 2010 in the region of the Eyjafjallajoekull glacier in Iceland. A volcano in the area of the Eyjafallajoekull glacier in southern Iceland erupted early Sunday, forcing more than 500 people in its vicinity to evacuate their homes. (HALLDOR KOLBEINS/AFP/Getty Images)Samsung has discussed a deal with a payments startup that would help the smartphone maker unveil a wireless mobile payments system in 2015 to rival Apple, according to multiple sources. The technology would allow people with certain Samsung phones to pay in the vast majority of brick-and-mortar stores by waving their phones instead of swiping with a credit card or cash. Samsung’s new smartphone is expected to be announced in the first half of 2015. It is not yet clear if Samsung has reached a deal with the startup, Burlington, Mass.-based LoopPay. One source said the deal could still fall apart. A prototype of the payments system working on a Samsung phone has been created, the other source said. A Samsung spokesman and LoopPay CEO Will Graylin declined to comment. The talks between Samsung and LoopPay come as the idea of paying for goods in stores using a phone was rekindled in the U.S. thanks to the launch of Apple Pay. In September, Apple unveiled its payments system, which lets owners of the newest iPhones pay for items in stores by placing their phone in close proximity to checkout equipment. Apple Pay users complete the purchase through an authentication process that involves pressing one’s finger against the fingerprint identification sensor built into the phone’s Home button. Samsung’s latest Galaxy phone also includes fingerprint identification technology, which would likely be incorporated into the new payments system, sources said. The technology can currently be used in conjunction with PayPal’s app to pay with a phone at stores that accept PayPal. Samsung could be interested in creating its own payments system because it believes such a technology will become table stakes in its battle with Apple. For LoopPay, a Samsung licensing agreement would go a long way toward giving its technology the mainstream credibility it so far lacks. LoopPay’s technology can wirelessly transmit the same information stored on a debit or credit card’s magnetic stripe to a store’s checkout equipment without swiping a card. The company has embedded the technology, which it calls magnetic secure transmission, into a few hardware products it sells directly to consumers: A fob, as well as a LoopPay digital payment card that can be used on its own or while secured in a special LoopPay smartphone case. To complete a purchase, LoopPay users tap any of these devices near the spot on a store’s credit card terminal where a card is usually swiped. Since the technology mimics a card swipe, it works in far more locations than Apple Pay or Google Wallet, which require a store to upgrade to equipment that includes a technology called near field communication, or NFC. When Re/code’s Walt Mossberg reviewed LoopPay earlier this year, it worked at 10 of the 13 stores he visited. Graylin, LoopPay’s CEO, told Re/code earlier this month that his company’s technology would be embedded into a mainstream smartphone in 2015 that would have “massive penetration.” He declined to name the phone maker then, and declined again when asked about the Samsung discussions. He also said the partnership with the unspecified phone maker would allow payment information to be transmitted to the merchant via NFC technology in addition to via LoopPay’s traditional magnetic stripe-mimicking technology. Users would not have to open up an app to transmit their payment, he added. The inclusion of NFC could be important to LoopPay’s future as retail stores begin to update their checkout equipment to accept a new type of payment card that is inserted into a card reader instead of swiped. This upgraded equipment also often includes NFC technology. Merchants who install this equipment will still be able to accept magnetic stripe cards, but swiping is expected to be phased out over time as card issuers and merchants alike begin to favor the new chip-embedded cards that are already common in Europe and less susceptible to cloning. Graylin said his company has been in discussions with financial services companies such as Visa, which is an investor in LoopPay, about finding a more secure way to pass payment data from one of its devices, or a phone, to a store’s checkout system. LoopPay hopes to use a system known as tokenization, which substitutes a shopper’s card information with a unique placeholder, to accomplish this. The token is later matched up with a specific credit card account by a card network or bank. A merchant never receives or stores the actual payment information. Apple Pay utilizes tokenization when passing information from a new iPhone to a store’s checkout system.Nine of 24 North Korean defectors who were arrested in China are being taken to Tumen along the North Korea-China border, suggesting they are about to be repatriated, Liberty Forward Party lawmaker Park Sun-young said Thursday. Park added the 15 others in Shenyang and Changchun are also about to be sent back to the North on Saturday. According to Park, the 24 were arrested in three groups -- 10 and nine arrested on Feb. 8, and five two days later. Chinese and North Korean security officials met twice on Sunday and Monday to discuss how to deal with them and agreed to send them back, she said. The 10 were caught at a bus terminal in Shenyang, and South Korean aid groups faxed an urgent plea to South Korea's National Human Rights Commission asking for help on their behalf. Different South Korean activist groups supporting defectors have given conflicting numbers for defectors facing repatriation, and there is also confusion over their exact whereabouts. The government recently asked Beijing whether it is holding North Korean defectors or not, but China has apparently not responded so far.LOS ANGELES -- Two of the largest associations of criminal defense attorneys in California are calling for an independent investigation into the beleaguered Orange County District Attorney's Office, following accusations that an investigator from the office beat up a local defense lawyer last week. The full story about that altercation is not yet public. But "one thing is clear: the brutal, bloody beating of [attorney James] Crawford by a law enforcement officer must be condemned and further calls into question the integrity of the Orange County District Attorney's Office and the Orange County Sheriff's Department," said Michael Ogul, president of California Public Defenders Association, in a statement Monday. Ogul's group also renewed its call for a U.S. Department of Justice investigation into the DA's office over allegations of misconduct stemming from the county's jailhouse informant program -- an unfolding scandal that has been roiling the local criminal justice system since 2014. Matthew Guerrero, president of California Attorneys for Criminal Justice, repeated his group's call for a "thorough, independent" investigation into the courthouse altercation in a statement Tuesday. Declaring that his organization will not stand by in "silence," Guerrero pledged that it will be making a public records request for evidence in the case, including any video. Last week, Crawford alleged that he was beaten by Dillon Alley, an investigator with the DA's office, following a heated argument inside a courtroom. His attorney, Jerry Steering, told HuffPost that the disagreement escalated into violence after Crawford mentioned the jailhouse informant scandal. As Crawford exited the courtroom, said Steering, the investigator jumped him from behind and began "bashing his brains out" on a bench in the hallway and "punching his lights out." Steering said police finally pulled the investigator off Crawford. But no arrests were made. And Alley was not immediately put on administrative leave. Alley's attorney, Paul Meyer, told the Los Angeles Times that his client was also injured in the incident, but would not say how specifically. This [altercation] is just another symptom of that larger malady: an office that may need outside monitoring, including possible federal oversight. Daniel Medwed, a law professor at Northeastern University Almost immediately after the news broke, Tom Dominguez, president of the Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs, said in a statement that Crawford's "one-sided version" of events was false and that the defense attorney was trying to "drum up a payday." For their part, the criminal defense groups said that law enforcement's response to the incident has been woefully inadequate. They also condemned Dominguez's rush to defend the investigator when all the facts weren't yet available, with Guerrero calling his statement "disgraceful." Guerrero criticized law enforcement for "circling the wagons" and for not being transparent about the incident. "[O]ne might reasonably wonder how the Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs could certify that Mr. Crawford's'version' is 'not true' before the Sheriff's Department has completed their investigation," Ogul said. Ogul and Guerrero both lambasted the DA's office for failing to express any criticism of its investigator or make any denunciation of the violence generally. "Indeed, so far as we can tell, the District Attorney has taken no employment action whatsoever against Mr. Alley," Ogul continued, "not even merely placing him on administrative leave during the investigation." The DA's office said that all information about the incident must be reviewed before any action can be taken against the investigator. Lt. Mark Stichter, spokesman for the Orange County Sheriff's Department, told HuffPost that all facts and information in the investigation have now been turned over to the California state attorney general's office. A Change.org petition calling for the arrest and prosecution of Alley has received more than 1,000 signatures since it began circulating at the end of last week. Nick Ut/Associated Press The office of Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas is coming under increased scrutiny. The DA's office was already facing tremendous scrutiny over allegations that it illegally withheld evidence gleaned through a formerly secret jailhouse informant program and thereby violated the rights of multiple defendants. Fallout from the snitch scandal has derailed multiple murder cases, with some accused murderers even walking free. Crawford himself won a new trial for client Henry Rodriguez last month when a judge ruled that county prosecutors had hidden jailhouse informant evidence in the double-mur
seek bail for his client pending an appeal of tonight's decision. The prosecution had argued Patel was criminally negligent in operating on all three men, who later died. Patel was also charged with causing grievous bodily harm to 62-year-old Ian Vowles while a surgeon at Bundaberg Hospital. His defence claimed Patel had always acted in the best interests of his patients, who had consented to the operations. But prosecutor Ross Martin, who characterised Patel as a "bad surgeon motivated by ego and suffering from lack of insight", urged the jury to return guilty verdicts on all charges. He told the jury the trial was about "judgments" and that Patel's negligence extended to his poor decisions about when to operate, and his choices about appropriate post-operative care. In summing up last Wednesday, Justice John Byrne reminded the jury that Mr Martin neatly summarised the crown's allegations when he said: "Over 19 to 20 months there had been poor decision-making, misdiagnosis, performing surgery on patients who could not withstand it, performing surgery at the wrong hospital and the removal of healthy organs". However, Patel's defence team had urged the jury to find Patel not guilty, saying he always acted in the best interests of his patients. Defence barrister Michael Byrne, QC, told the jury much of the evidence presented by the crown during the marathon trial had been fuelled by "a great deal of second-guessing and use of hindsight". "With hindsight it may have been the wrong call [to operate on Mr Kemps] but that does not make the decision criminally negligent," Mr Byrne said. Justice Byrne warned the jury against using the benefit of hindsight in making their judgment about whether or not Patel was criminally negligent in proceeding with the operations. Long-running case Patel arrived in the sugar town of Bundaberg in early 2003 and began work as a surgeon at the Bundaberg Base Hospital. The controversy surrounding him flared when the Member for Burnett, Rob Messenger, raised concerns about his competence in State Parliament in 2005. Mr Messenger had been told about the concerns by senior nurse Toni Hoffman at the hospital. In April that year Patel resigned and left the country to return to Portland in the United States. Intense media scrutiny began after it was revealed the 60-year-old had been banned from performing some surgery in the United States because of negligence. As the public pressure mounted, the State Government, led by former premier Peter Beattie, announced an inquiry to be headed by Tony Morris QC. That inquiry was axed in September 2005 after the Supreme Court ruled Commissioner Morris showed ostensible bias. A second inquiry headed by former Court of Appeal Judge Geoff Davies AO then began. In November 2006 warrants were issued for Patel's arrest on 16 charges including manslaughter, grievous bodily harm and fraud. Extradition proceedings began in 2007 and Patel arrived back in Brisbane in July 2008. He faced a committal hearing in the Brisbane Magistrates Court in February 2009 and was committed to stand trial on 13 charges including three counts of manslaughter. His Supreme Court trial began in Brisbane in March 2010 and has become one of the longest Supreme Court criminal trials in Queensland's history. - ABC/AAP Topics: courts-and-trials, health, doctors-and-medical-professionals, law-crime-and-justice, bundaberg-4670, australia, qld, brisbane-4000 First postedThese days, any musician with a laptop and a microphone can record pretty much anything they want, but back in the good old days, you actually had to enter a recording studio and purchase expensive reel-to-reel tape if you wanted to make the magic happen -- even if you were part of a band that disregarded the rules as often as the Rolling Stones. As proof, here's an invoice from the December 1969 sessions that produced three of the songs on the Stones' classic 1971 'Sticky Fingers' LP, requiring payment of just over $1,000 in return for several reels of tape and more than 13 hours of studio time. As Dangerous Minds notes, the sessions in question were some of the first to take place at the now-legendary Muscle Shoals Sound Studios in Sheffield, Ala., which went on to host a lengthy list of famous artists, including Paul Simon, Rod Stewart, Bob Seger and Lynyrd Skynyrd. Though the Stones weren't at Muscle Shoals for very long, the time they spent there was certainly fruitful; the band walked away with the future hits 'Wild Horses' and 'Brown Sugar,' as well as a cover of the traditional song 'You Gotta Move.' As the Dangerous Minds article points out (and the photo of the invoice reinforces), this session arrived at the tail end of the band's association with manager Allen Klein, who'd soon find himself out of a job -- but in an infamous bit of tricky dealing, he walked away with the copyrights to the Stones' entire '60s output as well as a partial claim to 'Wild Horses' and 'Brown Sugar.' 'Sticky Fingers' ultimately ended up being an album of firsts for the Stones; in addition to marking their departure from Klein's camp and the Decca roster for their own Rolling Stones Records, it also served as the full-length debut for guitarist Mick Taylor, who'd replaced Brian Jones. You can check out other photos from the band's time at Muscle Shoals at this link.0 of 10 Mark Blinch/Getty Images Starters can take you far in the NBA, but they can't do everything. For proof, look no further than the league leaders in minutes played per game. Giannis Antetokounmpo and LeBron James are both riding the bench for 10.5 and 10.7 minutes, resepctively, during the average contest, while Paul George (10.9) and Damian Lillard (11.0) fall just behind. That's a significant chunk of the action for which those stars aren't available, and most normal players don't come close to logging that type of volume. Benches matter. They can squander leads earned by the starters, or they can keep producing and give substantial boosts to the players on the floor for the opening tip. It's the latter bunches with whom we're concerned today. To determine the league's best benches, we're turning to a simple calculation. Take the net rating earned by each bench and multiply it by the minutes they've spent on the floor, as determined by NBA.com. That accounts for both volume and efficiency, allowing the cream of the crop to rise to the top through exaggerated run or remarkable per-possession prowess.By George Friedman Editor’s note: This week, in light of the Republican withdrawal of a bill that would have repealed and replaced the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), we are republishing George Friedman’s piece from Dec. 16, 2016 about the constraints on the power of Trump’s administration. In that piece, George talked about how weak the office of the U.S. president is in general and how weak Trump will be as a president in particular. This past week’s legislative setbacks for the Trump administration are foreseen by this Dec. 16 piece. In addition, its insights are not just relevant for explaining the significance of that defeat. The piece describes the broader challenge Trump will be facing throughout the course of his presidency. Donald Trump’s presidency will have geopolitical consequences. Most of the world wants to know what he will do. But that depends on what he can do. That, in turn, will be determined by the political dynamics within the United States as well as by counteractions of other nations. This is a case where politics rises to the level of geopolitics. Trump’s actions will be conditioned by the actions of other players, particularly in Congress. Trump, after all, will only be the president and his unilateral powers will be limited. For most of the things he wants to do, he needs Congress to go along. Therefore, the American stance toward the world will depend, for the moment, less on what Trump wishes than what Congress decides to do. Trump has presented himself as a transformative leader, confronting a crisis in the U.S. with a radical new approach, both in policy and in political culture. Many presidents present themselves as transformative, but few are. In the 20th century, two were genuinely transformative. One was Franklin D. Roosevelt and the other Ronald Reagan. Both faced problems that the vast majority of Americans knew to be problems. Roosevelt confronted the Great Depression, Reagan the stagflation of the 1970s. Both also confronted significant geopolitical problems. Roosevelt had to deal with the emerging crisis in Europe and Asia, combined with his social and economic concerns. Reagan, in addition to an economic crisis, had to cope with the defeat in Vietnam and the subsequent relative increase of Soviet power. U.S. President Donald Trump, center, Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, left, and Vice President Mike Pence convene in the White House Oval Office after Republicans abruptly pulled a health care bill from the House floor, on March 24, 2017 in Washington, D.C. Olivier Douliery-Pool/Getty Images It was clear that these problems originated in the prior political and economic culture and that being different on multiple levels from the conventional expectations of the past was essential. Roosevelt’s decision to fund massively federal programs for the unemployed generated rage, as they ran completely counter to what was expected from a president. Reagan suffered the same public discontent. Early in his term, air traffic controllers went on strike despite laws banning them from striking. He fired them. Firing striking workers regardless of the law was considered unthinkable. He was vilified for the decision. Walter Lippmann, one of the greatest columnists of the age, said of Roosevelt: “Franklin D. Roosevelt is no crusader. He is no tribune of the people. He is no enemy of entrenched privilege. He is a pleasant man who, without any important qualifications for the office, would very much like to be President.” Roosevelt’s opponent, Herbert Hoover, called him a “chameleon on plaid” and criticized him for his “nonsense … tirades … glittering generalizations … ignorance” and “defamation.” Of Reagan, one commentator said he was “the end product of television politics. … It is a show and he’s a star actor.” Jimmy Carter accused Reagan of injecting racism into the campaign by using “code words like ‘states’ rights.’” It is important to remember the venom in prior campaigns and to recognize the easy dismissal of the new. But Trump has a deeper problem. Roosevelt won about 60 percent of the vote and carried every state but Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Pennsylvania. He blew Hoover away. In 1980, Reagan got 50 percent of the vote against Carter’s 41 percent (John Anderson was in the race and got the rest). Reagan also won every state except Georgia, West Virginia, Minnesota, Maryland, Rhode Island and Hawaii. It was another blowout. Trump intended to be a transformational candidate. His problem was that he did not blow Hillary Clinton out of the water. Where Reagan and Roosevelt had enough muscle to force congressmen in their parties to vote with them, Republicans in Congress haven’t figured out whether they will want Trump’s support in the next election. The narrowness of Trump’s victory is not just an interesting footnote to history. It is a significant handicap to his plans, because while Republicans have a majority in Congress, their main concern isn’t settled. What congressmen and senators want most is to be re-elected. To be re-elected, they need voters’ support. Congressmen are all peering two years in the future, trying to guess whether by then Trump will have developed support that they can use to win, whether he will stay where he is now, or whether his support will deteriorate. If they follow Trump and his support declines, re-election will be difficult in many districts. If Trump increases his popularity, supporting him will be a stroke of genius. This may be regarded as cynicism, or as faithfully representing your constituency, but that is what they are thinking. And this is what foreign governments are considering as well. They are asking themselves whether Trump will be strong enough in Congress to carry out all his initiatives, or whether he will be paralyzed by a hostile Congress and poor political ratings. China, Mexico and Russia – as well as every other country – know that this election is not the end of the struggle, but the beginning. Trump will need to substantially increase his positive ratings to demonstrate to Congress that he is trending upward. After an election, presidents normally have a honeymoon period of a few months, where they are given the benefit of the doubt. Roosevelt and Reagan didn’t need a honeymoon period – their numbers spoke for themselves. If Trump doesn’t get the honeymoon, with some Clinton supporters coming over to his side at least temporarily, this will cause congressmen to carefully evaluate the mood in their districts. They will have to make the difficult decision of whether to oppose Trump, and if they do oppose him, on what issues. Foreign governments will also be evaluating their options. It is not simply being president that makes you powerful, it is the support you have in Congress, and that depends on the support you have in the country. If he had blown away Clinton, he wouldn’t face this problem. Since he didn’t, he does. And that makes Trump’s first 100 days far more important to him than to previous presidents. He needs to demonstrate to his party that he can craft and pass legislation that will increase his popularity. He has to do this while making it clear to his supporters that he is not going to do what previous leaders did and ignore the promises he made during the campaign. This is hard to do. Congressmen and senators who might lose in the next election if they support the measures that are closest to the heart of Trump’s base will resist. And with only a 52-48 majority in the Senate, it will be tough. It is always important to remember that in the American system, presidents have minimal power over senators and congressmen. Their greatest influence comes from popularity they can transfer to candidates from their party – at a price. Trump has another deeper problem. Roosevelt and Reagan faced systemic problems that both hurt deeply and were not debatable. The core issue in the U.S. now is the decline of the middle and lower-middle classes’ purchasing power. The lower-middle class is priced out of homeownership. However, a family with a median income can still afford a modest home. In my opinion, the crisis will not develop fully until those with a median household income are priced out. Many other measures exist, but I am using this one because homeownership is built deeply into our culture. I believe that over the next decade this terminal decline will take place, and at that point a president will be elected with numbers similar to those of Roosevelt and Reagan, powerful enough to take action, with a Congress fearful of angering him. In my view, Trump identified the right problem too early. As a result, he ran a campaign focused on broader issues. But what he didn’t have is the ability to focus laser-like on the fact that the system has crippled half of society. He won those who had been crippled and those who feared being crippled, and it was enough to eke out a victory. Like Barry Goldwater, who made Reagan’s case 16 years too early, Trump has identified the key issue and mobilized a coalition that barely put him in power – the difference being Goldwater got trounced. Trump’s coalition must be satisfied that he is a transformative president. But to do that, he is going to have to deal with Congress and in particular the fears of Republicans about his future, and therefore theirs. The problem that Trump has is that without early victories, later ones will be much harder to come by. Weakness begets weakness. And this most assuredly will affect the international system. Countries around the world will behave very differently depending on if Trump strengthens or weakens. Some want a stronger American president. Israel is an example. Others, most assuredly including Russia, would like a president unable to act, giving them breathing room. The entire world – even beyond Washington, which is its own planet – will be looking at Trump’s first days and the polls that are sure to come. And for Trump, holding his own is not enough given that the election was so close.A view of the Quackenbush Building at 32 Third St., that is the future home of the Tech Valley Center of Gravity building on Monday, July 27, 2015, in Troy, N.Y. (Paul Buckowski / Times Union) A view of the Quackenbush Building at 32 Third St., that is the future home of the Tech Valley Center of Gravity building on Monday, July 27, 2015, in Troy, N.Y. (Paul Buckowski / Times Union) Photo: PAUL BUCKOWSKI Buy photo Photo: PAUL BUCKOWSKI Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close Quackenbush readies for rebirth in downtown Troy 1 / 5 Back to Gallery Troy Work is continuing on renovation of the historic Quackenbush building in downtown Troy into a high-tech workshop and office space. Bill Dunne, the city's commissioner of planning and economic development, said the four-story building on Third Street, which will house the Tech Valley Center of Gravity, will be "transformative'' for the neighborhood. On Monday, workers could be seen at the 55,000-square-foot building scrubbing its rebuilt facade and working on its interior. Developer and building owner David Bryce said work is ongoing and an ribbon-cutting will be announced later. Dunne said the revamped Quackenbush will build on the city's emerging "brand" as a hub for both technology and the arts. "We are being seen as a center for the creative class," he said. Floors are being rewired to carry high-speed Internet connections. Views from the upper floors, which have 10-foot windows of insulated glass, are dramatic and look out on downtown, the Hudson River and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. The anchor tenant will be the Center of Gravity, the region's only "maker space," a modern version of a rental garage, where budding entrepreneurs and artists can use common workshops and tools on individual projects. Currently located in the Uncle Sam Parking Garage, the Center of Gravity will move shortly to occupy about 20,000 square feet in the basement and first floors of the Quackenbush building, up from 5,000 square feet in its current home. Center Chairman Laban Coblentz could not be reached for comment on Monday. The membership-driven organization allows participants to pool resources to acquire and use sophisticated or expensive equipment — such as lathes, drill presses and other machine tools — that individually might be difficult to afford. Other gear includes digital fabrication machines, 3-D printers, laser and plasma cutters, welders and even several sewing machines. bnearing@timesunion.com • 518-454-5094 • @Bnearing10As the administration and members of Congress debate the path to fiscal sustainability, my colleagues and I at CBPP have consistently stressed the importance of a balanced plan that combines both spending cuts and revenue increases. Sounds fair…reasonable…right? But mention “revenues” in this town and you trigger the attack of the NASTIE’s (Never-A-Stinkin’-Tax-Increase-Ever!). Their typical argument is that any increase in tax rates will do irreparable harm to the economy by killing peoples’ incentives to work and invest. It’s an old argument, prominent in the Reagan years, when the tradition of tax cuts leading not to unbridled growth but to large budget deficits got started. But it was most fully developed in the GW Bush years, when it led to tax cuts that helped to turn a budget surplus into the persistent deficits that dominate the fiscal scene today. OK, so tax cuts don’t magically balance budgets. But do they boost growth and jobs? Um…no. As my colleague Chad Stone shows here in comparing the 1990s (Clinton’s tax increase) and the 2000s (Bush’s cuts), the opposite is true. I think those two decades make for an excellent natural experiment, but you may be thinking “Wait a minute, that’s just two time periods.” The scatterplot below plots the top marginal tax rates on the x-axis against real GDP growth on the y-axis. Only the nastiest of NASTIE’s could stare at that picture long enough to see anything non-random. Sources: Tax Policy Center, BEA [In fact, if you run a regression you actually get a significant and positive coefficient, suggesting higher marginal rates are correlated with higher growth rates. But don’t get excited. That result is driven largely by the three dots in the upper right hand quadrant when, during the war effort, government goosed the economy and high rates helped pay the freight (see table). (Imagine that—asking high-income households to pay more for the war, as opposed to asking them to pay a lot less. What were they thinking back then?) Highest Tax Rate Real GDP Growth 1941 0.81 17% 1942 0.88 18% 1943 0.88 16% Sources: Tax Policy Center, BEA] What’s that? You want more. How about the same graph re unemployment? Again, if anything, there’s a drift to the lower right of the chart, suggesting higher rates correlate with lower unemployment. Sources: Tax Policy Center, BLS To be clear, this is “blogometrics” not econometrics, i.e., the economy over these many years has vastly different moving parts, there are timing lags, causation issues (recall war point above; also if policy makers lower taxes when growth is weak, as in the Recovery Act, you’ll get patterns like the above), Federal Reserve policies that can amplify or counteract tax effects, the tax system is way more complex than can be captured with just the top rate. And no question, it is of course the case that big tax increases could derail growth, though that’s not what anybody’s talking about (President Obama’s proposal to allow the highend Bush cuts to sunset would still leave taxes lower than in Clinton years). In fact, the economic impact of tax changes is an important area of inquiry and the simple evidence I’ve presented here is not at all intended to be the last word. But that said, the point is this: the historical record is extremely hostile to the NASTIE’s. Based on that record, if they continue to insist that revenues must stay off the table in the budget negotiations, they need to find another reasons than growth or jobs.A Labour leadership election is the time for a contest of ideas – for competing visions of the future of the left. So, on the day Jeremy Corbyn launches his bid for re-election, let’s hope that both candidates seek to... A Labour leadership election is the time for a contest of ideas – for competing visions of the future of the left. So, on the day Jeremy Corbyn launches his bid for re-election, let’s hope that both candidates seek to tell a story about how the left should change to face the 2020s. In April, the Fabian Society published Future Left, a collection of essays which sought to do just that. Each contribution analysed key trends which the left must respond to, and set out a fresh path for social democrats in the next decade. In my chapter, I sought to wrap the ideas together, with these brief notes on the shape of a future left. We hope they will be a source of inspiration for the two leadership campaigns… 1. A new mixed economy The left needs to revive the spirit of economic activism which pervaded post-war Britain, but without the baggage of nationalised industries and national plans. The task for the 2020s is not to recreate Keynes’ version of the planned economy, but to build a new model of a mixed market, shaped by enterprise, competition and government action, designed for the global, digital age. Government leadership and fair, open markets must be the twin pillars of productivity growth and broad-based prosperity. The government must again be an economic leader, in the way that was unremarkable in post-war Britain and is unremarkable today in so many other European economies. Leadership and coordination: use investment, regulation and market signals to steer the economy in pursuit of long-term goals, above all decarbonisation; create government-industry partnerships to reshape sectors, jobs and skills; target full employment and asset price stability with monetary and fiscal policy. Investment and capacity: significantly increase public investment on infrastructure, development and innovation, in ways that crowd-in private spending; promote new public, mutual or non-profit players in failing markets like housebuilding or energy to boost capacity and change behaviours. Risk and economic power: use regulation to challenge the market power of dominant incumbents; initiate new opportunities for worker and consumer collectivism to redress imbalances in economic power and spread ownership and responsibility; re-create ways to share economic risks, from collective pensions to job creation programmes. 2. Update the welfare state Thanks to successive generations of social democrats, the welfare state of Beveridge and Bevan still stands to this day. But it needs updating for new risks, needs and expectations. The left in the 2020s must set out to recreate what Beveridge called ‘social insurance’ for the modern world we face. Its goal must be to match need and spending power, over the course of our lives, with entitlements derived from past and future contributions. Since the turn of the century good progress has been made on reforming pensions and only incremental improvement will be needed in the 2020s. But we are failing to respond to other changing needs, especially the nature of today’s ill-health, housing need and the economic vulnerabilities of modern working life. Meeting health-related needs: integrate health, care and disability support, in a way that maximises personal control; secure consent for higher public spending, by creating earmarked ‘health taxes’; robustly regulate and ‘nudge’ to improve the nation’s health. Financial support before pension age: commission a new Beveridge plan for working-age protection that reflects modern economic risks; introduce extra tiers of contribution-based benefits and personal accounts; consider how to merge tax reliefs and universal credit into a single system of financial support. Affordable housing: drive a massive increase in housebuilding, in sustainable, mixed communities, by increasing land supply and construction capacity; promote large-scale borrowing for social housebuilding, through gilts or special ‘housing bonds’, secured against future rents and housing benefit savings. 3. Equality and freedom The hallmark of the left should be a radical egalitarianism of human capital, substantive freedom and social connection. The advance of equality and practical freedom is not just a narrow question of income distribution through the labour market, tax and benefits. In the 2020s we need new strategies to tackle reduce inequalities of opportunity, wealth and power. Life chances and education: support stronger relationships and parenting, including more time with children, especially for fathers; demand world-class teaching, facilities and curriculum for the bottom third, so no child is set up to fail; focus support in teenage years on ambition, emotional wellbeing and cultural capital; create credible skills and work pathways for every young person aged between 18 to 24. Equalising wealth: create nudges and subsidies for low and middle earners to save and build assets, especially younger generations; reform financial and monetary policy to target stable house prices with the aim of reversing the decline in homeownership; significantly increase the taxation of land, assets and large pension savings; develop ideas for UK sovereign wealth funds. Power, status and participation: spread people power within public services, including personal control and collective leadership; increase participation and power for employees in more collaborative workplaces; broaden and deepen institutions of local civil and political participation. 4. The politics of identity Politics is out of touch with people’s lives, as the EU referendum proved. Trust in politicians is declining, and the distance between elector and elected is widening. A new politics of identity must again nurture and cherish solidarity and collectivism in people’s everyday lives. Many people sense that the moral intuitions of social democrats are not the same as theirs, with the left too dismissive of people’s anxieties and aspirations with respect to security, tradition and the non-material dimensions of life. We must not sacrifice our old values, but we do need a new confidence to talk about family, patriotism and immigration. Politics: demand fundamental organisational and cultural change within political parties, so they speak with conviction, and work alongside communities and civic society; embrace an approach to politics focused on institutions and communities not policy levers; investigate reforms to democratic institutions to bring politicians closer to people’s lives. Place: adopt radical and coherent devolution of money, responsibility and democracy to cities and counties with a strong sense of community; lead debates with confidence on English identity and be open-minded about future England-wide and regional governance; consider how the UK might evolve into a more federal nation state. Immigration: make credible promises on managed migration, including lower annual immigration than today; work with employers to make them less dependent on migrant labour and exploitative employment relationships; take a tough approach to integration, focused on the responsibilities of newcomers. This is a revised and abridged version of ‘The spirit of revisionism’, by Andrew Harrop, the introductory chapter to Future Left: can the left respond to a changing society? edited by Andrew Harrop and Ed Wallis.Noah Richler has a habit for inserting himself in the strangest places during this federal election campaign. First, the NDP candidate interrupted Justin Trudeau's escalator pitch. Now, he's literally given Stephen Harper the boot using footage from a September interview with CBC anchor Peter Mansbridge. Richler's new ad, released on YouTube Tuesday, shows the Conservative leader speaking with Mansbridge in an open field. Then all of a sudden, a mysterious figure pulls Harper's Canada pin off his lapel, punts him out of his chair and takes his place — narrowing the field, as it were. Sure enough, it's Richler, the NDP candidate in Toronto-St. Paul's. Addressing Mansbridge, Richler says that if Harper were his investment advisor he'd "fire him," because he's "put all our resources in one stock and it's tanked." Not to be outdone, Harper appears in the ad a few more times — but only because someone had too much fun with editing. (Watch the ad above.) Richler is trying to unseat Carolyn Bennett, who has represented the Ontario riding since 1997. In 2011, she won with almost 40 per cent of the vote. Like Us On Facebook Follow Us On Twitter Also on HuffPost:International sanctions on North Korea appear to be biting North Korea’s civilian economy more than in the past, arousing concerns that the country’s historically precarious food supply, which has also been adversely affected by dry weather this spring, is in jeopardy. However, the context matters. Food production in North Korea has grown remarkably over the past few years, so even if food production declines a bit, it may not be disastrous. Moreover, estimates by UN agencies, which are generally regarded as authoritative, tend to overstate how much food distribution by the state really matters. Although the evidence is far from conclusive, current market prices do not suggest that a food crisis or emergency is at hand at the present time. Current Market Prices: Not Out of the Ordinary Market prices are a reasonable measure for food security in North Korea because of the growing role of markets in the economic system. Since the breakdown of the North Korean economy in the 1990s following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, markets and other private means have increasingly taken the government’s place as the main mechanisms through which the average North Korean gets their food. According to data from one 2017 book, based on survey studies on North Korean refugees in South Korea from several different years, about 60 percent of the North Korean public relies on private markets for purchasing food, while over 14 percent grow most of their food themselves; only 22.6 percent cite the public distribution system and other official channels as their primary sources of food.[1] Market spaces have grown consistently in the 2000s, as satellite imagery has shown.[2] Daily NK, a South Korea-based, defector-run newspaper with sources inside North Korea, gathers the most substantive and publicly available data on food prices. Though the data certainly has its limitations—we do not know, for example, how many observations underlie each data point—it is in many ways more informative than calculations of North Korea’s food production. Prices capture a wider range of information on food supply conditions, such as imports, and expectations of how much food will be available (and at what price) in the future. Because it is the most central staple good in North Korea, the price for rice is often used to track overall market prices instead of the “goods basket” that would normally be used to study price changes and market shocks; in other words, rice is used as a proxy for overall food prices. So how do current market prices look? Overall, things do not seem to be out of the ordinary, at least not yet. The last observation by Daily NK, on October 24, shows the rice price continued to decline, as has been the case since earlier in October. Current market prices fall well within the range of what has been normal over the past few years. Since 2014, market prices for rice have tended to fluctuate between 4,000 and 6,000 won per kg. From the second half of 2015, prices stabilized further, ranging between 5,000 and 6,000 per kg, with only a few exceptions. The past few years are historically remarkable for their relative price stability. The following graph shows the average rice prices for three North Korean cities from late December 2012, when prices stabilized at their current levels, until late October 2017. Thus far, in the longer-run perspective, rice prices do not suggest particularly distressed conditions in North Korea. As recently as the early spring of 2013, they climbed close to the 7,000 won-mark. Yet no major food crisis erupted, and prices soon went back to their more normal levels again. This does not mean that markets have been unaffected by international tensions. We just do not know for sure to what extent. In fact, for much of this year prices have been behaving in certain irregular ways, suggesting that markets for food may indeed be impacted by the sanctions. Scattered evidence from the northeastern provinces of North Korea suggest stress among the public with regards to the food situation, and not least, worries that things will get worse next year if tensions continue. But thus far, market prices do not seem to reflect this by much. On the contrary, by the end of October, prices were declining rather than increasing. To break down the overall picture and analyze the smaller pieces, let’s start with the price trends of the past few months of high tensions between North Korea and the United States. The graph below shows price data for rice, as reported by Daily NK since early March 2017. As figure 2 shows, prices have climbed throughout the spring and summer of this year. It is difficult to draw firm conclusions about causality from this limited data. It does not tell us precisely when a specific price change occurs, since this set of data from Daily NK is usually given in weekly intervals and often with even longer breaks in between observations. It is worth noting, however, that one of the largest jumps happened between June 21 and July 5, when the price increased by around 8.5 percent. On July 3, North Korea tested its first intercontinental ballistic missile, the Hwasong-14, significantly heightening international tensions with the United States and China, an event which is perhaps most relevant for market prices. Prices continued to climb in August and September. One notable jump occurred between late August and early-to-mid-September, when prices increased by around 7 percent. During this period, North Korea conducted a sixth nuclear test, followed by sanctions imposed on the country by the UN Security Council. These sanctions also imposed a ban on textile exports and a cap on petroleum product imports, adding to sanctions slapped on its exports of minerals and seafood earlier in the summer. One can’t draw any clear conclusions from this data, but rumors, expectations, and other forms of calculations based on limited information about the actions of the international community and China could have played a role in determining the market price. Perhaps most important to watch, however, is how market prices develop in the coming weeks and months. Price increases do not per se mean that something is out of the ordinary. Market prices follow a regular cycle, increasing between the summer and fall months when food is particularly scarce prior to the harvest season, and usually dropping again from mid to late October when food is more plentiful. The graph below shows price trends between March and early November 2016, a more normal year when North Korea’s external economic pressure was lower. Then, too, prices rose through the summer. But as could have been expected due to the seasonal variation, they began to decline sharply in late October and early November. In comparison with last year (2016), prices this year (2017) are marginally higher. As per the last available observation, from October 24, prices were indeed following the seasonal pattern of decline. They also appear to be more volatile, though they might also simply look more volatile because the frequency of observations is much higher in the Daily NK data for this year.[3] But prices are not yet so high as to be evidence of a looming crisis, and it remains to be seen whether they keep decreasing. Growing Harvests, But Decreasing Reliance on the Government Increased sanctions implementation by China is not the only reason that some worry about worsening food security. Unusually dry weather conditions during the 2017 crop planting period between April and June, with rainfalls smaller than in 2001 when food production was lower than half of estimates for the past few years, has raised fears that North Korea’s food production may drop drastically during the current season. Following this prediction, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) stated in July of 2017 that “[i]mmediate interventions are needed to support the affected farmers and prevent negative coping strategies for the most vulnerable households.” The context, however, is important. Food production in North Korea has grown remarkably over the past few years. Lower production numbers would, in a way, be a return toward the norm by North Korean standards. According to figures from the World Food Program (WFP) and the FAO, North Korean food production grew from 3.3 million tons in the 2008/2009 marketing year,[4] to 5.4 tons in 2015.[5] The period between 2010 and 2015 saw a growth in food production far beyond what North Korea had experienced since before the famine of the 1990s. In other words, in the context of the past two and a half decades, the harvests over the past few years have been abnormally good in North Korea. A decrease from previous years’ harvests, then, can certainly decrease North Korean food security in relative terms, but may not be a disaster. Moreover, estimates of food production in North Korea by FAO and WFP are often
and psychological profiles of Guzman drawn up in prison." Advertisement We're certain that it's going to be a hit. If you're looking for something else though, a new boxing documentary also caught our eye. Counterpunch This feature documentary follows three promising amateur boxers as they pursue success in a sport that has experienced a steady decline in popularity. CounterPunch brings to light the true stories of a number of young boxers determined not only to turn around the fate of the industry, but to also make sure their names end up in the firmament alongside the most remembered and revered champions. Through discipline, sweat, heartbreak and triumph, the new generations depicted in the documentary reveal just how unrelenting the journey is to get there.The Garmin Forerunner 610 represents the next generation running watch from Garmin. The watch builds on many areas that the FR405 and FR410 carved out – including a slim profile and advanced workout features. But it also adds a number of heavily requested features, including some functions that had long been cut out of other Forerunner models. Even more, it’s the first Garmin touch screen running watch. But is a running watch the right place for a touch screen? And does this next version of the Forerunner meet the needs of the vast runner demographic? Well, stick around and I’ll explain. Like all my reviews, they tend to be pretty in depth (perhaps overly so) – but that’s just my trademark DC Rainmaker way of doing things. Think of them more like reference guides than quick and easy summaries. I try and cover every conceivable thing you might do with the device and then poke at it a bit more. My goal is to leave no stone unturned – both the good and the bad. Because I want to be transparent about my reviews – Garmin sent me the Forerunner 610 for a period of 45 days as a trial unit. Once that period has elapsed, I send the whole package to the folks in Kansas. Simple as that. Sorta like hiking in wilderness trails – leave only footprints. If you find my review useful, you can use any of the Amazon links from this page to help support future reviews. Lastly, at the end of the day keep in mind I’m just like any other regular athlete out there. I write these reviews because I’m inherently a curious person with a technology background, and thus I try and be as complete as I can. But, if I’ve missed something or if you spot something that doesn’t quite jive – just let me know and I’ll be happy to get it all sorted out. Also, because the technology world constantly changes, I try and go back and update these reviews as new features and functionality are added – or if bugs are fixed. So – with that intro, let’s get into things. Unboxing: Once you’ve got the Forerunner 610 box in your posession it’ll be time to crack it open. Interestingly, Garmin has changed up their standard packaging with the FR610, opting for a black box instead of the more traditional blue-colored ones From there we’ll go ahead and get all the pieces laid out on the table. The pieces are all individually wrapped in some plastic bags, so I’ll walk through them one by one after this. After you’ve removed the plastic bags, here’s the end resultant: Let’s get the less exciting pieces out of the way first (save the best for last, right?). For that, we’ll dive into the power block. This connects to the charging cable and allows you to charge the watch without a computer’s USB port. It’ll also charge any other USB gadget you happen to have. The US version comes only with the US power clip, so if you’re elsewhere in the world you’ll need additional power clips or a standard adapter. Next we have the even less exciting manuals and CD’s. It’s largely just a pile of paper stuff that you’ll probably never read. Then we’ve got the ANT+ USB stick. This is where it starts gettin’ good! This USB stick wirelessly communicates with the FR610 via ANT+ and downloads your workouts. It works quite some distance away (a few rooms away). We’ll talk about it more later on. Then we have the latest edition of the premium soft strap heart rate strap. There are two versions of the FR610 – one comes with the heart rate strap, and one doesn’t. This is the strap you’ll get if you get the bundle with the HR strap. I’ll talk more about the strap options later on in significant detail. Now…the good parts! First up – the charging cable. You’ll notice that it has changed from watches of the past. Instead of being the FR310XT/FR405/FR410 dual-prong style clip or the FR110/FR210 quad-prong clip, they’ve moved to a magnetic latch style system. This new charging clip uses small internal magnets to secure itself against the back of the watch. In many ways it’s actually kinda like the Timex Global Trainer charging clip where it straddles both edges of the watch (except that one lacks the magnets). I asked the Garmin team why exactly the change from the previous charging cables. They said that one of the issues they found with the previous clips is that while they worked for most folks, they found that if the charging cable/watch got accidentally moved then the charging could be disrupted – leaving folks without a charged watch at runtime. The new clip using the magnets ensures that even if it gets bumped, it will still hang on and charge the watch. Outside of the charging clip, we’ve got the watch itself. The back is metallic (and magnetic), and the front is glass that’s slightly inset to (hopefully) prevent glass cracking issues like the FR310XT and the Nike+ Sportwatch have occasionally seen. On the sides you have three physical buttons. The left hand side is the power/light button, that also doubles to trigger connection to the Tanita BC-1000 scale. On the right you have your standard start/stop and lap/reset buttons. Then you have two touch screen buttons that are near the edge of the screen. On the bottom of the watch where you see the three blue lines, this acts as a way to toggle the menu and home screen. And to the left at the 9’oclock position you have what would be a blue arrow that essentially performs both confirmation and ‘back’ functions within the menu’s. On mine the button isn’t visible, but it’s still functional. It looks just like a little blue triangle on retail units. Finally, the band itself is a slimmer black band, similar to that on the FR110/FR210 and much nicer than the older and thicker FR405/FR410. It’s also interchangeable with a fabric soft strap accessory that you can purchase. Size Comparisons: The FR610 decreases the size from the FR405/FR410’s primarily through a thinner watch body and strap. It doesn’t appreciably change the actual watch diameter. Personally, I think this is fine. The FR610 manages to allow you to squeeze in four concurrent fields (compared to three with the FR405/FR410), all while maintaining roughly the same size. I think if you went any smaller you’d have to sacrifice either information or readability. Comparing it to other Garmin units, you’ll see that the majority of modern Forerunner units have pretty much the same watch face size now. The one exception being the multisport focused FR310XT (orange one), which maintains a larger profile (and far more features). Looking from left to right, the watches are the FR60, FR110 (FR210 is identical body), FR405 (FR410 is identical body), FR610 and finally the FR310XT. The area you most notice the sizes is in thickness, where you can see the bulk of the FR405/FR410 and the FR310XT rising above: In general though, you’ll see most of the watches have now stabilized in the size department. Initial Setup: The initial setup process has been further reduced with each new Garmin that’s been released. It used to be that there were about 10 Monty Python style questions it would ask you. Now it’s down to just a handful, mostly used to ensure you’re not stuck with a watch reading out a display in Ellinika. Cause that would just be Greek to me… After you answer time format, gender and a few others, then you’ll be all set and ready to gather satellite reception. I found the FR610 incredibly quick when it came to reception – even faster than my FR310XT. The first time after turning it on it took maybe 20 seconds to find satellites. Then subsequent times upon turning it on were always less than 10 seconds. The FR610 uses Garmin’s Hotfix technology to remember where you were last time and thus be able to remember where the corresponding satellites were that it needs to talk to. Once you’ve completed initial setup, the last item would be pairing any additional ANT+ sensors you might have. For example, depending on if you bought the FR610 package with the heart rate strap, you’d want to pair that piece. Additionally, if you bought a separate footpod for indoor treadmill use – you’d want to pair that too. And finally, if you have an ANT+ bike speed/cadence sensor – you guessed it, you’d want to pair that as well. With that – we’re ready to get on outside! The Touchscreen: Before we go for a run though, let’s talk about the biggest change to the watch – which is the new touch screen. The FR610 builds on technology used in the newly released Edge 800 cycling computer which now includes a touch screen display. These screens are unlike your typical phone touch screen though, and are designed to handle everything from rain to gloves. You may remember some of the videos I put together as part of the Edge 800 touch screen review (linked above). I decided to do some of those same tests to see how it fared. First up though, is a quick video to let you get the feel for the touch screen. As you can see, it works pretty well. Sure there’s a few times where either I or the touch screen made a mistake – but in general I didn’t have many issues. Here’s the first video just showing some general use wandering in/around the various menus: Garmin Forerunner 610 Touch Screen Demonstration Of course, the most common question is how does it perform with gloves? Well, no problem – here’s three pairs of gloves. I would have done this in one take, but I simply lacked the ability to get one of the pairs of gloves off in a timely manner. No retakes here, just the way it is. The first pair of gloves you’ll see is a common $1.00 cheap glove that you’ll find at every running expo in the world. Also happens to be my go-to gloves virtually all fall and winter. Then I’ll transition into a stiffer glove that I primarily use for cycling. And finally…I go into the giant mitten. Yes, a mitten. Garmin Forerunner 610 Touch Screen Glove Test As you can see, I generally didn’t have any problems. Also keep in mind that once you start your run, there really isn’t too much of a reason to wander aimlessly through the menus. You’ll primarily just be swiping left/right to change already configured display pages. Finally, last but not least is how water affects it. This evening during my run in the 84*F weather I got plenty soaked, much of that water ending up on the FR610. In general it didn’t affect use of the watch. However, I figure there’s no better test than simply taking it into the shower with direct water pressure and using the touch screen. So here ya go – with water cascading down onto the watch and actively using the touch screen without issue: Using the Forerunner 610 in simulated ‘heavy rain’ conditions. All in all I found the touch screen to generally work as expected. While one can certainly debate the merit of having a touch screen at all, I didn’t find it to detract from the watch. Previously I found the older touch bezel design of the FR405/FR410 to take away from the watch’s functionality. In the case of the FR610, it all seemed to flow pretty well. Running: With running being the main focus of the FR610, it’s time we got out and ran with it! After you turn it on you’ll either be at the menu screen or the main training screen, depending on how much touching you were doing while you were turning it on. Here’s what the main menu looks like: One of the first things you’ll want to do is to pick out your data fields. For me personally, I use Heart Rate, Pace, Distance and Time. With the FR610 you can have up to four different pages of data, each with up to four fields (or as few as one field). This is an increase from the previous 3 fields on the FR405/FR410. As you run, the data is not only displayed, but also recorded for later analysis. Everything from pace to distance to heart rate to elevation, and even running cadence if you have a footpod, is recorded. In addition to configuring data that you can glance at you can also configure the FR610 to simply beep/display/vibrate at you should you run afoul of your pre-determined goals. These are called ‘alerts’, and with the FR610 you can setup alerts for distance, heart rate, time, calories or cadence. In addition to the alerts I just noted, they’ve added a new feature – which is the ‘Run/Walk’ alerts. What this enables you to do is to follow one of the many run racing plans that have you running for a set period of time (such as 10 minutes), and then walk for another set period of time (1 minute). You can configure both the run and walk times from any number between 00:00 and 59:59. It’ll simply alternate back and forth and beep/vibrate/display a warning as you hit the run/walk intervals. Note that you cannot specify a distance, only a time. On my long run tonight I actually used this feature to remind me to intake both nutrition/hydration but also to do some drills I had to do every 10 minutes. While a typical time alert would also work, this is better in that it reminded me essentially twice – once at the beginning of my nutrition period, and again by time I should be done. Pretty useful stuff, even if I’m not using it for its intended purpose. Another commonly used feature of past Garmins is the Virtual Partner functionality. This feature allows you to set a specific pace (i.e. 8:30/mile) and then it’ll show you how far ahead/behind you are relative to that given pace. You can customize the speed/paces for both bike and run. It uses a little stick figure man to represent both you…and the pacer: However, a new addition to the FR610 is the Virtual Racer functionality. This takes the simple pacer concept a step forward and allows you to race against your previous runs. For example, if you ran a specific 10K course last week in 45 minutes, it’ll have the little stick figure man run your 45 minute pace, while you try to just barely edge him out at 44:30. You can select any previous run from the list: But it gets even better in that you can download any activity from Garmin Connect to the unit and race against that. For example – you want to head to the Boston Marathon and beat your friends exact time from last year? No problem, just download his workout from Garmin Connect onto your watch, and then attempt to best him as you virtually run ahead or (as it may be), behind him. In addition to pacing you can download any workout you create from Garmin Training Center to the FR610 as well. This allows you to create some pretty complex workouts on the computer and then quickly transfer them to the watch to execute: Once the ANT+ agent transfers them to your watch, you’ll be good to go! Of course, if you don’t want the complexity of Garmin Training Center you can simply create basic interval workouts on the watch itself. You just define key pieces like work and rest intervals and you’ll be good to go. Speaking of resting… If you run in the city quite a bit, you’ll probably end up using the Auto Pause feature. This functionality automatically pauses your run when you come to a stop – or fall below a given threshold speed. While you’ll want to be careful in using this functionality in a race (because the real clock doesn’t stop), it’s an easy way to keep from forgetting to start your watch again after that stoplight. [Updated Section]: In addition to the watch monitoring your run it can also act as a guide when you’re lost. It does this through the navigation and saved locations area. It does not unfortunately however have standard Garmin Courses functionality. This functionality allowed you to download breadcrumb style routes to the watch to follow along. The functionality is slightly different on the FR610 compared to previous Garmin watches. Instead of offering a straight course following option it offers that functionality within the confines of the Virtual Racer component. Meaning, there is no separate courses functionality like most Garmin watches. While you can download courses from Garmin Connect and other sources, you cannot follow them with the little compass/breadcrumb. You can however still choose to track back to start – allowing you to navigate back to the start of an activity. Navigation itself is from current location directly to a saved location. Saved locations must be entered in on the watch itself. Once you’ve chosen a previously saved location (or create a new one on the watch with lat/long), then you’ll be available to follow along with the compass on the unit. It’s not quite like a car GPS, but rather more boy-scout-esque. But it gets the job done. Lastly, you can go ahead and create waypoints for specific locations – such as common places like ‘Home’ or ‘Where I parked my car’. That way if all else fails on a run gone wrong, you can simply tell the Garmin to get ya back home. One final newly added area I want to cover is the re-introduction of 1-second recording mode. Back in the FR305 days you as a user had the option to either record activity data using Smart Recording mode, or 1-second recording mode. In Smart Recording mode it would attempt to reduce the recording storage needed and take samples every 3-6 seconds (on average). Whereas in 1-second recording mode (known as 1s), it simply recorded data points every second. After the FR305, that option went away. 1s mode was only available if you connected an ANT+ cycling power meter. This lead to a lot of problems for folks that were only recording heart rate data and ended up with files that often had very few actual data points in it due to Smart Recording removing many of those data points. Well, I’m happy to tell you the option is now back! Yup, you can now turn on 1s recording mode for the watch as a whole and all activities will be recorded at the 1-second interval. If you open up the raw files, you can see the 1-second recording is indeed now in effect: Hopefully we’ll see this ported back to other Garmin units via a firmware update, I know both myself and many others would love to see that. Backlight: The FR610 includes a high contrast backlight that is easily readable. You can change how long you’d like the backlight to display once tapping the power/light button: I prefer the backlight setting of ‘Stays on’, as typically if I’m running at night I just want it to be on when I glance down. As you can see below, it’s plenty bright: Heart Rate Training and Calories: One of the most popular areas aside from using the GPS functionality is the ability to record one’s heart rate while exercising. The FR610 uses an ANT+ enabled heart rate strap that wirelessly transmits your heart rate to the watch itself. Depending on whether you buy the FR610 bundle with the strap or without you’ll have the ability to do that automatically. Here’s what the strap looks like: Once you’ve got the strap on, you’ll want to go ahead and pair it. It only takes a second for it to find your strap. After pairing it’ll remember your specific strap forever, and won’t pickup other people’s straps – so you don’t have to worry about interference: While exercising you can setup either heart rate alerts or heart rate zones if you so choose. You can also display your heart rate in a variety of ways, from instant display to averages or zones. Or you can simply record the data for later evaluation. This data is then transmitted to Garmin Connect as part of your activity file: By knowing your heart rate, the FR610 can determine your calorie burn by utilizing 2nd generation Firstbeat technology. Firstbeat is a method to evaluate your heart rate and determine caloric burn based on known parameters about you including age, weight, height and fitness level. With this information it can estimate calorie burn for your activity. This is then shown on the display of the watch (and an alert can be setup when you reach a given level), and is also transmitted to Garmin Connect for record keeping purposes: I put together an in depth post on calorie burn calculations with different Garmin watches over in this post, which I highly recommend you check out. Screen Lock: The FR610 includes a screen lock that you can unlock simply by swiping after you tap the screen. Essentially it works just like an iPhone/iPod would. The screen lock is activated when the watch goes into power save mode. You cannot however activate it yourself. But unlike the iPhone it includes a cute little animation that shows a runner ‘evolving’ from crawling to runner, and eventually to collapsing again. Nice touch! Using the watch…as a day to day watch: The FR610 can be used as a day to day watch as well, and given its size – it fits quite nicely. I personally found the previous generation FR405/FR410’s too bulky for that. But this one has been holding down the camp on my wrist constantly now. In normal time mode it simply displays the date and time: You can also create an alarm, should you have a reason you want to wake up (not sure why you’d want to interrupt your sleep though…): Cycling: To be clear upfront, this watch is primarily designed for the running crowd. But Garmin added in a number of features to make the cycling piece work just fine if you happen to swing both ways. One of the biggest changes you’ll notice over past Forerunner watches is that virtually every menu setting has a separate area for both cycling and running. Meaning they no longer have to share many of the same settings. You can see this below as an example in one area where you set training pages for both bike and run separately: In addition to all of the running features noted above, the FR610 also includes support for ANT+ speed/cadence sensors that allow you to gather speed information while indoors on a trainer (or outside if you’d like), as well as cadence information about how many times the crank arm rotates per minute (RPM). This of course requires an additional accessory, the roughly $35 GSC-10 (or any ANT+ compatible speed/cadence combo sensor). The sensor looks like this: I’ll talk more about the sensor in a bit. In addition to displaying speed/cadence sensor data, you can configure an entirely different set of data page views for just the bike. This is pretty cool as it allows you to quickly swap back and forth without re-inventing the wheel data-field wise. For example, while I’m riding I may be interested in both speed and cadence on one page, but more than two metrics on another. You can mix and match just like you can on the running side. Of course there comes the question of where exactly to place the unit. Some folks prefer the simplicity of their wrist, but personally I like to have it mounted on the bike itself – mostly because that way I don’t have to constantly turn my wrist to see the data. In that case Garmin sells a cheap little rubber mount kit that wraps around your bikes handlebars. This works well whether it’s a road bike, mountain bike, or even a beach cruiser. You can see the rubber mount kit here: And here I’ve got it wrapped around the bars: And finally, with the watch placed on the mount – just like you’d place it on your wrist: Note that because you have to wrap it around the rubber mount just like your wrist, it’s not super conducive to quick removal in places like a triathlon – so that’s something you might want to keep in mind. Speaking of triathlons – if you happen to have a triathlon bike, you can still use the same rubber mount, except you may have to get creative about where you mount it. For that there’s a few companies that make small arms that you can move watches onto. FSA and UCM are companies that come to mind. I quickly grabbed a slightly larger version of that mount, so it didn’t quite fit in between my aerobars (long about 2mm), so for the purposes of this photo I have it mounted to the side. But it gives you an idea on the options there: As you can see, you’ve got a few options on a time trial bike. In an ideal world Garmin would have created a quick release attachment kit for it that locks into the existing FR310XT and Edge 500/800 mounting systems…but, ya can’t win em’ all. Side Note: Multisport mode/options: Just as an ancillary note to the triathlon/cycling pieces above, it should be noted that the FR610 does not have a multisport mode like the FR305 and FR310XT do. This means that you can’t do a swim-bike-run recorded event on a single file (including or excluding transitions). Now they have improved this slightly over the alternative of ‘nothing’ by allowing you to quickly swap between running and cycling mode merely by holding the lap/reset button down to display a change sport dialog box: Swimming: Despite the very protective looking metallic design, the Garmin Forerunner 610 is actually only waterproofed to IPX7 standards. This means that it can be submerged in up to 1 meter of water for up to 30 minutes. It also means that it’s not designed for active swimming on your wrist with constant pounding against the water. The Garmin manual on page 39 warns against explicitly this task: I’ve previously killed IPX7 Garmin Forerunner watches due to wearing them on my wrist during an indoor swim (in less than 20 minutes). If you’re looking for a fully waterproofed solution you’ll want to aim towards the FR310XT instead, which offers complete waterproofing down to 50 meters. Now, just because it’s IPX7 doesn’t mean it can’t go out and play in the rain. In fact, it’s more than fine in both the rain and casual water submersion (as you saw earlier with the shower video). For example, I plunked it down in my bathtub for just under 10 minutes – and it came out just fine and dandy: If you’re looking to use the watch in a triathlon to measure the swim, you should leverage the swim cap method in order to gather accurate distance without killing the watch in the process. Also, for more fun with IPX7 bathtub immersion of expensive gadgets, see this post. Tanita Weight Scale Compatibility: Like most of the modern Forerunner and Edge devices that Garmin has created lately, the FR610 supports ANT+ enabled scales. At the moment, the only entrant into that category is the Tanita BC-1000 scale. This scale measures your weight, body fat and hydration levels and then wirelessly transmits it to the waiting Garmin FR610. To trigger the two devices you simply hold the power button on the FR610 for a brief moment and it’ll go out and search for its ANT+ enabled scale friend. Once it’s found the scale the BC-1000 will begin blinking, indicating its ready for you to step on. Within about 5-7 seconds the scale completes the reading and transmits it back to the watch, where it appears on the screen: In addition to appearing on the FR610 screen, it then transmits that data to Garmin Connect the next time you upload data from your watch. Once you’ve logged into Garmin Connect online, you’ll see your metrics within the health section: The two products together offer a fairly seamless way of gathering the data and tracking it within Garmin Connect. Accuracy and Satellite Chip: While I intend to put together a full accuracy report in the coming 4-6 weeks of all the new GPS fitness watch models out there (similar to before with precisely measured routes and varied conditions), I will say that I’ve seen no issues with satellite reception or accuracy on the FR610. I’ve run on trails with fairly wooded tree areas on winding paths and it never dropped reception or produce weird paths showing loss of accuracy. The satellite chip itself is the the SiRF SiRFstarIV with the Instant Fix II technology, which makes the satellite acquisition process even faster than previous generations. As I noted earlier, I’m finding that I can get satellite reception after turning on in less than 10 seconds in some cases. Incredibly quick. Fitness Equipment (Gym) Compatibility: While I don’t have a piece of gym equipment in my place that is ANT+ compatible, I have shown off this capability a bit in the past in previous posts. What this functionality allows you to do is to link-up with ANT+ enabled gym equipment (typically Spin bikes and treadmills) and have it automatically and wirelessly transmit your performance data to the watch. For example, on a spin bike it would transmit speed/cadence and even power (watts) – depending on the model. Note that it will record power, but won’t display it on the watch itself. I demo’d a bit of this at Interbike this past year with the FR60 – one of the few watches that supports this functionality. While the number of gyms that have this equipment is incredibly small, it is pretty cool if you happen to stumble on it. Here’s more information from my overview this past fall. Additionally, I spent some time at a local Gym using the FR610 to play with equipment there. For more information, see that post. Accessories: There are a number of accessories that can be purchased with the FR610 to extend its functionality. Here’s a brief overview of all the options: The footpod allows you to gather pace, distance and cadence data while both indoors or outdoors. For example, if you’re running on a treadmill this would be required as GPS won’t show you moving. Outdoors it’s useful if your route takes you through a tunnel where you’d lose GPS reception. The foot pod easily snaps right onto your shoelaces in a matter of a few seconds. After which you’ll want to calibrate it on a track to ensure the highest level of accuracy. I’ve found however that after correctly calibrating the footpod, I can actually get both GPS and footpod data to align exactly. Pretty impressive. You can pickup the footpod for about $50. If you’re interested in learning more about the footpod, check out my ‘More than you ever wanted to know about the footpod post’. Speed/Cadence: If you plan to hook up the Garmin FR610 to your bike, you’re going to want to pickup the speed/cadence sensor kit to get speed, distance cadence while indoors on a trainer (and cadence outdoors). The good news here is that these kits are relatively inexpensive (compared to the foot pod anyway), and they’re also fully compatible with every other Garmin fitness devices. This means that if you already have one for a different Garmin device – you’re good to go. And if you get one now, and eventually upgrade your Garmin watch, then you’re still good to go. The speed/cadence kit can be picked up for about $35. Heart Rate Strap: Garmin introduced a slightly new heart rate strap with the Edge 800 – and that same strap has been carried through to the FR210, FR410 and now the FR610. This new strap aims to reduce many of the spiking/dropout problems of some of the previous straps. And based on my testing over the past 6 months – it does a pretty good job of this. It’s reduced those problems for me by about 95%. There’s still an occasional spike – but mostly they’re gone. This new strap looks like this: However, be aware – there are still two older (more common) types out there, which compared, look like this: If you buy the bundled FR610 kit, you’ll get the fancy new strap 2010 automagically. You can also pickup the 2010 premium version individually. The previous heart rate straps can be bought individually for about $65 for the non-2010 premium soft strap version, and about $35 for the old school classic edition. Tanita BC-1000 Weight Scale: One non-Garmin accessory that integrates with the FR610 is the Tanita BC-1000 Wireless ANT+ Weight Scale. This scale uses the ANT+ protocol to communicate with the FR610, allowing it to wirelessly record your weight and body fat readings, which are then transmitted to Garmin Connect. The scale retails for about $279, and you can find my full In Depth Review on the scale itself here. FR610 Software: The FR610 includes software that helps you analyze your activity after you’ve completed it. Initially you’ll need to pair your FR610 with your computer using the ANT+ USB stick that’s included in the box. The pairing process only takes a second though and simply requires you to confirm the pairing on both the computer (PC or Mac) and the watch: Once that’s done it’ll automatically synchronize your workouts to your computer and to Garmin Connect (though you can disable the Garmin Connect piece if you choose). Additionally, this same avenue is used for firmware updates – which occur usually a few times per year for most Garmin watches. This allows them to deliver both bug fixes and feature enhancements. Once you’ve synchronized your watch, the data will be available on Garmin Connect to analyze: Garmin Connect (free): Garmin Connect is Garmin’s free web-based portal that allows you to manage and track all of your Garmin activity data. Whether that be a run, a bike ride…or even flying in a plane. If a Garmin created it – then you can pretty much see it on Garmin Connect. Once your activity is uploaded, it’ll be available for detailed analysis here: From here you can then scroll down and drill into many different metrics such as pace, heart rate, elevation and cadence: In addition to the overview of each activity you can replay the activity, as if it were a short video: The site also includes a larger calendar view that you can use to track your activities over time. From here you can also switch to list view, if you just want a simple list of all your activities. Garmin Connect has a number of other easy to use features such as setting up goals, tracking health information (as you saw in the Tanita Scale section earlier) and creating reports. Perhaps the most useful aspect of Garmin Connect is the millions of activity files up there that you can search – allowing you to find routes anywhere in the world that you’ve travelled. That’s how on a recent trip to the country of Jordan I found a workable cycling route…just by searching Garmin Connect. In general Garmin Connect is targeted towards more casual users, whereas some of the next products I discuss are focused towards those wanting more analysis capabilities. Training Peaks (3rd Party): Training Peaks is one of the largest 3rd party software options. They have two versions, one is free and one is subscription based. Regardless of whether you pay, the entirety of Training Peaks is a website (except the device agent software you can install to upload files). I use Training Peaks as my primary method of tracking my training efforts. The major reason for TP over Garmin Connect is the advanced analytics. Additionally, it provides a completely seamless conduit between myself and my coach – something that my other software favorite (Sport Tracks) can’t do. While at the time of this writing Training Peaks doesn’t officially support the FR610 yet, it still works just fine. I was able to simply select the watch from the right-side dropdown and it automatically grabbed the.TCX file to upload to Training Peaks (the FR610 creates both a.TCX and.FIT files, for backwards compatibility with older applications). From there I was able to log-in and see my run without any issues at all: If you’re looking for very advanced analytics in a web based form, there’s really no other option out there today that has as many features as TP and is completely web based. SportTracks: Another non-Garmin option is SportTracks. SportTracks is a Windows only client application that allows you incredibly in depth analysis of your workouts. Perhaps one of the biggest strengths though of SportTracks is the ability to allow community developers to extend the application with plug-ins. As a result, there’s a ton of totally cool functionality that’s been added over the years (some for a fee). SportTracks as an application has a free-mode with some limitations, and a paid mode for $35. Because the FR610 exports out both.TCX and.FIT files, SportTracks has no problem consuming these files today: Once imported, the files act just like any other activity within SportTracks – allowing you to slice and dice the data as you see fit: If you’ve got a Windows based PC, I definitely encourage you to check it out (free or otherwise). Summary: The FR610 represents an update to the previous generation running focused FR405 and FR410 – but omits the troublesome touch bezel that both of those watches had. The primary selling point of this series of device is the slim ‘watch-like’ design – effectively reducing the wrist footprint of the larger (and slightly more capable) FR305 and FR310XT. With the FR610 maintaining that smaller form factor and moving to a much cleaner touch screen interface – it makes for a very compelling running watch. When comparing the FR610 though to other running focused watches like the FR110 and FR210 though, you see a dramatic difference in features and functionality. The FR110 and FR210 watches are designed for folks that want a simplified GPS-based running experience that essentially just tells you how far, how fast, how long. Whereas the FR610 aims to offer advanced features like workouts, intervals and heavily customizable data fields. To me perhaps one of the biggest (yet least noted) features is the re-inclusion of 1-second recording mode. This has been a huge pain point for many Garmin users since it was removed after the FR305 back some years ago now. I love the fact that they’ve listened and re-introduced this – and hope to see it return in the firmware for other watches. So looking at who I’d recommend this watch for, you’ve got a few different categories: 1) The Triathlete: While the FR610 is certainly a great watch for the run leg, and a ‘good’ unit for the bike leg, I’d strongly recommend looking instead at the multisport FR310XT. Yes, it’s a bit
asked Mirjam if her parents were physically in the church? "In the roof," she says. Mirjam's daughter Daphne has become kind of the keeper of her parents' and grandparents' history. She knows their story well. "The minister went to the caretaker of the church, and said 'I would like you to create a place for this Jewish couple to hide,'" Daphne says. "And the caretaker said, 'well, I never told you this but there's another Jewish family that's been hiding in the attic for a year already.' So they made a second hiding place, so there were mirror images on either side of the organ pipes." Two and a half years living behind a church organ. That's bound to have some consequences. "That's why my parents hated organ music after the war," Mirjam says. They hated organ music, but they survived. On a personal level, though, the conditions they found in that church crawl space completely re-ordered their lives. "They had to lay in bed the whole daytime, because people who visit in the church could hear them walking if they would be," Mirjam says. "And they slept sometimes for 24 hours they were in that bed. Well, if you have a good marriage it goes really well maybe. If it's an in-between marriage, it's not the best, but if you have a trerrible marriage it's murder." I asked her what her parent's marriage was like? "Good," she says. "My mother was very vivacious. And my father was philosophical. He kept her happy with sleeping pills. And after the war she was addicted to them. But for a year or two after the war, she was like someone who was drunk all the time." The pills kept Mirjam's fidgeting mother quiet in their hiding place. Silence was crucial. Months before the end of the war, there was one close-call where noise would have given Mirjam's parents away to the Nazis. "They were looking for weapons," Mirjam says. "Somebody had told them that there were weapons hidden in the church." Mirjam's daughter, Daphne, pickes up the story, saying that her grandmother was asleep and right below the attic was another little room behind the organ pipes, so nobody came up there and that's often where my grandfather would go to read. "He was there (in the room) and he suddenly heard this commotion that was actually the other family hiding on the other side of the organ pipes," Daphne says. "And they were saying 'Quick, quick, get into your hiding places.' So, my grandfather looked out into the nave of the church and he saw the Dutch Nazi police searching the church. He knew he had to get into his space very quickly and without anybody hearing him. There was a ladder and he crawled up into the space and then he would throw the ladder up and catch it. "He couldn't pull it up because it would grate along the side and make too much noise. He got the ladder up, closed the trap door and was very happy to see that my grandmother was sleeping and she would be quite. The SS did come up to the space right below where he was and as they were there he saw this spoon from lunch teetering on the edge of the stones and could have fallen or not. It happened not to have fallen." Daphne says her grandfrather heard them searching around in the pipes of the organ, and then they left. It's just one of many incredible stories that emerged from war. The stories of the ones who survived. By sheer luck in many cases. Many Jews thought that all they had to do was hide, be quiet, and things would be fine once the war was over. Mirjam's family did. "We just said, we'll be quiet, we'll survive, and we'll come nicely together," Mirjam says. "And somehow it worked for me. But it didn't work for many, many people. Many more." So why do we tell these stories? I asked Mirjam that. And her answer, basically: Because stories are the only thing the survivors have. "That's the only you've got to fight it back," she says. "What else is to do? You feel you have to do something. So you tell the story, maybe. If it helps one person, it's worth it, I suppose. Especially if it's your child. And so Mirjam told Daphne, her daughter. And Daphne tells her daughter. And they tell me. And I tell you. Mirjam Geismar (L), Tante Nel (C) and her other charges. Credit: Courtesy of Daphne Geismar When the war ended, Mirjam and her two sisters were brought out of their hiding places and taken to the church in Rotterdam. Her family did come back together. Sheer luck. But somewhere in that luck lies some hope. Mirjam's parents couldn't tolerate organ music again. But her father never lost his taste for Mozart.Today: Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk announces coming software updates that will include the most advanced autonomous driving features to be released by a car company. The Lead: Future Tesla update will include ‘Summon,’ auto-steering features When Tesla Motors releases the Model X this summer, it will also update its cars’ software to install the most advanced autonomous driving features on the market. In a news conference Thursday, CEO Elon Musk revealed that a software update planned for later this year will allow an equipped Model S or Model X to drive short distances by itself on private property, as well as offer automatic steering features. “You will be able to hit the ‘Summon’ button on your phone, and the car will find you,” Musk told reporters in a conference call Thursday. “You can press it again and the car will put itself to bed in the garage, and close the garage door.” Even driving short distances without a driver behind the wheel would give Tesla’s cars the most advanced autonomous capabilities so far, Kelley Blue Book analyst Karl Brauer said Thursday, “It would be the furthest someone has pushed the autonomous thing,” Brauer said in a telephone interview Thursday. Google has worked extensively on driverless cars as part of its experimental Google X division, and Mercedes-Benz showed off its advances in the field this week in the Bay Area. Tesla last year began manufacturing its Model S sedan with radar and ultrasonic sensors as well as a camera to assist in Musk’s eventual goal of allowing the car to drive without the need for human interaction. Tesla cautioned that the “Summon” feature may only be used on private property, a necessity as laws on the books in California and a handful of other states do not yet allow truly autonomous driving beyond testing of such vehicles. Tesla did not reveal how it would ensure the feature is restricted to owners’ private residences, saying it would disclose more when the software is released in about three months. Brauer surmised that Tesla could figure out a way to verify users’ home addresses and ensure that the feature is only used in a specific radius based on GPS coordinates. The danger would be users attempting to hack into the software to make it work elsewhere, such as a mall parking lot. “It sounds a little tricky at best. At worst, its going to have liabilities or be very restrictive, or both,” he said. The automatic steering features Tesla will introduce are not unique, with newer Mercedes-Benz S-class cars offering similar features that help steer and control cars on the highway. The Mercedes features require more driver interaction than Tesla’s autopilot system though, Musk pointed out. “We’re now almost able to travel all the way from San Francisco to Seattle without the driver touching any controls at all,” the Tesla CEO said Thursday, adding later that “it is technically capable of going parking lot to parking lot.” He added, however, that Teslas will not be able to accomplish that type of trip at launch: The autopilot feature would not be safe in “a suburban setting,” and a driver would still have to be on alert in some fashion, similar to pilots’ use of their version. “In an airplane, there is an expectation that a pilot is paying attention,” Musk pointed out. “You’re not supposed to turn on autopilot and then go to sleep.” These features will be included in Tesla’s 7.0 software update, which is expected to arrive this summer with the introduction of its second all-electric model completely designed and manufactured by the Palo Alto company, the SUV-style Model X. Musk said the Model X will have version 7.0 when it rolls off the lot of the company’s Fremont manufacturing hub. Before that, Tesla will introduce another update, version 6.2, that will offer driver assistance features such as automatic emergency braking and blind spot warnings. Tesla especially focused on new offerings that Musk says will “end range anxiety,” the fear that a Tesla will run out of juice without a charger nearby — the update will have new maps that constantly track superchargers within range of the car’s current energy level, and will warn drivers if they are in danger of moving outside of range of a nearby charger. “Essentially, the new navigation system does the thinking on behalf of the driver, rather than leaving the driver to figure out his necessary stops using a circular range-radius and a map,” Dougherty analyst Andrea James wrote in a note Thursday. Tesla Motors stock gained ahead of Thursday’s announcement, which Musk previewed on Twitter earlier this week, but then fell after the details were released, closing with a 2.5 percent decline at $195.65. SV150 market report: Stocks slide as Apple joins Dow Jones index Wall Street fell Thursday, failing to maintain the momentum of Wednesday’s Fed-fueled gains, but Silicon Valley tech stocks basically held steady despite a decline from Apple on its first day in the Dow Jones industrial average. Apple fell 0.8 percent to $127.50 in its premier day in the Dow, a first for the Cupertino company that was originally announced last week. Apple is preparing to launch its smartwatch next month, but it will have new competition from two Silicon Valley companies partnering with a famed watchmaker: Google will introduce a luxury smartwatch designed by TAG Heuer with an Intel chip.”We believe wearable technology is going to take off but this is not something that can be driven by tech companies only,” Intel’s Michael Bell said at an event to announce the gadget. Google declined 0.4 percent to $563.67 and Intel dropped 0.5 percent to $30.74. Facebook jumped to an all-time high and closed with a 2.3 percent gain at $82.75 while losing an executive to the Beltway. Social-media companies had a hot day, with Twitter adding 1.6 percent to $47.93 and LinkedIn gaining 0.2 percent to $260.58 while launching a new job-search app for Android. Yelp did not join in those gains, plunging 3.5 percent to $45.18 while a documentary filmmaker sought to raise funds for a film that would be critical of the San Francisco company’s practices. Hewlett-Packard held an online annual shareholders meeting for the first time, and CEO Meg Whitman said its separation should be complete by November; shares fell 0.6 percent to $32.84. Up: Facebook, SanDisk, Twitter, Nvidia, Gilead, Zynga Down: Yelp, GoPro, Tesla, NetApp, VMware The SV150 index of Silicon Valley’s largest tech companies: Down 0.05 to 1,763.2 The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index: Up 9.55, or 0.19 percent, to 4,992.38 The blue chip Dow Jones industrial average: Down 117.16, or 0.65 percent, to 17,959.03 And the widely watched Standard & Poor’s 500 index: Down 10.23, or 0.49 percent, to 2,089.27 Sign up for the 60-Second Business Break newsletter at www.siliconvalley.com. Contact Jeremy C. Owens at 408-920-5876; follow him at Twitter.com/jowens510.A tiny "big bang" set off in Long Island recently created a new type of antimatter that's literally off the charts, scientists announced last week. Dubbed the antihypertriton, the newfound antimatter is the heaviest yet detected. What's more, it's the first type of particle that contains what's called an antistrange quark, which puts the antihypertriton in a new plane on the periodic table of elements. Scientists created the new antimatter last spring using the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) at Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York. The collider sends heavy ions—atoms that have had their electrons removed—careening into each other at near light speed so that the atoms break into their component particles. After smashing together gold ions more than a hundred thousand times, researchers sifting through the particulate "rubble" found about 70 antihypertritons. The particle is about 200 megaelectron volts heavier than the previous most massive record holder, antihelium. "People think we are strange because everyone wants to turn things into gold," said RHIC researcher Zhangbu Xu. "We turn gold into exotic antimatter." Antimatter Made From "Quark Soup" The cores, or nuclei, of normal atoms are made of subatomic particles called protons and neutrons, which are in turn made of smaller particles called quarks and gluons. By contrast, antimatter nuclei are made of particles that have the same masses as their counterparts but with opposite charges and magnetic properties. In the beginning, the big bang created equal amounts of matter and antimatter. But there was so much material that gravitational forces kept the particles from spreading out. In the tiny space, antimatter and matter collided and annihilated, turning into pure energy. Physicists are still puzzling as to why anything survived annihilation, and why our universe today has more matter than antimatter. Creating smaller big bangs in the lab is one way scientists are trying to solve the mystery. When the RHIC's incredibly fast particles smash into each other, they create a "soup of quark and gluons," said Xu, who presented the results Friday at a meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Washington, D.C. As the soup cools—in just a tiny fraction of a second—the elementary particles form bigger particles such as hypertritons and antihypertritons, just as scientists believe occurred in the moments immediately following the big bang. The newfound antihypertriton is doubly exciting for physicists, because it sits below the plane of the 3-D version of the periodic table. In the flat chart familiar to schoolrooms, scientists arrange the elements according to the number of protons in their atoms, which denotes mass. But particle physicists further map the elements based on the numbers of neutrons and so-called strange quarks, which aren't found in protons or neutrons. Several types of normal hydrogen, helium, and lithium atoms contain strange quarks, and they are placed above the flat plane of the periodic table. The new antihypertriton is the first antimatter particle to contain an antistrange quark, so it goes below the plane. Finding New Particles Is Like Stamp Collecting It's still unclear whether finding the antihypertriton will have practical implications for physics, said Frank Close, a physicist at the University of Oxford and author of the book Antimatter. "One way of saying it is it's stamp collecting. Some stamps are more exciting than others," he said. "The fact that this particle has been found confirms our general belief that antimatter should exist just as much as matter exists," Close added. When it comes to answering questions about why there's so little antimatter in the universe, the find "doesn't point us any nearer to the answer, but it adds another notch to the general enigma." Although the new antimatter was presented recently, the antihypertriton was first described in a paper published online March 4, 2010, in the journal Science Express. Since that time, the RHIC team has smashed together many more atoms, and Xu and colleagues are still in the process of analyzing the new data in the hopes of finding even more exotic particles. The hundred million collisions that created antihypertritons, for example, also produced more than 2,000 nuclei of antihelium-3, another rare antiparticle.On Media Blog Archives Select Date… December, 2015 November, 2015 October, 2015 September, 2015 August, 2015 July, 2015 June, 2015 May, 2015 April, 2015 March, 2015 February, 2015 January, 2015 poster="http://v.politico.com/images/1155968404/201606/3946/1155968404_4963518183001_4963475263001-vs.jpg?pubId=1155968404" true Corey Lewandowski to join CNN Former Donald Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski is joining CNN as a political commentator, according to a source familiar with the arrangement. It's a salaried position and will make Lewandowski exclusive to CNN, effective immediately. The hiring comes just three days after Trump fired Lewandowski, ending the tenure of the fiery operative who faced a steady string of controversies while guiding Trump's skeleton campaign operation to a shocking victory in the 2016 Republican presidential primary. That same afternoon, his first in-studio interview was with CNN's Dana Bash (an NBC News reporter caught up with him outside of Lewandowski's apartment as he headed down to the studio). Following his interview with Bash on Monday, Lewandowski went straight from the set and into a meeting with CNN executives according to a separate source who witnessed Lewandowski enter the meeting. Though CNN is often the target of Trump's insults, Trump has a history with CNN president Jeff Zucker. Trump's reality show "The Apprentice" premiered on NBC in 2004, when Zucker was president of NBC's television group. In an interview with POLITICO earlier this month, MSNBC's Joe Scarborough said Trump had once called Zucker his "personal booker." (CNN declined to respond to Scarborough's comments.) Minutes after news broke of Lewandowski's hiring, Trump sent two tweets attacking CNN for a piece they did fact checking his comments about Hillary Clinton's refugee plan. "CNN, which is totally biased in favor of Clinton, should apologize. They knew they were wrong," he tweeted, linking to a report by the conservative website Breitbart. "Here is another CNN lie. The Clinton News Network is losing all credibility. I’m not watching it much anymore" Trump said, linking to another article about CNN fact checking from Breitbart. All Trump campaign employees are required to sign non-disclosure agreements, which prohibits them from releasing any confidential or disparaging information about Trump. According to the Associated Press, the NDA says employees are restricted from publicly disclosing information "of a private, proprietary or confidential nature or that Mr. Trump insists remain private" or confidential and is binding during employment and "and at all times thereafter." But that likely won't be an issue for Lewandowski. Hours after his firing, Lewandowski only spoke glowingly about Trump and continued to tout the candidate's message. "It's been an honor and privilege to be part of this," he told Bash the day he was fired. Lewandowski is not the first former high ranking campaign operative to join a cable network soon after departing the campaign. Rick Tyler, formerly Sen. Ted Cruz's communications director, joined MSNBC four days after being fired for posting on social media a story which claimed that Sen. Marco Rubio insulted the Bible (the story turned out to be inaccurate). Tyler said in an interview he also signed an NDA but that he did not have a problem with honoring the agreement considering he was still loyal to Cruz after his departure. "Corey seems to be really where I was; He worked for Trump, was loyal to Trump and will continue to be loyal to Trump, and he has maintained he wants to continue to help him. I don’t know if that’s a result of his NDA or probably more likely he just feels personally loyal to him," Tyler said, adding the hire was "a good move" for all involved. Lewandowski himself has had his own run-ins with CNN reporters. In November, Lewandowski warned CNN's Trump embed Noah Gray to "get back in the pen or he's f------ blacklisted," according to a recording of the incident. In another incident, Lewandowski reportedly physically pushed Gray away from Trump. Some CNN staffers were privately grumbling on Thursday about Lewandowski's hiring, especially in light of how he has treated journalists. Lewandowski personally placed a POLITICO reporter on the campaign's "blacklist" and earlier this year, he was charged with misdemeanor battery for forcibly grabbing reporter Michelle Fields as she tried to ask Trump a question following an event in March (prosecutors ultimately declined to pursue the case). CNN is one of the only networks who pays political commentators so are specifically Trump supporters. At CNN, Lewandowski will join former Reagan White House political director Jeffrey Lord and Kayleigh McEnany, a lawyer and conservative columnist. Lewandowski did not respond to questions about whether Trump blessed his hiring or whether his ability to discuss the inner workings of the campaign will limited by a non-disclosure agreement. This post has been updated throughout. Ken Vogel and Alex Weprin contributed to this report.It is 31 years since Mario Vargas Llosa punched Gabriel García Márquez in the face. It happened like this. "Mario!" exclaimed Márquez happily on seeing his old literary chum after a film premiere in Mexico City. He marched towards the Peruvian, arms outstretched as if for an embrace. "How dare you come and greet me after what you did to Patricia in Barcelona!" Vargas Llosa reportedly shouted and decked the Colombian with a right hook. Mexican writers ran around looking for steaks to put on the Colombian's eye. Patricia, it turns out, was Mario's wife. The two men have reportedly never spoken since. So began one of the greatest rows in literary history, right up there with the Gore Vidal-Truman Capote feud (in which Vidal suggested Capote had "raised lying into an art - a minor art". Capote retorted: "Of course, I'm always sad about Gore. Very sad that he has to breathe every day.") But the details of what Mario said to Gabriel in Mexico City that emerged earlier this week beg more questions than they answer. What happened in Barcelona? What did Gabriel do to Patricia? Did Patricia like it? And what about the mystery Swedish woman? How does she fit into the story? Why didn't Márquez duck in Mexico City? How could Gabriel not know Mario was angry? Why didn't Gabriel hit Mario back? After all, Peruvian novelists punch like girls, don't they? The only way to answer these questions, so long shrouded in mystery, is to go back to a Barcelona bedroom one morning in the early 1970s. Picture the scene. Patricia Vargas Llosa has just got out of bed. Oh how she misses her homeland! Whichever homeland it is! She sees a letter on the dressing table, written in pink lipstick. (Fun fact: Mario Vargas Llosa wrote everything in pink lipstick. He used to take suitcases of the stuff through customs. Which got some funny looks from customs officials in the more macho countries to which he travelled). The note reads: "Patricia, when you read this I will be gone. I am leaving you for a Swedish woman. No, she is not Anita Ekberg, but her embonpoint is indeed ample! Be good to the children whose names, for the moment, I forget. I am delirious with love! Farewell, my dear, farewell!" Patricia is furious. She runs into the street, holding the letter aloft and shouting: "Vendetta! Vendetta! Kill all Swedes! And also some Peruvians!" Her mascara runs like watercolours in the rain, like the blood of the Peruvian people under centuries of crypto-fascist oppression. Just then Gabriel García Márquez comes round the corner. "My dear Patricia! Why're you crying, baby? Let's go back to my apartment and turn that frown upside down." He walks three steps behind her, admiring the sashay of her ample derriere, stroking his moustache and saying: "Yes, oh yes." At Márquez's apartment, Gabriel's wife has already heard the news. "Leave him! These Peruvian men are all the same. They punch like girls and lose their heads over Anita Ekberg clones." "Yes, you must divorce him and come to live with us in a lovely ménage," says Gabriel. "I am working on a novel about just such a ménage, you see." He strokes his moustache in a rather lurid fashion. "You make me sick. Ménage? As research for a novel? I have never been so insulted! Actually, I have but that is irrelevant right now!" Patricia runs into the street, shouting: "Vendetta! Vendetta! Kill the Colombians!" She goes back to her bedroom. Mario Vargas Llosa is sitting on the end of the bed, face covered with lipstick kisses. "Ah Patricia. The ample embonpoint of the Swedish strumpet who temporarily captured my heart proves to have been fictional. She has lips that are so big, so coarse! Let us be reunited and live together in bliss with our children - Mario, Maria and the others whose names I forget." Patricia exclaims: "I love you Mario! But your novels are so very long! And, as a result, you use so much lipstick it makes me sick! Now you must defend my honour that has been defiled by your Colombian friend whose novels are also very long." Mario gets so angry he breaks a lipstick clean in two which makes Patricia roll her eyes. They embrace. Mario looks over her shoulder into the dressing table mirror, and winks at his reflection. They make love. Later Mario writes in pink lipstick some resolutions. 1. Write short novel. 2. Punch Márquez in the face. 3. Get the jump on him with a sucker punch - don't forget you are Peruvian and you punch like a girl. But if you hit him first, he will be so surprised he won't get up. Clever, eh? 4. Become Peruvian president. 5. Ship this mirror to Lima so you don't forget your resolutions. 6. Stop writing in lipstick. Today, we know that Mario Vargas Llosa only adhered to that second and third of these resolutions. If only he had remembered point 5. But he didn't. This is why he still writes in lipstick and didn't win the Peruvian presidential election. True story.Gail Merriam’s daughter was in first grade when, lying on the floor, she told her mother she didn’t want to live anymore. The daughter, who was enrolled in a program for students with behavioral challenges at the John F. Kennedy Elementary School in Somerville, Massachusetts, had become scared to go to school, depressed and suicidal, her mother said. “She lay down on the floor upstairs one day and said, ‘I don’t want to live anymore, I want to kill myself,'” Merriam recalled during an interview last month, her eyes filled with a pain that betrayed an otherwise strong composure. “I ended up having to hospitalize her.” Merriam believes it was the use of physical restraints at the school that caused her daughter’s suicidal thoughts. Merriam admits her daughter — whom we’ve agreed not to name for her privacy — could act out by hitting and biting teachers and other students, prompting her to be restrained. The use of physical restraints in schools remains a controversial method for calming or controlling disruptive students. Yet thousands of cases are reported annually by schools across the state. Now, for the first time in 14 years, the rules for restraining and secluding students in Massachusetts public schools are changing. A new set of statewide regulations approved late last year by the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education will phase in this fall and take full effect in January 2016. Public school staff will no longer be able to restrain students in immobilized, face down positions, in most cases, or place a student in a time-out outside of class for more than 30 minutes without a principal’s approval. The new regulations, notably, include the previously absent requirement that schools and programs must report all uses of physical restraints to the state on an annual basis. “The restraint regulations that the Board approved strike the appropriate balance, protecting individual student safety and well-being, as well as the safety of the school community,” Mitchell Chester, Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education, said in a statement. “The new regulations will also generate more data to inform any future adjustments to the regulations.” Data originally published last year by ProPublica from the Office of Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education show that restraints were used some 3,482 times on Massachusetts schoolchildren during the 2011-2012 school year, the last year for which data is available. Of those restraints, 52 were reported as mechanical restraints — meaning school staff used something artificial like straps, handcuffs or bungee cords to do the restraining. Students with disabilities absorb the largest impact of restraints — 3,223 of the 3,482 reported restraints were performed on students with disabilities. Traumatic Memories Gail Merriam’s daughter is diagnosed with developmental trauma disorder and sensory processing disorder. After her daughter’s hospitalization, Merriam withdrew her daughter from the Kennedy School. But it was five years later, at the mere mention of a visit to the school, that Merriam could fully grasp the extent of her daughter’s ongoing trauma from the restraints. “She became hysterical. She started sobbing and she begged me, begged me, to not make her set foot inside the Kennedy School again,” Merriam said. “She said, ‘I remember being restrained, I remember my head being banged against the wall, I remember wanting to kill myself when I was there.'” Officials with the Kennedy School’s program did not return calls for comment. “We do everything in our power to utilize passive calming measures (meaning methods that do not involve physical restraint) to de-escalate a situation,” Mary DiGuardia, Director of Special Education at Somerville Public Schools, said in an email. “Should the option of restraint be absolutely necessary to prevent the student from harming themselves or others, it would be conducted only by an individual trained in safe and proper restraint techniques.” Under-Reported And Overused Due to compliance and accuracy problems, concerns have been raised that the 3,248 restraints in Massachusetts self-reported to the U.S. Department of Education doesn’t even begin to cover the full picture. Sixty-four percent of Massachusetts districts did not self-report a single restraint, a number some advocates say is unrealistic. “We know that if you were to look at data in Connecticut, you could conclude that as many as 90 percent of the restraints in Massachusetts went unreported,” said Rick Glassman, director of advocacy at the Disability Law Center based in Boston. Connecticut, which requires all restraints on students with disabilities be reported to the state, recorded over five times the number of restraints as Massachusetts during the 2011-2012 school year. Still, nine Massachusetts schools reported over 100 uses of restraints in 2011-2012. U.S. Department of Education Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) data reveals that Lawrence’s School for Exceptional Studies reported 200 cases of physical restraints. The school’s total enrollment was 204 students. “The School For Exceptional Studies made the switch in January of the 2012-13 school year to trauma informed care, which utilizes more preventive interventions and time out options to avoid the need for physical restraints,” Chris Markuns, a spokesperson for Lawrence Public Schools, said in an email. He says after adopting the new methods, the school reported 73 restraints in 2012-2013 and 41 in 2013-2014. Eastham Elementary in Eastham, which enrolled 207 students in 2011-2012, recorded 181 instances of restraints. All were students with disabilities. Orleans Elementary in Orleans, which enrolled 205 students, recorded 155 instances of restraints. “We restrain students as a last resort — if they are in danger to themselves or others,” said Ann Caretti, director of pupil services for the Nauset Regional School District (NRSD), the district that oversees both Eastham Elementary and Orleans Elementary. She says NRSD’s meticulous approach to recording restraints may contribute to higher reported numbers than districts that record less diligently. Under the new state regulations, the use of physical restraints may only be used as a last resort to calm students and never as discipline — a practice many schools say they already employ. Prone Restraints The new regulations affect one specific type of restraint the most — prone restraints. Prone restraints are restraint positions where an individual is pinned down, face to the floor. There is no uniform method used by all schools or agencies. A student’s arms can be behind them, spread to their sides, next to them, or under them. Under the new regulations, the use of prone restraints will be all but eliminated, except for a select set of circumstances. The conditions for using prone restraints will require parental consent, approval from a physician and mental health professional, approval from the principal, and a student history of self-injury or injuries to others. “They’re being driven, I have to think, by people who don’t really do the work,” Judy Gelfand said of the requirements. She is principal of Bay Cove Academy, a small, publicly funded therapeutic day school in Brookline. “They’re taking away a tool that’s been very effective and they’re hampering schools’ abilities to manage what can be very scary and dangerous behaviors themselves.” “One of the new conditions — the documented history of harm to self or others — that puts [schools] in a position of having to wait until harm occurs before they can use a prone restraint on a student,” said Jim Major, the executive director of Massachusetts Association of Approved Private Schools (MAAPS). Approved private schools are publicly funded and provide educational services to students with special needs. While MAAPS would not support an outright ban on prone restraints, Major is in favor of the coming restrictions. “It will improve the practice and the use of restraints,” said Major. “The proper emphasis should be on the prevention of the use of restraints and seclusion to begin with.” “Restricting it so narrowly, is to make sure that it’s not in any way overused or inappropriately used,” said Russel Johnston, senior associate commissioner of the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. He said the conditions still leave a pathway for schools and programs to use them, if necessary. There is a growing awareness that prone restraints can be dangerous and, in some cases, even fatal. The Disability Law Center submitted a lengthy white paper to the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education on the risks of prone restraints. “One of the biggest difficulties has been that sometimes the individuals that are most likely to restrain a student with behavioral challenges, are the individuals who are the least trained in the system,” said Disability Law’s Glassman. The Center’s paper cited several instances of restraints causing injury or even death, including: Corey Foster, a 16-year-old at a Westchester County, New York, residential school, died in 2012 after he went into cardiac arrest when six staff members piled on top of him trying to restrain him. Angellika Arndt, a 7-year-old weighing 67 pounds was suffocated and died from chest compression asphyxia from being restrained for over an hour at a mental health treatment facility in Rice Lake, Wisconsin. The 2006 restraint was due to Arndt, who was diagnosed with ADHD and emotional disturbance, blowing bubbles in her milk and not following the facility’s time-out rules, the paper says. Mark Soares, a 16-year-old at Wayside Academy in Framingham, Massachusetts, died in 1998 from cardiac arrest during a prone restraint. Aides thought the teen was faking unconsciousness and physically restrained him face down on the floor with a staffer on his back. Voluntary Consent After Gail Merriam’s daughter left the hospital in 2008, Merriam enrolled her at the Walker School, an approved private school in Needham that also used restraints. “They used restraints a fair amount,” Merriam said. “In fact, the first parent support group I went to, they offered child care. My daughter ended up getting restraining that night.” But in 2011, when meeting with her daughter’s school adjustment counselor, Merriam was met with a shock: she learned she had the option to refuse to sign forms giving her consent to restraints. “I was thrilled! I was like, ‘Can I put my line right through it?'” Merriam exclaimed, gesturing as if crossing out her signature. “I was so thrilled to know that was within my rights.” However, finding a school that allows parents to say no to restraints has proven difficult for other Massachusetts parents. “There are definitely instances, to gain admission to a program, you have to give that consent,” said Daniel Heffernan, a partner at Kotin, Crabtree & Strong, who has represented several families in cases involving restraints by schools. “You have a situation where a family very much wants to have a child go to a particular program… so they’ll sign the paperwork without sort of understanding, necessarily, the ramifications of it.” But some schools say consent to restraints is a necessary precaution. “We require signatures and approval for our restraint procedure — which is approved by the Department of Education — by all parents,” said Howard Rossman, executive director of Dearborn Academy, an approved private school in Arlington. “Sometimes parents are very reluctant to sign it only because they think that if they sign it, we do it a lot. And we don’t do it a lot.” Rossman said that although the school has used only one restraint in the past year, the school prefers to have the ability to physically restrain students in case an incident occurs. “We sometimes have to convince parents,” said Rossman. The new regulations stipulate that no program may condition the admission or continued enrollment of a student on a parent’s consent to the use of any restraint. If a parent refuses consent to restraints, schools must rely on alternative methods to deescalate situations. Data: A Critical Tool While districts and schools collected their own data on the use of restraints, there has been no statewide collection by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) on the use of most restraints. The state has only required reports of restraints to DESE if the restraint lasted longer than 20 minutes or resulted in serious bodily injury to staff or students. The definition
residential dwellings in the UK. Although there are other smart thermostats available, the NEST seems to be the more popular choice for modern domestic heating systems. NuBryte Touchpoint is a system that can transform your house into a smart home. It offers solutions for home security, touch-free lighting, intercom and family hub. Alongside Philips, Osram is one of the big traditional bulb makers that made quick forays into smart lighting when the whole thing was but a daring idea. Now the Osram Lightify system is a leading smart connected light solution offering systems for home, offices and even custom installations through their innovative API. One of the first players in the booming personalised home lighting industry. They started out with colour-changing bulbs but now have added more items to their range – LED light strips, motion sensors and dimmable switches. They have developed a range of energy management and lifestyle products. The Plum lightpad has a touch-screen that lets you adjust lighting using gestures that you’re already accustomed to using on your mobile screen. Dimmers come with smart meters built in. A convenient mobile app will tell you exactly how much you’re spending on lighting per zone. They recently did a crowdfunding run for $500,000 and managed to collect nearly $700,000 which goes some way to show popularity of dimmers and similar smart devices. It’s the ultimate tool for green-fingered folks. Rachio is a smart garden sprinkler that you can control with your voice but it is equally capable of monitoring the weather and making its own decisions. Rachio is suitable for large gardens too as it comes with up to 16 outlets meaning you can easily differentiate among various plants and water them when they want it not when the sprinkler wants it. It’s an open data exchange platform for the IoT systems. Essentially its application is limitless as you can easily add devices and users enabling them to communicate with each other. It’s a range of smart devices working under the Samsung Smart Hub. It includes smart bulbs, plugs, security devices, motion sensors, geo tracking sensors, and even flood alert devices. It’s a smart home ecosystem that lets you create the right ambience in your home by pre-selecting warm/cool/coloured lighting, heating and to control other devices. Another brand of bulbs. In a similar manner to the aforementioned LIFX, you can tell your TP-Link bulbs to switch on or off and change the hue by naming the basic colours. This is serious stuff for smart home enthusiasts and DIYers. UD make network-enabled controllers that are able to control various different devices around your smart home. This is a product range that promises to make your home secure. You’ll be able to tell Google to monitor your smart door locks, garage door openers and security cameras. They also offer the Total Home Package that includes doorbell camera, various door locks and even a thermostat. The system comes with a cloud storage. It’s a high-end hardware and software solution for joining a number of Universal Powerline Bus (UPB) compatible devices into a seamless smart home environment. There are various manufacturers that build UPB-enabled devices including switches, controllers, dimmers and IoT sensors. Wink is a range of IoT home devices that include light switches, thermostats and bulbs. It’s great to have whole product ranges to integrate with Google. It makes a lot of sense both for the manufacturers and end-users. Another lighting control system. Its bulbs can replicate 16 million colours and 64,000 shades of white. One feature that we particularly like is the presence simulation, so you can schedule the lights to come on and off at usual times while you’re away on holiday. That’s the Google Home compatible devices list so far. Currently it includes 40 devices, which is good going considering Google was so late to get on to the smart home bandwagon and now are playing catch-up. We will be adding more devices as and when they are announced. If you think we’ve missed something, please get in touch.NEW YORK -- There they were walking through the snow with sticks in hands, bags slung over their shoulders and hockey jerseys on. If this was put on a green screen it could have been made to look like Mike Richter, Brian Leetch, Dave Maloney, Ken Daneyko and Grant Marshall were walking through the woods to the frozen pond, where they would shovel off the surface to make enough room for a game of shinny. Except this was happening Tuesday in the heart of New York City, during a walk five blocks down Sixth Avenue from the NHL Store on 47th Street to Bryant Park, with a backdrop of honking cars, yellow cabs, sirens coming from fire engines trying to speed down 44th Street, and impatient pedestrians jaywalking. "We don't get many opportunities like this," Daneyko said. "The snow falling down, playing outdoors, picture perfect." The NHL is hoping that's the case again Sunday, when the New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils play the first of two 2014 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series games at Yankee Stadium (12:30 p.m. ET, NBC, CBC). The action at Yankee Stadium resumes next Wednesday, when the Rangers and New York Islanders play a primetime game in the middle of Super Bowl week in New York (7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, TSN). On Tuesday, though, the NHL's latest hockey winter wonderland was the rink at Bryant Park. Former players from the Rangers, Devils and Islanders as well as ex-NFL MVP Boomer Esiason, a longtime Rangers season-ticket holder, and a group of kids from the North Jersey Avalanche program based out of Hackensack, N.J., took to the snowy ice to play an hour of shinny with Rangers radio broadcaster Kenny Albert serving as the MC and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman among those in attendance. The objective was to promote the upcoming Stadium Series games at Yankee Stadium. The event meant so much more than that to those involved. "I'm like a kid today," said Esiason, who wore No. 7 as a football player because of ex-Rangers great Rod Gilbert. "I appreciate it. I appreciate those players. I appreciate what the NHL is all about. I love the sport and certainly coming out here in Bryant Park, in the heart of New York City, and skating in a 'pond hockey game' against a couple of kids, it doesn't get any better than that. "I don't know who is a bigger kid, me or the little guys." Ex-Islanders forward Patrick Flatley said he was "flattered, honored and excited" to be a part of the event Tuesday. He was joined by former teammates Glenn Healy and Eric Cairns. "These rinks in Manhattan, I feel like I can be in the heart of Saskatchewan, that's the feeling out here," Flatley said. "Unbelievable day. We do lots of things that take years off our lives. This is a day that adds years to the life. It's fantastic to be out in the fresh air." Flatley said he hopes the games at Yankee Stadium and the game between the Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings at Dodger Stadium on Saturday (9:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, CBC) show people that hockey can be played whenever and wherever with today's technology. "They say Canada is the home of hockey, but most kids that play hockey in Canada don't play organized hockey," he said. "They're playing on a pond or a frozen river. With the technology that the NHL is demonstrating we can build rinks anywhere and get more and more people playing hockey in America so everybody can grow to love this game." The continued popularity of some of the former players, particularly Leetch and Richter, was evident as they were walking down Sixth Avenue. Former NHL players took to the snowy ice to play an hour of shinny in New York's Bryant Park. (Click to enlarge) They stopped to sign autographs for a guy who didn't have a pen and only had a department store cardboard box to write on. One man crossing Sixth Avenue near the entrance to the park screamed "Mike Richter, Brian Leetch, holy [expletive]!" Fans lined the outside of the boards, some chanting, "Let's go Rangers," which naturally prompted Daneyko to boo with a smile on his face, laughing the entire time. Dave Maloney, a former Rangers' captain, fraternized with fans as he was waiting to go on the ice, snow starting to cover his uncovered head. "You're lucky enough to play in the NHL, but to play in a city like this, where the sports fans are so great and the hockey fans in particular are so passionate, they remember you," Richter said. "It feels like a family. It's fun to be able to go out there and do this. Our time is gone. We're fans now and we really appreciate the support that they gave us, so it's our turn now." Come Sunday it will be time for the real action, when the Devils and Rangers play at Yankee Stadium with two points on the line. The importance of the actual Stadium Series games is not lost on the former players so much so that Richter, Daneyko and Leetch all brought it up unprompted in their respective interviews. However, that's not their concern anymore and they're OK with that, especially when they can still be part of the celebration and promotion of the biggest hockey event to come to New York since the 1994 Stanley Cup Final. All they needed was a pair of skates, a stick, a frozen surface and some snow to make them feel like kids again. "We could stay here all day," Richter said. ---AT&T is currently testing 5G network technology and a top executive said the company has recorded download speeds of 14 Gbps to a single user and 5 Gbps to two users. Tom Keathley, SVP of wireless network architecture and design for AT&T, discussed the operator’s ongoing 5G network technology tests at the Cowen and Company 2nd Annual Communications Infrastructure Summit this week. “We’ve actually started and finished testing on a millimeter wave system,” he said. “So we put in a 15 GHz system earlier this year. We finished the testing already on that system. We’re going to install a 28 GHz system later this year.” Mobile World Congress 2019 Attend the 2-Day Executive 5G Panel Series FierceWireless is returning to Barcelona, Spain, during Mobile World Congress 2019 with a two-day Executive 5G Panel Series at the Fira Congress Hotel, conveniently located across the street from the MWC Convention Center. The panel events will take place on Feb. 25-26 and will cover 5G and The Fixed Wireless Access Opportunity, Taking 5G Indoors, and Making 5G Ubiquitous. Attendees will have the opportunity to network and hear from 5G leaders including Verizon, Vodafone, Orange, Sprint, NTT Docomo, Boingo Wireless, Qualcomm, and more over the course of two days. Secure your spot at the event today! Now is your chance to join fellow industry professionals for networking and education. Registration information and the schedule can be found on the website here. Register today Keathley added: “By the way we’ve been able to do 14 Gbps to a single user with that system. We’ve actually tried multi-user MIMO and done 5 Gbps to two users. So really we’ve validated the potential of this type of technology. Now there will be a great deal more testing that will continue before we’re ready to actually operationalize this and install it in the network. But the initial tests show the technology can do exactly what’s been touted.” AT&T announced in February it was collaborating with Ericsson and Intel to test 5G network technology in the operator's Austin, Texas, network labs starting in the second quarter of this year. The carrier also said it would conduct outdoor tests and trials of the technology this summer. The company at the time added that it expects to conduct field trials of 5G before year-end, with those trials focusing on providing wireless connectivity to fixed locations. AT&T said it expected to deliver broadband speeds between 10-100 times faster than existing LTE network connections and said customers will likely see speeds in the range of gigabits per second instead of megabits. In his appearance at the Cowen event this week, Keathley briefly discussed the types of applications that 5G would enable, and pointed to augmented reality apps like Pokémon Go as an example. “5G will enable those type of real time services in a way that’s never happened in the 4G space,” he said. Of course, AT&T isn’t the only wireless carrier testing 5G technology. Verizon has loudly discussed the potential of 5G and its plans to deploy a fixed commercial version of 5G as early as next year. Indeed, Verizon reported in February that its early 5G tests topped 10 Gbps and delivered 4K video while moving. And in May, Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam said that the carrier's 5G tests in its Basking Ridge, New Jersey, headquarters have shown speeds of up to 1.8 Gbps. At the time, he hinted that the range of that service could reach up to 1,000 meters. To be clear, there is no official standard for 5G network technology, though those in the industry agree it will make heavy use of high-band spectrum, such as the so-called millimeter wave bands around 30 GHz and above. And because there is no official 5G standard yet, most in the industry agree that true mobile 5G services likely won’t hit the commercial market until 2020. For more: - see this webcast Related articles: AT&T: 5G mostly about fixed wireless for next two to three years AT&T working with Ericsson, Intel to test 5G in Q2, promises speeds up to 100 times faster than LTE Verizon's McAdam on 5G: Fixed deployment 'gives you all the return on capital that you need' Verizon's McAdam: 5G speeds will be up to 1 Gbps and will be live at Verizon HQ in JanuaryDES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Three Iowa Supreme Court justices who helped legalize gay marriage in the state seven years ago will face voters on Nov. 8 for the first time since the ruling, but they are refusing to campaign for their jobs because they argue the courts should remain above politics. The justices up for retention votes in next week’s election are taking the same approach as three judges who appeared to pay a price for their stands when voters in 2010 removed them from office after a costly campaign waged by gay marriage opponents. The judges now on the ballot have said little about the vote, but two of those removed from the court told The Associated Press they don’t regret their choice not to campaign even though they knew opponents were organizing a high-profile effort to oust them. “I think it’s dangerous when politics are injected into the courts and I think that is what happened in 2010,” former Chief Justice Marsha Ternus said. “If voters vote on judges or justices based on their views of issues rather than what the law requires, what they’re telling judges to do is to ignore the law when popular opinion wants them to do so. Then, we’re not a country based on the rule of law and that’s a dangerous path to go down.” Ternus, along with justices Michael Streit and David Baker, failed to receive the majority vote needed to remain in office for another eight years. Each of them received less than 45 percent, marking the first time Supreme Court justices were removed from office by voters since the retention system was established in 1962. The three justices in 2009 had joined in a unanimous 7-0 ruling that found a ban on same-sex marriage violated the state constitution, making Iowa the third state to legalize the practice. At the time, 29 states had constitutional bans on gay marriage and the issue remained highly contentious throughout the country. Like Ternus, Baker said he didn’t regret not campaigning. “If you’re going to do that you have to go out and solicit funds and, whether you do or you don’t, the perception is that you owe somebody,” Baker said. “I’m still of the belief that politics and judges are a bad mix.” Gay rights opponents led by Christian conservative Bob Vander Plaats raised $1 million in their successful campaign against the justices in 2010. Gay rights opponents led again by Vander Plaats failed to remove Justice David Wiggins when he was up for a vote in 2012. Wiggins, who joined in the gay marriage decision, received more than 54 percent of the vote and remains on the bench. In the upcoming election, Chief Justice Mark Cady and Justices Daryl Hecht and Brent Appel will be on the ballot. None has campaigned, but Cady released a letter last week that stated, “I believe campaigns for judicial office only open the door of a court system to the influence of politics and money. This door must never swing open.” There hasn’t been a high-profile effort to remove justices this year. That’s likely in part due to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year affirming that state bans on same-sex marriage are unconstitutional, a decision that seemed to vindicate the Iowa ruling. “I think obviously the nation has become more comfortable with the concept,” Baker said. “It certainly has been made clear from a constitutional basis ours is the correct decision.” Vander Plaats declined to comment through a spokesman, but he wrote an Oct. 21 column in The Des Moines Register that encouraged Iowans to vote “no” on the justices whose opinion he said served to “foist homosexual marriage upon our state.” His organization’s political action committee has donated money to a group called Common Sense PAC, which has placed yard signs around the state asking voters to reject the three justices. Des Moines attorney Guy Cook, the past president of the Iowa State Bar Association and an advocate of judicial independence, has worked with a bar association committee since 2012 on behalf of judges who feel they can’t campaign. The goal is to educate voters on why Iowans amended the state constitution decades ago to create a new system for hiring judges. “It was designed to get higher quality judges on the bench based on merit and to remove the influence of politics and not have judges issue rulings in return for votes,” he said. © 2016, Associated Press, All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. This Story Filed UnderRed light has been shown to provide benefits for many living organisms on earth. This includes all plant life, a wide variety of bacteria/micro-organisms, fish, small animals, dogs, horses, humans, but also insects, snails and worms. As a natural component of sunlight this should come as no surprise. Light for worms? It does seem somewhat counterintuitive regarding earthworms, however, that red light might benefit them, as earthworms are generally averse to light. Worms don’t have eyes as such, but they have cells similar to those cells in our retina that are light sensitive. Worms are actually harmed by direct sunlight or avoid it for several reasons including: Being exposed to open sunlight causes their skin to dry out, suffocating them (worms breathe via the skin) and increasing friction, damaging their skin upon movement. From an evolutionary perspective, being in open light increases chances that they will be seen by predators such as chickens and birds. They’ve evolved to avoid that risk. UV light can pass through the entire body of a worm, so while us humans only get sunburn, worms get dangerous full body burn. Basically, natural sunlight exposure is lethal to worms, in a variety of ways. So why exactly is red light beneficial for worms? How can we be sure? What downstream effect could this have on soil and plants in the soil? How red light improves worm function and casting quantity Sunlight is a broad spectrum of light, containing wavelengths from ultraviolet, through all the colours of the rainbow, and also infrared light. Red light is a much narrower spectrum, occupying only a small range of wavelengths. More info here. The effects in worms are best shown by the below table (taken from the study: “Effects of light colour and oscillator frequency on earthworm bioactivity” Owa, et al., 2007): Worms under the red light processed by far the most organic material and produced the most worm casting. Compared to the worms receiving no light at all (which is standard in most vermicomposting), red light supplemented worms produced 66% more castings. A huge difference. Standard white light seems to have an overall negative impact, reducing production by over 30%. Green and blue light have a positive effect on cast production, albeit less than red’s. Although, judging from worm emigration rates, they were uncomfortable under both green and blue, showing the least tolerance (they wanted to escape). They showed the most tolerance to dark and also red. This suggests that the worms were both comfortable and productive under red light, but stressed (and productive) under blue. It also suggests that worms are comfortable in the dark, but not optimally stimulated by darkness. This study shows that the benefits are definitely from the colour of the light, not the heat produced (as all colours of light produced the same low heat). Worms seem to benefit the most from red light, and are harmed the most by UV (or spectrums containing UV like white/sunlight). Other studies show similar results, with earthworms either being more efficient because of red light, or all congregating towards areas with red light (Wu HP et al., 2011. de Souza et al., 2005. Lopes KA et al., 2009). Worms just love red light. Almost every type of light has a biological effect on organisms. UV can cause sunburn, but also vitamin d production, blue light can trigger photosynthesis, but also retina damage, etc. Red light primarily stimulates energy (ATP) production in mitochondria (Tafur et al., 2008. Begum et al., 2013. Morimoto Y et al., 1994. etc.) via a respiratory enzyme called cytochrome c oxidase. The reason that red light is beneficial for all organisms is because we all have mitochondria (plants, animals, bacteria, fungi) and they all function in more or less the same way. Respiration is one of the most primitive/primary foundations of life…and red light interacts to enhance it. By looking at this equation above, we can see several things. Not only will red light make worms produce more energy (so they can process more material into worm castings), but also increases the total carbon dioxide produced by the worms. This is most significant if plants are being grown nearby, as carbon dioxide dramatically improves plant growth. So not only do the worm castings themselves improve plant growth (via soil quality), the worm’s respiration also improves plant growth by producing co2. Both worm castings and co2 production are enhanced by red light. How worms produce quality soil Vermicomposting is a process that involves the breakdown of organic matter into worm castings. It is carried out naturally by earthworms and various organic ‘feed’ can be used to supplement it such as vegetable peels, bread, cardboard and egg shells. As the organic matter decays, worms can eat the microorganisms growing on it and those in the soil. They can also eat very small pieces of food directly. Various factors affect the rate at which worms will process the compost, such as; temperature, type of feed, moisture, oxygen availablity, species of worm, pH, pests and lighting. The worm castings produced by this process are a mineral rich fertiliser and soil conditioner, that enhance plant growth (germination, roots, crop yield), improve overall soil quality (aeration, microorganisms, water capacity) and even have broader environmental benefits (van Groenigen et al. 2014). Use pure red light only – for worm health Using just any source of red light to improve worm function isn’t recommended as most high powered lights put out excess heat. Red heat lamps, incandescents, HPS, red halogen and pretty much every other type of red light fall into this category. The main exception is red LEDs. LED technology is the most energy efficient lighting technology available at the moment. This basically means that it converts more energy into light than other types of lighting. LEDs therefore produce a lot less heat than other bulbs. This is especially important for worms and vermicompost as you don’t want to inadvertently heat the worms, which would produce negative results. Tentative vermicompost lighting recommendations Below are initial recommendations, a starting point if you will, based on the limited available studies at this point in time. For large-scale vermicomposting a series of high powered, red spectrum only, 100w+ LED lights (the same as red-only plant grow lights typically used for ‘flowering’) would be optimal. The light(s) should be placed directly above the active part of the worm bin, high enough that the light spread covers from side to side. For small-scale vermicomposting a lower powered 5 to 15 watt red LED light would be optimal, positioned centrally on the ceiling of the worm bin. Even something like red Christmas lights could work, or a red LED panel. This could be used all day long, especially in outdoor bins in winter. Summary Red light is beginning to be acknowledged as an essential component of vermicomposting, bringing the worms to maximum effectiveness. The potential is exciting with perhaps a doubling of worm cast production in an optimal configuration. There are many potential lighting options for large and small scale worm bins, depending on the size and depth. We need more studies and experimentation from the vermiculture community to see what works best. If you have tried red light in your own vermicompost equipment or have any information/anecdotes to share, please leave a comment below! References African Journal of Agricultural Research Vol. 3 (1), pp. 029-036, January 2008. Effects of light colour and oscillator frequency on earthworms – Owa, et al. J Photochem Photobiol B. 2011 Feb 7;102(2):156-60. Increased mobility and stem-cell proliferation rate in Dugesia tigrina induced by 880nm light emitting diode. Wu HP, Persinger MA. J Photochem Photobiol B. 2005 Sep 1;80(3):203-7. Low power laser radiation at 685 nm stimulates stem-cell proliferation rate in Dugesia tigrina during regeneration. de Souza SC, Munin E, Alves LP, Salgado MA, Pacheco MT. Braz J Biol. 2009 May;69(2):327-32. A study of low power laser on the regenerative process of Girardia tigrina (Girard,1850) (Turbellaria; Tricladida; Dugesiidae). Lopes KA, Campos Velho NM, Munin E. Scientific Reports 4, Article number: 6365 (2014). Earthworms increase plant production: a meta-analysis. Jan Willem van Groenigen, Ingrid M. Lubbers, Hannah M. J. Vos, George G. Brown, Gerlinde B. De Deyn & Kees Jan van Groenigen Rana Begum, Michael B. Powner, Natalie Hudson, et al. Treatment with 670 nm Light Up Regulates Cytochrome C Oxidase Expression and Reduces Inflammation in an Age-Related Macular Degeneration Model. February 28, 2013. Lasers Surg Med. 1994;15(2):191-9. Effect of low-intensity argon laser irradiation on mitochondrial respiration. Morimoto Y, Arai T, Kikuchi M, Nakajima S, Nakamura H. Photomed Laser Surg. 2008 Aug; 26(4): 323–328. Low-Intensity Light Therapy: Exploring the Role of Redox Mechanisms. Joseph Tafur, and Paul J. Mills.Congressman Paul Ryan, the Republican budget chairman from Wisconsin, is winning praise for his courage in proposing a real plan to cut the national debt. President Obama has punted on this central question, so the nation is thirsty for leadership. But take a closer look and Ryan’s plan isn’t courageous at all. It is a sop to conservatives that protects all the tax cuts for the rich, while savaging programs for the poor and middle class. In other words, it’s not a real attempt to break the political gridlock. Ryan is positioning himself as the chief cheerleader at the Republican pep rally, not as a national leader pointing the way to a reasonable solution. What we really need are grown-up politicians who are willing to face facts, even if it means offending their own party’s base. A Democrat who accepts the need for deep cuts in entitlement spending would fit that bill. So would a Republican who accepts the need to reverse most of the Bush tax cuts. Ryan is not among them. He panders to the Republican base by sticking with all the tax cuts, even those for the very rich. And once that decision is made, there is no alternative but to cut deeply into the muscle and bone of government. The result is that Americans of limited means get pounded under Ryan’s plan. At a time when wages for the average American are dropping and salaries for the rich are skyrocketing, Ryan would deepen the divide. He would end Medicare as we know it and replace it with a menu of private plans. New enrollees would get help paying the premiums, but Washington’s contribution would be capped at a rate that is unlikely to keep up with rising health costs. The modest cost-containment provisions in Obama’s health reform would be rescinded. Medicaid, the health program for the poor, would be hit even harder. Under Ryan’s plan, the federal government would provide block grants to states, which would be free to reduce benefits or drop people from coverage. The Medicaid expansion included in Obama’s health reform would be lost as well, throwing millions more to the mercy of hospital emergency rooms. Ryan would impose deep cuts in food stamps, along with cuts in Pell grants, low-income housing, job training and a menu of other programs that have long been in the GOP’s crosshairs. This pinched vision of America is extreme. Ryan pictures a federal government that would limit spending to 20 percent of GDP. For comparison, the figure was 22 percent under Ronald Reagan. And remember that Ryan’s smaller government, unlike Reagan’s, would have to cover the costs of Baby Boomer retirements. No wonder so many people of modest means would have to be thrown overboard. To really solve this problem, we need courageous politicians to risk their careers by telling Americans the ugly truths. And we need sober citizens who are willing to pay the bills for the government they demand. Two bipartisan commissions that studied this question last year pointed in the right direction. Both urged painful spending cuts balanced with painful tax increases. And both shaped the spending cuts in ways that spread the pain more fairly than Ryan would. Obama kept his distance from both commissions, even the one he appointed. That was a terrible failure of leadership. His lack of credibility on this issue has helped fuel the extremism that is reflected in Ryan’s plan, and in the attempts to deeply cut this year’s budget. Those looking for courageous solutions to our crippling national debt won’t find it in the White House or in Ryan’s office. What you’ll find, instead, are politicians protecting their careers.Translation: "We would maybe like to cut interest rates to prevent inflation staying below target, but we are scared of doing this because it might cause some people to borrow too much, so we are just crossing our fingers and hoping something will turn up so we don't need to cut interest rates." "Although the Bank considers the risks around its projected inflation path to be balanced, the fact that inflation has been persistently below target means that downside risks to inflation assume increasing importance. However, the Bank must also take into consideration the risk of exacerbating already-elevated household imbalances. " (my bold) First off, there's a massive implicit fallacy of composition in that sort of reasoning. If you cut interest rates for one individual that individual will respond by borrowing more and spending more. But that is not how monetary policy works for an economy as a whole. Because one person's spending is another person's income. So if people spend $100 more per month then people earn $100 more income per month, so they don't need to borrow anything more in order to spend more. And it's even less true in an open economy, if a cut in interest rates causes exchange rate depreciation so foreigners spend more on Canadian goods, so Canadian net borrowing from abroad actually falls, as net exports increase. Second off, low equilibrium interest rates are a symptom of weak demand for goods and low expected inflation. When people and firms fear continuing recession, desired investment will be low ("who will buy the extra goods we produce?"), and desired saving will be high ("what if I can't get a job?"), for any given real interest rate. So the equilibrium real interest rate will actually be lower when people and firms fear a continuing recession than when they don't. (The IS curve slopes the "wrong" way, in other words. Or the IS curve shifts left if people fear continuing recession because of overly tight monetary policy, if you prefer to think of it that way instead.) If the Bank of Canada really does fear the consequences of continued low interest rates for "household imbalances", the very last thing it should be doing is increasing the level of fear that it will be unwilling to loosen monetary policy enough to prevent a continuing recession. Monetary policy is not what the Bank of Canada is doing right now. Monetary policy is the set of beliefs people have about how the Bank of Canada will and would respond in future to various actual and hypothetical future circumstances. And by saying it is less likely to cut interest rates should the need arise, because of fear of "exacerbating already-elevated household imbalances" the Bank of Canada is changing people's beliefs, increasing people's fear of continuing recession, and prolonging the duration of low equilibrium interest rates. The best way to raise interest rates is to say you will cut interest rates if the economy doesn't recover quicker. The best way to lower interest rates is to say you are scared to cut interest rates. The Bank of Canada's stated fear of cutting interest rates makes it more likely its fears will be realised.Glen Coffee's single year as a 49er may qualify as one of the strangest NFL careers. The summer after a promising 2009 rookie year, in which the third-round pick out of Alabama filled in nicely for an injured Frank Gore, Coffee up and quit. God didn't want him to play football, he said in brief and guarded interviews. There's more to life than the pursuit of money. Later today, Coffee will graduate from the army's Airborne School at Fort Benning, Ga. He says he doesn't miss the NFL, and that serving in the military is a much better use of his gifts than playing professional football. “I figured that if I'm able, the Lord's blessed me with an able body while I'm young, to get out there and get dirty.” Coffee's sudden retirement during training camp in 2010 was as shocking to the 49ers as it was to fans, but he admitted his heart was never in it. He missed the South—he said he regretted leaving Alabama early, and immediately moved back to his home on the Florida Panhandle. But more than that, he just didn't seem to know what he wanted to do with his life, only that the NFL wasn't it. In a candid interview with the Sacramento Bee a year after his retirement, he decried the pro athlete mindset. As far as the NFL goes, I have a hard time putting it like this because it sounds kind of harsh, but I feel like it ruins a lot of lives more than anything else. And that goes for people who have short careers in the NFL and long careers in the NFL. Because what happens is they see that as success. And money throughout your life has nothing to with your salvation in Christ. A lot of players get that money. And they chase that money, man, and I feel that they're really missing the true meaning of life. So I'm constantly afraid for the NFL and the players because kids growing up nowadays, they see that as the end all, be all. And that's just not the case. Coffee drifted around for awhile. He started boxing. He got baptized, and spoke at churches. He was arrested for weapons possession. (Charges were later dropped.) He went back to Alabama to finish his degree. He played semi-pro football. But it was only after seeing Tears of the Sun, starring Bruce Willis as the leader of a squad of Navy SEALS, did he decide to join the military. He enlisted in February. After today's graduation, it's off to Fort Bragg, where Coffee hopes to become a Green Beret.New Delhi: The Arvind Kejriwal government on Thursday invited Pakistani singer Ghulam Ali to perform in the national capital after his concert in Mumbai was cancelled due to the Shiv Sena threatening to disrupt it. The AAP government justified the move saying "music has no boundaries". Delhi Culture Minister Kapil Mishra tweeted that the Pakistani singer is welcome to come to Delhi to perform. Sad that #GhulamAli is not being allowed in Mumbai, I invite him to come to Delhi and do the concert. Music has no boundaries. #BanTheBan — Kapil Mishra (@KapilMishraAAP) October 8, 2015 Ali's concert in Mumbai was cancelled on Wednesday after Shiv Sena, which is part of the ruling alliance in the state, threatened to disrupt it. The party said that no artiste from Pakistan will be allowed to perform in the city till terror emanating from across the border is stopped. "We are completely against any form of cultural ties with Pakistan. The country is against us and kills our soldiers, so there’s no point why we should let their singer perform here. If the concert is not called off, we will protest in our own style," said Akshay Badrapurkar, general secretary of Chitrapat Sena. Another Sena leader said though his party was in the government, it would not allow the concert in Mumbai. “We have always opposed the performance of Pakistani artists in India to protest its ceasefire violations along the Line of Control (LoC),” said Mangesh Satamkar, senior Sena leader. Organisers of the event had announced the cancellation after a meeting with Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray. A source close to Thackeray told PTI that the Sena president asked the organisers to refrain from having any Pakistani artiste perform at such programmes. "Ghulam Ali's programme has been cancelled. Neither Ghulam Ali nor any Pakistani artiste will be performing at the 9
The U visa, created as part of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000, allows the alleged victims to remain in the U.S. while assisting law enforcement, and they can then become eligible to adjust to lawful permanent resident status. According to the Department of Homeland Security, the U visa is in place largely to protect women and children who may be victims of crimes such as human trafficking, domestic violence, sexual assault and other abuse, but are afraid to report the crimes due to factors including the language barrier, cultural differences, lack of knowledge of U.S. laws and deportation fears. Former Arapahoe County (Colo.) District Attorney Michael Steinberg, who now specializes in such cases, said, "anyone who enters the country illegally and can produce a restraining order or affidavit, even with no hard evidence of abuse, is likely to be approved for a work permit and permanent residency." Steinberg, in a paper posted on his website, notes that accused individuals such as Sun's son are not allowed to offer Customs and Immigration Services evidence, even if it shows the petitioner has engaged in criminal behavior. The U visa provision even brings to a halt deportation proceedings that may have already been under way, Steinberg said. A local prosecutor charged Sun’s son with stalking, and while the first trial ended in a hung jury, he was convicted on retrial. “It has been devastating for my son, our family and the people who know about this relationship and care about my son,” Sun said, noting the family is considering an appeal. If it was a con, it was not the first of its kind, say experts. While foreign nationals unquestionably experience domestic violence in America, savvy scammers know that playing the card opens up loopholes to legal residency and even citizenship. “Every week we hear from people who have been taken advantage of by fraudsters,” said Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies for the Washington-based Center for Immigration Policy. “It’s hard to hear these stories of citizens who are duped and not only have their hearts broken, but often their bank account drained and lose their good name to false accusations of abuse, but is a predictable consequence of giving out green cards to anyone who claims to have been the victim of a crime.” The number of people submitting U visa applications to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services claiming to be victims of crime has increased dramatically in recent years, rising to 52,666 last year from 24,768 applicants in 2012. The number is on track to reach nearly 58,000 by year’s end. “It can’t be that there has suddenly been a wave of domestic violence or victimization of immigrants,” Vaughan said. “Instead, the advocates for illegal immigrants have realized that these special green card programs are a way to launder the status of many illegal aliens in the absence of a larger amnesty.” John Sampson, a retired Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent, who now operates CSI Consulting and Investigations, which specializes in helping U.S. citizens victimized by foreign national visa scams, was an expert witness in the Suns’ case. "If he was harassing her, why didn't she block his number, get a new phone, tell his parents about him, or get a restraining order before a year's time? Why subject herself to a year's long harassment that turned into stalking?" Sampson said claiming to be a victim of stalking, harassment or domestic violence to obtain a U visa is a common scenario. “Unfortunately, most of the courts and prosecutors are fully unaware of what is going on. They have no idea,” Sampson said. The so-called “domestic violence” visas are even easier to obtain if the underlying relationship blooms into a marriage, Sampson warned. Of the more than 450,000 immigrant visas issued on the basis of a marriage to a U.S. citizen each year, nearly 30 percent are fraudulent, Sampson said, citing US ICE statistics. “It is these one-sided immigration marriage fraud schemes that cause the most damage to unsuspecting U.S. citizens and their families,” Sampson said. “They are abused emotionally, financially, psychologically and, often times, physically. And no one seems to be interested in stopping this heinous crime.” All the foreign nationals have to do, Sampson said, is allege they are the victim of domestic violence or abuse, even on the same day of marriage, and then they become a permanent resident alien “in an instant.” Obstacles that normally prevent a foreign national from obtaining a green card – or being deported – are waived for those claiming domestic violence because the foreign national is now the victim, said Sampson. “It's the mother of all ‘Get Out of Jail Free Cards,’” Sampson said. In addition to having their hearts broken, U.S. citizens taken in by the scam can have their lives ruined and even be sent to prison. Some have seen their bank accounts emptied by newly-minted resident aliens, who often go straight onto the government dole, Sampson said. New Jersey resident Elena Maria Lopez claims she was targeted in an immigration marriage fraud scheme, and now runs an advocacy website to educate the public about such scams. “The easiest way to get a quick green card is by claiming domestic violence against your American spouse,” Lopez said. “Making such unsubstantiated, uninvestigated allegations can help you bypass background checks and is almost a guaranteed green card for foreign nationals that would've been flagged on many other levels.” While immigrants are often eligible for pro bono legal help, including immigration fraud, no such help is available to U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents scammed by immigrants for legal status, Lopez said. Dani Bennett, spokesman for ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations, said the agency places a high priority on investigating identity and benefit fraud. “These types of fraud pose a severe threat to homeland security and public safety because they create a vulnerability that enables criminals and other nefarious actors to gain entry and remain in the United States,” Bennett said. In 2015, Homeland Security Investigations arrested 873 individuals on federal criminal charges related to benefit fraud and another 1,282 individuals on federal document fraud charges, Bennett said. There’s no doubt there are true victims of domestic violence, and the Violence Against Women Act, initially signed into law in 1994, has been key in getting the abused much-needed protection, said Claude Arnold, a retired U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations. “This is a tough situation,” Arnold said. “You want to have the law protect domestic violence victims, yet the law also creates another vulnerability in our immigration system that is exploited by fraudsters.”Arsene Wenger's men got off to a fine start as they went in search of their first top-flight title since 2004, and were top for more than 100 days. They fell away in the second half of the season, however, and suffered heavy defeats at championship rivals Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea. Ramsey, who scored the winning goal in the 3-2 victory over Hull City in the FA Cup final to end the club's nine-year trophy drought, pinpointed those below-par defensive displays as defining factors in their failing title challenge. "We got off to a really good start, that's something we had been lacking over the last few years," he told the club's official website. "We came out of the blocks firing and were top of the league for long periods of the season. "Everyone was really excited and looking forward to it, thinking that we've got a great opportunity. Unfortunately it wasn't to be. "I think the results away from home against the so-called bigger teams have been damaging and that's what's cost us in the end. "In all of those games we conceded early on and going to these places is difficult, never mind going a goal down. I think it's important just to stay in the game and frustrate them. "With the quality we have, we always know we can create opportunities. The main thing is just to stay in the game in the first half and it will open up a lot more in the second half - and hopefully we can take full advantage."The director of the next Star Wars movie is taking authenticity to the next level by—hopefully—shooting parts of the film in space using IMAX technology. Colin Trevorrow, who will direct Star Wars: Episode IX, talked about the plan during a panel at the Sundance Film Festival on Thursday, according to MTV. “I asked the question, ‘Is it possible for us to shoot IMAX film plates in actual space for ‘Star Wars,’” he said. “I haven’t gotten an answer yet, but they’ve shot IMAX in space.” Director Christopher Nolan, who was also on the panel, said he used shots from space in “Interstellar.” The Brief Newsletter Sign up to receive the top stories you need to know right now. View Sample Sign Up Now “Funny enough, we had that conversation with ‘Interstellar,’” Nolan said. “There’s incredible footage from space now.” During the panel, Trevorrow also said he wants to shoot the movie on film, rather than digital. Write to Katie Reilly at Katie.Reilly@time.com.Polling is only one issue, but the elephant in the room of the last decade of Georgian politics, is the seemingly willful failure of many in the west to understand the UNM and its leader, former President Saakashvili, for what it, and he, is. A fundamental fact of political life in Georgia is that this organization, and its leader, is discredited and remains massively unpopular. Moreover, the UNM record during their last five years or so in power included significant backsliding on democracy and human rights abuses. This is absolutely axiomatic, but somehow eludes many in western capitals. The reasons for this are baffling. To suggest, as I have in the past, that it is still simply because of Saakashvili, and some of his associates, relentless charm and lobbying offensive, fluency in English and strong anti-Russian rhetoric, is almost an insult of the intelligence of many who work in foreign policy in the US and Europe. A more plausible, if depressing, explanation might be that after years of support for the UNM, accepting a different reality about who they are and what they did is simply something that powerful foreign policy elites do not want to do. Regardless of the reason, this election should be another reminder that the UNM is viewed very differently inside of Georgia than in the west. Part of the collateral damage of the west’s collective misreading of the UNM was their corresponding inability to understand the GD. The GD government has ample faults. Bidzina Ivanishvili continues to wield significant power even after leaving office. The government was not able to turn Georgia’s economy around in four years Georgia’ s struggle to build strong democratic institutions remains a work in progress. However, Georgia is considerably more free than it was when the GD came to power. It is also closer to the EU and NATO, is drawing significant tourism and western investment and is no longer lurching from mini-crisis to mini-crisis as it did from 2007-2012. Western governments seemed to understand that, but this was largely lost on many in the think tank, NGO and related parts of the foreign policy establishments in Europe and North America. Beyond Bidzina v. Misha For several years, Georgia politics have been described by many as a political battle between two larger than life figures, Saakashvili and Ivanishvili. In addition to being Georgia’s richest man, former Prime Minister and the founder of the GD, Ivanishvili is also widely regarded as the informal power behind the GD government. The Saakashvili v. Ivanishvili paradigm is appealing because it reduces Georgian politics to something very simple, suggests an equivalency between the two men and allows many to continue to avoid confronting the UNM record. Additionally, this conventional wisdom is almost cinematic. On one side, according to this frame, the former Prime Minister sits in his ultra-modern headquarters above Tbilisi sinisterly giving orders to the entire Georgian government, while the former President in exile a few stops on the L train into Brooklyn and later from his post as governor of Odessa, still continues to assert control over the UNM and, presumably, the affections and loyalty of many in Georgia. In this election, however, Georgian politics moved beyond Saakashvili v. Ivanishvili. Naturally, these two figures remained involved in the election, but their rivalry was not the major force behind the election. Moreover, as the election approached it became clear that Saakashvili had become a drag on the UNM. A post-Saakashvili UNM would have been able to more easily break with their damaging legacy and present themselves as pro-west reformers. This would not have been enough for them to win a majority, but it would have allowed them to build beyond their base, something they proved unable to do in this election. The loser in that scenario would have been Saakashvili as if that UNM had done well, it would have demonstrated that Saakashvili was definitively a figure from Georgia’s past. Given that Saakashvili’s Ukrainian adventure does not appear to be working out, he could not afford that perception to take root. Months ago, Saakashvili was faced with a choice, either try to bring meaningful reform, rather than just talk, to Odessa, or commit himself to rebuilding the UNM in Georgia. Saakashvili ended up trying, and failing, to do both, demonstrating the wisdom of the old Yiddish saying, “Mit eyn tokhes ken men nit tantsn af tsvey khasenes. (You can't dance at two weddings with one behind.)” Ivanishvili continues to play a role in the GD and played a significant role in this campaign, but it is also apparent that Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirkishvili is an increasingly independent political actor who is well liked and respected both internationally and domestically. Counterintuitively, Kvirkishvili may have less leverage over Ivanishvili now that the election has come and gone. In the months leading up to the election, replacing Kvirkishvili would have been very damaging for Ivanishvili and the UNM as it would have made Ivanishvili look impetuous and unable to bring stability to Georgia, thus damaging the GD’s electoral chances. Now that the GD has won a big victory, that threat no longer exists. Therefore, there would be no electoral consequences for Ivanishvili if he were to outs Kvirikshvili. Changing Prime Ministers, however, would be a big mistake. Moreover, following an election victory that in significant part belongs to Kvirkishvili, Ivanishvili may not even be able to replace the current Prime Minister. More significantly, there is little reason to think Ivanishvili wants to do that. The evidence from the last few months suggests that while he still wields significant power, Ivanishvili is becoming less, not more, involved with the governance of Georgia. That would be good for Georgia’s political development, but also further evidence that the battle between Misha and Bidzina is receding in Georgia’ s political life. Where Does Georgia Go From Here It is way too early to discern the greater longer term impact of this election, but it is possible to identify some of the questions and challenges raised by Saturday’s voting. First, this election demonstrates, pardon the mixed metaphor, that even in Georgia time moves on and political pages need to be turned. The Saakashvili v. Ivanishvili dynamic is receding into the past, and with it the UNM supported fiction that it was a somehow a fight over whether or not Georgia was pro-west. Given that, it is time for everybody, across the Georgian and western political spectrum, to retire the twin political fictions that the GD is aligned with Russia and that the UNM is a uniquely pro-western force in Georgia. Similarly, the Rose Revolution is now almost thirteen full years in the past. That may seem like a relatively short time in the scope of Georgian history, but in this era it is a long time. That perspective should allow us to understand those events more as part of a cycle, or cycles, rather than sui generis democratic breakthrough in Georgia. This approach makes it possible to more fully understand modern Georgian political history and to place recent events in a more appropriate context. With this in mind, two challenges that are raised by the outcome of this election should be very familiar to those who have been watching Georgian politics for a few years. First, the resounding GD victory may give them a constitutional majority in the new parliament. Even though this election was generally viewed as democratic and competitive, the result could well move Georgia closer to one party governance. Georgia has been in a cycle of one party government followed by regime collapse since the last days of Soviet Communism. It is not yet clear whether this election moves Georgia closer to or further away from that possibility. The GD been more liberal than its predecessor and has allowed more freedom for opposition political parties and civil society than the UNM did when it was in power. Nonetheless, the temptation to consolidate one party rule will be strong following this election. Doing that would be a mistake because it would accelerate the inevitable defeat of the GD, but more importantly it would further hamstring the development of Georgian democracy. A second, and related, point is that this election, while competitive, did not deepen pluralism in Georgia. Pluralism is a good hedge against one party dominance because if parties represent competing interests, rather than just competing claims on power, voters are less likely to move towards the winning party to gain influence or power. Rather, they will remain supportive of the party that reflects their interests. Georgian democracy is stronger and deeper than it was five years ago. That was reflected in this election. However, obstacles to the consolidation of Georgian democracy continue. Some of these, such as the hostile presence and intervening by Russia, may be difficult to address from Tbilisi, or even Washington, but others are not. Building meaningful multi-party, pluralist democracy in Georgia requires deepening of interest based politics, the continued development of the Georgian economy and still greater freedom of media and assembly. Western democracies can, and should, play a role in this development, but to do so it is imperative to have a sound understanding of what has happened in Georgia’s recent past, and to be honest with ourselves about our own missteps. The Georgia Analysis is a twice monthly analysis of political and other major developments in Georgia. Lincoln Mitchell is a political development, research and strategic consultant who has worked extensively in the post-Soviet space. If you would like to be on the Georgia analysis mailing list or are interested in more research, analysis or consulting for your business, government, campaign or other organization, please email lincoln@lincolnmitchell.com.The body of Chase Martens, a two-year-old boy who went missing from his rural Manitoba home earlier this week, was found in a nearby creek on Saturday afternoon, RCMP confirm. The toddler had gone missing from his family's farm home near Austin, Man., about 120 kilometres west of Winnipeg, on Tuesday evening. His body was located by a group of Winnipeg search-and-rescue volunteers in a creek about half a kilometre south of the home at around 1 p.m. CT Saturday, said RCMP spokesperson Sgt. Bert Paquet. Destiny Turner, left, and Thomas Martens issued a public plea on Thursday for any information that could bring home their two-year-old son, Chase (right image). The boy's body was found on Saturday, RCMP say. (CBC/RCMP) "Earlier today a family, a community and a province's worst nightmare became a reality," Paquet told reporters later in the afternoon. "This appears to be exactly what we all thought it was: a tragedy." Paquet said it appears that Martens wandered off and somehow ended up in the creek. Martens's parents have previously said it was not like Chase to wander away from home without the family dog with him. Thousands of volunteers joined with RCMP and search-and-rescue crews over the past few days in combing a four-kilometre radius from the location where Martens was last seen. Paquet said the creek was identified as a "high-probability area" and was searched several times throughout the week as water levels and other conditions changed. An autopsy is expected to take place on Sunday. Paquet said no obvious signs of foul play have been identified at this time. The search has ended for Chase MARTENS. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/rcmpmb?src=hash">#rcmpmb</a> can confirm that his body was found earlier today. —@rcmpmb Searchers leaving the command post after days of looking for Chase Martens. Devastating outcome. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/cbcmb?src=hash">#cbcmb</a> <a href="https://t.co/HCj4kGbrJx">pic.twitter.com/HCj4kGbrJx</a> —@RileyLaychuk More than 500 volunteers joined the search for Martens on Friday alone, scouring farm fields and wooded areas all day. Police estimated a similar number of searchers on Saturday. "I would estimate that about 30,000 volunteer hours were donated this week, the majority of them by people that are total strangers to the Martens family," Paquet said. "The true, genuine care and concern of Manitobans is something that should be recognized and commended. I know a family [and] a community thank you for the size of your collective heart." Among those who came to help were Brandon and Sharon Jarnouin and their children. The family, who used to live about three kilometres from the search area, said they learned on Facebook that Martens's body had been found. "We're relieved but yet upset that it ended the way it was — you know, because they say 'the body,' so it kind of sounds like [he was] found deceased," Brandon Jarnouin said. "I got three young ones of my own, so [I'm] kind of choked." Another volunteer, Mandi Kostiuk, said she felt compelled to help. "My grandchild just turned two, and when somebody's out and they call for help, we come," she said. "This is what we're supposed to do for our people, for everybody." Drones, underwater teams deployed RCMP had used surveillance drones to map out the search area and look for clues since Thursday. Dive teams searched in streams, ditches and ponds on Thursday and were back in the area Saturday. Chase Martens was found dead in a creek Saturday in the Austin, Man., area, about 120 kilometres west of Winnipeg. (Facebook) Temperatures fell below 0 C each night since Martens went missing. His parents, Thomas Martens and Destiny Turner, issued an emotional public plea on Thursday for any information that could help bring their son home. On Saturday, Paquet said investigators spoke with Martens's family and they had "mixed feelings, obviously — an answer, yes, but probably the answer they did not want to get." "We always hope," he added, "but we knew the challenges after the first few nights and we knew, obviously, the possible outcome of this operation. "Again, an answer provided to the family thanks to the effort of thousands of people, but definitely not an answer anybody wanted to see."A BILL TO Confer power on the Prime Minister to notify, under Article 50(2) of the Treaty on European Union, the United Kingdom’s intention to withdraw from the EU. Be it enacted by the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:— 1 Power to notify withdrawal from the EU (1) The Prime Minister may notify, under Article 50(2) of the Treaty on European Union, the United Kingdom’s intention to withdraw from the EU. (2) This section has effect despite any provision made by or under the European 5 Communities Act 1972 or any other enactment. 2 Short title This Act may be cited as the European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Act 2017.CIA Video Shows That The Soviet Union Was Right All Along (VIDEO) Share On FacebookTweet Post Shortly after Ronald Reagan took office, the CIA prepared a series of videos explaining the Soviet Union for him. According to Washington Post editor Bob Woodward in his 2005 book Vein, Reagan preferred these videos, which were developed to perpetuate CIA propaganda long-established against our cold war rivals. To help perpetuate this, the CIA worked hand-in-hand with US Media companies, creating a wall of propaganda which continues to this day. In 2013, the CIA declassified several of the videos they used to educate President Reagan, and in an ironic twist, one of them revealed that the Soviet Media’s perception of us was actually the accurate one. The CIA used a lot of simple tricks to try to misrepresent the Soviet Union. For instance, in their translation of a Soviet discussion of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” they claimed the announcer called the album “Film of Horrors.” In actuality, they called it “фильм ужасов,” translated as “Horror Film.” In many countries around the world, they lack a local word for “thriller” so it becomes translated to “horror movie,” “scary movie” or the like. The iconic release from the King of Pop did sell over 100 million copies worldwide, after all. For another, they reference Studs Terkel’s award-winning book, Working, pointing out the page count difference, without ever referencing the size of the font or size of the printing. The 640-page paperback version became only 589 pages in hardcover, for example, using a rather large font. It is not hard to believe that Soviet printing, using a smaller font, would come in at a smaller size. After all, Readers Digest uses a similar technique to fill their pages with huge sections of very large books. Using Readers Digest 9-point font to replace the 14-point font found in the hardcover printing of Working, and using a handy calculator we find that, using a 14-point Courier, 170,000 words is close to Working‘s length. Switching that to 10-point Calibri, not even as small as Reader Digest’s size, gives us roughly the same size as the Soviet version. The claims by the Soviet Union, however, may have sounded laughable to President Reagan, but in hindsight, were eerily accurate, even prophetic. Some examples: The US is preparing for war. The US economy is driven by raging militarism. Defense spending is the cause of the federal deficit. Militarization is causing unemployment America movies and television are designed to push an anti-Soviet viewpoint. Reagan’s arms buildup was indeed a build up for a grand showdown against the Soviet Union, by proxy. Reagan was discovered smuggling weapons to support anti-Communist forces. More overt support by Reagan resulted in the creation of Al Qaeda in Afghanistan. And his rampant military growth resulted in a tripling of the national debt. And it was revealed that the CIA did indeed work with Hollywood to produce what can only be classified as propaganda. And if you failed to follow the CIA’s lead, well, just remember what happened to Gary DeVore. Thousands of political prisoners languishing in US prisons. American Secret Police targets peaceful groups. Civil rights for minorities are a fiction. Major events are glossed over if they do not fit the racial narrative. Contrary to CIA claims, the US does host a sizable political prisoner population. From Leonard Peltier to those in Guantanamo Bay, the US regularly engages in the behavior which it accused the Soviet Union of during its heyday. To further underscore the point, we find that the United States currently houses more prisoners than the Soviet Union did at its peak. The FBI and NSA together rely upon a secret court, FISA, in order to target groups without proper judicial oversight, the very definition of a Secret Police. The events of Ferguson, and the case of Trayvon Martin, both demonstrate that civil rights for minorities are regularly ignored. To further demonstrate the issue, when these abuses are revealed, the government moves to block revealing these abuses rather than addressing the abuse itself. The US Government is controlled by the super-rich. That millions of Americans are starving. Millions of Americans live below the poverty line. America fails to provide even basic human needs. With our elections now costing billions — all from private donors and the super-rich creating special financial groups to push their agenda — one can hardly argue against the Soviet argument here. It is also true that malnourishment is rampant across the United States. In fact, 14 percent of Americans are suffering from food insecurity. Add to that the tens of millions who fall below the poverty line, the Soviet claims actually wound up falling short. From homelessness to student debt, we find that for basic human needs, America is indeed failing to deliver. Instead of being that shining city on a hill as President Reagan proclaimed, the United States’ prosperity was nothing but a guild, a hollow veneer hiding a corrupt core. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the United States simply had no reason to continue pretending otherwise. And the origin of this all came from President Reagan, with his cowboy politics and voodoo economics, with these videos from the CIA providing him all the information needed. By the CIA providing Reagan with propaganda, denying the inherent flaws within the United States, they did a gross disservice to this country. By arbitrarily dismissing the Soviet media, rather than addressing the core issues, these problems were allowed to fester. Now not only are those claims true, they are far worse than anything the Soviet propagandists could have imagined. Perhaps the “victory” within the Cold War was truly a Pyrrhic one, and the Bolshevik ghost shall have the last laugh after all. Cover image – screenshot of Central Intelligence Agency video titled “THE SOVIET MEDIA’S PORTRAIT OF AMERICA”There are few shows that I go back to as often as Doctor Who. I love all of the Doctors, but I love the villains, too. The cybermen creep me out big time and I can’t see people walking around with those Apple AirPods without thinking they’re doomed. The Doctor is always victorious, though, and I made this fun Cyberman Head as part of a Doctor Who Halloween display where the good guys won. To make your own Cyberman Head, you will need: The first step is to file down the mouth. I didn’t want any sign of the lips and Cybermen have just a rectangular indentation for their mouths. It’s an easy place to start. Next, start filing away around the face. We made the basic shapes and then went back in to go deeper with them. Scott and I took turns with it–it can get a bit tricky and it was nice to be able to pass it off every once in a while. File down the nose and outline the eyes. If you’re looking for a break from filing, grab your two foam discs and cut the sides off. These will be the ear plates. Back to filing. File down the eye circles. Add in the two lines down the sides of the face. I also flattened the chin to square off the head and filed down the area where the ear pieces will go. Cut your smoothfoam rod into a piece that is roughly two inches. Get your pipe, elbows, and ear pieces together. Cut three roughly three inch pieces out of the pipe. Stick the elbows on two of the pieces. Push the piece of smoothfoam through the third. Take the two pieces with the elbows and push them into the a curved side of the ear pieces. You can put some styrofoam glue in the hole to help secure it. Put a connector in each ear piece. Stick the ear pieces onto the sides of the head and attach the top piece of pipe. Remove the neck so that just the head itself is left. It’s time to paint (finally!)! Grab the silver spray paint and cover the head and pipe pieces. Using the black craft paint, detail the eyes, mouth, and grooves. Put two stripes of blue paint on the mouth. Because my Cyberman is damaged, I used spots of brown spray paint to create a dingy, rusty look. Cut as many pieces of the cable as you want and stick them in the bottom of the head. Your Cyberman Head is finished! He’s perfect for every Doctor Who lover, especially as part of your Halloween display!To no surprise, Tampa Bay Lightning general manger Steve Yzerman says his top priority this summer is signing Steven Stamkos to a long-term contract extension. “We said in September that we’d sit down at the end of the year and get that done, and that’s my intention,” Yzerman told reporters in Tampa Wednesday. “We’ve got a good team, he’s our captain, and it’s our intention to get him signed to a long-term deal.” The Lightning lost to the Chicago Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup Final and although Stamkos registered just one assist in the series he is still the cornerstone of the franchise. “He put the team ahead of himself, he played through injury, he played hard, did everything we asked,” Yzerman added. “He’s a tremendous leader, a very unselfish guy and a big reason we got to Game 6 of the finals.” Stamkos has one year remaining on his contract before he’s slated to become an unrestricted free agent in 2016. His current salary cap hit $7.5 million, but with 276 goals, and 498 points in 492 career games, he should undoubtedly get a significant raise on his next deal. The 25-year-old said he isn’t concerned about contract talks, but realizes it could become a distraction if he enters next season as a pending UFA. “I’ve said it all along, I want to win a championship with this group,” Stamkos told reporters. “It’s been a great ride this year. I know we’ll have some talks, whether it’s in the next day or weeks, I don’t know. But we’ll definitely be getting something worked out hopefully shortly.” He added: “Whenever [Lightning management] want to start talking, we’ll be there listening. We have a lot of time in this summer. I’m not worried at all about that.”Apple is known for being one of the most challenging and exciting places to work, so it’s not surprising to learn that getting a job there is no easy task. Like Google and other big tech companies, Apple asks both technical questions based on your past work experience and some mind-boggling puzzles. We combed through recent posts on Glassdoor to find some of the toughest interview questions candidates have been asked. Partner Offers by Compare Cards Some require solving tricky math problems, while others are simple but vague enough to keep you on your toes. Business Insider: 33 Uber interview questions you don’t want to be asked 1. “Explain to an 8 year old what a modem/router is and its functions.” — At-Home Advisor candidate 2. “Who is your best friend?” — Family Room Specialist candidate 3. “If you have 2 eggs, and you want to figure out what’s the highest floor from which you can drop the egg without breaking it, how would you do it? What’s the optimal solution?” — Software Engineer candidate 4. “Describe an interesting problem and how you solved it.” — Software Engineer candidate 5. “How many children are born every day?” — Global Supply Manager candidate 6. “You have a 100 coins laying flat on a table, each with a head side and a tail side. 10 of them are heads up, 90 are tails up. You can’t feel, see or in any other way find out which side is up. Split the coins into two piles such that there are the same number of heads in each pile.” — Software Engineer candidate Business Insider: 25 tricky Microsoft interview questions you don’t want to be asked 7. “Describe yourself, what excites you?” — Software Engineer candidate 8. “If we hired you, what do you want to work on?” — Senior Software Engineer candidate 9. “There are three boxes, one contains only apples, one contains only oranges, and one contains both apples and oranges. The boxes have been incorrectly labeled such that no label identifies the actual contents of the box it labels. Opening just one box, and without looking in the box, you take out one piece of fruit. By looking at the fruit, how can you immediately label all of the boxes correctly?” — Software QA Engineer candidate 10. “Scenario: You’re dealing with an angry customer who was waiting for help for the past 20 minutes and is causing a commotion. She claims that she’ll just walk over to Best Buy or the Microsoft Store to get the computer she wants. Resolve this issue.” — Specialist candidate Business Insider: 29 of the toughest interview questions you’ll have to answer to work at Facebook 11. “How would you breakdown the cost of this pen?” — Global Supply Manager candidate 12. “A man calls in and has an older computer that is essentially a brick. What do you do?” — Apple Care At-Home Consultant candidate 13. “Are you smart?” — Build Engineer candidate 14. “What are your failures, and how have you learned from them?” — Software Manager candidate 15. “Have you ever disagreed with a manager’s decision, and how did you approach the disagreement? Give a specific example and explain how you rectified this disagreement, what the final outcome was, and how that individual would describe you today.” — Software Engineer candidate 16. “You put a glass of water on a record turntable and begin slowly increasing the speed. What happens first — does the glass slide off, tip over, or does the water splash out?” — Mechanical Engineer candidate 17. “Tell me something that you have done in your life which you are particularly proud of.” — Software Engineering Manager candidate 18. “Why should we hire you?” — Senior Software Engineer candidate 19. “Are you creative? What’s something creative that you can think of?” — Software Engineer candidate 20. “Describe a humbling experience.” — Apple Retail Specialist candidate 21. “What’s more important, fixing the customer’s problem or creating a good customer experience?” — Apple At Home Advisor candidate Business Insider: 31 smart answers to really tough interview questions 21. “Why did Apple change its name from Apple Computers Incorporated to Apple Inc.?” — Specialist candidate 22. “You seem pretty positive, what types of things bring you down?” — Family Room Specialist candidate 23. “Show me (role play) how you would show a customer you’re willing to help them by only using your voice.” — College At-Home Advisor candidate 24. “What brings you here today?” — Software Engineer candidate 25. “Given an iTunes type of app that pulls down lots of images that get stale over time, what strategy would you use to flush disused images over time?” — Software Engineer candidate 26. “If you’re given a
hotov, who’s been arrested more than 120 times fighting the Kremlin, to pen a bitterly funny and prescient open letter to Snowden last August when he was first granted temporary asylum by the Kremlin. Dobrokhotov predicted last summer almost to a "t" the very farce we’re witnessing today. Titled "Welcome to My World," Dobrokhotov’s "open letter to Edward Snowden" dripped battery-acid sarcasm: Dear Ed, Yesterday I learned that you have managed to gain temporary asylum in Russia. Congratulations on behalf of progressive people everywhere. At last, you are safe. Here in Russia no one would dream of harassing you for exposing the security services when they listen to telephone conversations and read others letters without a warrant. Russia, thank God, is a law-abiding State and ever since 2008 our security services have had a quite legal right to listen to whatever people are talking about on the phone and to read their e-mails. Everyone is aware of this, and there is nothing here in Russia to expose. This is not the USA, Ed, where exposing the activities of the government carries unpleasant consequences. There is nothing of the kind here. On the contrary, people who expose the American government are given all kinds of rewards and can enjoy a fine career, which I wish for you. I would just remind you not to forget which government you are fighting against. For were you, in the heat of the moment, to get confused about this you would have to return to a little room again (and this time, most likely, it would not be at the airport). As Dobrokhotov predicted last August, Snowden imitates farce. And the joke’s on all of us who once took Snowden, the man, seriously, and those who continue to do so. [illustration by Brad Jonas for Pando.]Ted Cruz just released a statement on the firing of Comey, pointing out that Comey had basically lost the confidence of everyone: Sen. Cruz Issues Statement on James Comey’s Dismissal as FBI Director WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) issued the following statement regarding President Trump’s dismissal of James Comey as director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI): “The Director of the FBI needs to be above reproach, with an unquestioned reputation for fairness and impartiality. Unfortunately, Mr. Comey had lost the confidence of both Republicans and Democrats, and, frankly, the American people. The next Director needs to be someone of the utmost integrity who can successfully restore the public’s confidence and lead the men and women of the FBI who selflessly serve and defend our great nation.” Cruz is obviously right on this. At different times both Republicans and Democrats have expressed serious misgivings about Comey. And I think the election of Trump was in part an expression from the American people at just how much they felt Comey gave Hillary a free pass. But if you need more evidence of how many Americans feel about Comey’s firing, just listen to the audience on the Late Show applaud when Colbert announces Comey was just fired: Tonight! Stephen reacts to the day's big surprise: the firing of James Comey by President Trump. #LSSC pic.twitter.com/axuUmFLtSd — The Late Show (@colbertlateshow) May 10, 2017 LOL! Colbert is taken aback when he hears this and thus jokes that his audience is full of Trump fans! Regardless of what you think about Trump, I think it’s pretty undeniable that he needed to be fired and I’m glad it’s finally done.His last name wasn’t Clinton, so the full wrath of the feds came down hard on ex-CIA Director John Deutch when he was caught storing classified material on his home computers nearly two decades ago. The US Justice Department investigated Deutch and determined the top spook broke the law for doing essentially the same thing Hillary Clinton did when she used her private e-mail server to conduct classified government business. While Clinton got a pass, Deutch had agreed to plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge of mishandling classified information in a deal with the feds — but beat the rap when he got a last-minute pardon from then-President Bill Clinton in January 2001, right before he left office. The pardon spared Deutch from any criminal charges for mishandling top-secret information on his home computer. It was later revealed that Clinton had not even consulted CIA Chief George Tenet or any other CIA officials on the decision to pardon Deutch, who served from 1995 to 1996. Deutch stored the secret data on a hard drive and memory cards — data that included multiple memos to the president that “contained information at the Top Secret/Codeword level,” an inspector general’s report had concluded at the time. Newsweek reported that the classified data included documents related to Iraq and a 1996 terrorist bombing in Saudi Arabia that killed 19 US troops. Deutch — a professor emeritus at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he taught chemistry — came clean in a statement to the press, and was ready to face the music. “While serving as Director of Central Intelligence I erred in using CIA-issued computers that were not configured for classified work to compose classified documents and memoranda,” Deutch said at the time.The state of Oklahoma has been selected as the convention destination for the 86th annual American Association for Nude Recreation (AANR) Convention. Nudists from all over will travel to the family-friendly nudist park Oaklake Trails Naturist Park, which is located halfway between Tulsa and Oklahoma City, where this year's biggest clothing-optional convention is being held. “We are very excited that AANR has chosen our facility as their convention destination as we celebrate Oaklake Trails' 25 year anniversary," said Oaklake Trails president Gary Spangler in a statement. The seven-day convention kicks off with an open forum at 7 p.m. Monday, Aug. 7 and is open to the public. The convention will consist of events, meetings and seminars throughout the week that promote and advocate for the freedom of social nude recreation. It will run Aug. 7 through 14.In April 2016 Alex St. John, one of the developers behind Microsoft's DirectX technology platform, wrote an article in which he defended eighty hour working weeks, scorned work-life balance and memorably described a porcelain toilet as an "incredibly decadent luxury." St. John’s article was widely criticized for promoting what many consider to be exploitative working practices and attitudes in the video game industry. In the ensuing outrage, a PowerPoint presentation written by St. John surfaced which included a slide in which he referred to engineers with Asperger syndrome as being "the holy grail" of hires. "They work like machines," he wrote, "don’t engage in politics, don’t develop attitudes and never change jobs." The fallacy of the 'Rain Man' coders The idea that people with some form of Autism Spectrum Disorder make for ideal programmers is familiar in fiction. Lisbeth Salander, the autistic protagonist of Stieg Larsson’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is highly introverted and struggles to make friends, but is also a vastly talented hacker. Elliot Alderson, the wunderkind hacker protagonist of Mr Robot (which won the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series this year) is also on the spectrum. "Be on the lookout for the holy grail...the undiscovered Asperger's engineer." From Alex St. John's infamous PowerPoint. "I think all tech people are slightly autistic," Douglas Coupland wrote in his novel Microserfs. The cliché persists beyond fiction. Kathryn Stewart, director of the Orion Academy, a high school for children with high-functioning autism in Moraga, California, once described Asperger’s syndrome as "the engineers' disorder." In 2011 Wikileaks founder Julian Assange told a newspaper reporter: "I am – like all hackers – a little bit autistic." The stereotype has been fully embraced by many software companies. In April Microsoft launched The Microsoft Autism Hiring Program with a goal of hiring people with autism for full-time positions. More than 700 applicants sent in resumes and, to date, the company has hired 11 candidates, and is now expanding the program to the UK. Many believe autism to be in Microsoft’s DNA. Its founder, Bill Gates, is routinely diagnosed in the press thanks to autistic-seeming quirks: a focus on minutiae, rocking motion and flat tone of voice in interviews. The stereotype of the genius programmer is pervasive. But is it accurate? "Autism is seen like some sort of mental superpower where we can see math in the air. In my experience, this isn’t really the case." "It is a fallacy," says Gary Moore, one of the founders of the Nonpareil Institute, a college-cum-software company in Texas for young adults who are on the spectrum. "One of the misconceptions is that everyone with autism is smart. In truth, they’re just like any other cross-section of the population. They’re not all going to be programmers or tech geniuses. Some are able to go to college and get a degree and secure a job at Microsoft. Most are not able to do that." Moore founded The Nonpareil Institute in 2008 with a friend, Dan Selec. Both men have sons with autism ("He’s not Rain Man. He’s not a genius or a savant. He’s an average IQ kid with severe autism") and wanted to develop a program to help people like their children find a way into employment. Few, however, have been able to secure long term work at the end of the process, where, according to Moore, there will often be a hundred candidates to every position. "The reality is that most adults with autism are unable to find work," says Moore. "The problem with the tech industry is that, for the most part, companies require a four-year college degree and interview skills." Making workplaces more hospitable Beyond the rigors of the application process, for even high functioning autistic people, the strictures of the working environment can present an insurmountable challenge. "Many struggle working with others, which is a requirement in software development," says Moore. The working conditions of a major game studio can exacerbate these issues, especially those companies that push their employees in the manner described by St John. "The games industry is extremely grueling," says Moore. "Sixty- to 70-hour work weeks and harsh deadlines. All these things work to the weaknesses of autism. Most are not able to cope." Indeed, while an estimated 1 percent of the world’s population has an autism spectrum disorder, approximately 80 percent of people in this group are currently unemployed. "The games industry is extremely grueling. Sixty to seventy hour work weeks and harsh deadlines. All these things work to the weaknesses of autism." 23-year old Cody Gillmer is an independent game developer from Longview, Washington. Gillmer was diagnosed with Asperger’s when he was 10 and began developing video games at 16. For Gillmer, the stereotypes, which he considers to be primarily perpetuated by the media, are largely false. "Autism is seen like some sort of mental superpower where we can see math in the air," he says. "In my experience, this isn’t really the case. Mathematics-heavy programming is something that takes me a while to do." To date Gillmer has contributed to various open source projects, but is yet to work at a game studio, for many of the reasons that Moore highlights. "I have a major problem tuning out noise, whether that's visual or auditory," he says. "I’ve also got an anxiety disorder of some sort that's probably related. Disagreements stress me out something fierce. It feels like there's something the other person is missing that I just can't get them to see, which hurts in an almost physical way. There's this constant background anxiety. Are they understanding me correctly? Am I making sense? Do they think less of me for talking weird? It just takes its toll." As a solution to the issue, The Nonpareil Institute has become a software developer in its own right, providing work to those students who complete its programs. Around 30 former students now work at the Institute. The company has four games currently in development. "We want to build console games that could generate hundreds of millions [dollars] one day," says Moore. "That’s a tall order, of course, so we're starting small and learning and mastering smaller, mobile games. You never know, if we develop a hit we could make enough money to self-sustain." Despite the confusion and misinformation that surrounds the benefits and challenges of hiring autistic people within video game companies, there are mainstream studios that, like Microsoft, are eager to specifically hire autistic employees. For them, Moore’s advice is clear. "HR departments at game companies often tell us things off-the-record about the challenges of hiring people on the spectrum," says Moore. "Our advice is simple: relax the qualifications. We propose an apprenticeship that doesn’t require a degree. Can the candidate do the work?" It’s an approach that Microsoft has adapted in its new program. Instead of a sink-or-swim interview, the company runs an interview workshop event that allows candidates to demonstrate their skills. Kyle Schwaneke, an Xbox software development engineer, has been diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome. He credits his hiring to Microsoft's unique interview process for people with Autism Spectrum Disorder. "It’s crucial to get some education on autism. It takes a lot of patience and understanding of the disorder to avoid things that are not always obvious to an employer" Despite the books, films and TV series starring wunderkind autistic programmers, there remains, however, a great deal of stigma around autism. "The internet has kind of killed my 'autistic pride,' so to speak," says Gillmer. "The constant use of it as an insult makes me want to hide it, so I tend to not bring it up unless it feels like I'm not communicating properly." For this reason candidates often choose not to disclose their neurological condition. "Many will not tell their employers," says Moore. "They are embarrassed. As such, it’s crucial to get some education on autism. Hiring autistic people is one challenge, but it takes a lot of patience, understanding of the disorder and knowing how to work with them to avoid behavior issues and things that are not always obvious to an employer." For Gillmer, the greatest challenge of living with the disorder is the self-doubt and loneliness. "I constantly worry that I'm not making sense. That often kills my desire to reach out to people. It's a big problem for networking, and getting to know others in the industry. As such, I definitely feel like an outsider, or an imposter." Despite the challenges. Gillmer hopes, one day, to open his own studio. He already has a name: Creative³ Games.poster="http://v.politico.com/images/1155968404/201610/67/1155968404_5182885913001_5182866063001-vs.jpg?pubId=1155968404" true The Battleground Project Florida spirals away from Trump With the GOP nominee trailing in poll after poll and lacking a ground game, a low turnout may be Trump's only hope of carrying the state. From polling to early voting trends to TV ad spending to ground game, Donald Trump’s Florida fortunes are beginning to look so bleak that some Republicans are steeling themselves for what could be the equivalent of a “landslide” loss in the nation’s biggest battleground state. Trump has trailed Hillary Clinton in 10 of the 11 public polls conducted in October. According to POLITICO’s Battleground States polling average, Clinton has a 3.4-point lead. Even private surveys conducted by Republican-leaning groups show Trump’s in trouble in Florida, where a loss would end his White House hopes. Story Continued Below “On the presidential race we’ve found Clinton with a consistent 3% - 5% lead in surveys that attempt to reflect Florida’s actual electorate,” Ryan D. Tyson, vice president of political operations for the Associated Industries of Florida business group, wrote in a confidential memo emailed to his conservative-leaning members this weekend and obtained by POLITICO. Though Clinton’s lead is “within the margin of error for this survey, we would suggest that 3% really isn’t as close as it may seem in the state of Florida,” Tyson wrote, estimating a turnout of as much as 71 percent, or as many as 9.2 million Florida voters overall. If that happens and the polling margins hold, Clinton’s raw vote lead over Trump could end up being 275,000 to 460,000 votes. “This is in all reality a landslide in our great state,” Tyson wrote, echoing the concerns of numerous Florida Republican insiders and experts. “Based on his consistent failure to improve his standing with non-white voters, voters under 50 and females, it seems fairly obvious to us that Mr. Trump’s only hope left in Florida is a low turnout.” Trump has reacted to the steady drip of troubling numbers by launching an unprecedented seven-city Florida tour this week while simultaneously denying the data dispiriting many in his party. “We are winning and the press is refusing to report it. Don't let them fool you- get out and vote! #DrainTheSwamp on November 8th!” Trump wrote on his Twitter account Monday morning before an event with farmers near West Palm Beach, where he repeated to the crowd, “I believe we are actually winning.” Hours earlier, Trump took to Twitter to say that “the Dems are making up phony polls in order to suppress” his vote share. But polls are just one reason Florida Republicans are alarmed. Mail-in absentee ballot voting was once a Republican strength thanks to the party’s organization and years of conditioning its members to vote by mail. But this year, Democrats are showing signs of catching up. As of Monday morning, Florida Republicans had cast fewer than 42 percent of the more than 1.2 million absentee ballots. Democrats had cast 40 percent. Though that 1.7 percentage point lead is in the GOP’s favor, it’s greatly reduced since the same period in 2012, when Republican ballots outpaced Democrats’ by 5 points. Still, Trump, during a Sunday stop near Naples, told the crowd that the “numbers are looking phenomenal in Florida.” The early votes have not been officially tallied, but campaigns and operatives use the raw return numbers to measure a campaign’s health. Generally, the top-of-the-ticket candidate whose party members cast more ballots before Election Day is favored to win the election. Florida’s pre-Election Day ballot counts will grow ever bigger now that in-person early voting began Monday in a majority of the state's major counties. When it comes to in-person early voting, Democrats tend to outperform Republicans, but that doesn't usually happen until after a full weekend of early voting, particularly after the Sunday “Souls to the Polls” events, in which African-Americans cast ballots in person after church. So, if a Democratic advantage appears, it might not happen until Halloween. At one point last week, Democrats briefly overtook Republicans in absentee ballots cast, marking the first time Democrats have ever caught Republicans in pre-Election Day ballots before in-person early voting begins. But the lead didn’t last. By that point, the Trump campaign had realized it wasn’t actively calling and mailing absentee ballot voters to get them to mail their votes in. The campaign quickly instituted what’s called a “chase” program to pressure voters to fill out their ballots and send them in. Little glitches like that make longtime Trump supporter and past political adviser Roger Stone, who lives in Florida, fret. He blamed most of the campaign problems on the Trump campaign leadership in New York. He said the campaign didn’t give enough money and flexibility to its former Florida director Karen Giorno — who was moved in a campaign shakeup — or to its current Florida campaign chief, Susie Wiles, who managed Gov. Rick Scott’s 2010 campaign. “She knows how to carry the state. But they never gave her the resources to do so,” Stone said. “Where, for instance, were the Spanish-language ads touting Trump’s economic message?” Many Republicans wondered where Trump’s ads were at all in Florida. Since July, Clinton and her backers have spent and committed $51 million in TV ads in Florida. But Trump and his campaign have invested just $30 million — with $20 million of that spent and committed just since the beginning of this month. That’s still $2 million less in October than Clinton’s side. Part of the ad disparity is rooted in Trump’s refusal to fundraise as aggressively as Mitt Romney in 2012. Wiles wouldn’t comment on the campaign’s finances or its strategy. But, she said, the big and energetic crowds greeting Trump are a sign that there’s more excitement for the Republican candidate than for Clinton, who often speaks in relatively small and tame venues. "Enthusiasm counts,” Wiles said. “We have it. She doesn’t.” With Trump’s seven-city whirlwind Florida tour, Republicans are hoping he can persuade more Republicans than ever to vote early or by absentee ballot, thereby relieving the GOP of the potential pressure to have to turn out more Election Day voters. But Trump isn’t operating in a vacuum: Clinton; her running mate, Tim Kaine; President Barack Obama; and even singer Jennifer Lopez are spearheading early vote rallies this week as both campaigns scour the state. People vote on the first day of early voting in Miami-Dade County on Oct. 24, 2016, in Miami. \| AP Photo Democrats also question the conventional wisdom about whether there’s an enthusiasm gap between Clinton and Trump. Two new national polls, for instance, indicate the share of Clinton supporters who say they’re voting for her and not just against Trump has increased faster for her than for him. Florida Democrats also point to the voter-registration rolls as a sign of greater support for their candidate, if not their party. “Democrats have added nearly 692,000 new voters to the rolls since 2012 versus 593,000 Republicans — and the trends continue to go upward in our favor,” Clinton’s Florida director, Simone Ward, wrote in a Monday memo that detailed the campaign’s ground game for turning out voters. Still, because more conservative Republican-voting Democrats left the party for the GOP and because Democrats lost more elderly and young voters overall than Republicans, the state GOP has narrowed the bottom-line registration gap with Democrats in Florida over the past four years. Of the nearly 12.7 million active registered voters in the state, 38 percent are Democrats, 36 percent Republicans and the balance are independent voters, with the majority of them registering as having no party affiliation. Another change since 2012: Florida’s voter rolls have become less white by 3 percentage points, an advantage for Democrats, who enjoy higher rates of minority support than Republicans. When the entire picture of the election is assembled, Republicans aren’t thrilled with what they see. "While I’m still very confident in our party’s ability in the vote-by-mail universe, it is clear our colleagues on the other side have growing success,” said Brian Hughes, a Florida Republican consultant and former spokesman for the state party and Gov. Scott. The absentee vote, Hughes said, is “where we built up leads. It took them several cycles, and now they chase [absentee ballots] the way we do. Add that to the demographic advantages [for Democrats] as the state changes, and it’s not good news.” One bright spot for Florida Republicans: Sen. Marco Rubio, who leads Congressman Patrick Murphy by 5 points in AIF polls and has bested the Democrat in more than two dozen other surveys. But increasingly, Rubio’s team and supporters are nervous as Trump’s fortunes appear to wane. They fear that if Trump loses by 5 points, it could signify a Democratic blue wave that swamps Rubio. “This is the nightmare scenario we’ve all worried about,” said one top Rubio backer who didn’t want to go on record for fear of “poking the Trump people in the eye.” A Rubio loss would seriously endanger his political career. It would mark his second defeat in a year, having lost the state GOP presidential primary to Trump. “Trump could be directly responsible for one Rubio loss and indirectly responsible for the other,” the Rubio backer said. The concern isn’t limited to Rubio. In tracking whether Florida voters prefer a generic Republican or Democrat, AIF found that “Republicans have taken a hit in the generic ballot since the Access Hollywood tapes were released on Friday October 7. In our initial track it was Republicans +4%. In this week’s track they have dropped -5% to Democrats +1%.” For Florida Republicans, the "Access Hollywood" controversy — in which Trump’s sexually aggressive comments to host Billy Bush in 2005 were caught on tape and released only this month — drips with irony. Bush, after all, is cousin to former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who was ridiculed by Trump and who was once seen as the one Republican with enough super PAC firepower to dismantle the GOP front-runner in the presidential primary. “Whoever would’ve thought that the Bush who brought down Donald would be Billy Bush?” said a longtime supporter of the former governor who is working with Republican candidates in the state. “If there’s a real ground game for Trump, we’re not seeing it.”Actor pleads guilty to possessing large collection of child pornography found on his home computer \| ICE https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/actor-pleads-guilty-possessing-large-collection-child-pornography-found-his-home Actor Mark Wayne Salling pleaded guilty Monday to a federal offense of possessing...possessing child pornography and specifically admitted that he pos... Kansas man pleads guilty to possessing, distributing child pornography \| ICE https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/kansas-man-pleads-guilty-possessing-distributing-child-pornography Kansas, pleaded guilty Sept. 8 to one count of distributing child pornography and...and one count of possessing child pornography. In his plea, he... East Texas man pleads guilty to possessing child pornography \| ICE https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/east-texas-man-pleads-guilty-possessing-child-pornography-3 Brandan Griffith pleaded guilty Tuesday to possessing child pornography....Enforcement Careers Students Veterans New Employees Cadet Program FAQs... West Virginia man pleads guilty to possessing child pornography \| ICE https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/west-virginia-man-pleads-guilty-possessing-child-pornography W. Va., pleaded guilty Thursday to possession of child pornography, following...admitted in his plea agreement that in November 2008, he possessed... Houston attorney pleads guilty to possessing child pornography \| ICE https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/houston-attorney-pleads-guilty-possessing-child-pornography Gammon, 50, a Houston attorney, pleaded guilty May 23 before U.S. District Judge...entered his guilty plea admitting that on Nov. 20, 2009 he possesse... East Texas man pleads guilty to possessing child pornography \| ICE https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/east-texas-man-pleads-guilty-possessing-child-pornography-4 Orange, Texas, pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography Sept. 17 before...Enforcement Careers Students Veterans New Employees Cadet Program FAQs... West Virginia man pleads guilty to possessing child pornography \| ICE https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/west-virginia-man-pleads-guilty-possessing-child-pornography-0 Va., pleaded guilty Tuesday to a federal charge of possession of child pornography...more than 17,000 images of child pornography found on a seized... Virginia man pleads guilty to possession of child pornography \| ICE https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/virginia-man-pleads-guilty-possession-child-pornography Va., pleaded guilty today to one count of possession of child pornography....Enforcement Careers Students Veterans New Employees Cadet Program FAQs... Central Texas man pleads guilty to possessing child pornography \| ICE https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/central-texas-man-pleads-guilty-possessing-child-pornography Suter, 24, of San Angelo, Texas, pleaded guilty July 5 before U.S. District Judge...Cummings to one count of possessing child pornography... New Jersey man pleads guilty to possession of child pornography \| ICE https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/new-jersey-man-pleads-guilty-possession-child-pornography A New Jersey man has pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography, which...Enforcement Careers Students Veterans New Employees Cadet Program FAQs... Kansas man pleads guilty to distributing child pornography \| ICE https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/kansas-man-pleads-guilty-distributing-child-pornography Kansas, pleaded guilty to two counts of distributing child pornography and one...one count of possessing child pornography....Enforcement Careers... East Texas man pleads guilty to possessing child pornography \| ICE https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/east-texas-man-pleads-guilty-possessing-child-pornography-6 Orange, Texas, pleaded guilty July 1 to possessing child pornography before U.S...Enforcement Careers Students Veterans New Employees Cadet Program... Previously convicted sex offender from Southeast Texas pleads guilty to possessing child pornography \| ICE https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/previously-convicted-sex-offender-southeast-texas-pleads-guilty-possessing-child Christi, on Nov. 9 pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography....Enforcement Careers Students Veterans New Employees Cadet Program FAQs After... Pennsylvania man pleads guilty to possessing child pornography \| ICE https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/pennsylvania-man-pleads-guilty-possessing-child-pornography-0 Yingling, 40, of Osterburg, Pa., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Kim...Gibson to one count of possession of child pornography....Enforcement... Texas man pleads guilty to possessing child pornography \| ICE https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/texas-man-pleads-guilty-possessing-child-pornography Jeffery Louis, 51, of Orange, Texas, pleaded guilty Feb. 8 before U.S. District Judge...Judge Ron Clark to possessing child pornography. Cribb was... East Texas man pleads guilty to possessing child pornography \| ICE https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/east-texas-man-pleads-guilty-possessing-child-pornography-1 Nederland, Texas pleaded guilty Tuesday to possessing child pornography. The investigation...Enforcement Careers Students Veterans New Employees Cadet... 65-year-old Helena, Mont., man pleads guilty to child pornography charges \| ICE https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/65-year-old-helena-mont-man-pleads-guilty-child-pornography-charges Paul Robinson pleaded guilty Tuesday to receiving child pornography. Robinson possessed...possessed more than 800 still images and about 25 videos of... Upstate New York man pleads guilty to possession of child pornography \| ICE https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/upstate-new-york-man-pleads-guilty-possession-child-pornography Tonawanda, N.Y. pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography due to 100 images...images and 60 videos of child pornography found on his computer... Former San Juan Police Department commissioner pleads guilty to possession of child pornography \| ICE https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/former-san-juan-police-department-commissioner-pleads-guilty-possession-child Police Department, pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography Friday. On Dec...agents on production and possession of child pornography...Abstract Importance More than 100 million units of blood are collected worldwide each year, yet the indication for red blood cell (RBC) transfusion and the optimal length of RBC storage prior to transfusion are uncertain. Objective To provide recommendations for the target hemoglobin level for RBC transfusion among hospitalized adult patients who are hemodynamically stable and the length of time RBCs should be stored prior to transfusion. Evidence Review Reference librarians conducted a literature search for randomized clinical trials (RCTs) evaluating hemoglobin thresholds for RBC transfusion (1950-May 2016) and RBC storage duration (1948-May 2016) without language restrictions. The results were summarized using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation method. For RBC transfusion thresholds, 31 RCTs included 12 587 participants and compared restrictive thresholds (transfusion not indicated until the hemoglobin level is 7-8 g/dL) with liberal thresholds (transfusion not indicated until the hemoglobin level is 9-10 g/dL). The summary estimates across trials demonstrated that restrictive RBC transfusion thresholds were not associated with higher rates of adverse clinical outcomes, including 30-day mortality, myocardial infarction, cerebrovascular accident, rebleeding, pneumonia, or thromboembolism. For RBC storage duration, 13 RCTs included 5515 participants randomly allocated to receive fresher blood or standard-issue blood. These RCTs demonstrated that fresher blood did not improve clinical outcomes. Findings It is good practice to consider the hemoglobin level, the overall clinical context, patient preferences, and alternative therapies when making transfusion decisions regarding an individual patient. Recommendation 1: a restrictive RBC transfusion threshold in which the transfusion is not indicated until the hemoglobin level is 7 g/dL is recommended for hospitalized adult patients who are hemodynamically stable, including critically ill patients, rather than when the hemoglobin level is 10 g/dL (strong recommendation, moderate quality evidence). A restrictive RBC transfusion threshold of 8 g/dL is recommended for patients undergoing orthopedic surgery, cardiac surgery, and those with preexisting cardiovascular disease (strong recommendation, moderate quality evidence). The restrictive transfusion threshold of 7 g/dL is likely comparable with 8 g/dL, but RCT evidence is not available for all patient categories. These recommendations do not apply to patients with acute coronary syndrome, severe thrombocytopenia (patients treated for hematological or oncological reasons who are at risk of bleeding), and chronic transfusion–dependent anemia (not recommended due to insufficient evidence). Recommendation 2: patients, including neonates, should receive RBC units selected at any point within their licensed dating period (standard issue) rather than limiting patients to transfusion of only fresh (storage length: <10 days) RBC units (strong recommendation, moderate quality evidence). Conclusions and Relevance Research in RBC transfusion medicine has significantly advanced the science in recent years and provides high-quality evidence to inform guidelines. A restrictive transfusion threshold is safe in most clinical settings and the current blood banking practices of using standard-issue blood should be continued. Introduction More than 100 million units of blood are collected worldwide each year,1 and approximately 13 million red blood cell (RBC) units are collected in the United States.2 Despite previously published guidelines,3-7 there remains substantial variation in the practice of transfusing patients. Physicians often use hemoglobin level to decide when to transfuse,8 although some guidelines9,10 maintain that transfusion should be given for symptoms of anemia and not solely based on hemoglobin level. Transfusion practices for RBCs should be designed to optimize clinical outcomes and to avoid transfusions that are not clinically indicated. Despite the risk of transfusion-transmitted infections and noninfectious adverse events, such as transfusion-related acute lung injury and transfusion-associated circulatory overload, RBC transfusion is relatively safe (Table 1). However, transfusing RBCs unnecessarily exposes patients to increased risk and costs without benefit. Consequently, transfusing RBCs at higher hemoglobin thresholds (ie, a liberal transfusion strategy) should be used only if a liberal strategy will improve the outcomes that are important to patients. In addition to transfusion reactions and infectious risks associated with RBC transfusions, it has been suggested that an RBC storage lesion may result in adverse outcomes. Units of RBCs can be stored up to 42 days. Quiz Ref IDThe RBCs stored for longer periods have decreased ability to deliver oxygen due to decreased levels of 2,3-diphsophoglycerate, decreased nitric oxide metabolism, alterations of the RBC membrane leading to increased rigidity, and increased RBC endothelial adherence.19,20 In addition, the storage medium may contain increased levels of free hemoglobin, iron, potassium, and inflammatory mediators that may lead to deleterious consequences.19,21 Furthermore, observational studies22-24 suggested that RBCs stored longer than 2 weeks may be associated with increased morbidity and mortality; however, the data were conflicting.25-27 These considerations raise the possibility that transfusion medicine services should preferentially provide fresher RBCs for transfusion compared with standard issue RBCs. In 2012, the AABB (formerly known as the American Association of Blood Banks) published RBC transfusion guidelines based on 19 randomized clinical trials (RCTs) that included 6264 patients.28 Many of those RCTs were small (median, 120 patients; range, 22 to 2016 patients) and had high risk of bias. During the past 4 years, the number of patients enrolled in RBC transfusion RCTs has more than doubled, and many studies have incorporated methods to minimize the risk of bias and enrolled populations of patients receiving frequent blood transfusions. Therefore, it is timely to reexamine the evidence and provide updated guidance to the medical community. Thirteen RCTs have evaluated the effect of RBC storage duration of transfused RBCs on patient outcomes (7 since 2012).29-41 However, there is currently no formal guidance on the optimal length of RBC storage prior to transfusion. Methods These guidelines provide recommendations for (1) the clinicians caring for hospitalized adult patients who are hemodynamically stable and candidates for RBC transfusions, and (2) the transfusion medicine services responsible for storing and providing RBCs. The AABB commissioned and funded the development of these guidelines through the AABB clinical transfusion medicine committee. In addition, the board of directors charged the committee to recruit experts with an interest in RBC transfusion from other professional organizations. Guideline Development Process A committee of experts was assembled. Most of the experts were current or former members of the AABB clinical transfusion medicine committee (J.L.C., N.M.H., B.J.G., C.S.C., M.K.F., T.G., L.M.K., G.R., J.D.R., and A.A.R.T.). There also were experts appointed by professional organizations as subject matter experts (American Association for the Surgery of Trauma: J.B.H.; Society of Critical Care Medicine: L.J.K.; American College of Cardiology: S.V.R.; American Society of Anesthesiologists: A.S.; and American Society of Hematology: T.G.). The committee also included a patient representative (N.P.). Eight of the physicians were pathologists or hematologists (most with subspecialty expertise in transfusion medicine). The other physicians included an anesthesiologist, cardiologist
people were killed in Thursday's clashes at Aden's international airport Image copyright AP Image caption Passengers were stranded at the terminal during the fighting, but flights later resumed Officials said the warplanes fired at the compound but missed the palace, hitting a nearby hillside. No damaged was caused and no-one was believed to have been hurt, they added. A security source told the Reuters news agency that the situation "was under control and there was nothing to be worried about". It was not immediately clear if the president was inside the palace at the time of the attack. One of Mr Hadi's aides told the Associated Press that he had not been there, but another was quoted by the AFP news agency as saying that the president had now been "evacuated to a safe place". The officials said the planes were flown by pilots allied to the Houthis and former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who handed over power to Mr Hadi in 2011 after mass protests against his rule. Sky News Arabia reported that the planes had taken off from al-Dulaimi air base in Sanaa. The fighting at Aden's airport began when troops from the Special Security Forces, a police unit loyal to Mr Saleh, stormed the facility after claiming that they had been fired on from nearby buildings, an army official told the New York Times. Mr Hadi's forces regained control of the airport after reinforcements arrived with tanks and armoured vehicles several hours later. The army official said they were now moving to take control of the Special Security Forces' headquarters. The president tried earlier this month to dismiss the head of the unit, Gen Abdul Hafez al-Saqqaf, in a bid to strengthen his hold on Aden. Correspondents say the air raid on the compound and the fighting at the airport suggest the Houthis and Mr Saleh's supporters are taking the battle to President Hadi in Aden in order to prevent him from consolidating his new power base in the south.From ESPN: A report commissioned by the University of North Carolina says school academic advisers steered athletes into sham classes over an 18-year period but does not directly implicate coaches or athletic administrators in the scheme. The report, released Wednesday, says academic advisers in North Carolina’s athletic department colluded with a manager in the African and Afro-American Studies department for student-athletes to take classes to boost their GPAs and keep them eligible in their respective sports. Here’s a question I’ve never seen asked: What percentage of African-American Studies professors in the United States have their jobs because white Republican boosters of college football and/or basketball teams demand victories from their alma maters’ administrations? I don’t know the answer, but it seems like an interesting question. (I’ll leave it up to you to fill in the chain of logic for why this would be so.) At Rice U., there used to be a jock-only major called Commerce. But, in a bout of post-Sixties idealism, the professors revolted and made Rice get rid of the phony, non-academic Commerce major. During my four years at Rice in the late 1970s, the football team won 7 games and lost 37. Cause and effect? But what if instead of Commerce, jocks were channelled into, say, African-American Studies? What kind of vicious racist hater would complain about the academic worthiness of African-American Studies?Friday: Pokkén Tournament - Version 1.2 Patch + Pokémon Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire - Pokémon Scrap Distributions by Serebii This update may be amended throughout the day so be sure to check back. If you have any ideas for the site, be sure to send them in With the generation continuing and Nationals coming up globally, and the Chatroom has been rife with discussion while the WiFi Chatroom has been a place for battles, trades and Friend Safari hunting, so be sure to visit them. Our Forums have also had these discussion and are a bustling trade and competitive section for the games. Be sure to like our FaceBook Page. Last Update: 07:23 BST Edit @ 06:13: Pokémon Scrap Distributions \| Edit @ 07:23: Nintendo Badge Arcade In The Games Department Pokémon ORAS - Pokémon Scrap In Japan, there is currently an event where you can get serial codes for the Hidden Ability Legendary Birds if you collect codes in a variety of merchandise. This event was previously confirmed to have a second path which contains a variety of new gifts. That path has now been confirmed and will be redeemable on April 28th 2016 and will be redeemable until August 31st 2016 If you redeem one code, you'll get a Serial Code for Venusaur with its Hidden Ability of Chlorphyll. It holds the Venusaurite If you redeem four codes, you'll get a Serial Code for Charizard with its Hidden Ability of Solar Power. It holds the Charizardite Y If you redeem eight codes, you'll get 5 Max Revives If you redeem twelve codes, you'll get a Serial Code for Blastoise with its Hidden Ability of Rain Dish. It holds the Blastoisinite If you redeem sixteen codes, you'll get a Serial Code for a Shiny Mewtwo with its Hidden Ability of Unnerve. It holds the Mewtwonite Y If you redeem twenty codes, you'll get a Serial Code for a Master Ball All Pokémon distributed on this path come at Level 100. Our Event Database has been updated with these Pokémon. In The Games Department Pokkén Tournament - Version 1.2 A patch for Pokkén Tournament on the Wii U has been announced. This patch is said to come in early April and is said to fix a few of the issues that are plaguing the game. The full extent of the patch is not yet known, but we know it will contain the following A fix for Shadow Mewtwo where it can cause an infinite combo that cannot be stopped An adjustment for Reshiram Various bug fixes We will post when the patch goes live with full data from the patch. We will post when the patch goes live with full data from the patch. In The Games Department Nintendo Badge Arcade The free piece of Nintendo 3DS software, Nintendo Badge Arcade, had its weekly update in Europe and with this update, it has added several new badges, specifically the special Winter badges that were released in Japan in December to match the food theme of this week's update. Our section has a full list of badges so click the image to go to the section. Until Next Time, See YaThis past weekend I spent Saturday locked in a head-to-head battle for culinary glory with one of NYC's top competitive chefs, Mr. Theo Peck of The Food Experiments. And guess what? I tied him. Not too shabby, I must say. If you are going to tie with someone, than Theo would be the guy. He's creative, quick on his feet, and loads of fun to smack talk with. We had a great time dishing out our tastiest Brooklyn Beer themed recipes at my local Central Market. In fact, I have a whole slideshow of photos here to prove it. The guys from Brooklyn Brewery documented the whole thing, click-click-clicking away, capturing the feirce competive nature of the day. I met a lot of friendly people, many of which really enjoyed my recipe, Brooklyn Blackberry Flan, and I promised to share the recipe with them here on my blog. So, here it is! Brooklyn Blackberry Flan is made with Brooklyn Lager in the custard and the caramel. The bitterness of the beer tastes really wonderful against the tart, sweet nip of the fresh blackberry sauce. I used biscuit cutters to cut out individual portions, then topped them with fresh berries. This presentation is really easy, but looks awfully impressive, making it a great way to end a dinner party, or steal all the thunder at a potluck dessert table. Because this flan includes beer, it would be a great dessert for Saint Patrick's Day. If you've never made flan, it's easier than you think. The slow cooking process makes it very hard to mess up. The scariest part is probably making the caramel, but not to worry, I'll explain it all in the directions. Caramel Ingredients 1 cup sugar 1/3 cup Brooklyn Lager Custard Ingredients 1 cup heavy cream 1 1/4 cups evaporated milk 1 cup Brooklyn Lager 1 pinch salt 3 large eggs 2 egg yolks 7 tablespoons sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla Blackberry Sauce 12 ounces fresh blackberries 1/3 cup sugar 1 tablespoon lime juice 1/4 cup water the zest of 1 lime Directions Combine 1/3 cup Brooklyn Lager and 1 cup sugar in a saucepan. Start cooking on low, and keep it there until the sugar dissolves. After that, switch to high heat, and use a silicone spatula or wire whisk to keep the syrup moving. Stir continually, but not too quicklty until the syrup becomes a caramel color (five - ten minutes). While the sugar cooks it will foam up like crazy, so make sure to use a large saucepan, not a small one. After the beer foams, it will eventually seize up a little and become harder to stir. Tht means that you are getting close to the end. Soon after it thickens it will suddenly start to thin and change in color. This is a long process, so just keep stirring and hang in there. It will become caramel eventually, I promise. Quickly transfer the caramel to a pyrex/heatproof pie pan. Move the container around so that the caramel coats the inside of the dish entirely. This can be a little dangerous, so you might want to use oven mitts to keep your hands safe. Now it's time to make the custard! Put the beer in a sauce pan, and boil over high heat until it has reduced by about 50%. Combine the reduced beer with the cream, evaporated milk, and salt. In a second bowl, combine the eggs, sugar, and vanilla. Whisk the egg and sugar mixture together, then pour it through a fine mesh strainer. Slowly whisk the milk mixture into the egg mixture. Once combined, pour the custard mixtue into the caramel coated dish. Place the dish into a deep pan, and fill the pan with water until it reaches halfway up the dish. It may be easier to do this all while the pans are on the oven rack, but that's up to you. Just be very careful while moving the pan, as you don't want to get any water into the flan. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 50 - 60 minutes, until it has just set. Remove the pan from the oven, VERY CAREFULLY and allow it to cool. When the pan and water cool enough to be handled, remove the flan from the water and onto the countertop. When it reaches room temperature transfer it to the fridge. Chill in the refridgerator for at least two hours before serving. Now make the sauce. Combine 1/4 cup of water, 12 ounces of blackberries, 1/3 cup of sugar, and 1 tablespoon of lime juice in a small saucepan. Cover, and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce to a simmer, and remove lid. Allow to simmer for 10 minutes, then mash the berries with a potato masher, or the back of a spoon. Add zest, and simmer for another 5 minutes. Push the mixture through a fine, mesh strainer, and cool. Chill until serving. When you are ready to serve the flan, slip a knife around the edges to separate it from the dish. Turn the dish upside down, and shake gently to remove it. Drizzle the blackberry sauce over the flan when it's time to serve. A little whipped cream is nice too.NEW DELHI: Indian fighter pilots are now planning to match their air combat skills with among the best in the world, first against their British counterparts this year and then against American top-guns next year. IAF pilots are gearing up to fly their Sukhoi-30MKI “air dominance” fighters and IL-78 mid-air refuellers to the UK to take on the Royal Air Force during the “Indra Dhanush” exercise, which is scheduled for July-August.But the real test of their skills will come if they take part in the world famous “Red Flag” exercise to be held in Alaska in the US in April next year. If the IAF does indeed get all the requisite clearances for the Red Flag exercise, it will be the second time for the force in the high-voltage, "network-centric" exercise.IAF chief Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha on Monday left for a four-day visit to the US, during which he is slated to receive a detailed briefing on the Red Flag combat manoeuvres at the Nellis US Air Force base in Nevada, northwest of Las Vegas, among other consultations.It was in 2008 that the IAF had earlier participated in Red Flag at the Nellis airbase, which is considered the "mother" of all air combat exercises since it comes closest to realistic air combat without actually going to war.It was also the first time that the Russian-origin Sukhoi-30MKI fighters had flown over the American mainland. Though not quite familiar with operating in an AWACS (airborne warning and control systems) environment then, the IAF fighter pilots had performed quite well in the demanding exercise.Since then, the IAF has inducted and operationalised three Israeli Phalcon AWACS of its own. Apart from detecting incoming hostile fighters, cruise missiles & drones much before ground-based radars, AWACS play a crucial role in directing friendly fighters during combat operations with enemy jets.Participation in such exercises also serve to establish IAF’s capability to ``project air power’’ by deploying "a trans-continental task force" of fighters, tankers and airlift aircraft across the globe. IAF fighter pilots have managed to hold their own, many a time outgunning their rivals, in the series of bilateral exercises with US, UK and France, among others, over the years.Mexico Installs Subway Seats With Dildos Built Into Them For Insane Sexual Harassment Campaign What fresh hell is this? In a bold move to address the sexual deviants, gropers, spineless and immoral cretins that have been harassing women on subways throughout Mexico; we've come across one of the most wildly unconventional sexual harassment campaigns, I've ever damn well laid eyes on. Underneath the newly dildo-outfitted subway seats are signs that read, "It's uncomfortable to sit here, but it doesn't compare with the sexual violence that women suffer in their everyday lives." Officials additionally released campaign video showing the seats in action (or not, to be accurate); and based off the sheer number of uncomfortable dudes that actively avoided said seats...you could say the campaign has been a success thus far.LEORDENI, Romania (Reuters) - Voters who have had enough of poverty and austerity will almost certainly give Romania’s new leftist government a ringing endorsement in local elections this weekend and set it up for a comfortable parliamentary majority. The Social Liberal Union (USL) alliance took power last month, toppling the centre-right Democrat-Liberal Party (PDL), which suffered the same fate as other European governments that pushed through painful cuts to maintain investor confidence. USL Prime Minister Victor Ponta has been a vocal opponent of austerity measures and pledged to restore wages and cut some taxes, while sticking to an International Monetary Fund-led aid deal. He also plans an electoral reform that should further entrench his position. But more than 20 years after the violent overthrow of communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, Romania is still the second-poorest European Union member and struggles to provide running water to many of its 19 million people. “How is the situation in our country now? It’s very bad. We don’t believe in any politician anymore,” said pensioner Radu Dumitru, chatting with friends outside his house in the village of Leordeni, about an hour northwest of the capital Bucharest. “It was better with Ceausescu than with these guys.” With opinion poll ratings above 50 percent, Ponta’s main challenge may prove to be keeping together his alliance of leftists, centrists and rightists - whose main rallying point was opposition to the previous government - now it is in power. The PDL cut public salaries and raised sales tax in 2010 and has been so badly damaged that it is struggling to hold on to second place ahead of the populist Dan Diaconescu, whose new party wants steep tax cuts and higher wages and pensions. FRUSTRATION Sunday’s votes for councils and mayors have no direct impact on the approaching national election but will give a clear sign of parties’ support for the first time since the new government took over in May. The winners of local votes also can have more influence over future ballots, for example by launching high-profile projects or backing a specific candidate. The parliamentary election is due late this year. “The current climate of insecurity, poverty and frustration will dominate both the local and parliamentary elections this year,” said independent political analyst Cristian Patrasconiu. Though the USL dominates opinion polls, many voters have had enough of Romania’s whole political class, saying they are only interested in lining their own pockets and have failed to deliver on promises to catch up with richer European countries. Across the country in villages such as Leordeni, where chickens wander on the grassy verge of a main road, many people supplement meager wages and pensions by farming their own land and still use a horse-drawn cart. The average wage is 350 euros ($440), less than a quarter of France’s minimum, and pensions can be just 78 euros per month. Ponta - who is 39 and represents a change of guard for his party, the successor to Romania’s communists - has acknowledged this dissatisfaction but the USL’s opposition to austerity has put it in pole position, regardless. Leordeni’s 6,000 inhabitants have voted for Ponta’s Social Democrat Party (PSD), the main grouping in the USL, for the past 12 years and will probably do so again. Residents may be unhappy with the political class but prefer to stick with what they know - and promises to finally install a sewerage system. “They are riding the back of the people and we don’t have anything at home. We don’t have money, so we have to leave,” said veterinary technician Adriana Niculescu, who left Romania three times in search of a better life but kept returning to her family. ($1 = 0.8023 euros)Hello again! This is my second story, so I'm still experimenting with storytelling. This one's prompt was "Can I write an AU?". I'll let you be the judge. Quick shout out to The White Rose of Vermillion, for the idea that medieval Ruby would be an archer/huntress. Also go read that fic, it's fantastic. But anyway, here goes the first chapter. Enjoy. 1. Tulip Orchard The air was quiet, as it always was. Light was becoming scarcer as the girl nimbly made her way deeper into the forest, peering only from between the occasional openings amongst the thick branches that covered the view above. She had left her home behind, venturing increasingly away from the crop fields that sat at the edge of the woods, forced by the strange lack of game in the outer region. It was much further than she'd ever been, but Ruby did not let the realization influence her steady progress, driven by the need to hunt something before nightfall. She couldn't let her sister be responsible for all the income in the household, now could she? Especially considering how that very same income was gained, Yang was adept of business practices that the she wasn't sure were completely honest and clean. Shaking those thought from her mind, the huntress maintained the pace, trying to keep her footsteps silent all the while sharpening her senses for traces of a possible prey. The time passing by made the lack of fauna increasingly strange, particularly in the depths so isolated from any nearby human presence. There were no beaten paths amongst the bushes, nor any form of landmarks, understandably so since the populace were rather superstitious of the woods, and the dangers that lurked within them. Yet not a hint of a buck could be found, neither a cry of a bird within earshot. Unless she had stumbled upon the territory of some enormous and intimidating beast, one who could drive away every other form of life around, it was too quiet. She suddenly stopped walking, upon reaching a clearing in front of her. The wide open space was an unexpected sight, especially due to being so clearly unnatural. There were no trees in a wide radius that drew a perfect circle on the floor, marking a border where the forest started once again. Inside, the ground was covered by short grass, the green carpet sparkled by a soft orange glow of tulips, distributed evenly throughout the space. One could even say they outlined some form of shape, a pathway marked towards the center by their absence. It was a carefully set stage, and probably the product of countless hours of dedication, but it created a mesmerizing view, and Ruby was taken aback, letting her silver eyes feast upon the splendor that surrounded her. Moving forward, she noticed a statue sitting in the middle of this landscape, a small podium in which stood a stony figure. As she approached slowly, the silhouette became clearer, revealing a young woman immortalized in clear and smooth marble. She wore a long sleeved shirt underneath a short dress which ended mid-thigh, her legs were covered by stockings all the way to the brim of the dress, ending with a pair of modest shoes. The statue had a round and child-like face, which coupled with her height hinted she couldn't be much older than the huntress herself. A tilted bow topped her head, above the short hair that curled its edges at chin-length. The archer unconsciously held her breath at the inert girl before her, a silent beauty draining all the air from her chest. She stood like this for a moment, unable to draw her eyes away from the hypnotizing life-like sculpture. There was something enthralling about the stone, white and glimmering under the spots of light from above. It almost looked vigilant, that within a moment's notice the closed eyes would open wide and the graceful pose would be replaced by sudden movement. Minutes went by before the dark-red haired girl was awakened from her daze, at last detecting the ever so slight tonal shift in the lighting. Dusk was approaching, and with it the necessity to return home, so she reluctantly turned her back towards the garden, and headed on her way. But not before she made a mental promise to return, to not let this peaceful moment fade into memory. During the next days, Ruby found herself following her promise more closely than was her initial intention. Whenever the hunt was going well, and she had gathered a reasonable prize to bring to the dinner table, she would spare the remaining time to come back to that garden. The hunting was certainly improving, after she established that any prey would avoid the clearing even more solemnly than they did the outlying areas where humans could normally be seen. It made her job much easier, knowing where to find game, and where to bait them for a successful trap, as the tulip orchard acted as an invisible barrier the animals refused to cross, creating an easy weakness for her to exploit. And so, day after day, the archer took recess within the silent embrace of the grove, which quickly became her preferred spot to rest and enjoy the packed meal her sister had sent her for the day. It was so, that, one afternoon, whilst quietly eating, the silver-eyed girl saw something previously gone unnoticed. Putting a strawberry in her mouth, a costly commodity that she had no idea how Yang had come across – not that she was going to complain, the rare fruit was easily among her favorite treats – the bliss of the taste forced her eyes shut, trying to conserve the sensation for as long as possible. Her absentminded state allowed a piece of her snack to roll away from the leather pouch she held on her lap. Faced with the prospect of losing such a delicious delicacy, Ruby snapped back awake and crawled towards the mischievous berry, who had made its way behind the statue. And there it was, a large gaping hole in the ground flanked by small pebbles, with short pieces of lumber sticking out from its edges, hinting at a ladder descending to the bottom. It was a peculiar contraption, mostly due to the fact that the girl hadn't realized its presence before. Not that she'd thought to inspect the back of the sculpture, infatuated by simply the sight of the front of it. Yang would've checked her rear, she thought, blushing slightly. Her older sister always had a way of being the most inappropriate person in the room, something that never ceased to be embarrassing. Shaking her head, she dispelled the idea and peered inside the newly-found opening. There was a flickering light down under, foreshadowing the presence of at least a single torch. Figuring it was a man-made structure, the huntress determinedly grabbed onto the ladder and plunged forth into the cave. The first thing that struck her upon arrival was the cold wind that ran through the wide open space. Her simple clothing, a dark-red corset over a grey shirt, with black pants and black sturdy boots, was suited for the amenable weather outside, but not even the red-hooded cape covering most of her body could shield her from the freezing atmosphere of her new surroundings. She shivered, feeling the heat dissipate from her skull, lacking protection from her short dark brown hair, with equally dark red tips. To this day Ruby still did not know if that color was natural, or if Yang kept dyeing her hair while she slept, as a sort of elaborate prank. It was exactly the type of thing her older sister would do Locating a brazier at the center of the chamber, the huntress hurried towards it, trying to suckle all the warmth she possibly could. Reinvigorated, she allowed herself to drift her gaze over this new place she was in, registering all that inhabited it. It appeared to be a library, massive shelves towering towards the ceiling, covering most of the walls. Inside, neatly arranged books of all colors imaginable could be seen, and there had to be hundreds of them. On the further side of the room stood a long table with a mesh of sheets of paper, out-of-place books and complex metallic pieces on top, accompanied by one single wooden chair. Behind the table was a glass-doored cabinet, housing many more strange mechanical concoctions and some colorful stones as well. The huntress hesitantly walked over to the desk, registering the thick layer of dust that covered it and all things within range. Whoever the owner was, they hadn't been there for a long time. The texts were in a language the girl did not know, far different from the vernacular she was still struggling to learn. The metal objects spoke much closer to the girl's heart, cogs and gears had always fascinated her, yet they still remained out of the grasp of her understanding. They were complex, composed of many different little parts, but were carefully decorated, engraved with shapes and runes all over the surface, some even built around small spheres of colored crystal. There was, nevertheless, one object in the mess that she recognized, a small cylindrical locket with a shard of amber encrusted, held in the middle of a golden chain. It was a simple piece of jewelry, clashing with the scholar nature of the surrounding environment, although too flashy for Ruby's taste. Still, she picked it up, wrapping the chain around her wrist, with the intention of gifting her sister with it. It wasn't really stealing if it had been abandoned, right? The owner would certainly not notice one little trinket missing, and, besides, he was most likely gone for good, if the signs of prolonged absence were trustworthy. There were plenty of dangerous beasts lurking in the shadows, and the war brewing beyond the borders of their village certainly did not create many opportunities for a prosperous life. Missing most certainly meant dead. The dark-red haired girl lost herself within, letting the hours fly by while she examined every inch of the cavern, engrossed by the sense of discovery warranted by this new magical place. None of it quite made sense to her, but the fascination for these peculiar objects and tools was stronger than mere logic. When she finally felt satisfied, tiredness along with the cold starting to creep into her mind, night had already long fallen. The lighting inside prevented her from perceiving the passage of time, so it was only when the silver-eyed girl grabbed the bottom of the ladder that she realized how late it had become. She climbed intently to the top, wanting to return home quickly, to comfort her probably worried-sick sister. When on solid ground once more, she quickly located her bearings, the hunting kit composed of a solid wooden bow, an almost empty quiver and a sharp single-edged hunting knife, her leather pouch with provisions, and the prize of that day's hunt: two wild geese skillfully tied by the feet. When the archer motioned towards the items, the huntress' sense she had developed over the years made her stop, with a gut-wrenching sensation of distress. Ruby scanned the area, trying to figure out what was out-of-place about the garden. Everything seemed normal, the orange flowers, the empty podium, the wide circle with no- Wait… She barely had time to register her findings when a glimpse of white on the corner of her eye made her swiftly dodge to the side, just in time to see a stone fist hit the air where she had previously been. The girl made of marble wasn't in her rightful place on top of the podium. It was right in front of Ruby, attacking her. IT'S ALIIIIIVE! Not a lot happened this time around, just some basic set up. This fic will run longer than my previous one, so I had to. As always, please review with your impressions and thoughts, I could always use constructive criticism to improve.Houston Rockets point guard (yes, point guard) James Harden says he’s the best player in the game. Portland Trail Blazers’ star (and fellow point guard) Damian Lillard has already spoken candidly about his desire to claim that No. 1 spot as the NBA’s Kia MVP. Kawhi Leonard is letting his play do the talking for the San Antonio Spurs, much like Russell Westbrook is doing for the Oklahoma City Thunder. There are past winners in Oakland (Kevin Durant and reigning two-time KIA MVP Stephen Curry) and Cleveland (four-time winner LeBron James) who can make compelling cases for the crown. We are toe-deep into the 2016-17 NBA season and the MVP chatter is already at a fever pitch. And you thought campaign season was over. It’s just getting started around here, with one of the deepest and most talented fields of legitimate candidates we’ve seen in years. Where else could impact players as talented and Anthony Davis, Chris Paul, DeMarcus Cousins and Paul George be on the outside looking in at the top 10 players? “This is the first year I can remember being comfortable saying that it’s literally a wide-open race,” an Eastern Conference executive said. “With the way guys have moved around the past few years and with guys on the same teams having to suppress certain parts of their games for the greater good, maybe this is the season when someone comes out of nowhere, relatively speaking, and knocks off one of the favorites.” Westbrook, a one-man wrecking crew for the Thunder this season with Durant gone to Golden State, starts the season atop the first KIA Race to the MVP ladder. He doesn’t need, and probably would not allow any coordinated effort, to campaign openly for an award that has to be earned as much as it is won. And with the load he’ll have to carry for the Thunder this season, Westbrook’s production will do all the talking for him anyway. Where things will get really interesting is for Curry and Durant, winners of the past three KIA MVP awards. They’re going to produce MVP-caliber numbers in their own right, but will do so as teammates (much like Durant and Westbrook did for many seasons). Curry and Durant might split votes, allowing someone else — someone like Harden — to slide into the pole position of a race that could drag on into the final weeks of this season. Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni knows a little something about guiding a point guard to the next level, having coached two-time KIA MVP Steve Nash in Phoenix. When asked earlier this week by Michael Lee of The Vertical who was the league’s best player at his new position, Harden didn’t hold back. “Best point guard or best player?” Harden responded when asked. Either one. “I am,” Harden told The Vertical. Harden’s best case, however, will be made with his play. He’s averaging 30.6 points, 13 assists and 7.6 rebounds per game — the last time a player averaged 30 and 10 for an entire season was Nate “Tiny” Archibald in 1972-73 — and could chase numbers we haven’t seen since Oscar Robertson. “I just want to win. I don’t really think about doing all that other stuff,” Harden told The Vertical. “Being runner-up for MVP [in 2014-15] and having just a not-so-good last year, it was good for me. It was a growth year for me. I learned a lot of things and got better and just have a different mentality coming into this year.” Let the campaign rage on. Now, to this week’s rankings … 1. Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder Westbrook knew he’d have to do it all for the Thunder (31.1 points, 9.5 assists, 8.3 rebounds) and has done exactly that in his first season without Kevin Durant. The question is: can he keep up this wicked pace all season? 2. James Harden, Houston Rockets So far, Mike D’Antoni’s point guard experiment has been a smashing success. Harden is averaging 30.6 points, 13 assists and 7.6 rebounds and collected his 10th career triple-double (24 points, 15 assists, 12 rebounds) in Wednesday’s win over the Spurs. 3. LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers All this talk of someone averaging a triple-double for the entire season and no one is talking about LeBron (22.9 points, 9.9 assists and 8.9 rebounds) doing it? He’s on a career-high pace in rebounds and assists. 4. Blake Griffin, Los Angeles Clippers Griffin has bounced back brilliantly from a disastrous and injury-plagued 2015-16 season to help fuel the best team in the Western Conference. He’s doing it all for the Clippers (19.6 points, 101. rebounds, 4.0 assists) in just 30 minutes a night. 5. Kevin Durant, Golden State Warriors Durant in an ensemble cast looks a lot like the Durant we saw as part of a dynamic duo with Westbrook: unstoppable. He’s shooting a far and away career-best 57.3 percent and 40.5 percent from deep. 6. Kawhi Leonard, San Antonio Spurs He’s always been a problem on defense, but his growth and development on the offensive end is startling. He’s averaging a career-best 27.4 points per game and remains the league’s best defender. 7. Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors That ankle scare Wednesday didn’t bother Curry one bit as he bounced back with another monster effort (33 points, seven assists, five rebounds) in a win over Denver. He’s shooting a blistering 63 percent on 3-pointers over his last three games. 8. DeMar DeRozan, Toronto Raptors DeRozan is riding the wave of that Olympic year bounce to the top of the scoring chart(34.1 ppg on 53.3 percent shooting). The fact that he’s doing it without significant production from beyond the 3-point line (1.7 attempts) is what’s truly remarkable. 9. Kemba Walker, Charlotte Hornets Walker is the best player on perhaps the most surprising team in the league in the early going (check the standings). Walker is averaging career-highs in points (23.9), field goal percentage (46.6) and 3-point shooting (43.3). 10. Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers Lillard’s MVP ambitions are well documented. And he’s backing it up on the floor this season (30.0 points on 48 percent shooting and 36.5 from distance, 5.1 rebounds and 4.2 assists). Next five (listed alphabetically): DeMarcus Cousins, Sacramento Kings; Anthony Davis, New Orleans Pelicans; Brook Lopez, Brooklyn Nets; Paul Millsap, Atlanta Hawks; Chris Paul, Los Angeles ClippersThe sport said Mercedes sees the reigning world champion as a potential new teammate for fellow German Nico Rosberg beyond 2015, after Lewis Hamilton's current contract expires. And Red Bull's Dr Helmut Marko, who has Vettel under contract until the end of next year, said McLaren has made the four-time title winner an "outrageously" high offer. "Of course they target him," Marko added. Fascinatingly, Mercedes' Toto Wolff did not deny the German marque might be interested in Vettel. "This world is too competitive to want to go into our plans in the public," he said. "We are talking about a handful of top drivers. All the best teams fight over them. "We try to build a picture of how the market moves until we come to our decisions," Wolff added.Agriculture official says land could be taken out of production because of severe heavy metal pollution Millions of hectares of agricultural land in China could be withdrawn from production because of severe heavy-metal pollution, according to a Chinese agriculture official. Chex Xiwen, the deputy director of China’s top agricultural authority said that farmland near rivers, especially which are sources of drinking water, will also be taken out of production if there is a risk of pollution from the use of fertilisers and pesticides. The warning follows comments by the vice minister of land and resources in December, who said that an estimated 3.3 million hectares of land is polluted, most of which is in regions that produce grain. Withdrawing so much farmland from production could have an impact on food security, an issue that has been highlighted in the first government policy document of the year. The No 1 Central Document, issued by the Central Committee of the Communist Party, stressed the need for improvement of the national food security system and said that China will begin pilot programmes for restoring contaminated farmland this year. The Ministry of Agriculture estimates that 3.3m hectares of arable land is contaminated and said that farming on land almost the size of Belgium has been stopped so that the can can be “rehab
a lot! Listen to our exclusive Adult Swim Singles Program premieres — ghostmane and clams casino’s “Kali Yuga” and Mija’s “Time Stops,” and check out the list of artists who are featured on upcoming drops from the Singles Program below.The story of how Mr. Trump sidestepped a potentially ruinous tax bill emerged from documents recently discovered by The Times during a search of casino bankruptcy filings. Mr. Trump structured his companies to allow him to have lucrative personal tax advantages, while limiting his personal liability should business go bad. THE LIMITED PARTNER Mr. Trump can flow business gains and losses onto his personal tax returns. The casino is owned by the partnership. THE GENERAL PARTNER Mr. Trump’s corporation serves to limit his personal liability. THE LIMITED PARTNER Mr. Trump can flow business gains and losses onto his personal tax returns. THE GENERAL PARTNER Mr. Trump’s corporation serves to limit his personal liability. TRUMP ASSOCIATES The casino is owned by the partnership. For each of his Atlantic City casinos, Mr. Trump formed a partnership between himself and a corporation that he wholly owned and created for this specific purpose. At the time, many businesses, particularly real estate ventures, were structured similarly, with the goal of protecting owners from losing personal money should their businesses go bust. But Mr. Trump was playing on a vastly different scale than most; his leverage was the stuff of legend. “There’s nothing like doing things with other people’s money, because it takes the risk,” Mr. Trump said at a campaign rally in September. With the partnerships in place, Mr. Trump went looking for financing. O.P.M. To finance the Trump Taj Mahal, Mr. Trump issued $675 million in bonds at a 14% interest rate. This is one of many ways Mr. Trump leveraged other people's money, known in investing as O.P.M. O.P.M. To finance the Trump Taj Mahal, Mr. Trump issued $675 million in bonds at a 14% interest rate. This is one of many ways Mr. Trump leveraged other people's money, known in investing as O.P.M. To purchase and finish construction on the Trump Taj Mahal, for instance, Mr. Trump’s company sold over a half-billion dollars in bonds – essentially i.o.u.s with interest – to individuals, companies and banks. Within the first year, Mr. Trump began missing interest payments, a bad sign for investors. The Taj, though, was far from the only Trump business that was hemorrhaging money. PILING ON Many of Mr. Trump’s other businesses also suffered losses that flowed onto his personal tax returns. PILING ON Many of Mr. Trump’s other businesses also suffered losses that flowed onto his personal tax returns. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, several of his casinos and other properties suffered significant losses, the majority of which ultimately ended up on Mr. Trump’s personal taxes. Mr. Trump managed to turn these business losses to his personal gain — in the form of something called a net operating loss (N.O.L.). TRUMP'S N.O.L. Mr. Trump amassed nearly $1 billion in net operating losses that he could use to offset personal income taxes for almost two decades. MR. TRUMP’S N.O.L. Mr. Trump amassed nearly $1 billion in net operating losses that he could use to offset personal income taxes for almost two decades. But there was a threat to Mr. Trump’s N.O.L.: the debt forgiven by many of his creditors who were trying to salvage what was left of their investments. TAXABLE INCOME When a debt is forgiven, it is seen as income by the government and subject to taxes. TAXABLE INCOME When a debt is forgiven, it is seen as income by the government and subject to taxes. Mr. Trump’s forgiven debt – which included the renegotiated bonds used to finance the Trump Taj Mahal – was viewed by the government as taxable income, and as such could be deducted from Mr. Trump’s personal N.O.L. Mr. Trump needed a way to protect his advantage. He found a valuable one. NEW BONDS Mr. Trump issued new bonds to replace the old bonds. The new bonds have a lower return, essentially forgiving millions in debt, which could potentially decrease Mr. Trump’s N.O.L. THE SWAP To avoid taxes on the forgiven debt and protect the N.O.L., Mr. Trump used a partnership equity for debt swap that was subsequently closed by Congress. NEW BONDS Mr. Trump issued new bonds to replace the old bonds. The new bonds have a lower return, essentially forgiving millions in debt, which could potentially decrease Mr. Trump’s N.O.L. THE SWAP To avoid taxes on the forgiven debt and protect the N.O.L., Mr. Trump used a partnership equity for debt swap that was subsequently closed by Congress. In a tax avoidance maneuver his own lawyers told him was legally dubious, Mr. Trump managed to avoid paying taxes on the forgiven debt by swapping partnership equity for debt. It didn’t matter if the actual market value of the equity was less than the forgiven debt. (Equity in an insolvent partnership could easily be next to worthless). This type of swap was made illegal for partnerships in 2004.As the 2013 inventory clears out, General Motors’ dealers are reporting so-far paltry sales for the 2014 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra full size pickups after facing competitive pricing from aging Ford and Ram pickups. In the case of September 2013, the Silverado was down 10.8 percent, while the Sierra nameplate declined 1.5 percent. According to the Automotive News, meager incentives for the new pickup are driving customers away from Chevy and GMC dealers and towards the more affordable Ram and F150. Looking to dwindle their 2013 stock to make way for new models, Ford and Ram are offering up to $9,000 of incentives, as what seems to be a sense of gratification. However, this overlap shouldn’t last for much longer. Dealers and analysts say that the pricing disadvantage of the new Silverado and Sierra should only be temporary, as Fords and Rams incentives on their trucks could fade as their 2013 inventory depletes. However dealers are worried that the situation could prevent them from capitalizing on the launch buzz of the new pickups. GM executives are aware of the challenges of bringing out a new generation of pickups just as the competition is looking to sell off last year’s models. Both Ford’s F-Series and Ram posted a sales increase in September, while sales of GM’s pickups fell 8 percent. Still, executives say they would rather hold the current pricing on the Silverado and Sierra than lower it to chase market share. GM is advising dealers to sell the truck on its merits, such as best-in-class fuel economy, power, and tow ratings, as discounts to match the competitions are not available. “You don’t ever want to let the oldest trucks in the market dictate strategy for the newest and best truck in the market,” GM spokesman Jim Cain told Automotive News. GM did offer $1,000 in customer cash on the 2014 Silverado and an additional $500 on higher priced models at the beginning of October, but it was quickly offset a week later when the company announced it would raise the sticker price on 2014 models by $1,500.Bay City News Source - SALINAS (BCN) -- A 50-year-old man suffered minor injuries today in Salinas after another man punched him in the head multiple times, according to police. Police said the 50-year-old man was in Little Caesars in the 500 block of East Laurel Drive at about 4:30 p.m. when a woman and her son came into the store. An argument between the man and the woman and her son started after the man told the woman she should avoid eating pizza because she is overweight, police said. The woman retrieved a crowbar from her car, but before she could assault the man, her adult son punched him several times, police said. The 50-year-old was taken to a hospital for treatment of his injuries, according to police.Sitting in the light-filled front room of his south London flat, Alex Wheatle is supposed to be talking about the Guardian’s children’s fiction prize, of which he has just become the 50th winner, joining a rollcall that includes Ted Hughes, Philip Pullman, Anita Desai, Mark Haddon and many other greats. But instead he is methodically considering the absence of black authors in broadsheet newspapers. “It’s interesting being interviewed,” he says, “because one of the things I rail against is how little exposure black writers get after they are published.” He reels off examples: Yvvette Edwards was Man Booker longlisted in 2011 and published her second book this year. “I couldn’t find a feature on her in any of the broadsheets … Irenosen Okojie won a Betty Trask award for her first novel, lots of acclaim, not much coverage. Even Courttia Newland …” Writing YA fiction requires new skillsets Read more Wheatle’s political awakening came with the 1981 Brixton riots, which he dramatised in his second novel, East of Acre Lane. Now 53, he made his debut in 1999 with the first of six adult novels, the hard-hitting Brixton Rock, which introduced the volatile Brenton – “a halfbreed bastard of sixteen” – brought up, like Wheatle himself, in a children’s home, and struggling to make a life in a south London hostel: “You can read all the books you want, but that won’t make a difference, ’cos you don’t actually know what it feels like to live my shit of a life,” he tells the exasperated social worker who is called to collect him from a police cell after a brawl. With fortuitous timing he brought Brenton back for a sequel, Brenton Brown, just as the 2011 riots were kicking off, though this novel was retrospectively set at the height of the new Labour era, placing Brenton as a jobbing decorator, caught between furious street “soldiers” and WMCBs (“wannabe middle-class blacks”) in newly gentrified streets. Like Wheatle’s previous novels, Brenton Brown was well reviewed, praised for its “robust dialogue, streetwise humour and muscular, mischievous vernacular”. So why did he make the switch to writing for young adult readers? Disillusionment, Wheatle says, bluntly. Not with writing itself, but with a lack of interest and support from the literary establishment. “Even though I had a good reputation, I always felt a resistance. I didn’t feel like I was making inroads.” Alex Wheatle: I was mesmerised by Tolkien’s inventiveness of language Read more Though he was awarded an MBE for services to literature in 2008, he points out that he was only invited to one literary festival in 14 years. In preparation for meeting him, I could only find one previous newspaper interview. While his YA experience has been very different – “the industry seems to have received me with open arms” – he thinks it is part of a wider problem affecting black and working-class authors. “I felt like I was this token black writer who writes about ghetto stuff,” Wheatle says. He believes working-class characters are increasingly thin on the ground, while the handful of black writers who are feted often explore sweeping tales of immigrant experience, rather than domestic tales rooted firmly in one place and time. “My books are seen as only for a black demographic, whereas Zadie Smith or Andrea Levy’s were propelled higher than that, so I felt cheated, in a way.” He sees an echo of this in the way the language in his books is judged. Reviews of his adult novels seldom fail to praise the vivid vernacular (in Brixton Rock - which plays with the name and themes of Brighton Rock - one character inquires about a fight by saying: “What-a-gwarn last night? Someone told me you bust up Terry Flynn”). But there is an assumption that, because he lived in Brixton and is black, his distinctive narrative voices come naturally. Even for Island Songs, which uses Jamaican patois, despite the fact that Wheatle grew up in Croydon, there was little understanding of the “intricacies and hard work” involved. “I think being a black male is something to do with not being taken seriously. And my background,” he admits. “I didn’t go to university or on a fancy writers’ course, and so I think the respect is grudging – ‘Oh he is just serving his community.’ I am never taken seriously.” He says he can’t help but compare the treatment of white writers attempting similar work with dialect, noting that Stephen Kelman’s Pigeon English – about a 10-year-old pulled into the world of Peckham gangs – was shortlisted for the 2011 Booker prize, and became a play. While Wheatle is “all for” white writers creating black characters (and vice versa), he thinks “the merit of their work is almost always elevated over black writers who have been writing in the same genre. It’s a form of white privilege.” I didn’t go to university or on a fancy writers’ course, and so I think the respect is grudging This lack of praise is no longer a problem in the “more diverse” world of YA, where storytelling is prized. His Guardian children’s fiction prize win is for Crongton Knights. It’s the tale of chubby 14-year-old McKay, who lives on the fictional estate of Crongton. Along with a small band of friends, he sets off on a quest to help out a girl, even though it means straying into the territory of a dangerous gang. With sexting, knives and turf wars it risks being worthy, grim or inauthentic. Instead, thanks to Wheatle’s light touch, it is funny and warm-hearted. Its predecessor, Liccle Bit, was equally sparkling, and followed the tribulations of McKay’s friend Lemar, who is trying to woo the beautiful Venetia, while being pressed into service by a gang leader. It was nominated for the CILIP Carnegie medal, and a third Crongton book is on its way in March – this time focusing on Lemar’s fiery sister Elaine. Both books capture the excitement and bewilderment of adolescence. But it is the invented, acrobatic dialect that delights. In Crongton, words are “lyrics”, a tendency to snatch makes you “grabilicious”, and a pair of trainers “sex up your feet”. As McKay struggles with the serious side of life, a fight-prone brother and a father who gambles, the witty language provides comic relief; a thin teacher “would have to run around in a monsoon to get wet”, while a pretty girl is “hotter than Miley Cyrus twerking against a bonfire”. Creating words is a neat way of ensuring that the language in his books doesn’t date; and sidesteps any inauthenticity in his schoolboy slang (“I’m 53, how down with the kids can I be?” Wheatle laughs). The alternative would be unthinkable: “Eavesdropping on the 109 bus! [The kids] would think I was a creep!” In the ultimate compliment, he now hears his slang being used by schoolchildren. Inspiration, he says, comes from everything from Cary Grant movies to reggae – which gave Wheatle his love of language. He lists the 80s DJs whose “bending and twisting” of words were an early influence. “Papa Levi, Smiley Culture, Asher Senator, Tippa Irie were fantastic,” he sighs. And suddenly, he is a teenager with a night out ahead. “Going to a sound-system clash – you would have all the anticipation of wondering what the DJ’s will come up with? What new phrases and words?” Wheatle seems genuinely delighted to be nominated for awards, telling me he is “walking on air”. In a similar tone of wonder he describes how, this summer, he joined film director Steve McQueen to write a BBC series about the story of the black community in the UK. Facebook Twitter Pinterest ‘I’m 53, how down with the kids can I be?’ … Wheatle at home. Photograph: Jill Mead for the Guardian “I still see myself sometimes as ‘little Alex’ who never thought he would achieve anything,” he says, recalling a self-image that was the legacy of a childhood in care. “You grow up with this low self-esteem that is hard to fight against.” He was placed with Lambeth social services when he was just three. His mother was married with four children when she arrived in the UK and fell in love with a Jamaican teacher in Brixton. After their son was born, she returned home and Wheatle’s father struggled to cope. He was sent to live in Shirley Oaks children’s home village – then the country’s biggest care home. Despite its idyllic name and 80-acre grounds, for many of the children trapped within its walls it was a place of nightmares, where adults could physically, sexually and mentally abuse them with impunity. When I ask Wheatle about his experiences, he flinches, and there is a long pause. Eventually he reels off the things he was attacked with, from the shoes staff members threw at him to beatings with “the fire poker … anything they could lay their hands on”. The penalty for forgetting to call staff members “auntie” or “uncle”, he has written, was to be “stripped naked, thrown into an empty bath and have a bar of soap forced into your mouth”. One day he was sexually assaulted by a doctor. The home is now under investigation as part of the government’s wide-ranging sexual abuse inquiry. Shirley Oaks Survivors Association, of which Wheatle is a member, believes a paedophile ring was brought into the home. The mental abuse also left its scars. “One housefather told me, your parents left you on the dock and went back to the jungle. To be told your parent left you, like you’re a bag of rubbish – you believe it. It affects your whole way of seeing the world. You think you are totally worthless.” His coping mechanism was to “shut out the terrors” of his life. “I would close my eyes and I could be somewhere or someone else; Pelé scoring a goal.” It’s a heartbreaking image – a little boy who can’t even imagine someone saving him. “Many of the people I grew up with, they might have a brother or sister or someone to visit them. I was so alone.” “You are not aware of how much you are damaged,” he says. “You try not to think about or recall the appalling moments that you had to suffer. You put up a defensive field, and that becomes aggressive because you don’t want anyone to know how vulnerable you are.” As a teenager his pain came out as fury at the world and a willingness to get into fights. He suffered flashbacks, an affliction he passed on to Brenton. At the age of 15, he moved to Brixton. Having been told “that all black people lived in the jungle”, he was entranced to find a world where his peers “spoke in a different slang, walked in a different style, the fashion was different. It helped me as a writer because I had to pay attention. The cultural lift Brixton gave me took me on the road to half-believing that I do fit into this harsh world.” Yet he continued to struggle with anger and trust problems, and having left school with no qualifications, slipped into petty crime. Then came the Brixton riots, which, angry at the way the black community was policed, he enthusiastically joined – and which landed him in prison for four months. Once again in an institution and vulnerable, he began to dwell on his loneliness “in a way that made me suicidal. In spite of me learning about my cultural identity and so on … I still had nobody.” Salvation came in the form of a Rasta cellmate with a lazy eye. “He was the first person I came across who saw some promise in me,” Wheatle says. “Social workers just expected the minimum from me. For the first time in my life I had a mentor who thought I could achieve great things.” Writing released all the demons for me … I started to write about the children's home, for my own peace of mind Nelson, as Wheatle affectionately dubbed him, encouraged the young man to learn about his Caribbean heritage, suggesting he read The Black Jacobins by CLR James. Soon Wheatle was devouring everything from Richard Wright to Homer (“someone told me the Iliad was about blood and guts”). Meanwhile the jingles he had begun to write for his reggae sound-system had led him into writing poetry. “Writing released all the demons for me … I started to write about Shirley Oaks – just for myself and my own peace of mind. Brixton Rock was born out of that.” Today, he says, his past is “something you live with, it comes out in the night time. Those memories still come back, they still haunt me from time to time.” Having the support of family and friends helps. He even tracked down his parents, visiting both as often as he could. Today, with a wife and three grownup sons, he seems so calm it’s impossible to imagine he was ever the angry young man he describes. “I seem empathetic because I know where rage can come from,” he says. “I know how it feels to be unwanted and unloved.” Becoming a father also calmed him. “I used to have a fight, and not care if I would be killed. But being responsible for someone put me on the road to self-worth.” Now, he admits, he is fascinated with families – which is why they are at the heart of his Crongton books. “It is me trying to understand how the family dynamic works. How do people react and respond to each other? Because I didn’t grow up with that.” Sitting quietly, beneath the photo montages of his family on the wall, he smiles. “This is my PhD.”Vancouver Island hockey fans looking for playoff hockey have found an alternative. With the Vancouver Canucks out of contention for the Stanley Cup, fans are flocking to see the WHL's Victoria Royals. The regular season champions are hoping to add to the honours by bringing Victoria its first championship hockey team since 1980. The team closed the regular season with a sell-out crowd at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre Thursday. The goal is to get to that point again with the team locked in a second round match-up with rival Kelowna Rockets. "It's been gratifying to see the groundswell of energy and the size of the crowds we have seen and they are getting bigger and bigger," said Royals General Manager and President Cameron Hope. "People want to see hockey, they want to see it in the springtime. They want to see playoff hockey because it is the most intense and it's right here." Victoria has long been a Canucks town. Many fans make the trip every year to the Lower Mainland to take in a game. Without that option this year, Hope said he expects more locals to test out his product. When it comes to sports, we are all local fans," he said. "I think when people figure out what we have to offer they will come back." Filling the void A Canucks-free playoffs isn't just good news for Royals ticket sales. At Victoria's Romeo's Restaurant, just down the street from where the Royals play, Canucks' games frequently play on multiple television sets during the regular season. With the playoffs out of the picture this year, the restaurant's manager is desperate for another way to bring in hockey fans and get them to spend money. To this point, the Royals have filled that void, especially with a big crowd before and after the 2-1 game one win against Kelowna. "The Royals playoff run is definitely a positive," said Romeo's manager Yiannis Mavrikos. "There was probably 20 to 30 per cent more business in Game One compared to a typical Thursday. "For us, the Canucks being out will be bittersweet. It won't be as busy in the lounge, and deliveries won't be as busy either. But we hope the Royals can go on a run." Canadian teams shut-out It is not just Canucks fans who are also looking for someone to cheer for. For the first time since 1970, there is no Canadian team in the NHL playoffs. With his team out, Montreal Canadiens fan Will Chambers went looking for an alternative. He showed up at the Royals game on Thursday night wearing a Habs jersey, but he's still rooting for the local team. "I think we are going to see a lot of people supporting these local teams," said Chambers before the game. "They can't be at home watching their favourite team, so hopefully they come out and support teams like the Victoria Royals."Honolulu Civil Beat filed a lawsuit Thursday against the Department of the Attorney General in an attempt to free up records related to the agency’s investigation of alleged wrongdoing inside the Office of the Auditor. The attorney general’s office has refused to publicly release documents related to its inquiry, although it has shared its final investigative reports with certain state legislators, including Senate President Ron Kouchi. Kouchi has declined to talk about the investigation or the AG’s findings. Cory Lum/Civil Beat Civil Beat filed a public records request for the attorney general’s reports in April. Officials denied the request in May, saying that releasing the information would infringe on unnamed individuals’ privacy rights and “frustrate a legitimate government function.” But Civil Beat’s attorney, Brian Black, said citizens should have a right to access the attorney general’s report — or at least significant portions of it — so that they can understand what problems might be occurring within the auditor’s office. Black is the executive director of the Civil Beat Law Center for the Public Interest, a Honolulu nonprofit dedicated to the pursuit of transparency and open government through litigation and lobbying. “We’re just trying to get some measure of accountability,” Black said. “These records are important because the attorney general’s office did a factual investigation into something going on at one of the most important offices in the state that is the watchdog for all of the other departments in the state. “If there’s a problem in that office the public should know about it.” Joshua Wisch, a spokesman for the Department of the Attorney General, said Thursday that his agency hadn’t yet received a copy of the complaint and wouldn’t comment. Few details have come out about the AG’s investigation. What’s known is that the investigation took place while Jan Yamane was the acting state auditor. Yamane was assigned to that position in December 2012 after the retirement of longtime auditor Marion Higa. In April, the Legislature voted to replace Yamane with former Hawaii State Ethics Commission Executive Director Les Kondo. It was a curious move at the time given Kondo’s often fractious relationship with legislators, and in particular House Speaker Joe Souki. Yamane is now the executive director of the Honolulu Ethics Commission. She did not return a request for comment Thursday. Read the complaint here:In a relatively short period of time, videogame art has gone from the single white blocks found in Pong to thousands of colors wrapped around thousands of polygons. This in turn has allowed the worlds in games to evolve from a single black screen to immense 3D worlds. For those of us who find ourselves in the lucky position of being game artists, the trick is to find ways to leverage this cache of materials and palettes to create powerful, realistic worlds that draw in players. How does one do that? By educating yourself about the elements of color and production design and applying these lessons to your games, you can focus the player's emotion within a world, as we did at Insomniac Games in our Playstation title, Spyro the Dragon. In addition to color theory, Spyro's production design is explored by Insomniac Games artist John Fiorito. The Difficulty of Color Consider the example of the traditional painter. Subject matter, design, composition, and color must all be balanced together for the painting to come alive. Now take the example to the next level: A movie director or cinematographer has the same issues as the painter, plus the added complexities of motion, changing perspectives, and timing. In games, we face the challenge of making a movie in which the viewer can go anywhere and do anything whenever he or she wants. Our "viewers" can see our world from any distance or perspective anytime they want. How much harder does that make our jobs? We not only have to worry about what is in front of the "camera," or more precisely, in front of the player, but what is behind, below, above, and all around him or her, in real time - and it has to be fun to boot (see Figure 1). Figure 1. An artist's job is complicated by the fact that in the 3D worlds, players can now see everything from everywhere. One cornerstone of traditional art and great games is the careful use of color. What makes getting color "just right" so complicated is the fact that color has a powerful effect on our senses, and we're also very sensitive to subtle color changes. A little too much blue in a scene, and the mood of the whole world changes. Fortunately, there are a couple of techniques that can make the process of coloring a game world more manageable. A Gallery of Worlds and Emotions Once your basic game design has been completed, as an artist or level designer you ought to start thinking about specific ways that the world you are creating will draw the player in. Which emotions will your world or your level need in order to draw players in and entice them to stay? When selecting a level's color palette, you're also making a decision about the underlying emotion that the level will convey to the player. I have found that it helps for me to think of the game as a gallery of paintings. In a gallery, each painting must stand by itself, yet it should also support and strengthen those paintings around it. This happens only if each painting in the gallery is balanced; each painting has been placed with complementary paintings which have been thoughtfully selected, and carefully arranged and lit. So it must be with the art and colors in a game. Each level's colors and textures should be chosen to support and strengthen not just the level itself, but the whole game. Broad Strokes of Color I like to work in broad strokes of color, picking two or three colors that will be the foundation for the color design for each individual level. It's important to ask yourself, what emotions do I want to evoke in players when they first step out onto the playing field? The color palette you choose will naturally depend on the nature of the terrain, the architecture of buildings, time of day, and the effects of weather. However, if you're trying to evoke a particular emotion as well, you'll have to take that into account. Do you want to fill the player with awe and wonder, or fear and turmoil? Do you want them to feel comfortable and at home, or unsettled and far from home? Once the core emotions are laid out for each level, decide which colors best elicit those emotions from the player and also work well with the other level elements (terrain, architecture, and so on). Consider how each of the various characters within the game will fit into your color scheme. For Spyro the Dragon (a character-based platform game with a cast of dragons set in a medieval fantasy world), we made Spyro green in the earliest stages. But we quickly discovered that this didn't work with many of our primarily green environments - Spyro kept disappearing into the environment. We experimented with over a dozen different colors for Spyro before we finally found one that satisfied all our concerns: purple. As purple, Spyro didn't disappear into the grass on many levels, he was no longer the same color as several of our competitors' characters, the detail in his textures stood out, and he was a bright, fun character. These same questions had to be asked for each and every object and creature in Spyro's world. It also was important for game objects. For example, a great amount of treasure has to be found and collected in Spyro, so it was important that players could easily identify treasure at great distances. We made this easier by applying motion and a little animated sparkle to the gems to make sure they were always the brightest thing around. A level's core palette should contain only two or three base colors. Using these base colors, a level's detail is then defined using various shades and values along with small amounts of complimentary or contrasting colors. Be careful when extending this core palette because using too many colors can lessen the impact of any one color and you end up with emotional mud - just as if you mixed too many different colors of paint together. A variation to this rule is that some worlds may have multiple, distinct palettes, one for each area found within that world. For example, one palette for inside a building versus outside it. Even in these cases though, each of these distinct palettes should be limited to two or three colors, and there will still be one master palette, of two or three colors, which sets the tone for the entire world. One way to check the overall state of your "gallery" - the color continuity between game levels - is to view screenshots or test swatches from each of the levels side by side, as if they were a color wheel or contiguous screenshots in a consumer game magazine. Decide if each individual level's look supports and strengthens the others. If not, rework the colors in one or more of the levels. More often than not, it doesn't take much of a change to find that balance if you catch the problem early. With Spyro, as soon as we had a rough design document with its specified worlds, we put up a white board in the art room with a brief description of the sky and the core palette for each of the levels. Further along in the development process, small color print outs of screenshots augmented the white board (see Figure 2).The United States is calling for North Korea to stop its "destabilizing actions" and follow through on its international obligations. "We call on [North Korea] to refrain from provocative, destabilizing actions and rhetoric, and to make the strategic choice to fulfill its international obligations and commitments and return to serious talks," Pentagon spokesman Gary Ross said, according to CNN. "North Korea's unlawful weapons programs represent a clear, grave threat to U.S. national security." ADVERTISEMENT On Sunday, North Korea said its military could sink a U.S. aircraft carrier that President Trump is sending to the region "with a single strike." "Our revolutionary forces are combat-ready to sink a U.S. nuclear powered aircraft carrier with a single strike," North Korea's ruling Workers' Party newspaper said in a commentary, according to Reuters. The USS Carl Vinson and Japanese navy ships are currently conducting exercises in the Philippine Sea. Vice President Pence on Saturday said the aircraft carrier would arrive in the region "within days." The developments come amid heightened tensions in the region. President Trump last week put new pressure on China to rein in North Korea. "China is very much the economic lifeline to North Korea so, while nothing is easy, if they want to solve the North Korean problem, they will," the president tweeted last week.Diamond Profile Blog Joined May 2009 United States 9882 Posts Last Edited: 2011-02-18 22:26:59 #1 I have been thinking about a "Neutral Server" rule. It would be highly situational and have to be set up before hand but for tournaments like TSL 3 and other showmatches might help. For example let's say in TSL 3 Tyler gets matched up against oGsMC (This is all made up and just an example. NOT a real scenario) Tyler has access to NA, EU, and KOR and lives in NA MC has access to NA, EU, and KOR, and lives in Korea Playing the match on NA would give the lag advantage to Tyler. Playing on KOR would give the lag advantage to MC. Playing on EU would give them both lag and would be the closest way to duplicate it for both. The match would be played on EU. Also of course there would have to be a "home server" for the tournament where everyone has to have access to it, and if no Neutral Server can be found you default to that server (ie: TSL 3 would more then likely use NA for a home server). I'm sort of curious what everyone thinks about this as it's sort of a weird scenario. You would basically be handicapping both players. Is this destroying the integrity of the game in some way? Is this just a plain bad idea? I would LOVE to hear what some pros also think of this. Thanks everyone! So this is an idea I have been having for awhile regarding hosting showmatches and such. There is always the issue on cross server matches that one person will have much less lag then another. This always leads to the crying after the match "player a only lost because of lag, player b would not have won otherwise!" While obviously an exaggeration this is something I think creates an unnecessary advantage to one player.I have been thinking about a "Neutral Server" rule. It would be highly situational and have to be set up before hand but for tournaments like TSL 3 and other showmatches might help.For example let's say in TSL 3 Tyler gets matched up against oGsMC(This is all made up and just an example. NOT a real scenario)Tyler has access to NA, EU, and KOR and lives in NAMC has access to NA, EU, and KOR, and lives in KoreaPlaying the match on NA would give the lag advantage to Tyler.Playing on KOR would give the lag advantage to MC.Playing on EU would give them both lag and would be the closest way to duplicate it for both.The match would be played on EU.Also of course there would have to be a "home server" for the tournament where everyone has to have access to it, and if no Neutral Server can be found you default to that server (ie: TSL 3 would more then likely use NA for a home server).I'm sort of curious what everyone thinks about this as it's sort of a weird scenario. You would basically be handicapping both players. Is this destroying the integrity of the game in some way? Is this just a plain bad idea?I would LOVE to hear what some pros also think of this.Thanks everyone! NOTE: THIS DOES NOT REQUIRE ANYTHING FROM BLIZZARD. PLEASE READ THE OP MORE CAREFULLY Ballistix Gaming Global Gaming/Esports Marketing Manager - twitter.com/esvdiamond Rialz Profile Joined October 2010 Brazil 177 Posts #2 I think that's fair and neutral. I like it. But i am no pro, or nowhere near qualified to judge that. Wolf Profile Blog Joined April 2010 Korea (South) 3272 Posts #3 It's obviously a great idea. The question is, will Blizzard or another team ever be able to
\\| \|/ \/ \ \/\_ __ \_(__ < \/ \/ / \ \____/ __ \\| \_\ \ \| \| \ \____\| \| \/ \ / \______ (____ /___ /__\|___\| /\______ /\|__\| /______ /\/\_/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ As we watched your officers kettle innocent women, we observed you barberically pepper spray wildly into the group of kettled women. We were shocked and disgusted by your behavior. You know who the innocent women were, now they will have the chance to know who you are. Before you commit atrocities against innocent people, think twice. WE ARE WATCHING!!! Expect Us! ----------------------TARGET Anthony Bologna D0x NYPD Deputy Inspector Patrol Boro Manhattan South - 212-477-6181 -WAS Commanding Officer of the First Precinct for the past 5 years ----------------------Personal -Possible phone number: (518) 989-9051 ----------------------Reason for D0x'ing http://davidscameracraft.blogspot.com/2011/09/occupy-wall-street-march-violence.html ----------------------Relatives Anthony Linda Bologna Anthony V Bologna Anthony Jennings Bologna Linda S Bologna (family) Dana M Bologna (family) Jenna Angelina Bologna (family) J Bologna (family) Angelina Bologna (family) Joanne A Bologna (family) Anthony C Bologna (family) ----------------------Schools St. Paul's High School (1970-1974) ----------------------Last Known Addresses 5 Sawyer Ave, Unit A, Staten Island, NY, US 119 Slater Blvd, Staten Island, NY, US 5 Sawyer Ave, Staten Island, NY, US 1309 Lake Ave, Metairie, LA, US Jennings Hill Rd, West Kill, NY, US Catskill, NY, US Lexington, NY, US New York, NY, US 5314 8th Ave, Brooklyn, NY, US 236 E Gibson St, Covington, LA, US 134 N Carrollton Ave, New Orleans, LA, US 22072 8th St, Abita Springs, LA, US 6 Saint Jean De Luz, Mandeville, LA, US 1000 53rd St, Brooklyn, NY, US 1224 Lake Ave, Apt 205, Metairie, LA, US 10122 Lakewood St, New Orleans, LA, US 24 Claudia Dr, Covington, LA, US 6906 13th Ave, Unit 2f, Brooklyn, NY, US ---------------------------Legal Trouble Plaintiff: Posr A. Posr Defendants: Tulio Camejo, Anthony Bologna, Michael R. Bloomberg, Raymond W. Kelly, Joseph J. Esposito, The City of New York and Connie Fishman Case Number: 1:2007cv07583 Filed: August 27, 2007 Court: New York Southern District Court Office: Foley Square Office County: NewYork Presiding Judge: Judge P. Kevin Castel Nature of Suit: Civil Rights - Other Civil Rights Cause: 42:1983 Civil Rights Act Jurisdiction: Federal Question Jury Demanded By: Plaintiff -------------------------------Until Next Time Folks...Photograph by Stephen Wallace, M.D., J.D. In 1937 the Muslim Free Hospital was established in Rangon, Burma. It was created by a group of Muslim leaders to care for the poor of Rangoon that had no other access to medical care. The initial investment came entirely from Muslims. The Muslim Free Hospital still exists and is still funded by the donations of Muslims of Myanmar. Burma received a name change in 1988 and is now called Myanmar. Rangoon received a name change and is now called Yangon. However, the mission of the Muslim Free Hospital has not changed. From to the beginning the hospital did not discriminate on the basis of religion, ethnic group, or income. The Muslims of Myanmar have been and still are paying for the medical care of poor Muslims, Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, or member of any religion. It is particularly remarkable that this is occurring in Myanmar. Muslims are a minority in Myanmar, about 4% of the population. Many Muslims in Myanmar live in fear. Violence against peaceful Muslims is on the increase. Militant Buddhist monks openly incite violence against Muslims. In parts of Myanmar businesses and homes are burned. Muslims are killed. Buddhist monks openly ask all Muslims to leave their country and call them animals. A 2013 Time Magazine article describes the terror being created by a Buddhist monk in Mandalay. Since that article the situation continues to worsen. Yet, the Muslim Free Hospital continues to offer care for the Buddhist majority free of charge without complaint. The Muslim Free Hospital has no political agenda. This tolerance of religious diversity is also displayed in the employees of the Muslim Free Hospital. Muslim, Buddhist, and Christian doctors and nurses all work together with respect. The quantity and quality of care given with the hospital's limited resources would be unimaginable in the United States. Muslims in Myanmar donate $400,000 a year. If the patients have money they pay what they can. If they have no money they pay nothing. The outpatient clinics care for 450 outpatients a day. The hospital has 160 beds. In the year 2000, a year for which there are statistics, there were approximately 6000 cared for as inpatients. The hospital has medical, surgical, maternity, and a special unit for eye patients. Currently an average of 220 deliveries occur a month. The hospital has x-ray facilities, pharmacy, ultrasound unit, and operating rooms. There are a total of 45 doctors working and donating time to the hospital. Dr. Phyo Wai Htun- Hematologist Received his M.D. in Myanmar, a Ph.D in Japan, and trained 3 years at St. Judes in the United States. He now works at Muslim Free Hosptial Photograph by Stephen Wallace, M.D., J.D. Nurse Nwe Nwe San Head Nurse of the Surgical Ward Employed at Muslim Free Hospital for 23 Years Photograph by Stephen Wallace, M.D., J.D. Nurse Ei Popo Hans San Head Nurse of Obstetrics Ward Photograph by Stephen Wallace, M.D., J.D. Mr. Moosa Madan- Grandson of the founder of the Muslim Free Hospital and current President of the Board of Directors. A businessman in Yangon. Photograph by Stephen Wallace, M.D., J.D. Mother with child recently delivered at Muslim Free Hospital Photograph by Stephen Wallace, M.D., J.D. Surgical Patient One Day Post-operative Photograph by Stephen Wallace, M.D., J.D. Patient in General Medicine Ward Photograph by Stephen Wallace, M.D., J.D. Patients in Obstetrical Ward Photograph by Stephen Wallace, M.D., J.D In a complicated world with horrendous events occurring daily its nice to see one shining light coming from a group only concerned with helping others. It is also a reminder to never over generalize.WASHINGTON — Democrats on Capitol Hill are reexamining their support for a bipartisan bill intended to fight boycotts against Israel and the settlements after the American Civil Liberties Union warned U.S. senators last week that it endangers free speech in the United States and could lead to citizens’ going to prison simply for expressing a political opinion. Two Democratic staffers who are involved in discussions over the legislation told Haaretz that over a dozen Democrats in both houses of Congress have already began to reconsider their positions in light of the letter the ACLU sent to U.S. senators. One of the first members of the House of Representatives to publicly announce such a review is Rep. Joe Kennedy III, a Democrat representing Massachusetts. Kennedy, a grandson of the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, is considered a rising political star in the Democratic Party and is one of 240 co-sponsors of the bill in the House. The controversial Israel Anti-Boycott Act was proposed in the both the Senate and the House in March, but it only garnered national attention after the ACLU issued the letter last week expressing strong opposition to it. The leading civil rights organization warned that under the bill’s current language, U.S. citizens could face fines of hundreds of thousands of dollars, and potentially even go to prison for up to 20 years, simply for expressing support for boycotts of Israel and the settlements. Another organization that came out against the legislation last week was J Street, which opposes boycotts of Israel and the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement but warned that the bill caused “serious concerns” because of its potential for restricting free speech. J Street also noted that the legislation does not differentiate between boycotts targeting the entire State of Israel and those aimed specifically at settlements in the occupied West Bank. skip - ACLU letter Criticism of the bill has not been limited to the political left. The American Interest, a magazine that is considered to have a centrist, pro-Israeli editorial line, wrote last week, “It’s true that the bill is probably not as blatantly unconstitutional as some of its opponents are arguing: it modifies a decades-old law that has been upheld in court, and legal scholars are still debating exactly how it would be enforced. But it’s not free-and-clear either. It seems possible, for example, that a person funding a student campaign for a university to enforce a UN or EU-backed Israel boycott could be exposed to criminal liability. Now, in fact the courts would quickly throw a case like that out — the First Amendment easily trumps a piece of feel-good legislation that Congress whooped through to gain popularity points. But it is hard to base a case for supporting a legal proposal on the argument that some of its obvious applications to domestic circumstances would be dismissed out of hand.” These warnings have caused two of the bill’s original co-sponsors, Sen. Ben Cardin, a Democrat from Maryland, and Rep. Rob Portman, an Ohio Republican, to publish a letter on Friday responding to accusations that the bill would endanger free speech. They wrote that the bill’s critics misunderstood its’ language and that despite the ACLU’s warnings, no U.S. citizen will face legal penalties for supporting a boycott of Israel under the new legislation. The two congressman explained in their letter that the most controversial part of the bill — the one detailing the criminal penalties for participating in boycotts of Israel — was in fact an expansion of a law, enacted in 1977, prohibiting U.S. companies from taking part in state-led boycotts of Israel. That bill was adopted in order to counter the Arab boycott of Israel. The new bill adds a new component to it, stipulating that the penalties for participating in a state-led boycott of Israel will also extend to participation in boycotts led by international governmental organizations such as the United Nations and the European Union. Keep updated: Sign up to our newsletter Email * Please enter a valid email address Sign up Please wait… Thank you for signing up. We've got more newsletters we think you'll find interesting. Click here Oops. Something went wrong. Please try again later. Try again Thank you, The email address you have provided is already registered. Close Jay Michaelson, a legal affairs analyst for The Daily Beast, published a piece on Friday that reached a similar conclusion: The new bill only technically expands the 1977 anti-boycott law, in a way that would make it illegal for U.S. companies to cooperate with any boycotts of Israel and the settlements initiated by the UN or the EU. Michaelson accused AIPAC, the powerful pro-Israeli lobby which supports the legislation, of exaggerating its importance, thereby provoking a harsh response from the left that he says was not in keeping with the language of the draft law. Not all of the bill’s critics are convinced. “The language in the bill is confusing and doesn’t clearly state what Cardin and Portman wrote in their letter,” one Democratic staffer told Haaretz, adding that “it wouldn’t surprise me if a large number of Democrats will ask to amend this, making it much more clear that citizens expressing support for boycotts will not be punished for their political opinion.” Organizations supporting the BDS movement are worried that even if the bill doesn’t in fact include harsh penalties for supporting boycotts, it could be used to deter and frighten activists who support such boycotts from expressing their opinion. Democratic members of Congress face a difficult decision on the bill, since many of them have pro-Israeli donors and constituents who would likely be pleased by the passage of a bill making it harder to boycott the country, but they also need the support of the progressive wing of the party, which is paying more and more attention to this legislation in recent days. A key Democratic politician to follow with regards to this bill is Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, the only Democratic co-sponsor of the bill who is considered a possible contender for the 2020 presidential election. Gillibrand was one of 43 senators who co-sponsored the legislation. An aide to Senator Gillibrand said: "We have a different read of the specific bill language, however, due to the ACLU's concerns, the Senator has extended an invitation to them to meet with her and discuss their concerns."This is a resource pack which allows you to see all mobs, players, chests and other entities through walls. It’s very lightweight and it doesn’t make use of any shaders or custom textures. I do realize that a few of you might get upset with the release of this pack so please take some time to read my reply to you further down. Creator: Anonymous How does it work? As soon as the resource pack is enabled you will be able to see through all types of blocks (except for End and Nether Portal blocks). The things you will be able to see are mobs, players, chests and other entities such as paintings and minecarts. Don’t worry though. Server owners can protect their servers against this as it can otherwise be used for cheating. Click here for more info. How to block this on servers? Servers and realms most likely want to protect themselves against players using this resource pack. Create a resource pack that contains the vanilla entity.material and terrain.material files Make it mandatory for players to use resource packs to join your server / realm Editor’s Note The main reason why I decided to accept this pack on the website is to provide server owners the necessary steps required to prevent players from using it to cheat on their servers. I know already of two people who have figured out how to create an x-ray pack for Pocket Edition. And seeing as there are hundreds of thousands of Minecraft players there is just a matter of time before more are created and used for cheating on servers. All this might sound contradictory but you have to understand that this information will enlighten server owners and help them to protect their servers! Installation iOS / Android: Download Resource.McPack Open Minecraft PE Go to Settings > Global resources > Activate pack .ZIP File Windows 10: Download Resource.McPack Open Minecraft Go to Settings > Global resources > Activate pack .ZIP FileAdvertisement With just a bird, a gas lamp and a net, each morning, fisherman in China keep a special, thousand year old tradition alive. Sailing peacefully across a river, the men fish without the aid of a rod with this unusual method, which was first practiced in 960 AD. The men, pictured in southern China, release a cormorant bird, which then dives into the water and retrieves a carp, returning it to the fisherman's reed raft. With just a bird, a gas lamp and a net, each morning, fishermen in China keep a special, thousand year old tradition alive The stunning images were captured on the River Li in Guilin, China, by a Russian photographer called Viktoriia Rogotneva. The 45-year-old, from St Petersburg, was captivated upon visiting the fishermen in the town. 'Every fishermen has a reed raft, a few trained cormorants and a small source of light - usually a kerosene lamp,' he said. 'In the morning the fishermen go to the river and let the cormorants go. The birds are very hungry and dive into the water to catch big carp.' Sailing peacefully across the river, the men men fish without the aid of a rod with this unusual method, first practiced in 960 AD A man releases a cormorant bird, which then dives into the water and retrieves a carp, returning it to the fisherman's reed raft The fishermen quite literally just take the carp right out of the bird's mouth after the hungry animals return with their haul These breathtaking early morning images were captured by 45-year-old Viktoriaa Rogotneva from St Petersburg, Russia 'The cormorants then return to the surface of the water, and the fishermen take the fish right out the bird's beak,' Rogotneva added. The elderly fishermen of Guiliin spend between two and three hours on the lake each every morning, and while cormorant fishing only produces about 4kg of carp per day, the men are determined to keep this special practice alive. To control the birds, the fishermen tie a ring near the base of the bird's throat, which prevents them from swallowing any large fish, but allows them to eat smaller fish with no discomfort. The images were all shot on the River Li in Guilin, China, which is in the southern part of the country Heading out in the dawn's light, each man is equipped only with a reed raft, a few trained cormorants and a small kerosene light source The elderly fishermen spend anywhere between two to three hours per day on the lake, despite the low yields from cormorant fishing On average, the men will only produce about 4kg of carp per day, but are still determined to keep this beautiful practice alive = This fishermen bring up the birds from when they are tiny chicks, so the cormorant is more of a pet than a hunter This way of fishing is 'absolutely ecologically safe,' says Rogotneva, who insists that the fishermen catch only as much as they need Rogotneva said: 'These fishermen bring up their birds from when they are very small chicks, so you can almost call the cormorant a pet, like you would a dog. 'It is an absolutely ecologically safe way of fishing. Every fisherman just catches as much as he needs for his family and they are never greedy.If you would like to see more articles like this please support our coverage of the space program by becoming a Spaceflight Now Member. If everyone who enjoys our website helps fund it, we can expand and improve our coverage further. The U.S. Defense Department’s internal watchdog has opened a probe into whether the Pentagon’s contracts with United Launch Alliance were properly awarded after a former ULA executive implied the government rigged a recent procurement in favor of the company. The investigation inside the Pentagon is the latest twist in one of the space industry’s leading storylines in recent years — the contentious rivalry between ULA, the sole launch services provider for the U.S. government for nearly a decade, and newcomer SpaceX led by billionaire tycoon Elon Musk. The Defense Department’s inspector general is looking into assertions made by Brett Tobey, ULA’s former vice president of engineering, during a March 15 seminar at the University of Colorado-Boulder. Tobey discussed ULA’s decision last year not to bid in a head-to-head competition with SpaceX for the launch of a Global Positioning System navigation satellite. At the time, ULA said it did not submit a proposal for the launch due to restrictions on the use of Russian engines on the Atlas 5 rocket and because it lacked accounting systems required in the structure of the Air Force’s request for bids. Tobey told attendees in Boulder that ULA elected to sit out the competition last year to avoid a “cost shootout” between the company, a 50-50 joint venture owned by Boeing and Lockheed Martin, and SpaceX, which he said offers launches at less than half the cost of the Atlas 5. “ULA opted to not bid that,” Tobey said. “The government was not happy with us not bidding that contract because they felt that they had bent over backwards to lean the fill to our advantage.” An audio recording of the University of Colorado event was published by Space News. “We saw it as a cost shootout between us and SpaceX, so now we’re going to have to figure out how to bid these things at a much lower cost,” he said. “The government can’t just say, ‘ULA has a great track record, they’ve done 105 launches in a row with 100 percent mission success, and we can give it to them on a silver platter even though their costs are two or three times as high.'” Tobey’s statement came before Tuesday’s Atlas 5 launch, ULA’s 106th successful mission since the company’s formation in 2006. ULA repudiated Tobey’s comments, and the engineering executive resigned from the company March 17. “These ill-advised statements do not reflect ULA’s views or our relationship with our valuable suppliers,” wrote Tory Bruno, ULA’s chief executive, on Twitter. “We welcome competition.” The no-bid decision effectively handed the contract for the launch of a GPS 3 navigation satellite in 2018 to SpaceX, the only other company certified to deliver the spacecraft to orbit. It was the first of nine launches the Air Force planned to open up to competition between ULA and SpaceX this fiscal year, which runs through Sept. 30. A March 22 letter from Randolph Stone, the Pentagon’s deputy inspector general for for policy and oversight, obtained by Spaceflight Now said the inspector general’s office has opened an investigation into the contracting practices between the military and ULA at the request of Secretary of Defense Ash Carter. The investigation will focus on assertions made by Tobey “relating to competition for national security space launch and whether contracts to ULA were awarded in accordance with DoD and federal regulations,” Stone wrote. Musk has long criticized what he sees as an improperly close relationship between ULA and the government, raising questions over lobbying and job placements, but SpaceX has expanded its own lobbying operation in Washington in recent years. Congress passed a ban on the use of Russian RD-180 engines for future U.S. national security launches in the wake of Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, but a provision in a new Pentagon budget passed last year lifted the restriction, freeing up the Atlas 5 for future competitions. Despite the successful track record and the current availability of the RD-180, the price disparity still tilts in SpaceX’s favor. SpaceX’s website lists a Falcon 9 rocket launch for $61.2 million, while ULA can bid it the basic version of its Atlas 5 rocket for about $125 million “on our best day,” Tobey said. That does not include infrastructure costs paid through a separate annual support contract from the Pentagon. Tobey said he suspects SpaceX is losing money by offering launches at such costs. Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX’s president and chief operating officer, said last year that unique requirements levied by the Air Force for national security launches would raise the price of a Falcon 9 rocket flight to between $80 million and $90 million. Email the author. Follow Stephen Clark on Twitter: @StephenClark1.Still mourning the loss of Emporium's Stranger Things pop-up bar in Logan Square? On Tuesday, October 17, return to the Upside Down for one night only as a Target in Granger, Indiana, transforms into 1980s Hawkins to celebrate the launch of an exclusive line of Stranger Things merch. (We already Google Mapped it for you: It's a 100-mile drive from Chicago.) Fans who make the trek will be rewarded with a Netflix-curated experience that includes an arcade, a "green screen experience," snacks inspired by the show, a life-size Hawkins Lab van, autograph giveaways and more. And if we know one thing about Netflix, it's that they don't half-ass anything. Grab your walkie talkies, hop in the car and head to Granger, Indiana (155 University Dr E) from 4 to 7pm tomorrow. Want more? Sign up to stay in the know.Artificially Intelligent Super Smash AI has been quietly invading our lives. From our operating rooms to our roads, and even our homes. Still, we never expected AI to infringe on one thing in particular, our Super Smash Brothers. If you haven’t heard of Super Smash Brothers, do yourself a favor. Super Smash Brothers is a popular video game series spanning multiple generations of gaming consoles. Unlike what we have seen AI do before with professional players in chess, poker, and the ancient game of Go— Super Smash Brothers is a particularly tricky game for AI. In order to win, players must take full advantage of their environment, their character, and their enemy’s weaknesses. Players must be quick to weaken their enemies without taking too much damage so that they can knock their opponent off the stage, a feat demanding a proper strategy and a certain sense of ruthlessness.We need libraries, but city doesn't get it Ballot measure about how city pays for essentials Ironworkers position the last piece of structural steel in the new downtown Seattle Central Library. The spectacular library was completed on the eve of the Great Recession, which has imposed five consecutive years of cuts to library services. less Ironworkers position the last piece of structural steel in the new downtown Seattle Central Library. The spectacular library was completed on the eve of the Great Recession, which has imposed five consecutive... more Photo: Dan DeLong, Seattle Post-Intelligencer Photo: Dan DeLong, Seattle Post-Intelligencer Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close We need libraries, but city doesn't get it 1 / 5 Back to Gallery The city fathers (and mothers) of Seattle are presenting voters with a calculating, cynical choice in the Aug. 7 primary: If you won't let us push off a core city budget obligation onto your shoulders, we will cut back hours and possibly even close your neighborhood library. Offloading is at the heart of the $123 million, seven-year Seattle Public Library operations levy. Naturally, consultants frame it differently in yard signs going up across the city: "Vote for Libraries." How could anybody NOT vote for Seattle libraries? As the Municipal League of King County puts it, the library in Seattle is "an esteemed institution, critically important city service and a valuable neighborhood asset." How so? We read more than most cities in America. Book authors may do debut interviews on "The Today Show" or Charlie Rose, but they head for Seattle early on promotion tours. If lucky, they get to speak at the celebrated new downtown public library, centerpiece of Seattle's 1998 "Libraries for All" bond issue. The owner of the Elliott Bay Book Company, not some local political nabob, was picked to introduce President Obama at a fundraiser earlier this year. While the current budget is up 3 percent, there has undeniably been an erosion in Seattle library services during the Great Recession. Seattle Public Libraries are enduring their fifth consecutive year of cuts. During a recession, citizens NEED libraries. A substantial number of people are searching for jobs or examining new schooling and possible new career paths. There are folks researching employment opportunities in booming North Dakota, but also looking up information on its winter climate. The $123 million levy would restore about two-thirds of services lost during the Great Recession. The money would increase library collections, buy needed e-books, grow library hours and hire more employees. Still, still... the Municipal League is recommending a No vote on the levy. Its reasoning: "Library operations should be funded through the City of Seattle's General Fund, not a string of levies. We are deeply concerned that approving this levy will result in a continued practice of reducing allocations from the General Fund." City Hall has turned offloading into an art form. It starts with identifying the most popular of necessary city services, to which voters are likely to give automatic support. Seattle loves its parks, uses its libraries and wants -- heck, needs -- better maintenance of its streets and bike paths. Major maintenance of those services gets shifted from the General Fund onto a ballot levy. Slogans such as "Vote for Families" and "Fix this Street" are affixed to signs. Support from interest groups is purchased. A model for all this is Seattle's 2005 blockbuster Bridging the Gap levy, supposedly to repair the city's broken streets. Flaws in this approach are obvious. Levies get piled on top of levies. In most cases, they are never phased out: Additional pressing needs dictate renewal -- and expansion. The $231 million Families and Education Levy, adopted last year, represented a whopping 99 percent increase from its predecessor. Coffee is often used as a levy selling point. The library operations levy will add $52 to the property tax bill of a $360,000 Seattle home -- less than the cost of a visit to Starbucks every week, advocates will say. What consultants don't tell you is that levies keep adding up, at this point to more than $1 billion. The library operations levy contains no long-term plan for what happens when it expires. Of course, there's likely to be another levy, meaning that a much of a core public service -- the cost of operating Seattle libraries -- will be permanently offloaded from the General Fund. Nor does the library operations levy hold any pledge or assurance that General Fund support for libraries will not be decreased as levy bucks kick in. Levies should be for building stuff: "Libraries for All" refurbished 22 branches and built three new libraries. A second measure on the August ballot -- King County's Prop. 1, the children and family justice levy -- builds something new and necessary. The measure will raise about $200 million for a new Juvenile Justice Center. The current courthouse and detention center are 40 years old and, in words of the Municipal League, "a sinkhole." Seattle voters will face another "build" levy in November, a 30-year, $290 million measure to replace the city's aging seawall between South Washington and Virginia streets, and to deal with two rotting city piers -- the best-known, Pier 58, is the city's Waterfront Park. With rejection of $80 car tabs last November, city voters -- at last -- did a modest pushback against City Hall's ceaseless demands for more money to perform core city services. City Hall obviously did not get the message. Voters will have to weigh what is best for the future of an "esteemed institution:" Approve the library operations levy and restore some service. Or reject the levy and deliver a "Now Hear This!" message to Mayor McGinn and the City Council: Pay for core city services out of the city budget. 'Tough choice.'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' Targets Record Breaking $100M+ Opening Day by Brad Brevet December 18, 2015 UPDATE #2: As of 5:43 PM PST, Disney is now projecting a $120+ million Friday opening (including Thursday previews) for Star Wars: The Force Awakens and an early estimate of $215+ million for the weekend. UPDATE #1: Disney is reporting as of 2 PM PST that Force Awakens matinees are pointing to a total first day take of $100+ million. That "first day" total includes the $57 million from Thursday night preview screenings, which in and of itself also includes Star Wars marathon ticket sales. As noted below, this would break the largest Friday, opening day and single day records currently held by Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 at $91 million. No estimates quite yet on the weekend outside of the appearance the film will top $200 million. The earlier report follows... Star Wars: The Force Awakens is firing on all cylinders, bringing in an estimated $57 million from Thursday evening "previews", breaking the previous record of $43.5 million set by Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 back in 2011. Additionally, the film's international rollout, which began on Wednesday in 12 markets, continued yesterday with an additional 32 markets and it has now crossed $72.7 million in its first two days internationally, with a global cume that now stands at $130 million. Star Wars adds Japan and Spain today along with its first full day in 4,134 North American theaters (a December record) as the sky is the limit on just how high this one will go. Interestingly enough, $57 million is enough to break the all-time Thursday single day record of $50 million, which was set by Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith in 2005. Of course, as is standard operating procedure, Disney will be rolling these Thursday numbers into their overall Friday gross, which will almost certainly break the largest Friday, opening day and single day record currently held by Deathly Hallows - Part 2 at $91 million. As a matter of fact, once it crosses $84.62 million on Friday it will have already broken the December opening weekend record previously set by The Hobbit An Unexpected Journey. Add to that, it has already obliterated the largest December single day, also previously owned by The Hobbit, a paltry $37.13 million by comparison. 3D accounted for 47% of the evening's take along with $5.7 million from IMAX screenings, breaking the previous IMAX record of $3 million set by Avengers: Age of Ultron earlier this year. For those curious, these Thursday preview numbers do include the Star Wars marathon screenings, which included back-to-back-to-back-etc. screenings of the first six Star Wars films leading up to the release of Force Awakens. Prices were upwards of $59.99 at AMC theaters per USA Today. Additionally, there is no set time as to when theaters specifically report Thursday preview numbers. Some may report grosses only up to midnight on Thursday, while others may report well into the Friday AM. All of which leads to one big question... Should these numbers count for Friday's gross? The Deathly Hallows - Part 2 record was set based on midnight screenings in 3,800 theaters while Force Awakens began showing on a large percentage of its opening weekend theaters at 7 PM on Thursday, making the two records virtually impossible to compare. That being said, including these Thursday evening grosses into the Friday total is standard operating procedure, but it does mean a comparison to Potter's number isn't apples-to-apples. A more apt comparison would be to the blowing away of the $18.5 million and $27.6 million Jurassic World and Avengers: Age of Ultron brought in from their Thursday previews respectively earlier this year. Jurassic World went on to bring in $81.9 million on its opening day, eventually leading to an opening weekend record of $208.8 million, while Avengers 2 grossed $84.4 million on Friday and an opening weekend that ended just shy of $200 million. Our weekend prediction for Force Awakens of $231 million now looks like it may be in jeopardy of being too low. Though everything depends on that Saturday drop. With this $57 million accounting for Friday's total the Saturday drop will be large and perhaps even more than the 33% drop Age of Ultron experienced and almost certainly larger than Jurassic World's 15% Saturday drop. That does depend, once again, on when Disney cut off their Thursday preview estimate? If they cut it off at midnight then that $57 million looks even more impressive and the Saturday drop could be even lower. As we speculated yesterday, should Force Awakens open with $100 million on Friday (including Thursday previews) and then drop similarly to Age of Ultron it would be looking at a $226.5 million opening. The film's opening, however, looks as if it could go as high as $120 million and if that ends up being the case attempting to predict where it will end up becomes futile, though a final three-day total north of $250 million would seem almost a certainty. At that point it may even challenge the largest weekend of all time (top 12 gross) of $266 million all on its own. As for that international performance, the film now accounts for the largest single day of all time in UK/Ireland ($14.4m), Germany ($7.1m), Norway ($1.1m) and Sweden ($1.7m). Along with those four territories, it also accounts for the largest opening day in Australia, Brazil, New Zealand, Belgium, Finland, Netherlands, Switzerland (French-speaking), Austria, Ukraine, Slovakia, Croatia, Iceland, Serbia, Chile and Peru. We'll have Friday estimates for you tomorrow morning, and you can read our prediction piece from yesterday right here and get an idea of just how many records the Force is looking to break. Discuss this story with fellow Box Office Mojo fans on Facebook. On Twitter, follow us at @boxofficemojo and author Brad Brevet at @bradbrevet.The Ontario government wants a permanent cap of $418,000 on the annual pay of future top executives at hospitals, universities and other public-sector entities to set an example for rank-and-file employees. Proposed legislation announced on Thursday would set the pay of chief executive officers at two times the salary of Premier Dalton McGuinty, which is currently $209,000. The legislation would not apply to current executives, many of whom make more than $1-million a year. In all, 150 employees in the broader public sector are above the $418,000 threshold. Finance Minister Dwight Duncan said he cannot ask front-line workers in the public sector to take a wage freeze without asking senior executives to share the pain. Story continues below advertisement "It's all about being fair and reasonable," Mr. Duncan said at a news conference. "Everybody needs to be seen to be doing their share." New Democratic Party Leader Andrea Horwath has been calling on the government to cap executive pay at twice what the Premier makes – an idea the governing Liberals rejected until now. But Ms. Horwath said the cap should be not only for new contracts but for ones that are renewed as well. "If the government's going to steal our ideas, at least they should get them right," Ms. Horwath told reporters. However, government officials counter that the NDP proposal also excluded contract renewals. The proposed legislation is part of a plan to rein in compensation and reduce the province's deficit of $14.8-billion. Premier Dalton McGuinty said last week that his government will call on all public-sector workers to be "part of the solution" by voluntarily agreeing to a wage freeze for two years. If they don't co-operate, he warned, the government will use legislation to impose contracts. He made the comments a day after his government's new law freezing wages and banning strikes for the province's elementary and secondary teachers came into force. If the proposed legislation for executives was designed to win over the rest of the public sector, it does not appear to be working. Story continues below advertisement Story continues below advertisement "This is all political doublespeak," Fred Hahn, Ontario president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, told reporters. "This is all a setup so they can freeze low-paid workers." The Ontario Hospital Association
. I have been a reporter at the UN in Geneva for 15 years. I have also been on the other side as a diplomat with a UN agency involved in the process of consulting experts, writing reports and engaged with member states in the process of drafting resolutions. For example, a UN resolution against Cuba would be blocked by Russia and another against Saudi Arabia would be blocked by the United States (US). The fall of the Berlin wall in 1989 changed some of that math, but the broad lines remain. The methodology described by AI roughly mirrors work that UN diplomats do. The AI report cites several United Nations (UN) resolutions as well as reports of India’s National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to bolster its moot point that India is blind to custodial and extra-judicial killings and even abetting it in J and K. In the historical background chapter, the report says the following: “Throughout the 1990s and the 2000s, there were grave human rights abuses committed by security forces as well as armed opposition groups”. I have highlighted the last three words to show that AI calls Pakistan-funded terrorists armed opposition. Who arms them and what are they opposing? The most important document on the Jammu and Kashmir issue established by the UN is its Resolution 47, adopted in New York on April 21, 1948. To restore peace and order in the state, the UN asks Pakistan to do the following: "To secure the withdrawal from the State of Jammu and Kashmir of tribesmen and Pakistani nationals not normally resident therein who have entered the State for the purpose of fighting, and to prevent any intrusion into the State of such elements any furnishing of material aid to those fighting in the State." Read the resolution here. I have written often about how framing an issue is very critical to finding a solution. I will repeat myself again – frames decide what is at stake, who is responsible and where solutions must come from. Yes, there have been major human rights violations in the state, yes, AFSPA is an issue, yes, militancy has to be addressed squarely and sternly, yes Kashmiri Hindus are refugees in their own land and yes, people have to be judged and punished. I have enough faith in the Indian system to hope that all of the above will happen sooner rather than later. I have less faith in AI’s impartiality that leans heavily on many UN resolutions. I am not surprised at AI’s selective reference to historical data. But they should seriously try something else as it is getting tedious to pretend that history begins where geography wants to go.Teams that have faced him and his own organizations have been trying to figure him out as a player for years. All-too-often, his opponents solve the mystery before his own team. The latest team to take a chance on the inconsistent mid laner is North America's Team Liquid, reviving a now three year-old question. Who is Son "Mickey" Young-min? The old adage that one's only consistent quality is their inconsistency describes Mickey at all stages of his career. His highlights, mechanical outplays and rare ability to singlehandedly carry a team in a world where League of Legends has increasingly become more team-oriented are all part of Mickey's allure. Teams will continue to take chances on him as long as he retains those mechanics, and Team Liquid is simply the latest in line. In 2014, Mickey was ahead of the curve, for better or for worse. While Chinese teams didn't begin importing Korean players in earnest until the 2014-15 offseason, Mickey was part of a first test wave, so to speak, of Korean imports to China that also included Prime Optimus' Kim "Khan" Dong-ha and Noh "Ninja" Geon-woo moving to World Elite, which is now known as Team WE. Mickey (then called Mickeygod) was plucked straight from the Korean solo queue ladder due to his individual mechanics and high placement. Had Team WE done a bit more scouting, they would have known that Mickey, a Lee Sin mid player, was not a jungler. Nonetheless, he made his professional debut in the 2014 LoL Pro League Summer as a jungler, seated between mid laner Su "Xiye" Hanwei and top laner Khan, waving merrily at the studio cameras before Team WE's Week 4 match against Young Glory. Mickey the jungler did not fare well - perhaps because he was a mid laner - and was quickly swapped to the mid lane, replacing Xiye. He "Soist" Zhihong returned to the jungle. Despite the swap WE Academy finished last place in the regular season standings with a 9-19 match record. It was an inauspicious start to what would become a career of extremes. Fans of Son "Mickey" Young-min and his team at the time, Anarchy, hold up signs during League of Legends Champions Korea play. Courtesy of Twitch/OnGameNet Prior to the 2015 LoL Champions Korea Summer Promotion Tournament, Mickey joined Challengers Korea team Anarchy. "Neither team has a coaching staff," OnGameNet caster William "Chobra" Cho said as Anarchy faced Winners to determine the second team that would qualify for 2015 LCK Summer alongside Incredible Miracle. "It's really just the player knowledge and player skill vs. player knowledge and player skill." The members of Winners wore red zip-up hoodies that had the League of Legends logo ironed on the left side. Anarchy sported white jerseys with a larger iron-on of the same logo across the front. Neither team had money for proper uniforms. Mickey kicked off Game 1 of the series with an 11/0/10 LeBlanc performance. LeBlanc, and his signature Zed pick, were banned by Winners in Games 2 and 3. Two hours later, with the series tied 1-1, Anarchy won a teamfight in the top lane. This ultimately secured their unlikely spot in the LCK Summer split. "Mickey looks like he lost the game, but he's actually about to win the game," Chobra said, laughing. Exhausted, Mickey slumped in his seat as AD carry Gwon "Sangyoon" Sang-yun shook him excitedly before turning to support No "Snowflower" Hoi-jong. Anarchy was now a professional League of Legends team in Korea. The organization, if it could be called one at all, had no coaching staff, no gaming house and no major sponsor. While the region was still reeling from the loss of sister teams, the lack of larger non-endemic sponsors to fill the void was palpable. Teams like Mickey's Anarchy slipped through the cracks. So began the somewhat harrowing tale of Anarchy, a team seemingly incapable of winning a game without Mickey hard-carrying them to victory, in the LCK. Anarchy shocked LCK audiences in Week 1 with an upset victory over NaJin e-mFire. During his MVP interview, Mickey's audience consisted of his own cheering teammates, a few stragglers and rows of empty seats. For his part, Mickey was incapable of mediocrity. He either soared or stumbled, dragging the team behind him to glory or failure. At a time when mid laners were evolving towards a more controlled style of play like ROX Tigers mid laner Lee "KurO" Seo-haeng, Mickey was an oddity. Teams had to ban out his pool of assassins, otherwise they would face a similar demise as Week 1 NaJin. Mickey was Anarchy. Sangyoon and Snowflower had not yet evolved into the players that they are today, and neither had jungler Nam "LirA" Tae-yoo. Starting top laner Jeon "ikssu" Ik-soo and substitute Kim "cvMax" Dae-ho were unreliable. Mickey held the sixth-highest amount of MVP points that split, just behind Tigers top laner Song "Smeb" Kyung-ho and Jin Air Green Wings jungler Lee "Chaser" Sang-hyun, who were tied at fourth. Despite Anarchy's eighth-place finish, Mickey was a standout player in Korea and certainly the most valuable player on his team at the time. "Mickey was incapable of mediocrity. He either soared or stumbled, dragging the team behind him to glory or failure." In interviews, Anarchy players later admitted that they'd struggled to adjust to competitive life, especially without any semblance of infrastructure. They questioned whether they had the dedication to become a professional team or were simply using the platform as a slight boost to their popular streams. This was further tested in the 2015-16 offseason. Not only did Anarchy still lack a major sponsor, but the team was about to have their Korean e-Sports Association (KeSPA) stipend pulled due to streaming platform disagreements. Most of Anarchy's players already had built successful streams on Afreeca.tv, but KeSPA wanted all of its players to stream on Azubu.tv due to an existing contract. Mickey streamed under the name "아나키스폰좀요" which roughly translates to "Anarchy sponsorship pls" while LirA held the team together. Afreeca entered the sponsorship market and picked up the team on Dec. 29, 2015. The Afreeca Freecs became Korea's 2016 underdog story: An upstart team that was learning to be a professional unit under the guidance of former Maximum Impact Gaming veteran Coach Kang Hyun-jong, who told the team to become its own protagonist. To some extent, it did. Afreeca unexpectedly qualified for the 2016 LCK Spring playoff gauntlet and requalified in 2016 LCK Summer, although the team lost in the first round during both splits. Mickey was no longer the sole reason for his team's success and the team was better for it. Despite the overall improvement, Mickey's playstyle barely changed. He continued to play forward in lane, often without vision. His Teleports were highly suspect, especially in 2016 LCK Spring, and he lacked map awareness. Mickey had made strides as a player, but he still wasn't consistent or reliable. Despite his flaws, Mickey is likely to perform fairly well on his new team, or at least as well as he can by Mickey standards. Expect as many phenomenal one-on-one outplays as inexplicable, aggressive dives. Averages only apply to Mickey as a combination of his extremes. It's a rare game where Mickey simply exists. The risk in running Mickey now extends to the rest of the lineup that will accompany him onto the rift, specifically junglers Rami "Inori" Charagh and Joshua "Dardoch" Hartnett. Since Team Liquid cannot start its three imports, Mickey, jungler Kim "Reignover" Yeu-jin, and AD carry Chae "Piglet" Gwang-jin simultaneously, and Liquid does not have an AD carry substitute, either Inori or Dardoch will start alongside Mickey. Like Mickey, Inori is a player who is known for his miraculous carry performances or risky, over-aggressive invades, with few instances in between. Similarly, Dardoch is an aggressive, resource-hungry player. The only guaranteed result is that Mickey on Team Liquid, whether exceptional or horrible, will be fun to watch.Get the latest from TODAY Sign up for our newsletter June 5, 2013, 4:37 PM GMT By Herb Weisbaum Data breaches are bad for business, but the resulting fraud can be devastating to the people who’ve had their personal information compromised. A new report from Javelin Strategy and Research released on Wednesday concludes that a single massive data breach can result in “billions of dollars” in consumer fraud losses. “We’re trying to get the message out that this has real consequences for consumers and for other businesses that weren’t breached,” said Al Pascual, a senior analyst for security, risk and fraud at Javelin who co-authored the report. A record number of breaches –1,611 – took place in 2012, according to the Open Security Foundation, a staggering 48 percent increase from 2011. The Javelin report analyzed the impact of this growing problem to quantify the resulting fraud. Just look at the numbers. In 2010, if you received a data breach notification, your odds of being a fraud victim were one in nine. Last year, that jumped to one in four. “What this tells us is criminals are relying more often on data gleaned from these breaches to commit fraud,” Pascual said. “Better than half of all fraud victims are data breach victims. It’s a glaring difference.” What are the cyber-attackers after? Some of these crooks want credit or debit card numbers because they can instantly buy things. Identity thieves want Social Security numbers that can be used to “take over” existing financial accounts or open new ones in the victim’s name. That’s why the losses are higher when there’s an account takeover: $5,100 on average compared to $1,600 for a stolen credit or debit card. Hackers were after Social Security numbers when they attacked the South Carolina Department of Revenue last year. They got 3.6 million of them. Javelin puts the total loss from this fraud at $5.2 billion dollars, making the breach one of the most costly ever. The average fraud victim in this case will spend $776 out of pocket and take 20 hours to resolve their problems, the report estimated. “When a Social Security number is compromised, it can haunt you for years to come,” said Karen Barney with the Identity Theft Resource Center, a non-profit that helps victims of ID theft. “You’re always on alert and you have to be constantly vigilant.” Barney knows how creepy it can be when someone else is out there pretending to be you. She had her Social Security number stolen before going to work at the center. The ID thieves opened mobile phone accounts and made other transactions in her name for more than a year. The Javelin report urges financial institutions to stop the use of Social Security numbers to authenticate identities. Javelin estimates most (80 percent) of the top 25 major financial institutions in the U.S allow customers to access their accounts with their Social Security number. The report suggests other types of authenticators be used because they offer greater fraud protection, especially for breach victims – such as one-time passwords or biometrics. Why are there so many data break-ins? It’s impossible to prevent all data breaches, but Javelin concludes that the majority of them are “crimes of opportunity that rely on the failure of aggravatingly simple protections.” In other words, while some businesses do a great job of protecting the personal information they collect and store, others don’t take the most basic precautions – such as using firewalls or even updating passwords needed to access their computers. Brian McGinley is CEO of Identity Theft 911, a company that works with businesses who’ve had a data breach to help the victims. He believes many businesses don’t act appropriately because they don’t realize the severity of the threat “It’s no longer a possibility that you’ll be attacked, it’s become a probability and darn near a certainty,” McGinley said. What happens after the breach is critical to the victims A company’s reputation is on the line after it’s been breached. As a result, it may try to minimize the gravity of the situation by downplaying the likelihood that the information will be misused. That can make the situation worse if victims don’t realize they need to take steps to protect themselves. A surprising finding: Many people who are offered free identity protection services following a breach don’t sign up for it. Of the nearly 29 million people who received a notice in 2012 that their information was stolen, only 5.8 million took advantage of a service to reduce the risk of fraud, Javelin estimated. Why? Brian McGinley who runs such a service at ID Theft 911 thinks “breach fatigue” could be to blame. “People receive so many of these letters and if nothing’s happened so far, they may assume nothing’s going to happen this time,” he explained. That’s a big mistake. Someone who’s had their data breached is 14 times more likely to become a fraud victim, McGinley told me. There is a better way Any company or institution that collects or stores personally identifiable information is obligated to secure that data and prevent unwanted intrusions. Javelin recommends a number of “best practice” security procedures to achieve that goal, including universal encryption (that meets industry standards) and regular security audits to ensure that established security procedures are being followed. Data custodians are also advised to have mechanisms in place to detect a potential security compromise and to respond aggressively when malware is discovered. Javelin believes it should be standard practice to purge sensitive data when it is no longer needed. This reduces the cost and the potential harm from an intrusion. Al Pascual wants everyone who stores or transmits sensitive personally identifying information to realize how hard they must work to guard it. “If you are not protecting it like money, if you’re not putting it in a safe, you’re not being realistic,” he said. More Info: Federal Trade Commission: Identity Theft Identity Theft Resource Center: Financial Identity Theft Herb Weisbaum is The ConsumerMan. Follow him on Facebook and Twitteror visit The ConsumerMan website.Raw video/911 calls.December 03/08:BRUNSWICK COUNTY, NC. Town officials have released video that was recorded when a girder from the second bridge to Oak Island fell Wednesday afternoon.The video was shot by Kyle Thomas who had been on the scene, shooting a documentary for the Town of Oak Island on the progress of construction on the second bridge.The man looking through the viewfinder said he never expected anything like the accident that happened.While the video shows moments before the accident, there are still questions about how 121 tons of concrete came tumbling down.The clip shows workers on a crane as it was putting the final girder into place on the bridge. You can see the moment before the girder collapses, but it is difficult to determine how much it sways before it comes crashing down.Jose Montalvo of Sumter, South Carolina died in the accident. Montalvo was strapped to a beam for safety but went down when that beam grazed another. Two other workers were injured but are recovering.Mayor Johnie Vereen says the investigation will continue, but his concerns are now for the victims' families as they enter the holiday season. A fund at BB&T Banks has been set up in their names.The Oak Island mayor hopes the footage will give investigators a solid starting point.International travel will become more expensive. As the Australian Dollar falls, the price of taking an overseas holiday will rise. This might make travelling inside Australia a better option. A cheaper dollar also makes Australia a cheaper destination for overseas tourists. We have already seen tourism replace Iron Ore as Australia's biggest export. There are ways to hedge against the falling Australian Dollar. One simple way, is to bring forward any international spending you are planning. For example, you might want to buy that new car or tv before the falling dollar drives those prices up. Another way to hedge is to speculate on the foreign exchange market. This carries a lot more financial risk, as it is possible incur serious financial losses. One way is through Contracts for Difference, which allow you to speculate with as little as $25 of your own funds. We have experimented with Plus500, and found their platform very easy to use. There is also a demo mode so you can test your trading skills without using real funds.Nineveh – (IraqiNews.com) Iraqi forces completed the liberation of two districts in Mosul from Islamic State militants on Thursday, a security source told Alsumaria News. Security recaptured the districts of Zohour and Shoqaq al-Khadraa after becoming partially in control of both Wednesday, said the source. The neighborhoods are located on the western coast of Mosul. Another source said anti-terrorism squads discovered a minifactory for booby-trapping drones run by ISIS. Mosul is ISIS’s last bastion in Iraq, and Iraqi security forces have been in a major campaign to retake the city since mid October. On Wednesday, al-Hashed al-Shaabi, paramilitary forces fighting on the government’s side, said they completely isolated the province of Nineveh from other Iraqi cities, further closing in on militant and depriving them of their supply routes from Syria.UNNERFED + Show + The game has undergone some pretty awesome changes, and this mod will serve as testament to how far Blizzard and the community has come in the last few years. Sometimes though, I think it gets too damn serious and doom-and-gloom. For one second, I would like to extinguish some elitism, clear the room full of farts, and just have a hell of a time. + Show + + Show + Mothership: Increased acceleration to 1.3125. Increased shields to 400. Increased life to 400. Increased number of shots fired to 8. Decreased supply cost to 6. Decreased build time to 120. Decreased deceleration to 0. Decreased Vortex cost to 75. Increased Vortex radius to 3. Void Ray: Decreased cost to 200 minerals and 150 gas. Increased armor to 1. Increased damage level 2 to 10 (+15 armored). Flux Vanes added to Fleet Beacon. Increased weapon range to 1. Colossus: Increased damage to 23. Immortal: Build time decreased to 40. Dark Templar: Removed light armor type. High Templar: Psi Storm radius increased to 2. Khaydarin Amulet added to Templar Archives. Removed light armor type. Sentry: Damage increased to 8. Stalker: Reduced Blink research time to 110. Upgrade damage changed to +1 (+1 armored). Increased damage to 10 (+6 armored). Zealot: Increased shields to 60. Decreased build time to 33. Decreased warp in time to 23. Nexus: Chono Boost duration increased to 30. Pylon: Increased Pylon power radius to 7.5. Cybernetics Core: Warp Gate research time decreased to 60 seconds. Forge: Build time decreased to 35 seconds. Increased life to 550. Increased shields to 550. Dark Shrine: Build time decreased to 80 seconds. Cost decreased to 100 minerals and 200 gas. + Show + SCV: Increased life to 60. Marine: Build time decreased to 20. Reaper: Increased damage done by D-8 charges to 40. Build time decreased to 30. Nitro Packs no longer require a Factory. Ghost: Increased EMP radius to 3. Changed Snipe damage to 45. Hellion: Increased Infernal Pre-Igniter damage upgrade to 10. Siege Tank Increased siege mode damage to 60. Removed bonus damage to armored. Siege Tank upgrade damage changed to +5 vs all. Thor: Increased anti-air damage to 10 (+6 light). Increased ground damage to 45. 250mm Strike Cannons no longer require an upgrade. Removed energy cost of 250mm Strike Cannons. Added 45 second cooldown to 250mm Strike Cannons. Removed Thor energy. Viking: Increased ground damage to 14. Medivac: Increased acceleration to 2.315. Increased speed to 2.75. Raven: Increased Seeker Missile Range to 9. Increased Seeker Missile splash radius to 2.4. Seeker Missile no longer requires an upgrade. Battlecruiser: Increased ground damage to 10. Barracks: Stim Pack research time decreased to 140. Removed Concussive Shells from Tech Lab. Nitro Packs research time decreased to 90. Decreased Barracks build time to 60. Barracks no longer require anything to build. Bunker: Decreased build time to 30. Increased Salvage refund to 100%. Factory: Removed 250mm Strike Cannons from Tech Lab. Decreased build time to 60 seconds. Starport: Removed Seeker Missile button from Tech Lab. Reactor: Decreased build time to 25. + Show + Queen: Increased speed off creep to 1.5. Roach: Decreased supply cost to 1. Increased burrow move speed to 2. Increased armor to 2. Increased range to 4. Hydralisk: Decreased delay between attacks to.75. Increased life to 90. Infestor: Increased burrow move speed to 1.5. Increased life to 120. Increased speed to 2.5. Neural Parasite no longer requires an upgrade. Increased Neural Parasite range to 9. Decreased cost of Neural Parasite to 50. Increased Fungal Growth range to 9. Ultralisk: Increased life to 600. Removed bonus damage to armored. Increased damage to 35 (+5 structure). Added Anabolic Synthesis to the Ultralisk Cavern. Infested Terran: Increased damage to 8. Increased speed to 1.5. Nydus Worm: Decreased build time to 10. Overlord: Decreased Pneumatized Carapace research cost to 50 minerals and 50 gas. Overseer: Decreased energy cost of Contaminate to 75. Brood Lord: Increased damage to 25. Increased life to 275. Increased armor to 2. Increased weapon upgrade bonus to 3. Spine Crawler: Decreased root time to 6. Decreased attack period to 1.6. Lair/Hive: Decreased Burrow research time to 50. Decreased Burrow research cost to 50 minerals and 50 gas. Infestation Pit: Removed Neural Parasite button. Did your favorite unit get nerfed? Do you miss ye olden days when your race was overpowered? MISS NO LONGER, FRIENDS! Your days of pining for patches of yore are over. This mod unnerfs every unit, buildings, research, ability, upgrade, blarhigioejgiowjad... you name it. It's not nerfed. Is it balanced? Hell no! But you get to play with your race's units when they were at their most powerful. Go kick some ass. THIS IS UNNERFED.The goal of this mod is the complete opposite of OneGoal's - UNBALANCED, UNNERFED MELEE, SMACKING, SMASHING, FIERY DEATH-WIELDING, KILLING MACHINE BLAST, ACIDIC DEATHS, YEEEEEEAH! We are the anti-balance. We are Vanilla StarCraft 2.Blistering SandsDelta QuadrantDesert OasisJungle BasinLost TempleScrap StationSteppes of WarThe Shattered TemplePlayed the freaking coolest game of UNNERFED ever? E-mail your replay to me at greycraft@live.com, and we'll put that beast up on the YouTube - maybe with someone's voice during the video that talks about how awesome everything is.Get Lucky this year in the GainSaver Sweepstakes for Dec-Jan 2017 Don't make boring New Year's resolutions this year you probably won't keep anyway. Do something different. Make a New Year's resolution to improve your luck! Here's how you do it: enter the GainSaver Sweepstakes for December-January 2017 to win a refurbished Macbook Air. This is the easiest resolution you'll make this year. Simply follow the instructions below to enter the free sweepstakes giveaway with a Grand Prize of a GainSaver refurbished Macbook Air! There is no purchase necessary and it only takes a minute. If you're serious about getting luckier, then you can submit additional entries to increase your chances of winning. Win a Macbook Air! Who wouldn't like to win a refurbished Macbook Air? You can use it for work, school, staying productive on the road or playing games at home. Your Macbook Air will come with the latest Mac OS installed for you. Just turn it on and start enjoying your new lucky life. Remember, getting luckier starts with feeling lucky! So cross your fingers, knock on wood and enter the GainSaver Sweepstakes right now. You can't win unless you enter, and somebody is going to win this Macbook Air. It could be you. Who knows, you might get lucky!A hot humid day. One rider. One horse. Both are exercising at a moderate level. Who is more likely to overheat? It might surprise you to know that your horse gets hotter, much faster than you and is more susceptible to the negative effects of heat stress. Michael Lindinger, PhD, MSc, an animal and exercise physiologist at the University of Guelph, explains: “It only takes 17 minutes of moderate intensity exercise in hot, humid weather to raise a horse’s temperature to dangerous levels. That’s three to 10 times faster than in humans. Horses feel the heat much worse than we do.” And the effects can be serious. If a horse’s body temperature shoots up from the normal 37 to 38°C to 41°C (98.6 – 105.8°F), temperatures within working muscles may be as high as 43°C (109.4°F), a temperature at which proteins in muscle begin to denature (cook). Horses suffering excessive heat stress may experience hypotension, colic, and renal failure. Lindinger, a faculty member in the Department of Human Health and Nutritional Sciences, became interested in the effects of heat on horses when he was a lead researcher on the Canadian research team that contributed information on the response of the horse to heat and humidity for the Atlanta Summer Olympics. He recently presented a workshop on the topic at Equine Guelph’s outdoor Equine Expo held June 4 at U.G.’s Arkell Research Station. Horses are more susceptible to heat for several reasons, explains Lindinger. First, they are larger and have a higher percentage of active muscle than people do during exercise. When muscles are being used, they produce a lot of heat. Horses also rely to a significant extent on sweating to cool them off. They can sweat 15 to 20 litres per hour in cool, dry conditions and up to 30 litres per hour in hot, humid conditions, but only 25-30% of the sweat produced is effective in cooling the horse by evaporation. “Because so much more sweat is produced than can be evaporated, the rest just drips off the horse’s body,” says Lindinger. “By comparison, up to 50% of the sweat people produce is evaporated from our bodies during exercise and helps to cool us.” The salts in horse sweat are also four times as concentrated as in human sweat. Lindinger refers to a photograph of an area where endurance horses had been standing while their sweaty bodies were repeatedly scraped and cooled with water. As the liquids evaporated from the ground, the soil surface was left white because of the salt in the horses’ sweat. “Those salts have to be replaced,” he adds. “Just giving the horse water will not rehydrate a dehydrated horse. When horses drink plain water, it dilutes their body fluids, and their bodies respond by trying to get rid of more water and more electrolytes.” Horses also pant to dissipate heat, but Lindinger says this is only effective if the air is at least five degrees cooler than the horse’s body temperature. His tips for protecting horses from the harmful effects of summer heat begin with teaching your horse to drink an electrolyte solution (water with the right proportion of salts dissolved in it) to replace sweat losses. “Start with a small amount in the water, allowing the horse to get used to the taste, and gradually increase it over days and weeks until you have reached the manufacturer’s recommendation.” Keeping your horse properly hydrated is the most important step in protecting it against the harmful effects of heat, he says. If you’re preparing for a competition, Lindinger recommends trying to acclimatize your horse to the heat by spending four hours daily, at least five days a week for three weeks, in hot conditions. For best results, exercise the horse for an hour during the second hour of each of those days. “Many riders will train their horses in the mornings or evenings, when it’s cool, then go to a competition held during the hottest part of the day. You need to get horses used to being ridden in the heat and allow them to develop the full spectrum of beneficial adaptations that come with heat acclimation.” Lindinger says that horses who have been through a process of heat acclimation will lose more heat through sweating and respiration and will be better able to stay hydrated because they are more likely to drink. When your horse is hot, look for shade and breezes to help cool it down, but never use a blanket or “cooler” on a horse that is sweating, he adds, suggesting the best way to cool a horse quickly is to rinse the horse’s body repeatedly with cold water and scrape off the excess water. “You can cool the horse two degrees in 10 minutes this way: pour on the water, scrape it off, pour on more, and just keep repeating it,” says Lindinger. “The scraping part is important because otherwise the water will be trapped in the horse’s hair and will quickly warm up. By scraping and pouring on fresh, cold water you keep the cooling process going.” Just as equestrians pack a canteen of water, some sunscreen and a hat with a brim for summer riding adventures, Lindinger says they should also equip themselves with the tools needed to protect their horses from the heat and humidity. If you prepare your horse in advance and have a plan to cool him down if he becomes overheated, he says, even the hot, muggy days of summer can be great riding fun. –Teresa Pitman, University of Guelph(Raghuramaswamy/Dreamstime) The Obama administration’s interpretation of religious liberty would devastate free-exercise protections and relegate minority religions to second-class status. The danger posed by this interpretation has already manifested itself in a lower-court decision. The administration maintains that courts should reject religious-liberty claims unless a judge determines that “as a matter of law,” a plaintiff would suffer a “substantial” theological burden if he did not receive an exemption. The Supreme Court will rule on that interpretation of religious liberty in an upcoming case: Little Sisters of the Poor v. Burwell. Advertisement Advertisement In the Little Sisters case, the Obama administration urges the Court to deny nuns an exemption from the mandate that requires them to provide their employees with abortion-inducing drugs. According to the administration, the Court should conclude that, contrary to the nuns’ claims, complying with the mandate is insufficiently burdensome, theologically speaking, to warrant an exemption. Allowing the Supreme Court to second-guess nuns’ theological conclusions is absurd and contrary to Supreme Court precedent. RELATED: Free Speech and Religious Liberty Are Under Siege Advertisement In Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, the Supreme Court held that a version of the same mandate at issue in the Little Sisters case imposed a substantial burden on objecting religious adherents. The Court made this determination based on the fact that the mandate imposed significant fines on objectors who refused to comply with its demands. The Court did not weigh the theological ramifications of complying with the law. In fact, it concluded that the question of whether a person properly understood his own religious beliefs was “a question that the federal courts have no business addressing.” In Holt v. Hobbs, the Supreme Court applied the same standard to a prison regulation that prohibited inmates from growing beards. It concluded that the regulation substantially burdened a Muslim prisoner’s religions liberty because he faced “serious disciplinary action” for refusing to comply with the law. Advertisement These precedents show that the courts have neither the license nor the ability to make legal determinations regarding gradations of sin. This is especially true regarding religious minorities, because judges might not be familiar with or sympathetic to their beliefs. Advertisement #share#It is easy to imagine a parade of horribles in which judges misunderstand the tenets of Judaism, Islam, or Wicca, and therefore refuse to grant adherents religious exemptions. One no longer needs to rely on his imagination, however: A lower-court case, Ben-Levi v. Brown, offers a concrete example of what will happen if courts travel down this dangerous path. The Ben-Levi case involved a Jewish prisoner who requested permission to study Jewish texts with other prisoners for one hour each week. The prison denied his request even though it allowed members of other religions to engage in such study. The prison mistakenly believed that Judaism did not allow for such study. This mistake led the prison to single out Jews for disparate treatment and to treat Judaism like a second-class religion. RELATED: Which Religious Practices Should Be Protected? Advertisement Shockingly, when Ben-Levi sued the prison, the district court upheld the discrimination. The court applied the test advocated by the Obama administration and made its own determination regarding the religious harm that Ben-Levi would suffer if denied the ability to study with other Jewish inmates. The court reached the absurd conclusion that it was actually protecting Ben-Levi’s religiosity by denying his request. According to the court, Ben-Levi had not suffered any harm because, in its view, Judaism prohibited individuals from studying together in the absence of ten men or a rabbi. In other words, the court concluded that Ben-Levi did not deserve a religious exemption because he misunderstood his own religion — the same argument that the Obama administration is making with regard to the nuns. In doing so, the court acted as a religious tribunal rather than a secular court — and an incompetent one at that. No major denomination of Judaism prohibits the study in question. The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the decision, and the Supreme Court declined to review the case. Justice Alito wrote a dissent stating that he would have taken the case and reversed the decision. He criticized the lower courts for impermissibly holding that “a plaintiff’s own interpretation of his religion must yield to the government’s interpretation.” Advertisement RELATED: Religious Liberty and the Left’s End Game This case offers a clear example of the danger inherent in courts’ second-guessing plaintiffs’ religious beliefs. The district court’s interpretation of Judaism has no basis in Jewish doctrine. There is no prohibition on studying in small groups, nor is rabbinic leadership required for study. In fact, two-person study groups are one of the most common arrangements for the study of Jewish texts. Religious Jews start to learn in such duos during adolescence and continue throughout their lives. The court’s specific misunderstanding — as baffling as it may be — is mostly beyond the point. The court’s confusion highlights why judges should not be in the business of deciding theological questions. That might be the role of Saudi Arabian courts, but it is not the role of the American judiciary. If courts were required to weigh the relevant evidence, judges would be tasked with separating orthodoxy from heresy. It is unlikely that the district-court judge allowed the prison to continue discriminating against Jews because he was an anti-S
mistake. We apologize.” The PD of SBS Gayo Daejun, Kim Joo Hyung, added, “Song Mino did well, but because the situation turned like this, we are sorry.” He explained that since the only way they can control the length of the live show is through the addition or subtraction of the comments by the MCs on the spot by the staff, some of the comments were unable to be reviewed properly and the mistake by the production team occurred. Source (1)In the case of AOL Time Warner, even employees who acknowledge that their previous e-mail system ''isn't very good'' are not convinced that America Online is the best choice for a corporate e-mail program. ''AOL got popular because it's really simple and easy to use,'' said a writer at a Time Inc. magazine. ''But when you're in a workplace, it's just not very full featured.'' Employees who have used AOL at home voice a variety of complaints. It is less efficient than some rival systems in attaching files to messages and in including the original message in a reply, they say, and it lacks a way to set up an automatic response to incoming messages (for example, indicating the recipient is on vacation). Another issue is the added level of security that will be required for employees to retrieve their e-mail. Rather than logging on to the network by typing in a name and password, employees will also need to type in a number that appears on a digital card. Because the number changes every few seconds, the device adds a level of security to the e-mail system, but it also creates headaches for employees. ''That's something our users will have to get used to,'' said Kevin Kelly, a systems engineer for Time Inc. ''There will be some groaning for a few months.'' Even so, Mr. Kelly said that because the current Time Inc. e-mail program is no longer supported by the manufacturer, Lotus, ''there is a plus side to doing this move.'' Ann Brackbill, an AOL Time Warner spokeswoman, said other things on the plus side included the ability of employees to gain access to AOL's e-mail system from ''just about anywhere'' and its integration with AOL's instant messenger system. She also said that the latest version of the service is better at handling attachments, and other features may be added. Of course, AOL is not the only technology company that expects a certain esprit de corps from its employees. A spokeswoman for Sun Microsystems, Elizabeth McNichols, confirmed that the company did not use any products made by its competitor, Microsoft, including Microsoft's popular Office suite. Instead, workers at Sun use the company's StarOffice system, which Ms. McNichols said was capable of translating documents created with the more common Microsoft programs. But an executive at a software company that does business with Sun said his experience was plagued by incompatibilities. ''Anything we sent to them involved some kind of trauma,'' he said. ''And the onus was on us to somehow prepare a file they could read.'' The executive said the reaction to an offer he once made to a group of Sun employees to leave digital copies of a Microsoft file he had used in a presentation had an almost Prohibition-era feel to it. ''Someone came up to me after the meeting and said, 'Listen, if you can get me a floppy, I can use my daughter's PC at home to read it.' '' Advertisement Continue reading the main story Microsoft has its own technology preferences. Andrea Jenkins, formerly creative director at Microsoft's Sidewalk San Francisco Web guide, said when she showed up for her first day at work, she was surprised to learn that she would have to use a computer running Microsoft Windows, as opposed to a Macintosh computer. ''I tried to say I could design better or faster or more efficiently on the Mac,'' Ms. Jenkins said, ''But it wasn't like I couldn't design on the PC, which was their argument.'' Ultimately, she said, she adjusted to using a PC. ''In retrospect, I'm glad because I learned how to design on the PC and it's been invaluable,'' she said. But now that she runs her own design business, she says she is back to using Apple Computer machines. ''I still tell people designing on the Mac is the only way to go,'' she said. Outside the technology industry, it seems companies tend to favor the carrot approach over the stick -- no doubt because their products generally do not sit on employees' desks and are not paid for with a company requisition slip. Stacy MacLean, a spokeswoman at Gap Inc., said it offered employees a discount on Gap clothing, but did not require them to wear Gap brands. ''In the stores, wearing the clothes can help sell the clothes in some cases,'' she said. ''But we don't have any policy around that.'' The same is true for automakers. Tom Hrynik, an engineer who worked for Ford Motor for 35 years, said that although there was ''no overt pressure from the company'' to drive one of its models, ''what Ford did was quietly keep encouraging people to buy the cars through discounts.'' He said he bought a Ford Mustang within two weeks of joining Ford, and his loyalty extended to his own driveway. ''I used to tell my girls, if your boyfriends come over and it's not a Ford product they're driving, they'd better park it in the street.''Lakes in the Canadian Shield are slowly becoming “jellified,” a legacy of acid rain that changed the water chemistry and has made life easier for a tiny crustacean with a big jelly blob on its back. In the granite hills of Algonquin Park and the Gatineaus, lakes are low in calcium to start with. The acid rain years washed away much of the calcium in the lakes and surrounding soil, says biologist John Smol of Queen’s University. And this tips the balance away from a little crustacean that normally lives in this lakes, called Daphnia, and lets another one called Holopedium take its place. Holopedium needs less calcium. Both animals are sometimes called water fleas. “This we think is quite major,” Smol said. “It’s a legacy of acid rain. This was a very slow problem, really under the radar.” Holopedium carries a bulbous coating of jelly, possibly a defence against predators. The ecological problem is that Daphnia is an important part of the food web in lakes. But a lot of water species can’t eat the bigger jelly-coated flea. It’s also unpleasant for some people who just want to enjoy the lakes: Clusters of fleas can wash up on shore (Smol calls them “goo balls”), and then there’s the way they feel. “People say when they swim through it feels like little bath beads,” he said. Another problem is that they can clog water intakes. Lakes in the Rideau system have fairly high levels of calcium and are so far safe from the change. The lakes being threatened are the ones on granite, which were most harmed by acid rain. The study is published Wednesday in a science journal called Proceedings of the Royal Society B. “These are Precambrian Shield lakes, so large parts of Ontario, large parts of Quebec, Nova Scotia,” as well as the Adirondacks and Washington State are involved, he said. The increase comes partly from looking at government records of lakes, but also by looking at the “little bits and pieces of the exoskeletons,” the hard outer material from the water fleas’ bodies that can be traced back to sediments from the 1800s. There isn’t much we can do, Smol said. “The good news is that we are able to identify one of the effects of reduced lakewater calcium levels. The bad news is that many lakes have passed critical thresholds, and we have been reduced to the role of a spectator as these changes continue to unfold. Once again we see that there are many unexpected consequences of our actions — and they are mostly negative.” Funding came from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council and Ontario’s Environment Ministry. tspears@ottawacitizen.com twitter.com/TomSpears1A professor at Trinity College in Connecticut has written what is essentially a MIDI player for the human brain, converting MRI imagery into a sort of bleeping, blooping ambient music. Here's how it works: people are subjected to a range of stimuli, ranging from a series of flashing lights to a driving simulator to, well, silence, while changes in brain activity are monitored by MRI. The results get passed through software that assigns specific tones to different regions of the brain, netting something like a song for each scan.Click to view Advertisement These impulses aren't inherently musical—they've been deliberative assigned tones that sound nice together, and even so sound rather chaotic—nor would you expect them to be, since this is just a novel way to present MRI. What's fascinating is how noticeably different the sounds of active and dormant brains, or troubled and untroubled brains actually are. And not to diminish the seriousness of schizophrenia in any way, but the scanned map and accompanying sounds for an affected brain, seen at about 40 seconds into the video, are nothing short of awesome. [New Scientist]It sounds like something out of a dystopian science fiction novel, but it's not. A new report from a secretive, highly influential group of scientists is urging the Department of Defense to begin collecting and mapping the full genome of all military personnel -- a move that could well give the Pentagon the ability to select for certain genetic predispositions. Noting the dramatic decrease in the cost of fully mapping individuals' genomes, the report suggests that some traits relevant to war-fighting "are likely to have a strong genetic component, for which better understanding may lead to improved military capabilities." And, possibly even more attractive to the Pentagon brass, gene-mapping could even lead to "medical cost containment." What traits -- or "phenotypes" -- are we talking about here? The report, which was web-published on Thursday by Steven Aftergood on his Secrecy News blog, explains: These phenotypes might pertain to short- and long-term medical readiness, physical and mental performance, and response to drugs, vaccines, and various environmental exposures, all of which will have different features in a military context. More specifically, one might wish to know about phenotypic responses to battlefield stress, including post-traumatic stress disorder, the ability to tolerate conditions of sleep deprivation, dehydration, or prolonged exposure to heat, cold, or high altitude, or the susceptibility to traumatic bone fracture, prolonged bleeding, or slow wound healing. As if the Pentagon wasn't sitting on enough data already, the report envisions a huge new database (more likely than not run by some massive defense contractor). "The DoD will benefit by organizing personnel data into phenotypes of relevance to the military, then correlating those phenotypes with genetic information," it says. The report also ominously and vaguely alludes to the possible weaponization of genetic information. "It may be beneficial to know the genetic identities of an adversary," the report says. The report was submitted by an anonymous group of high-level scientists known as the Jasons. Founded in 1960, the Jasons are a group of top-flight scientists who spend each summer solving problems for the government. Some of their previous, unclassified reports can be found here. The official overseeing the distribution of the report within the Pentagon told HuffPost on Thursday that it is only one contribution to the deliberations within the Defense Department about how to adjust to advances in genetic technology. "The Jasons are one of many inputs that we take in, trying to get a variety of thoughts and ideas that are not all necessarily mainstream," said Melissa Flagg, the director for technical intelligence in the Pentagon's research and engineering department. "We don't want to be hostage to groupthink. "But it doesn't necessarily mean that, just because a group of smart people thought it, that it is the future or will happen." The report barely touches on the ethical ramifications of its recommendations. But, Flagg said: "This is not our only input. And why would you ask a bunch of scientists to talk to you about something they're not qualified to talk about?" Ann Finkbeiner, a science writer and blogger, who wrote a book about the Jasons in 2006, told HuffPost that many have been Nobel Prize winners. "My feel for the track record is that they are taken very seriously," she said. "And I think a lot of their ideas sort of end up in programs," she said, even if their fingerprints aren't obvious. "They are not a bunch of crackpots at all. They occasionally get a little blue-sky, but they're taken seriously." They also treasure their anonymity, Finkbeiner said. Laurie Zoloth, a bioethicist at Northwestern University, said she worries that the report overstates science's capacity to predict things based on genes. "This is really hard and complicated, and may not be predictive at all," she said. "Sequencing isn't analysis, and the key is analysis. This report is about the cheapening of the sequencing, but it's not about the acuity of the analysis." And then there are the moral hazards. "The problem is not collecting information and analyzing it, it is using the information for evil, to harm innocent people, or to discriminate against persons simple because of the physical circumstances of their birth," Zoloth said. The report does includes some caveats. For instance, it warns that "[a]cting on genotype information that is not convincingly linked to specific phenotypes could lead to erroneous and detrimental decision making." But it concludes with great urgency: DNA sequencing is already cheap enough to initiate the era of personal genome sequencing and further reductions in cost will make human genome sequencing increase in scope from hundreds of people (current) to millions of people (probably within three years).... [T]he DoD and the VA should affiliate with or stand up a genotype/phenotype analysis program that addresses their respective needs. Waiting even two years to initiate this process may place them unrecoverably behind in the race for personal genomics information and applications. "That's a very direct and unambiguous piece of advice," said Aftergood, who runs the Federation of American Scientists' Project on Government Secrecy. "There's no beating around the bush; they tell you exactly what they think." But is it called for? "Questions about control and exploitation quickly become front and center," Aftergood said. "I think all of us should be concerned about the advancing state of genetic research and its susceptibility to improper or thoughtless use." Furthermore, he said: "It lends itself to corporate control and for-profit exploitation of genetic data, which is the most intimately private information there could possibly be. Your genetic code is more private and more unique to you than anything else in the universe." Aftergood noted the report's mention of what it called a "particularly noteworthy project" in Hong Kong that "involves the sequencing of 2,000 school children to look for markers that correlate with educational test scores." That smacks of eugenics. Many of our traits, after all, do not correlate directly to our genes, but are a function of our environment, and of our choices. Zoloth said there are many ways the genetic information could be used by the Pentagon in a protective way, for instance by reducing certain soldiers' exposure to chemicals to which they are particularly sensitive. Nevertheless, the report clearly raises the specter of a future military in which assignments are based on genetics rather than ability, or training, or effort, or choice -- or free will.Credit: DC Comics By the end of August, readers of The New 52: Futures End will find out who's inside the masked Superman suit. But even though fans have to wait for the reveal, there's been plenty of guessing going on. In recent weeks, we've seen some new clues to the hero's identity, but it's still tough to call. The only thing we know for sure is, five years in a "possible" future, there's someone wearing Superman costume with a helmet that covers his face. "There is a reason he's wearing the suit he's wearing," Futures End co-writer Dan Jurgens told Newsarama last month. "And all of that is building to a reveal, I think, in issue #17. There is absolutely a reason he is wearing the suit, beyond just 'gee it looks stylistically nice.'" It's also apparent that this Superman doesn't act like the one who's currently in the New 52 universe. First off, there's his attitude — he's rather destructive of property when seeking justice, and his dialogue comes across as blunt and rude, particularly compared to the way we expect Superman to sound. When Newsarama pointed out that the masked Superman is a "bit of a jerk," Jurgens said: "I don't think of him as a jerk, but again, he's certainly different and has a bit of an edge to him… The word I use is 'direct,' and I think any time you see a character do anything, or you hear a character speak or read his word balloons, whatever it might — all those things should offer insight into who that character is, and why he might be doing what he's doing. Credit: DC Comics "And to emphasize again, we're dealing with a world — a post-war world — that has to be different and has to have changed these characters somehow. And yes, this Superman you're seeing now is more direct than the Superman you would have been familiar with five years earlier." And then there's the fact that Lois Lane — although followed and protected by masked Superman — does not believe the man under the mask in five years is the same Superman who is now in the New 52. And if anyone can read a "fake," it's an investigative reporter like Lois (who also knows a thing or two about Superman, even in the New 52). Credit: DC Comics DC also recently released a cover for Futures End #22 that depicts, according to solicitation copy, the world finding out Superman's identity. Although the lightning and the rock at his feet might be only figurative — symbolizing the storm that will follow Masked Superman's exposure to the public — there could also be a clue or two on the cover. Whatever his identity, the writers of the series — including Jurgens, Keith Giffen, Brian Azzarello and Jeff Lemire — must think the reveal in issue #17 is pretty significant, since it's the last issue before the whole DCU shifts into the "five years later" timeframe for the Futures End event in September. With all these clues in mind, we came up with a few of the leading candidates for the identity of the Futures End Masked Superman: New 52 Superman Argument For: Jurgens specifically said that the war "changed" characters. Maybe that's a hint that this is actually New 52 Superman, and his attitude is the result of devastating loss during the War between worlds. The reason for the mask? Perhaps his face is scarred, or maybe his body is damaged from the battles in a way that requires him to wear protection (maybe from the yellow sun?). Against: First off, this would be a bit of a let-down for readers who have been guessing about the character's identity, so we have to think the writers would be reluctant to go that route. Plus it's hard to believe that the current Superman would be quite so destructive and rude in his pursuit of justice, only a few years later. Yes, war is hell, but surely that would change Superman's tactics or feelings — not the way he talks or the way he fights. Credit: DC Comics Earth 2 Clark Argument For: In the current time period, the Earth 2 Superman has been turned by Darkseid into something evil and twisted. Currently, in the Earth 2 series, he's helping Darkseid take over the earth, and he's been really horrible — killing many of his friends, and even his own father. If there's some part of him that can be redeemed, and if he made it off Earth 2 onto Prime Earth, he would probably be so ashamed of his actions on Earth 2 that he would hide himself. It would explain his protectiveness of Lois Lane (they were married on Earth 2), and it's also supported by the fact that this Superman is more destructive and rude — Earth 2 Superman has been genetically manipulated by Darkseid, so would have been altered in a way that would change him, even if he came back to the side of good. Even the cover, with its bolt of lightning, would be explained by the shock that the survivors of Earth 2 would feel upon seeing him in the Superman suit. If he's truly "outed" in issue #22, and he's actually the evil Earth 2 Superman, then there's going to be some Kryptonite-aided lynching going on. Against: The chances of Earth 2 Clark surviving the battle we'll see in the upcoming Earth 2: World's End weekly series are slim. And the fact that he killed Pa Kent in a recent issue makes it feel like that guy could never be redeemed — or would at least be unlikely to turn full-on hero again. Credit: DC Comics Earth 2 Val-Zod Argument For: Val is the black Superman who just started wearing the big "S" on Earth 2, defending his earth from the evil Superman (mentioned above). He's a popular Earth 2 character, so we could see DC allowing him to survive the "war" with Earth 2, and wanting him to still be functioning as Superman. Val would probably have to wear the suit and mask because he's from Earth 2, and there's currently a Xenophobic outcry against Earth 2 characters who are residing on Prime Earth. (Most of them are actually locked up on Cadmus Island.) So the mask and suit could be his way of hiding his identity. Against: It's tough to come up with a logical reason that Val would feel protective of Lois Lane. Maybe, because he knows the robot Lois from Earth 2, he feels compelled to make sure this one doesn't similarly lose her life? Another strike against this theory is that Val is a pacifist. He's only currently fighting in Earth 2 to save his own world from destruction at the hands of evil Superman. Would he really change so much after the war that he'd not only stop being a pacifist, but would be destructive and rude? Val's a nice kid. A gentle kid. We can't imagine that he'd just suddenly be "direct," as Jurgens put it. Plus, would he really need to wear a mask? Yes, he's sort of from "another earth" … but he's actually Kryptonian. Everybody already knows Superman is Kryptonian. And they know Supergirl is Kryptonian. And Superboy. And Krypto. Couldn't Val just say he's another Kryptonian? Alexander Luthor Jr. Argument For: Although we haven't actually met the offspring of Earth 3 Superwoman and Earth 3 Alexander Luthor, we can guess that the boy will be the New 52 version of Alexander Luthor, who in pre-New 52 continuity was super powered. Assuming Alex Jr. would age quickly over the next few years, he could be the powerful hero under the mask and suit. He would have to cover himself because he's not just from another Earth — he's from the super, nasty, evil Earth 3. And we could see him being protective of Lois Lane, since his mother is the Earth 3 version of Lois. This theory would explain why, although he's fighting for justice, he might be unable to be polite — the "darkness" of Earth 3 would probably be in his genetic structure. And the lightning shown on the cover of Futures End #22 could reference the fact that his father used the power of "Mazahs" — and that could be why Alex Luthor Jr. has Superman-like powers now. Against: We haven't seen hide nor hair of Superwoman since the end of Forever Evil, and she was barely showing her pregnancy. Yes, there's precedent for rapidly aging kids in the DCU (we're looking at you, Damian Wayne), but it feels like a stretch to think he'd already be an adult, and already have enough respect for Superman that he'd don his "S." Plus, the still mysterious Earth 3 spawn feels like a thread that will be left for Forever Evil writer Geoff Johns to pick up. And hey — who's to say the baby isn't a girl? (Maybe Fifty Sue?) Credit: DC Comics Shazam Argument For: Shazam in the New 52 is Billy Batson, a teenager, and that might explain why he's "direct." And his inexperience as a superhero, plus his immaturity overall, would also be a good reason for the almost accidental-feeling destructiveness — after all, Billy has never owned anything and doesn't realize the value of property damage, so why wouldn't he rip a door off its hinges or come through a ceiling to enter a room? And it's probably the best practical theory for why there's lightning on the cover of Futures End #22. Against: Why would Billy Batson follow around and protect Lois Lane? Why would he have to wear a helmet and a suit? For that matter, why in the world would he wear an "S?" Where's the "H," the "A," the "Z," the other "A" and the "M?" Pre-New 52 Earth Superman Argument For: We know this one's a stretch, but we've all heard the rumors about some pre-New 52 Earth characters possibly showing up in DC comics. Is it possible they've shown up already? There would be few people more protective of Lois Lane than the man who married her in the pre-New 52 stories. And he would stay masked and concealed because he's not from "this" Earth — and as we've established, people five years in the future don't like folks from other earths. And wow, wouldn't that be… like… huge? Against: OK, try to remember with us here… pre-New 52 Superman was experienced. Like, really experienced. And nice. Look, people even joked about the guy walking across America and constantly crying on covers. So this Masked Superman's destructiveness and rudeness just doesn't seem to fit. So what do you think? Who's under the mask, and why?Although much has been written to explain the tactical military successes of the Islamic State (IS), there has not yet been a comprehensive assessment of how, since June 2014, IS has managed to rule over terrain larger than Lebanon to include 8 million Iraqis and Syrians. How has it been possible that in a short three months IS has been able to control extensive terrain, with 3,000 IS fighters capturing Mosul, which was guarded by 30,000 Iraqi soldiers, and after seizing Mosul on June 10 engage in battles two days later with Iraqi forces in towns north of Baghdad, 230 miles from Mosul? Although one can allude to the delayed reaction of the international community, the lack of strong military opposition to IS, the international support IS has acquired and the support from Sunni tribes and political bodies in areas it captures, none of it defies the reality that — at the tactical level — IS is an extremely lethal and effective war machine. To understand this key determinant of IS gains, one has to understand that reality. This article will attempt to analyze the factors contributing to IS’ military efficiency, particularly at the tactical level. Factors that boost tactical effectiveness of IS can be summarized as fluid and decentralized command and control structure; novel hybrid military tactics blending conventional warfare with terrorist tactics; effective use of armored platforms in offensive operations; dispersion; preservation of momentum at all costs; effective exploitation of topographic and human terrains; simplicity and flexibility in planning; and conducting operations and high levels of initiative and morale. Fluid and decentralized command control structure IS does not have permanent and centralized command and control structure in the traditional sense of warfare. Unlike contemporary armies of the world, IS doesn’t make sharp distinctions between strategic, operative and tactical levels. In their traditional warfare, tactical achievements is the way to achieve strategic objectives. For IS, the basic goal is to score tactical successes and expand on them step by step. Deviating from the traditional approach, what IS fields is a bottom-up command structure focused on a fast pace for small military achievements. At the moment, US-led airstrikes have been mostly against IS communication and training facilities. It is extraordinary that there is not a single control facility that has been hit by allied airstrikes. IS warfare combines and hybridizes terrorist tactics, urban guerrilla warfare and conventional warfare. IS is adept enough to conduct armor attacks at night and is skilled in accurate firing of their main tank guns with thermal cameras, and is capable of planting improvised explosive devices in critical areas and routes. It wages hybridized guerrilla warfare and conventional armored warfare by deploying eight to 10 men teams carrying out building-by-building, block-by-block clear and hold operations in urban terrain. After the recent air attacks, IS has dispersed its forces to the extreme. Its teams have been minimized to two or three vehicles and eight to 10 men. Their concealment has been highly professional. IS' executive orders are brief, setting out what the mission is in simple terms, leaving how it is to be carried out to field units. It is imperative to acknowledge that a typical IS militant is endowed with a win-win mindset that assures him that to kill in jihad is a blessing, but if he is martyred he will end up in paradise also. No wonder IS combatants are high-adrenalin fighters who can kill and get killed without hesitation. A typical IS operation goes like this: An IS armored unit of tanks or a mobile unit of eight to 12 fighters with two to three vehicles are informed by WhatsApp, a message on Facebook or Twitter or phone text message, and if this mode is not available through their own radio net, to assemble at a certain place at a certain time. This is the first time we are seeing combat units making use of social media in combat operations. Before its operations, IS disseminates propaganda messages via social media to enemy fighters and civilians living in the targeted urban settlements to demoralize and dishearten them. IS operations and logistics units that are thus alerted assemble at a meeting point within two to three hours, and after another 1 ½ hours of coordination discussions and logistics preparations the operation is underway. One must remember that a regular IS tank driver is trained to drive his tank at night with a thermal camera, and that the commander of the team has enough tactical military knowledge to best deploy his tanks. Then it is a matter of attacking the enemy's weakest point, preferably after the morning prayers. Vehicles stage the first phase of the attacks, followed by infantry attacks that depend on the nature of the enemy's opposition. In these attacks, IS has been remarkably successful in creating a balance between the phased campaign design and maintaining the tempo of warfare. The high tempo of combat is routine for an IS fighter, but usually too high for opposing soldiers. How to defeat IS? How to first stop IS and then defeat it? The secret is in a concept that has so far been lacking the forces fighting IS in Syria and Iraq: Close air support that can only be provided by intense cooperation between ground troops and air units. Coalition air attacks so far are at least limiting IS advances; close cooperation between ground forces and armed helicopters such as AH-64 or fixed-wing platforms such as A-10 Thunderbolts can enable full integration of each air mission with fire and movement of ground forces, and bring the end to IS. The question then becomes how the US-led coalition can provide that level of air support, and who has the substantial technical know-how and military expertise needed on the ground. We know special forces elements of countries contributing to the coalition are participating in operations to provide precision target guiding with laser pointers. But this has been limited. Then what can be the solution? Either the local forces fighting against IS will have to learn this technique that requires high military expertise, or special detachments formed by countries contributing to the coalition will be assigned to each combat zone or to major units as a close air support coordinator. It is no surprise then that the hottest topic in ongoing military discussions is who will provide this close air support and how. When tailoring strategies of close air support, one should keep in mind that IS has MANPADs (man-portable air defense systems) that make air units providing close air support highly vulnerable in their low-speed and low-altitude missions.JPM We recently posted the latest slide deck from JPMorgan Asset Management, which has a number of charts relating to both the market and the economy. It's a useful thing to flip through as Q2 gets under way. Two charts really stand out, as it pertains to the market. The above chart shows the S&P going back to 1997, and if you look at this chart it's easy to get freaked out. The stock market seems to move in these decisive waves. Up sharply, down sharply, up sharply, etc. We seem due for a down wave. Actually, we seem due for a REALLY BIG down save, because the current trend is now deviating from the norm quite severely. Now here's the second chart. It's also of the S&P 500. It just goes back a little further. JPM Here, the story looks totally different. Going back over a century the pattern seems to be: sideways, then huge up move. And we've repeated that a few times. Taken in this context, the market doesn't look "stretched" outside of some historical range. It looks like it's about to break out of a long period of no improvement and head for what could be an extremely long and big rally. Of course, neither of the above patterns could be the true useful guide. Maybe the stock market will be flat for another decade. Who knows. But it's clear that a change in perspective can dramatically change the story of the chart.Hydrogen 'to become a viable alternative to petrol' thanks to new process that makes gas behave like liquid Technology can be used with existing cars Hydrogen is clean alternative to petrol and produces only water when burned Hydrogen fuel could be set to become a viable environmentally friendly alternative to petrol following the development of new technology that allows the natural gas to be stored in a cheap and practical way. The groundbreaking technique utilises materials that soak up hydrogen like a sponge, and then encapsulates them in tiny plastic beads so small they behave like a liquid. The process, based on a new way of producing nano-fibres from hydrides, is being developed by Cella Energy, a spin-off from Britain's Rutherford Appleton Laboratory. The technique allows hydrogen to be released at a much faster rate and at lower temperatures than before, researchers said. A car being filled with the hydrogen 'beads'. Cella Energy say their technology will allow people to use the carbon-free fuel with their existing car after a few modifications 'What we've been doing is taking these materials and encasing them in plastic and making them into a very fine powder and that improves their properties,' Cella Energy Chief Scientific Officer Stephen Bennington said. 'It also means you can pump it like a fluid and it's safe. It is not gong to easily burst into flames,' he said. Hydrogen produces only water when it is burned and is considered an ideal solution to cutting carbon emissions from petrol or diesel vehicles, which are estimated to cause 25 per cent of all carbon release. But until now, attempts to store hydrogen have not been consumer-friendly so this has not been a viable option. Cella Energy Ltd say their technology would allow people to use the carbon-free fuel with their existing car after a few modifications. 'You would pump it into your petrol tank of your car - that would go off, be heated, drive the hydrogen off, which would go and run your vehicle and then the waste little beads that we have created you store in the car. And when you go and refuel your car you have two nozzles. One which puts in the new beads and one which takes out the old beads which goes off to be recycled and the hydrogen added to it again,' Bennington said. The new technology is safe and allows hydrogen to be pumped like a liquid, according to Cella Energy Chief Scientific Officer Stephen Bennington The development has been to turn hydrides into fibres or beads, 30 times smaller than a human hair, through a process of electro-spinning. This produces a white tissue-like material that can be controlled to capture and release hydrogen. The encapsulation process protects the hydrides from oxygen and water, prolonging their life and making it possible to handle them safely in air and because it behaves like a liquid, current infrastructure will need minimal modification. 'You can use tankers to carry the material around,' said Bennington. 'You can take it to forecourts and then you can pump it into the vehicle and give the customer the same kind of experience they have now.' All part of the reason Cella Energy believe their process could herald a new era of carbon-free motoring. 'The experience that most people have now is using regular liquid fuels where it takes three minutes to fill your vehicle and then you can travel 300 miles,' said Stephen Voller, Cella Energy's CEO. 'Now you can have exactly the same experience with hydrogen but you can't have that experience with an electric car.' The company said hydrogen could be an economically viable alternative to fossil fuels if the gas is produced with renewable energy sources like wind or solar. It has three times more energy than petrol per unit of weight and could power cars, planes and other vehicles that currently use hydrocarbons. It said it is also attracting interest from large established companies in the energy and transportation sectors.Recent studies have possibly linked the lack of disease progression in Alzheimer’s patients to vitamin E. 600 patients took part in the study, with researchers aiming to understand the potential link. There is currently no conclusive evidence that the vitamin will definitely work, but the primary research is promising. This could help those in the early stages of the disease and, in turn, their caregivers. This is not a definitively proven cure, though, according to the lead doctor on the study, Maurice Dysken. The research showed that vitamin E helped Alzheimer’s patients become more independent. Those who were part of the vitamin E group of the trials required, on average, two hours less time with caregivers than other members. However, the treatment did not preserve Alzheimer’s disease patients’ thinking abilities, indefinitely. Those who took other medication to help with the disease did not benefit. There is still a long way to go before a permanent cure for one of the most debilitating brain diseases is discovered. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia and, according to the Alzheimer’s Society, is a physical condition that affects the brain. Patients may have symptoms of memory loss, changes in mood, and communication and reasoning problems. It is devastating for the patients, as well as their friends and family members. Patients can struggle with everyday activities. It could be something as small as forgetting where the house keys are or becoming muddled by simple changes. It can even be something more serious, like forgetting about a pan of boiling water
foxes), which is not found on mainland Africa, is proposed to have dispersed from Melanesia via island hopping across the Indian Ocean,[27] though this is less likely for other megabat genera, which have smaller body size and have more limited flight capabilities.[18] Loss of echolocation [ edit ] Megabats make up the only family (Pteropodidae) in order Chiroptera that is not capable of laryngeal echolocation. Echolocation and flight evolved early in the lineage of chiropterans. Although echolocation was later lost in family Pteropodidae,[28] bats in the genus Rousettus are capable of primitive echolocation through clicking their tongues,[29] and some species have been shown to create clicks similar to those of echolocating bats using their wings.[30][31] Both echolocation and flight are energetically expensive processes.[32] The nature of the flight and echolocation mechanism of bats allows for creation of echolocation pulses with minimal energy use.[33] Energetic coupling of these two processes is thought to have allowed for both energetically expensive processes to evolve in bats. The loss of echolocation may be due to the uncoupling of flight and echolocation in megabats.[34] The larger average body size of megabats compared to echolocating bats[35] suggests that a larger body size disrupts the flight-echolocation coupling and made echolocation too energetically expensive to be conserved in megabats.[34] Behavior and ecology [ edit ] Diet and foraging [ edit ] Most megabats are primarily frugivorous, meaning that they mostly consume fruit. Some species are also nectarivorous, meaning that they also drink nectar from flowers.[36] Other food resources include leaves, shoots, buds, flowers, pollen, seed pods, sap, cones, bark, and twigs.[37] As disease reservoirs [ edit ] Fruit bats have been found to act as reservoirs for Ebola virus,[38] though the bats themselves sometimes have no signs of infection. Three species of bats have tested positive for Ebola, but had no symptoms of the virus.[38] This indicates that the bats may be acting as a reservoir for the virus. Of the infected animals identified during these field collections, immunoglobulin G (IgG) specific for ebola virus was detected in hammer-headed bats, Franquet's epauletted fruit bats, and little collared fruit bats. The epidemical Marburg virus was found in 2007 in specimens of the Egyptian fruit bat, confirming the suspicion that this species may be a reservoir for this virus.[39] Other viral diseases which can be carried by fruit bats include Australian bat lyssavirus and henipavirus (notably Hendra virus and Nipah virus), both of which can prove fatal to humans. These bats have been shown to infect other species (specifically horses) with Hendra virus in Australian regions. Later, humans became infected with Hendra virus after being exposed to horse bodily fluids and excretions.[40] The discovery of this Australian bat lyssavirus was in 1996, before this all bats on all continents, except Australia, had been recorded to carry this rabies-like disease.[41] Fruit bats are considered a delicacy by South Pacific Islanders, as well as in Micronesia. Consumption has been suggested as a cause of Lytico-Bodig disease on the Micronesian island of Guam, through bioaccumulation of a plant toxin to which the bats are immune.[42] The transmission of Nipah virus from flying foxes to pigs is thought to be due to an increasing overlap between bat habitats and piggeries in peninsular Malaysia. At the index farm, fruit orchards were in close proximity to the piggery, allowing the spillage of urine, faeces, and partially eaten fruit onto the pigs. Retrospective studies demonstrate that viral spillover into pigs may have been occurring in Malaysia since 1996 without detection. During 1998, viral spread was aided by the transfer of infected pigs to other farms, where new outbreaks occurred.[citation needed] List of genera [ edit ] The family Pteropodidae is divided into seven subfamilies represented by 44–46 genera: Family Pteropodidae subfamily Cynopterinae genus Aethalops – pygmy fruit bats genus Alionycteris genus Balionycteris genus Chironax genus Cynopterus – dog-faced fruit bats or short-nosed fruit bats genus Dyacopterus – Dayak fruit bats genus Haplonycteris genus Latidens genus Megaerops genus Otopteropus genus Penthetor genus Ptenochirus – musky fruit bats genus Sphaerias genus Thoopterus subfamily Eidoloninae genus Eidolon – straw-coloured fruit bats subfamily Harpiyonycterinae genus Aproteles genus Dobsonia – naked-backed fruit bats genus Harpyionycteris genus Boneia subfamily Nyctimeninae genus Nyctimene – tube-nosed fruit bats genus Paranyctimene subfamily Pteropodinae genus Melonycteris genus Acerodon genus Desmalopex genus Mirimiri genus Neopteryx genus Pteralopex genus Pteropus – flying foxes genus Styloctenium genus Macroglossus – long-tongued fruit bats genus Syconycteris – blossom bats subfamily Rousettinae genus Rousettus – rousette fruit bats genus Eonycteris – dawn fruit bats genus Casinycteris genus Scotonycteris genus Epomophorus – epauletted fruit bats genus Epomops – epauletted bats genus Hypsignathus genus Nanonycteris genus Micropteropus – dwarf epauletted bats genus Stenonycteris genus Myonycteris – little collared fruit bats genus Lissonycteris genus Megaloglossus genus Plerotes genus Notopteris – long-tailed fruit batsDENVER -- Most of the stadium lights were already out Sunday night and the parking lots were emptying, but Peyton Manning was back briefly on the sideline in his suit, glancing over his shoulder, watching his son scamper around the end zone. It has been four long years -- through a crushing Super Bowl loss and an unfathomable first-round playoff exit, through a career-threatening injury and the wrenching departure from the only team he had ever known, through a relocation and, exactly one year ago, an excruciating renewal of his postseason history -- since Manning had been able to revel in even an early playoff victory. The yoke of expectation and the burden of disappointment had attached themselves to Manning for years, unfairly in many cases. So there was no missing the significance of Sunday's 24-17 victory over the San Diego Chargers to set up the AFC Championship Game matchup everyone had wanted all along, the 15th renewal of Manning's rivalry with Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. It means Manning isn't one-and-done for a ninth time. It means the Broncos will host the conference championship game next Sunday afternoon, an important accomplishment for Denver because Manning and Brady have split the two epic championship games they've played, with the home team winning each and then going on to capture the Super Bowl. It means Manning, in his gray suit, with his family nearby and his young son signaling a touchdown in the end zone a few yards away, has forestalled for at least another week any more questions about the fleeting time he has left to play, about how many more passes he might have to perfectly place to secure a victory, about how many more chances like this he might get. He might not get many more, and certainly not against his rival and friend Brady. Their meetings have defined their generation of football, and while Manning has been the dominant regular-season player, it is Brady's Super Bowl victories against which Manning has been measured. If that has created undue pressure for Manning, he will not acknowledge it. Last week, Manning said that as he has gotten older, he has tried to enjoy even the grinding preparation for games more. "The light is at the end of the tunnel," he said, conceding that his career is in its latter stages. But Manning has been in good humor, too. And on Sunday night, asked if an upcoming scheduled exam of his neck weighs on his mind, his lighthearted response revealed just how much relief he must have felt that his uncertain future would have to wait. FedEx Air & Ground Players of Year VOTE NOW Peyton Manning set new NFL single-season records for passing yards (5,477) and touchdowns (55). Was it the best performance for a quarterback in 2013? "What's weighing on my mind is how soon I can get a Bud Light in my mouth," Manning said to laughter. "That's priority number one. It was an intense game and up and down and a lot of emotions. Even the Patriots (game) is (too far) ahead. And that question is way far ahead. I am not there." Where he is now is back where he wanted to be when he returned from the injury last season: with a chance to win another Super Bowl, on a team that learned from the mistakes of last year's double-overtime loss to the Ravens and finished the job on Sunday. The Broncos had taken a 24-7 lead with 8:12 remaining on the back of a balanced offensive attack, although they had been less than crisp -- bedeviled by dropped passes, a fumble by Julius Thomas and an end-zone interception. But after Philip Rivers had sliced through the Broncos' defense once, then did it again after San Diego recovered an onside kick, the Broncos were faced with a strikingly similar situation to the one they were in a year ago to the day: trying to preserve a one-touchdown lead with just a few minutes to go. Last year, the Broncos played conservatively, running the ball to try to run out the clock. The tactic failed miserably, opening the door for Joe Flacco's 70-yard touchdown heave over Rahim Moore's head that sent the game to overtime. This year, there was no such restraint. The game was in the hands it always belonged in, the ones that set the touchdown and passing yards records during the regular season. And so they threw, as the Broncos had done all year, to set the scoring record and now to save their season. On third-and-17, Manning threw a deep pass on the right sideline, where Julius Thomas dragged his right foot for the first down. Three plays later, he hit Thomas again, this time to the short right side of the field for another first down that allowed the clock to wind down. This victory was not the product of one of Manning's aerial attacks -- he had just 230 passing yards -- but among the recriminations after the loss to the Ravens, the Broncos' coaching staff had been criticized for how conservatively they had approached that game. Their reservations were gone on Sunday, although coach John Fox would not say that he was more aggressive than last year. "I'm not going to bite on that one, other than I think you kind of adjust to your football team as you go," he said. "Our guys have proved to be pretty efficient." That, of course, is a wild understatement, maybe the last one we'll hear in a week that will center on one of the greatest quarterback rivalries in football history. When the teams played in late November on a cold Foxborough night, the game was noteworthy for the Patriots' second-half comeback from 24 points down at halftime, and for Bill Belichick giving Manning the ball first in overtime, but forcing him to drive into the wind. Manning could not, and the Pats ultimately prevailed, establishing a narrative that Manning chafed at about his perceived frailties in cold and wind. He has chafed no less at the idea that he has not risen to the biggest moments in his career. He will have another one this Sunday, the next on a list that shortens with the inevitability of that light he sees at the end of the tunnel, facing the one player of his era against whom he can be fairly measured. But for a little bit, as the shadows crept across the field and the workers began scrubbing clean the luxury boxes above him, Manning lived up to one expectation he has put on himself -- to enjoy these moments, however few of them remain. Follow Judy Battista on Twitter @judybattista.This morning I received a request to sign an â€œEconomistsâ€™ Statement in Support of John McCainâ€™s Economic Plan.â€ The statement laid out his plans to prevent taxes from rising, to reduce some taxes, such as the corporate income tax, to support free trade agreements, and to restrain the growth of domestic government spending. Notice something missing? I did. Hereâ€™s the answer I sent to the co-chair, economist James Carter: There’s nothing in there I disagree with. [I later found a few things but I agreed with the vast majority.] The problem is that it leaves out a huge part of his economic policy that will make it virtually impossible to achieve what’s in the statement. That huge part is his policy on war–with Iraq and maybe with Iran. War is very expensive and is part of an economic policy. So by signing the statement, I would be helping Senator McCain maintain the fiction that there’s no connection between war and economic policy. I’m unwilling to do that.Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Ten of the pilots failed oral proficiency tests on how to handle an emergency Some 29 pilots working for Taiwanese airline TransAsia have been suspended after failing or missing safety tests, a week after a fatal crash. The airline said the results were not acceptable and promised to improve the training of its pilots. Regulators ordered the tests after a TransAsia plane crashed in Taipei, killing at least 42 people. The airline has offered $470,000 (£309,000) in compensation to the family of each victim. Taiwanese media said all the families had rejected the offer. TransAsia made similar payouts to families of passengers killed in another crash last July. Image copyright AP Image caption One of the plane's engines was shut down for unknown reasons Image copyright AFP Image caption One person is still missing after two more bodies were found in the Keelung River on Wednesday The Civil Aviation Authority ordered the tests after TransAsia flight GE235 crashed into a lake shortly after take-off from Songshan airport in Taipei. Dramatic dashcam footage showed the plane banking severely left and hitting an elevated road before crashing in the Keelung River. Officials have said the left engine of the twin-engine plane was shut down manually by the crew for unknown reasons after the right one "flamed out". The aviation regulator said on Wednesday that out of 68 pilots, 10 failed oral proficiency tests designed to show how they would handle an emergency. Nineteen were unable to take the test because of sickness or travel, and were suspended until they could take it. "The result is not acceptable for us," TransAsia chief executive Peter Chen said during a news conference. "We will definitely strengthen their training." Two more bodies were found in the river on Wednesday and one person is still missing after the crash. Fifteen people survived.Hubert Henry Harrison – The Black Socrates A. Philip Randolph – “We consider prayer as nothing more than a fervent wish; consequently the merit and worth of a prayer depend upon what the fervent wish is.” Bayard Rustin – Principal organizer of the March on Washington in 1963. He was openly gay, anti-communistic, a socialist, a civil rights activist and also a freethinker J. A. Rogers – “The slogan of the Negro devotee is: Take the world but give me Jesus, and the white man strikes an eager bargain with him.” George S. Schuyler – “On the horizon loom a growing number of iconoclasts and Atheists, young black men and women who can read, think, and ask questions, and who impertinently demand to know why Negroes should revere a God who permits them to be lynched, jim-crowed and disfranchised.” John G. Jackson – The family minister once asked John G. Jackson when he was small, “Who made you?” After some thought he replied from his own realization, “I don’t know.” John Henrik Clarke – “As a grade school child in Columbus, Georgia, Clarke recalled inventing notes from local white people to allow his access to library books in his quest for knowledge.” Yosef ben-Jochannan – “The churches can’t help the people when the chips are down because their interest is with the power structure.” Bobby E. Wright – “Guess what you talk about when you go to church? Everything but what to do, you talk about some God that nobody ever did find.” John Ragland – Chauncey Bell Herbert Brown Ken Hamblin Walter E. Hawkins James Forman – Civil Rights Activist Lorraine Hansberry – Playwright known for her drama, “A Raisin in The Sun“. Butterfly McQueen – Maid in MGM’s 1939’s Gone with The Wind.“As my ancestors are free from slavery, I am free from the slavery of religion.” Atlanta Journal and Constitution, Oct. 8, 1989 Charlie “Bird” Parker – was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Parker is widely considered one of the most influential of jazz musicians, along with Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington. A PBS special on the life of “Bird” (i.e., Charlie Parker) quoted his widow as criticizing Parker’s family for giving him a Christian funeral even though they knew “he was irreligious”. Deborah Clark James Baldwin Richard Wright Gregory GrossThe price for West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil touched $100 on January 2, 2008, a new milestone. According to TheOilDrum.com, WTI oil price has been giving a very clear signal of pending shortage for over five years now, and in breaching the symbolic $100 a barrel mark, continues to do so. Those driving the world economy have steadfastly ignored this red warning light. In doing so, they are steering the world toward an energy disaster characterized by shortages, high energy prices, inflation, growing inequity, civil unrest and famine. (PRWEB) January 4, 2008 -- A Signal Ignored Coming as it does on the eve of the Iowa caucuses, the breaking of the $100 dollar barrier for oil prices will likely be treated by many as an almost imperceptible change in our world. By Friday it will likely be lost in the discussion of the political events unfolding. The $100 a barrel price is a sign that times will never be the same again. According to TheOilDrum.com, the world is entering a new era, where the supply of energy will come to dominate the political landscape in a way that is currently not recognized by any of the leading candidates. Over the past two years, citizens have been repeatedly assured that there is no problem with future oil supply. Because of a perceived need to present both sides of the argument, the public has heard false promises of lower future prices, and been beguiled by the possibility of a price collapse in the face of excess supply. Recently, various qualifiers have started to appear in oil discussions. These qualifiers include the need for increased investment in exploration and improved production technologies. The media fails to mention that the needed investment will be at an increasingly diminished rate of return, to the point where it becomes economically unattractive to search harder and harder for very small quantities of oil and gas. Both oil and natural gas resources around the world are found in underground reservoirs of a finite size. Many of these oil reservoirs have now been producing for over fifty years. In that time, the vast quantities of oil that were in place have been reduced. As the quantity of oil remaining in place falls, the rate at which oil can be recovered also falls. This makes it necessary to drill additional wells into the reservoir in order to maintain the level of output. According to TheOilDrum.com, at some point enough oil will have been extracted that no matter how many more wells are drilled, overall production from the field will go into irreversible decline. And as field after field reaches this condition, the overall production of oil for the region will begin to fall. This happened to the United States in 1970 when oil production reached a peak. US production has since declined from a maximum of over 9.6 million barrels a day (mbd), to the current level of around 5 mbd. More recently, the oil fields of the North Sea, the Alaskan fields on the North Slope, and the huge Cantarell field in Mexico have entered irreversible decline. As these fields deplete, smaller fields have been brought into production, but these small fields do not last as long. Drilling activity must be increased in order to find even smaller fields. These, in turn, deplete more and more rapidly, exacerbating the need for new wells. According to TheOilDrum.com, the world is now reaching the point where all of the oil fields of the world are in aggregate coming to peak production. As peak world production draws near, the rate of increase in oil production can be expected to stall because of constrained resources. This can happen even with rising demand. Once production falls short of what is needed, oil prices can be expected to increase, so that demand is brought in line with available supply. At this point, countries that still have a surplus of oil to export are seeing their economies boom. This growth brings an increase in their own demand for oil, which reduces the amount that can be made available for export. This higher oil use by exporting countries reduces the available supply to importing countries, further accelerating the rise in price. The countries least able to afford the increase are likely to be affected most. The consequences of energy supply shortages can be surprisingly great. Energy shortages can lead to public unrest, such as occurred recently in Myanmar. In times of inclement weather, energy shortages can lead to a loss of export supply, if the supplier finds that domestic demand is consuming all that is available. Problems for importing nations then suddenly become worse. One such example is the Iranian gas import situation this past week, and the consequent cut in exports to Turkey. According to TheOilDrum.com, the world has now entered a period of fragile balance between demand and available supply. Unfortunately the situation cannot be expected to improve. The increasingly limited ability of nations such as Saudi Arabia and Russia to increase oil production is already becoming evident, leading to a reduced potential for raising world production. It now appears unlikely that the world will ever see a daily oil production rate of 90 mbd, even when natural gas liquids and condensate are included. Thus, future projections that speak glibly of numbers above this level are foisting a canard on the world's population that all will come to regret. In the coming months, the $100 per barrel marker will be lost in the debate over other issues. According to TheOilDrum.com, limited oil supply is not an issue that will go away. Rather, it is an issue that will steadily increase in importance. Eventually, the cries for action, and for culprits to blame will become over-riding -- at a time well within the first term of the presidential candidates. These candidates now pay little attention to energy policy, but that must and will change. Hopefully, greater concern for energy policy will occur before events force a change, but so far the grim markers along the way have largely been ignored. About The Oil Drum The Oil Drum is a web-based community that discusses all aspects of energy -- from science and technology to its societal and geopolitical impacts. The editors and readers are drawn from many disciplines in academia and industry. The Oil Drum has a staff of more than twenty including individuals from the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia. The Oil Drum's parent organization is the Institute for the Study of Energy and Our Future, a 501(c)3 corporation. The Institute is funded solely by private contributions and advertising revenue from The Oil Drum's website. More information on peak oil and its impacts on energy security is available on The Oil Drum website (www.theoildrum.com). Many thanks to Gail, Nate, Kyle and others who provided feedback for this press release.Anthony Lewis is the multitalented adventurer extraordinaire behind The Lost Valley of London, a website which highlights London’s strange and fascinating history. He’s also an Exhibitions Assistant and tour guide with Shakespeare’s Globe and a voice over artist with over four years of experience. Recently I caught up with Anthony to talk about the Lost Valley of London and all his other projects. The Custodian: How did you first get the idea for LVL (Lost Valley of London)? Anthony: It was kind of an identity crisis—I did acting, and I trained as a filmmaker but I wasn’t making anything in London. And then I was working at the Globe. Because of my love of acting and Shakespeare I became a tour guide there and I suddenly became a huge fan of history and heritage, so I joined the National Trust and began running a ghost tour company with a friend of mine. C: Ghost tour? A: Yeah it’s called Boo Tours—it’s still running now. I left that to concentrate on the Lost Valley stuff. LVL was really born out of a desire to pull everything together. Suddenly I thought: ‘Hang on, I love tour guiding, I love filmmaking, I love heritage and history.’ I also worked as a graphic designer for a few years—so the Lost Valley was born and combined everything I enjoyed doing. I can say this is what I do now, rather than saying I’m a jack of all trades who doesn’t know which tangent he’s going on. C: Do you consider yourself an urban explorer, educator, or thespian—or all of the above? A: I like the urban explorer idea, because that captures all the things that LVL is about. I thought London was such an amazing place to explore, and whenever my friends asked me to describe the appeal of London I would say: “It’s like a Lost World out of a Sir Arthur Conan Doyle novel.” I thought: “Why don’t I make these videos like adventures?” You really cannot get bored of this city. I’ve been here for ten years—I’m from New Zealand—and I feel like I’ve only explored 1% of it. C: I’m so happy to hear that. You’re videos are awesome as well. You’ve got the music, the voices are on point, and the editing is great. Is it just you—or do you have any assistance throughout the production process? A: I lease the music, but the graphic and editing I do all on my own. Sometimes I also get my friends and family to help me out with the filming. C: Did you go to school for that or did you learn it on your own? A: It was part of my overall filmmaking course and it really seemed to strike a nerve for me because it’s taking elements and making a collage. I find that incredibly addictive; making stories out of different elements. C: To be honest, I love the videos—I hadn’t heard of the dinosaurs in Crystal Palace, and I loved your video on the pirates as well. How did you get into voice-acting? A: I went to a voiceover course by company called the Showreel. Again, it came from tour guiding and the desire to convey information. They work with you, analyse you, and see what qualities your voice has—and if they like you and think you’re marketable they’ll make a showreel for you. They just did it so brilliantly. So whenever there’s a male character I try to do the voice myself. C: [laughs] Yeah, I’ve seen the John F. Kennedy one, that was cool. Are your Speaking with Statues videos part of the official LVL page? A: Those are the videos I’m doing for the Londonist website. There are a few more coming out so stay tuned. C: I remember watching an interview with Meryl Streep–she can really mimic so many accents. It’s truly an art. Your Kiwi accent isn’t that strong. A: Oh that’s ten years hanging out with Shakespearean accents. C: You’ve been in London for exactly ten years. Where would you say is the strangest place you’ve been to London? A: My favourite thing is the Parkland Walk that stretches from Finsbury Park to Alexandra Palace. You walk down this green corridor that goes over the streets of north London through a forest, but if you put your head through the trees you’re actually on a bridge way above London and you can see all the streets and people walking around. I call it ‘forest in the sky’. It’s the most surreal juxtaposition I’ve ever seen. You can also walk though some of Queens Wood and Highgate. C: How do you find time to balance all your projects? A: I guess that’s why the videos take so long to produce. It’s all longsuffering friends and loved ones and a lot of sitting around on my laptop. That’s why I’m also exploring independent cafes. Labtops plus cafes are a wonderful thing. I like planning things, but nothing beats when you’ve got this idea and then you just crack on. LVL is going to be on halt for a while because the Londonist is quite keen to get me doing more of the statues videos, but the next one is going to be on Knights. C: Knights? A: Knights. As in ‘knights in shining armour’. St. Johns Gate, the Knights Hospitalier. They became this big fighting force which also specialised in healing—and they still exist today. C: Are you allowed to tell me about any future statues? A: William Shakespeare, Queen Victoria, Charlie Chaplin, and hopefully Winston Churchill and Dwight Eisenhower. C: You have to find the statues? A: It’s a challenge because most of the statues are up really high. Also, a lot of them are in dark copper and they don’t film very well. C: What has been your most difficult or most intense day with LVL or the Globe? A: Probably getting permission to use the Golden Hind. That’s a replica of the Golden Hind that Sir Francis Drake circumnavigated the world with. It’s featured on my Pirates video. It was exhilarating, but it was the most intense piece of planning. To find the right angles and things like that was a challenge. To follow Anthony on his other expeditions see below: The Lost Valley of LondonDave Smith will leave rugby league next month. I won’t miss him, I won’t feel sorry for him, and I won’t feel like he’s been hard done by in his past three years. Rugby league is a brutal game on the field and is no less brutal off it. Take any club in the NRL and you will find cases of staff – and everyone is ‘staff’ in one way or another – who were dismissed, contracts not renewed, marginalised or shut out of the game. Players, coaching and administration staff, club officials can all count themselves part of the hard-luck crew. Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Reddit Email Share Because that is the game, and it’s been that way since 1895. Smith did his job for the time he was there. His achievements are too numerous to mention and I would be repeating what other commentators have outlined. However, rugby league fans should note two points in particular: digital media, and women in league. I believe these will be Smith’s greatest legacies. The second point will be the most quickly acknowledged. Prior to Dave Smith taking over rugby league in Australia, you could count one one hand the women in senior positions in the game. Advertisement Advertisement We now have a Women’s Player of the Year for the first time in 2015, the Jillaroos are actually being paid to play representative games and participation from women and girls playing the game is up 26 per cent. In addition, whenever the NRL had to step in to provide funding to clubs such as the Wests Tigers and Gold Coast Titans, Smith ensured women were represented on those boards. The game doesn’t know it yet, but actively encouraging women’s involvement in every area of the sport will yield future dividends not possible with their exclusion from the ‘Boys’ Club’ of decades past. The second point to address is the media rights – the broadcasting deal that has already been struck with Channel Nine, and the soon-to-be-negotiated pay TV rights. Wrongly, Dave Smith has been ridiculed for excluding News Limited, owner of Fox Sports Australia, in negotiating the television rights. What he has already achieved is securing four games a week, across the same number of nights, on free-to-air television. The broadest possible reach was sought, allowing the most number of rugby league fans in Australia to see the games. This leaves the question of Foxtel and the shut-out of their highly prized and successful Super Saturday content, where they were able to screen three games in succession on most weekends. Soon the Nine Network will have a plum Saturday night NRL game in their schedule while News Limited owner Rupert Murdoch will have to pour himself a cup of hot chocolate and tune in to the Aussie rules. Advertisement Advertisement Yet focusing on Foxtel is missing the real point of Smith’s broadcast strategy. My view is that Fox will get a seat at the negotiating table and will need to come up with a zillion dollars to get even the smallest piece of the rugby league pie. The NRL has recognised that pay TV – or ‘subscription television’ – is an old model. It had its heyday a decade ago when the only apple I held in my hand was a golden delicious. The days of paying for a subscription to a suite of channels, most of which the average subscriber hardly flicks to, just so that they can get their Saturday rugby league, are over. The NRL are in a position to offer its product to everyone who wants to see it for a far more modest fee than Fox charges, with much greater value for the footy fans. In March this year, free-to-air television was available in every household, the internet in 80 per cent of homes, and pay TV in only 27.2 per cent. This last figure is overshadowed by smartphones (73%), tablets (47%), games consoles (43%) and smart TVs (30%). Those numbers of penetration into Australian homes are only growing. Pay television is being left behind while all other digital screens are dwarfing it. Advertisement Advertisement I didn’t understand the versatility of the smart TV until I got one myself. I can use the remote control to source everything on the internet from Peppa Pig to Ingmar Bergman’s classic The Seventh Seal. Once I can get live NRL games, I will want for nothing. Streaming through whatever device you’ve got is the future of broadcasting. The NRL knows it and last year devoted four pages of its annual report to digital initiatives. The current NRL paid digital pass is at present not available through a smart TV because of the contract with Telstra. As soon as the NRL has more authority to wrestle free of these sorts of constraints, the better. So who will see the digital revolution through to its end? It won’t be Smith, who is out the door, but in the interim will be replaced by John Grant. Does that name sound familiar? It should, because he’s the current Australian Rugby League chairman. He’ll also be the interim CEO, having accepted additional duties thrust upon him by the Commission’s nominations committee. What did you say? Members of the same board he chairs recommended he take up additional responsibility? It seems that’s exactly what has happened. So where does that leave the governance of the ARL Commission? You tell me, because I can’t find the Constitution anywhere despite searching for it and asking some league journos to help out. It’s certainly mentioned in the code of conduct on the Play Rugby League website but this is as much as can be found on the NRL websites. Advertisement Advertisement I know you’re going to draw historical comparisons with this. Julius Caesar had emergency powers conferred on him by the Roman Senate and became dictator in 48 BC, Adolf Hitler was given the same by the German Reichstag in 1933, and Emperor Palpatine gleefully accepted more power in a galaxy far, far away. It all worked out fine for the people those guys ruled, you’re telling me? You’d be drawing a longer bow than the Battle of Agincourt to suggest anything like that. Except, as much as I want to refute your claims, I can’t find the Constitution to smack you down. Maybe one day we’ll find it at the bottom of one of Smith’s archive boxes at Grace Storage. Either way, we’re into a new era for the NRL. *** There was one other resignation at the NRL last week that will resonate with me long after Smith heads back down a Welsh coal mine. Don Stuart, the NRL referees’ operations manager has resigned after 18 years with the organisation. He was there when I came to first grade as a touch judge, and he was there when I left. Advertisement Advertisement Donny was responsible for keeping everything running in the referees office – the logistics of officials at eight first grade games a week, clothing, equipment, booking training venues, referees trainers, petty cash, milk in the fridge, liaison with HR at the NRL – you wouldn’t believe the things he had to organise and was left to blame when circumstances changed. Anyone on the outside would not understand his responsibilities or how busy he was. Yet Donny would simply smile and get on with the job. The guy is a professional person and offered me tremendous support in all aspects of my life as a first grade match official. He is owed a debt by the game and although few people in rugby league will understand the role he played, the people who worked with Donny admire him. Donny and his American wife Lori will move to the USA. I wish them both the very best and a new life away from the stress of being part of the NRL referees.The VA in Tomah, Wisconsin, has become entangled in a scandal after a dentist may have infected veterans with hepatitis or HIV: Nearly 600 veterans who received care at the Tomah VA may have been infected with several types of disease due to violations in infection control procedures. VA administrators made the announcement Tuesday afternoon at a press conference. The Tomah VA says it’s in the process of notifying 592 veterans that they may be infected with Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, or HIV after they received care from one particular dental provider. Acting Medical Center Director Victoria Brahm said the dentist was using his own equipment, then cleaning it and reusing it, which violates the VA’s regulations. The dentist’s new assistant noticed the dentist cleaning and reusing his equipment and reported the violation. The VA has said it only “uses sterile and disposable equipment.” From News 8000: Brahm said the dentist had one assistant for most of the time, but it was a different assistant who reported the issue. “He had a replacement dental assistant, and she noted this particular piece of instrument being used,” Brahm
11 Michael Irvin 1995 Cowboys 16 111 1603 10 111 1603 10 Rod Smith 2000 Broncos 16 100 1602 8 100 1602 8 Anquan Boldin 2005 Cardinals 14 102 1402 7 117 1602 8 A bunch of takeaways from that list: • Calvin Johnson really deserved to catch a few more touchdowns during that 2012 season. He had six receptions end inside the opposition’s 2-yard line that year, while no other wide receiver had more than three. • I miss 2013 Josh Gordon. • Mark Moseley really shouldn’t have won that MVP in 1982. Even if you think Wes Chandler wouldn’t have kept that stretch up over a full 16-game season, averaging 129 yards per game is unheard of. He’s more than six yards per game ahead of Megatron’s second-place mark of 122.5. • There sure are a lot of 2014 performances on this list. More on that in a bit. The most important takeaway, though, is how rare it is to see a repeat performance. Jerry Rice, arguably the greatest player in NFL history, is on this list once. Randy Moss, possibly the most dominant receiver in league history during different stretches of his career, is on it once. Even those special few players who appear on this list more than once, like Marvin Harrison and Torry Holt, struggled to pull the feat off in consecutive years. The only player who was this dominant in back-to-back seasons was Megatron, who did it three years in a row between 2011 and 2013, just in case you forgot how great Calvin Johnson is after last season. The point is that it’s close to impossible to average 100 yards per game on a regular basis. Even the best receivers in league history haven’t been able to pull that off. There’s no reason to think Beckham doesn’t deserve to be considered among the best wideouts in football after his rookie campaign, but it’s difficult to project him to be as effective in 2015 as he was in 2014. As good as they were, the vast majority of those players declined the following season. Throwing out the 2014 players (who haven’t had a chance to build off their seasons), that 20-player group saw their receptions per game decline by about 20 percent, their yards per game decline by about 25 percent, and their touchdowns per game decline by about 15 percent. Take those percentages off the top of Beckham’s per-game stats from 2014 and apply them to a 16-game season for 2015 and you get 96 catches for 1,305 yards and 12 touchdowns as a baseline performance for 2015. That’s about the same as Beckham’s cumulative totals from last season, but it would be a step down from how dominant he was on a per-game basis. It’s also making a very dangerous assumption — namely, that Beckham will suit up for all 16 games. While I think most fans who don’t root for teams in green and white, blue and gray, or maroon and yellow would love to see a full season from one of the league’s most exciting players, that’s far from a sure thing. Beckham missed virtually the entire 2014 offseason and the first four games of the regular season with a pair of tears in his hamstring, an injury which he says never fully healed until after the season. Beckham already has missed some 2015 offseason workouts with a minor injury to his other hamstring, and while he should be recovered in time to participate fully during the preseason, those hamstring woes often linger in younger players. Research by Sports Injury Predictor suggests Beckham has a 77 percent chance of reaggravating his hamstring, and research I conducted during my time at Football Outsiders found that hamstring injuries were far more likely to unexpectedly force a player out of the lineup than injuries to any other body part. In addition, we’re rapidly getting to the point where there should be major concerns about the Giants’ ability to handle injuries. As I noted in October 2013, Jerry Reese’s draft classes have suffered from a shockingly high attrition rate, and that was before first-round picks Prince Amukamara (torn biceps) and David Wilson (career-ending spinal stenosis) suffered serious injuries. According to the newly released Football Outsiders Almanac 2015, the Giants have been the most injured team in football over the past two seasons. It’s impossible to identify the specific reason the Giants are suffering so many injuries, and it could just be some sort of total fluke, but the mounting evidence suggests there’s something to be worried about if you’re a Giants player. If Beckham plays 16 games, he should be able to outperform his 12-game stats of 2014, even if he doesn’t quite affect games as much as he did a year ago. If he starts missing games because of injury, it will be much tougher. Since 1990, the average receiver to start 12 or more games in a season averaged right about 14 games the following year. If we use that estimate and assume Beckham will miss two games in 2015, his numbers fall to 84 catches for 1,141 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns. That would put the former LSU star just behind where he was a year ago, but over 14 games as opposed to 12. I don’t think Giants fans would be disappointed by those numbers over a full season, given that first-round picks of the past have delivered disappointing wideouts like Ike Hilliard and Thomas Lewis, but part of what made Beckhamania so exciting last year is that it kept up on a weekly basis. Chop two games and 25 percent of his yards per game off and Beckham goes from being a spectacle to merely being an upper-echelon no. 1 receiver. The other factor that could negatively influence Beckham’s numbers is one that Giants fans will be far happier to see. While it’s impossible to pretend that Eli Manning wouldn’t have found plenty of targets for Beckham, his rise coincided with the departure of no. 1 wideout Victor Cruz, who went down with a devastating knee injury against the Eagles in Week 6 and missed the remainder of the season. Cruz has reportedly been ahead of schedule in recovering from his torn patellar tendon, and it appears he might be ready to participate during Week 1, which seemed incredibly unlikely as he left the field in Philadelphia. It would be naive to suggest Cruz will be the same talent he once was, and even if he had stayed healthy, Beckham would have taken away a fair number of Cruz’s touches. But if Cruz is able to return to the field and serve as a viable slot receiver, it would give the Giants a weapon they didn’t have after he went down last season. And that should take away touches from Beckham. During his incredible run beginning in Week 8 last season, a Cruz-less Giants team force-fed ODB the football. According to TruMedia, over that time span, Beckham ran 381 routes and was targeted 114 times. That’s a target rate of 29.9 percent; just under one out of every three times Beckham ran a route, Manning threw him the football. The only players who ran 300 routes or more over that time frame and were targeted more frequently were Demaryius Thomas and Calvin Johnson. Through the first four weeks of the season, with Cruz in the lead role and Beckham sidelined, Cruz was targeted on just 23.2 percent of Manning’s throws. Offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo shifted the Giants offense to throw shorter routes last year, both to keep Manning upright behind a porous offensive line and to take advantage of Cruz’s strengths. They got away from that some, and Beckham can dominate at any level downfield, but it makes sense that the Giants would want to spread the ball around and target the open receiver in lieu of forcing the ball to Beckham. Defend It Like Beckham There is a case to be made, of course, that Beckham will be able to keep up his performance and continue to post astronomical numbers. It’s certainly the more fun side of the argument, especially if you’re a Giants fan. (Not that I know anybody like that.) That starts with the context of the league in 2015. You remember how that chart of guys with 100 yards per game or more included four wide receivers from 2014? Welcome to the passing era. Teams are playing faster and throwing the ball more than they ever have before, which is making previously rare dominant seasons far more likely to occur. As incredible as Johnson is, it’s not a coincidence it was he (and not Rice) who pieced together three consecutive 100-yards-per-game seasons. NFL teams averaged 3,715 passing yards between 2011 and 2013, up nearly 10 percent from the 3,386 yards they averaged during Rice’s peak from 1993 to 1995. It’s also fair to wonder whether we could even expect Beckham’s performance to improve, let alone be sustained, because he should be getting better as a second-year wideout. The typical career path for even the best wide receivers suggests they often struggle some as rookies; even the likes of Megatron and Julio Jones were inconsistent and oft-injured as rookies before breaking out with huge sophomore campaigns. Granted, players like Anquan Boldin and Terry Glenn posted incredible rookie numbers that they rarely matched over the remainder of their career. But given that Beckham should be more familiar with the speed of the league and that he spent last year playing through the remnants of that hamstring tear, it’s not crazy to think Beckham will be more comfortable and more talented in 2015. He’ll also be surrounded by a better offense this season. While the Giants are already down presumed left tackle Will Beatty, it’s almost impossible to imagine their offensive line will be as injury-riddled as it was a year ago. The arrival of first-round pick Ereck Flowers should be a huge upgrade on the likes of replacement-level talents like Charles Brown and Adam Snyder, who had to fill in at times last season. Even if Cruz takes a few targets away from Beckham, his presence should occupy safeties monitoring his option routes and give Beckham moments to beat them upfield for big plays. And with a year in the offseason program, the entire team should be more familiar with McAdoo’s playbook, which can be further optimized for Beckham’s world-destroying talents. More than anything, there’s the possibility Beckham is that Johnson-esque figure who rises above the pack, that he just happened to arrive in the middle of the first round, fully formed, as the best receiver in football. It’s easy to discount his standout nature because he was only the third wideout taken in the draft last year, but it’s not crazy to imagine the NFL missing on a generational talent; just as the Giants found Beckham at 12, the Texans were able to draft J.J. Watt at 11. It’s always difficult to extrapolate a player’s future based on what he did over 10 games. Sometimes, it’s incredibly representative of what a player is going to do; other times, it’s Josh McCown in Chicago. It’s often right to take a transcendent performance and project it to regress toward the pack, even if it comes from a player who looks and plays the part, as Beckham does. It’s also more fun to see Beckham light up opposing secondaries and stretch the boundaries of what we think human beings can do catching footballs. The numbers suggest Beckham is likely to return to earth and reside with other mortal receivers in 2015. As a Giants fan, here’s to hoping the numbers are wrong.The testimony referred to most often by Senators critical of Mr. Sessions was a sworn statement by Gerald Hebert, who had worked in the Alabama Attorney General's office and is now an attorney in the Justice Department's civil rights division. In his statement, referred to by Senators Biden and Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts, Mr. Hebert said that Mr. Sessions once referred to a white lawyer from Alabama who has litigated many civil rights cases, James Blacksher, as ''a disgrace to his race.'' Mr. Hebert also said that Mr. Sessions had made the negative references to the N.A.A.C.P. and the A.C.L.U. Mr. Figures also presented the committee with an affidavit. Both Mr. Figures and Mr. Hebert quoted Mr. Sessions as saying that he used to think the Klu Klux Klan ''was O.K. until I found out they smoked pot.'' Question of Sensitivity Newsletter Sign Up Continue reading the main story Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Invalid email address. Please re-enter. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. Sign Up You will receive emails containing news content, updates and promotions from The New York Times. You may opt-out at any time. You agree to receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. Thank you for subscribing. An error has occurred. Please try again later. View all New York Times newsletters. Referring to that allegation, Mr. Biden asked, ''Don't you think it was insensitive to say such a thing in the presence of a black man, after a black man had just been hanged by Klan members?'' Mr. Sessions replied, ''Sir, the statement was so ludicrous. There is something in the familiar relationship that I thought he wouldn't have been offended and if he had, he would have said something about it.'' The hearing on Mr. Sessions nomination adjourned after six hours and is to reconvene Wednesday. It was originally scheduled for November, but was delayed after Democrats on the committee asked for more time to investigate allegations against him. At today's hearing Mr. Sessions said that he was ''personally hurt'' by some of the charges, especially an opening statement from Senator Kennedy, who called the nomination ''regrettable.'' ''Mr. Sessions role in the voting fraud case in Alabama, alone, should bar him from sitting on the bench,'' Mr. Kennedy said. Support From Denton Senator Jeremiah Denton, Republican of Alabama, who put forth Mr. Sessions nomination, praised Mr. Sessions as an ''outstanding lawyer.'' Mr. Denton said his opponents were turning the hearings into a ''circus'' and accused blacks in his home state of engaging in ''a conspiracy to discredit me and put me out of office.'' ''It is the intent of certain people to turn this hearing into a retrial of the Perry County case,'' Mr. Denton said in an opening statement. ''I will not allow them to portray me as a racist and a bigot.'' Advertisement Continue reading the main story After nearly an hour of questioning, Senator Strom Thurmond, Republican of South Carolina, the chairman of the committee, said he would vote to approve the nomination. Mr. Sessions was ''well qualified for the position,'' Mr. Thurmond said. If the panel approves the nomination, the Senate will have to vote on confirmation.Ready for some groovy news? Starz has ordered a follow-up series to the cult “Evil Dead” film franchise, titled “Ash vs. Evil Dead.” The new show will reteam director Sam Raimi with longtime producing partner Rob Tapert and star Bruce Campbell, who will reprise his iconic role as Ash, the stock boy, aging lothario and chainsaw-handed monster hunter who has spent the last 30 years avoiding responsibility, maturity and the terrors of the Evil Dead. When a Deadite plague threatens to destroy all of mankind, Ash is finally forced to face his demons — personal and literal. Destiny, it turns out, has no plans to release the unlikely hero from its “Evil” grip. The series is slated for 10 half-hour episodes set to debut in 2015. “Starz first worked with Sam and Rob on ‘Spartacus,’ and we are thrilled to be back in business with them,” said Carmi Zlotnik, Managing Director of Starz. “With Sam writing and directing and Bruce Campbell returning to the screen, we are certain the show will give ‘Evil Dead’ fans around the world the fix they’ve been craving.” “Evil Dead has always been a blast. Bruce, Rob, and I are thrilled to have the opportunity to tell the next chapter in Ash’s lame, but heroic saga. With his chainsaw arm and his ‘boomstick,’ Ash is back to kick some monster butt. And brother, this time there’s a truckload of it,” said Raimi. Related Starz to Develop 'Kin' Series With Reese Witherspoon's Hello Sunshine 'Counterpart' Cancelled at Starz After Two Seasons “I’m really excited to bring this series to the ‘Evil Dead’ fans worldwide — it’s going to be everything they have been clamoring for: serious deadite ass-kicking and plenty of outrageous humor,” said Campbell. “Starz has always been a great creative partner and we are excited to be working with them on this project,” added Robert Tapert. Raimi will direct the first episode as well as serving as executive producer alongside Tapert and Campbell. “Ash Vs. Evil Dead” was written by Sam Raimi, Ivan Raimi and Tom Spezialy. Ivan Raimi will co-executive produce and Aaron Lam will serve as producer. The “Ash vs. Evil Dead” project was packaged by CAA, APA and Craig Jacobson at Hansen, Jacobson, Teller, Hoberman, Newman, Warren, Richman, Rush & Kaller. Marta Fernandez will serve as the executive in charge at Starz. The cabler will retain all domestic and international multiplatform rights including television, home entertainment, and digital. Campbell is repped by APA and Jacobson, Russell, Saltz & Fingerman.Southport Police Department Lt. Aaron Allan was with the Southport Police Department for six years and had more than 20 years of law enforcement experience. An officer in Indiana who had once been honored for his service saving people was killed by a man he was trying to rescue from an overturned car, police said. Lt. Aaron Allan, a 38-year-old with the Southport Police Department, responded to reports of an overturned car in front of a house on Thursday afternoon. As Allan approached, he was fatally shot by a man hanging upside down from the vehicle. Police identified the suspect Friday as 28-year-old Jason Brown. “The Southport Police Department is mourning the tragic loss of Lieutenant Aaron Allan who was killed in the line of duty after he was shot while trying to help,” the department said in a statement. While police haven’t released a potential motive for the incident, Traci Wagner, a longtime friend of Brown’s, said the shooting was “out of character” for him. Instagram Jason Brown, 28, is accused of killing Allan. “There’s no winner in this situation,” Wagner told Fox59. “There’s no winner. There just isn’t. So many lives were ruined last night, yesterday by all of this.” Allan was with the Southport Police Department for six years and had more than 20 years of law enforcement experience. In 2015, he was recognized as officer of the year after he saved a man’s life at the Indiana State Fairground by performing chest compressions on the man for 10 minutes until help could arrive. “I’m very surprised,” he told The Southport Times after being recognized for his heroics. “It’s part of the job. I’m overwhelmed.”? From IGN, Mark Hamill discusses voicing the Joker in the Batman: Arkham Asylum sequel: But with The Joker forming such a large part of his acting career, it seems Hamill took some convincing to sign on for the sequel. “My answer to [developers Rocksteady]for the sequel was, ‘Guys, we’re never going to be able to top the original.’ It was so claustrophobic. There were so many abilities like the stealth mode, and all those things you can do with the new technology. I wanted to be able to say I’d gone out on a high note.” … So what changed his mind? “I got on the phone with Rocksteady and they really reassured me and told me what they were going to do with the sequel. But I’m sworn to secrecy!” Nevertheless, there’s plenty to be gauged from his final remarks, certainly about the fate of The Joker in this second part. “This will be my last, there’s no question about that. But it’s the last hurrah.” Mark Hamill is done voicing the Joker — a sad day for nerd-kind. Still, like he said, if he’s done, there probably won’t be a better way to go out than Arkham Asylum 2. Unless, you know, he wants to bomb an amusement park with Joker gas or something. Ed’s Note: You may have noticed that TR updates have NOT gone back to normal. Suffice to say my internet connection is not fixed yet. Today wlil be wonky but maybe tomorrow things won’t suck? Maybe?The degree of the economic downturn of the last year is surprising even to Warren Buffett, often called the world’s best investor. “It has fallen off a cliff,” said Buffett, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, in an interview that aired on CNBC’s Squawk Box early Monday. “Not only has the economy slowed down, people have changed their behavior like nothing I have ever seen.” Buffett said that so far, the message from the government has been “muddled,” but that the government will play a big role in turning the economy around, though he said it won’t happen fast. “You can’t turn around on a dime,” Buffett said. He said people’s changed habits have been good news for companies like Wal-Mart, and bad new for luxury goods, like high-end jewelry. — Lavonne KuykendallPresident Barack Obama is expected to make gun control a major thrust of his final State of the Union speech Tuesday evening. There will even be a seat left open near the first lady, symbolizing those Americans lost to gun violence. Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton has been depicting her 2016 opponent Sen. Bernie Sanders as too close to the gun industry, and picking up endorsements from gun-safety groups in the process. But the leading Democrats’ image as staunch opponents of the gun industry isn’t the whole story. Some of Obama’s and Clinton’s biggest political benefactors are firms with a financial stake in the sale of guns and ammunition. And neither Obama nor Clinton has joined the growing push —backed by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio — to pressure institutional investors to divest from firearms firms. According to Nasdaq records, campaign finance reports and Securities and Exchange Commission filings reviewed by International Business Times, executives at the financial firms and hedge funds that hold some of the largest ownership stakes in firearms and ammo manufacturers have donated more than $15 million to the Democratic National Committee as well as to Obama and Clinton’s respective reelection campaigns and super PAC. Those firms have also spent $4.1 million on donations to the Clinton Foundation and speaking fees to the Clinton family. Some of the firms’ executives have been among the biggest donors to the Democrats’ and their political machine: Some of the firms investing in the guns and ammo industry may be accumulating the stocks on behalf of their clients — BlackRock, for example, told the New York Times in June that the firm owns passive stakes mirroring stock index funds. Others, like hedge funds, may be buying the ownership stakes directly for their own firms. In both cases, however, the firms are funneling crucial investment capital — and making money from — the firearms industry and also delivering campaign cash to key Democrats calling for stricter gun control measures. While Obama has made gun control a signature issue of his second term, he recently signed legislation allowing the Pentagon to sell surplus handguns to the public, despite warnings from federal officials that the weapons in question are “virtually untraceable” and “popular crime guns.” Clinton has been emphasizing gun control in her 2016 campaign only eight years after the New York Times noted that she “described herself as a pro-gun churchgoer” when pitching her candidacy to voters in 2008.As Houthi fighters wrap up the battle over the key southern city of Aden, capturing the palace and the last district of the former southern capital, there is a growing civilian exodus. The war has been displacing civilians all across Yemen, and in the port city of Aden, many are fleeing by boat. Disaster struck one of the fleeing boats, which was hit by shells apparently fired by the Houthis, killing at least 32 civilians. Cities across Yemen are experiencing not only violence from fighting and Saudi airstrikes, but shortages of basic goods as the Saudi navy blockades the ports, and bombs airports. Ironically, Yemen has itself long been a destination for refugees from the Horn of Africa, but with the humanitarian calamity growing, many seem to be looking to flee to those self-same African nations, hoping the situation in places like Somalia is at least marginally better. Last 5 posts by Jason DitzThe argument that Australia’s energy policy framework desperately needs an upgrade gained more support over the weekend, as rumours of Hazelwood’s impending closure solidified, the Grattan Institute made the case for credible national climate policy, and The Climate Institute’s latest annual polling showed vividly that the public are on board with the transition to clean energy, but don’t think their governments are. If Hazelwood is indeed to close (or start closing) in April, this is no surprise. It has been on the cards for years, as the local community has been well aware. The Committee for Gippsland’s recent report called for a transition plan to enable the regional economy to diversify beyond coal generation. A plan – not just for Hazelwood but for all of Australia’s ageing, high-carbon coal stations – is urgently needed. And yet, although the exit of South Australia’s Northern power station was an underlying factor in the state’s July power price peaks, although analysis has repeatedly found that Australia’s climate goals will require all existing coal stations to retire by the 2030s, and although decarbonising electricity is an essential ingredient for deep emissions reductions across the whole economy, no hint of a plan for the nation’s coal stations has yet emerged from the federal or state governments. The government does not need to pretend that this won’t happen. The Australian public already knows. As The Climate Institute’s polling revealed, nearly three-quarters of Australians (72%) believe that it is inevitable that the country’s current coal-fired power stations will be closed and replaced with renewable energy. The real question is, how should we manage this transition? From the polling: only 23% of Australians believe that the retirement and replacement of coal stations should be left to the electricity companies to sort out. Northern’s exit exemplified this approach – ageing and apparently running out of coal, the station was increasingly uncompetitive. Its owners announced the decision to retire the station in [October 2015], and by [May] this year it was done. The short period between announcement and implementation of the closure plans allowed little time for the affected community, the state government, or energy market institutions to prepare for the impact of the closures on the Port Augusta economy and the South Australian electricity system. As we noted in April, “the South Australian experience is less a template than a signal to other governments of the need to plan ahead for the transition to zero-emissions electricity”. It is not surprising that Australians do not want to repeat this pattern with Hazelwood or any other coal station. What do they support? Around three-quarters of Australians agree that governments need a plan for the orderly phase-out of coal so that workers and communities can prepare. And while most (70%) agree that we should start phasing out coal generation gradually so we can manage the costs over time, another 21% want to replace them as soon as possible, even if it costs more in the short term. Only 8% support keeping coal stations running for as long as possible and dealing with the costs and negative impacts in the future. The Grattan Institute’s report makes the entirely reasonable point that state-based energy policies can lead to unexpected consequences in the national electricity market, so it is better to have credible, stable national policy. One problem with this is that while most Australians agree that the federal government should lead action on climate change (67%), they think it’s done a pretty poor job so far. Just 19% are positive about the federal government’s performance in this area. State governments do no better, apart from the South Australian government which scores very slightly higher at 21%. Large majorities of Australians (around 75%) believe that both state and federal governments need to have a plan for the transition from coal to clean energy. Moreover, we already have state-based renewable energy targets, while, as Grattan notes, current national energy policies are not credible or reliable. So the solution at this point is not to get rid of the states’ renewable policies. These are useful stepping stones toward greater national ambition, and removing them would only create more uncertainty for the energy sector. Instead, states should develop their policy frameworks to take into account the needs of the broader energy market, the necessary evolution of national climate policies, and the implications for regional economies. The federal government’s 2017 climate policy review could provide some much-needed clarity, provided it faces up to the electricity sector’s necessary transformation and sets a pathway to net zero emissions by mid-century. Hazelwood’s rumoured closure is the latest symptom of an energy system struggling to adapt. There’s no need to panic, yet, but we can’t afford for policy makers to keep dithering, either. The public are ready and waiting for state and federal governments to get their act together.British scientists believe they may have identified how humans could potentially live forever - and it’s all about flatworms Experts at Nottingham University have been examining how two species of flatworms are able to regenerate themselves again and again – raising hopes that scientists could find ways of alleviating the effects of ageing in human cells. Flatworms, known as planarian worms, have long fascinated scientists with their apparently limitless ability to regenerate. During the study 20,000 new and fully-formed flatworms were created from just one original worm by splitting it into tiny pieces. The research team studied how the flatworms manage to replace aged or damaged tissues and cells in a bid to understand what drives their longevity. Dr Aziz Aboobaker, who led the study, said: “We’ve been studying two types of planarian worms; those that reproduce sexually, like us, and those that reproduce asexually, simply dividing in two. “Both appear to regenerate indefinitely by growing new muscles, skin, guts and even entire brains over and over again. [Related link: The world’s longest living animals] Key to a flatworm’s immortality lays in its telomeres – tiny sections of DNA that cap the ends of chromosomes, protecting them from damage and the loss of cell functions linked to ageing. Each time a cell divides the protective telomere ‘cap’ gets shorter. When they get too short, the cell loses its ability to renew and divide. According to the study an immortal animal would expect cells to be able to maintain telomere length indefinitely so that they could continue to replicate. Dr Aboobaker predicted that planarian worms actively maintain the ends of their chromosomes in adult stem cells, leading to theoretical immortality. Speaking about the findings, Dr Aboobaker said: “Our data satisfy one of the predictions about what it would take for an animal to be potentially immortal. “The next goals for us are to understand the mechanisms in more detail and to understand more about how you evolve an immortal animal.”A Mitsubishi Motors dealership is shown in Poway, California July 27, 2015. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo TOKYO (Reuters) - Mitsubishi Motors Corp’s top two executives are likely to resign over the Japanese automaker’s manipulation of fuel economy data, Japanese media reported on Wednesday, in a scandal that has halved the company’s market value in a week. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Osamu Masuko has already told some affiliated dealers and parts makers of his intention to resign, the Yomiuri daily said. Separately, the Mainichi daily reported President and Chief Operating Officer Tetsuro Aikawa has decided to step down. Japan’s sixth-biggest automaker said on Tuesday it used fuel economy testing methods that did not comply with Japanese regulations for 25 years. It said it would set up an external committee to investigate the matter and report the results in three months. It first flagged the manipulation on four models last Wednesday. Masuko and Aikawa are expected to resign after the committee reports the results, according to the newspapers. A Mitsubishi Motors spokesman declined to comment.Mark Meadows is no stranger to the public eye, but not because he wants attention. The local owner of a Birmingham, AL, Chick-fil-A, Meadows is known around those parts for being something of a Good Samaritan. Last year, for instance, when the “Snowpocalypse” blanketed parts of Alabama with snow and stranded motorists along Highway 280, Meadows distributed chicken sandwiches and chicken biscuits free of charge to drivers stuck in their cars. And last Wednesday, when a young man came in from the cold and asked if he could do some chores in exchange for food, Meadows didn’t hesitate to help. A customer caught the incident, snapped a photo, uploaded it to Facebook, and has made Meadows famous once again for his generous heart: The caption below the photo reads: “I’m a Chick-fil-A fan and have been for years. I trust the food for my son and support companies that are founded on Christian beliefs. What I saw today just confirms why this chain is so successful — God blesses His people. My son and I were at the location on Highway 280 in Birmingham, AL when a man came in to escape the 35 degree temps and strong winds with all of his earthly possessions strapped to his back. Most businesses would force him out, but I watched as the manager walked up to him and asked if he could do anything for him. Before the man could even answer, the manager asked if he had a pair of gloves and walked to the table at which he’d been sitting and picked up his own. As he handed the man his gloves, he asked another employee to get him something to eat. It was wonderful to see your employees being the hands and feet of Jesus, and that my son was able to witness it all. Thank you for putting your money where your mouth is. Edit: I just learned this man is the owner and that makes it even better IMO.” When AL.com asked Meadows why he was always lending a hand to his customers, Meadows didn’t seem to think he did anything special: “I just did the right thing,” he said. “I’m simply awe struck about all this attention.” People who know Meadows personally have spoken up on the store location’s Facebook page, sharing that this is typical behavior from the 25-year owner/operator: Meadows may not feel like his actions are extraordinary, but it is certainly clear that he’s touched his community in an amazing way.Shortage of freshwater is a serious problem in many regions worldwide, and is expected to become even more urgent over the next decades as a result of increased demand for food production and adverse effects of climate change. Vast water resources in the oceans can only be tapped into if sustainable, energy-efficient technologies for desalination are developed. Energization of desalination by sunlight through photosynthetic organisms offers a potential opportunity to exploit biological processes for this purpose. Cyanobacterial cultures in particular can generate a large biomass in brackish and seawater, thereby forming a low-salt reservoir within the saline water. The latter could be used as an ion exchanger through manipulation of transport proteins in the cell membrane. In this article, we use the example of biodesalination as a vehicle to review the availability of tools and methods for the exploitation of cyanobacteria in water biotechnology. Issues discussed relate to strain selection, environmental factors, genetic manipulation, ion transport, cell-water separation, process design, safety, and public acceptance.Fresh off their collective hissy fit over Donald Trump putting ketchup on his steak, anti-Trump leftists have now been triggered by pictures that show Kellyanne Conway putting her feet on a couch in the Oval Office. The photos caused a liberal freak out across the board, with Keith Olbermann leading the charge, tweeting, “Get your fucking feet off the furniture, @KellyannePolls. This isn’t your home.” Get your fucking feet off the furniture, @KellyannePolls. This isn’t your home. https://t.co/12DpukKDkS — Keith Olbermann (@KeithOlbermann) February 28, 2017 Chicago Tribune columnist Rex Huppke demanded answers, tweeting, “I have so many questions about this photo, but chief among them is why nobody is telling Kellyanne Conway to get her damn feet off the couch.” I have so many questions about this photo, but chief among them is why nobody is telling Kellyanne Conway to get her damn feet off the couch pic.twitter.com/tU0CBS36Fe — Rex Huppke (@RexHuppke) February 28, 2017 NeverTrumper Louise Mensch even insinuated the behavior was racist. No class @KellyannePolls – mutton dressed as lamb, feet on the couch, don’t look at African-American leaders, your momma must be ashamed https://t.co/iOPjJSf4Nl — Louise Mensch (@LouiseMensch) February 28, 2017 “Shoes on the couch in the Oval Office,” scorned Buzzfeed deputy news director Jon Passantino. Shoes on the couch in the Oval Office pic.twitter.com/h2MXUocEar — Jon Passantino (@passantino) February 28, 2017 “Trying to imagine the reaction if any Obama admin. official sat on a couch in the Oval like that,” wondered MSNBC producer Kyle Griffin. Trying to imagine the reaction if any Obama admin. official sat on a couch in the Oval like that. — Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) February 28, 2017 Well, wonder no more. Barack Obama himself was pictured literally hundreds if not thousands of times putting his feet up on furniture in the Oval Office, but intellectual consistency isn’t a characteristic of liberals. Journalists chose to make the entire story about where Conway put her feet rather than talk about Trump’s meeting with leaders of black universities and colleges. This is yet another example of Trump derangement syndrome, where every single tiny behavior or action by Trump or any of his administration gets inflated into a giant talking point. The outrage over Conway’s couch faux pas follows a collective leftist hissy fit over Donald Trump’s hate crime of ordering his steak well done and putting ketchup on it. Jezebel summed up the response, sniping that Trump had behaved “like a damn child” by asking for the tomato-based condiment with his meat. OK, calm down triggly puff, it’s not the end of the world. This so enraged many that when I made a joke about anyone ordering their steak less than medium rare being a hipster,
, a look at the first Tribal Council, and much more. I’ll be cranking out this goodness daily in the weeks leading up to the premiere, so be sure to follow me on Twitter (@gordonholmes) for up-to-the-minute updates on all of this season’s “Survivor” fun. [xfinity-record-button id=”7116600190773202112″ program_type=”series”] Name: So Kim Age: 31 Current Residence: Long Beach, California Occupation: Retail Buyer Gordon Holmes: You said that you’ve had a very challenging year. What has been so challenging? So Kim: I turned 30… Holmes: Oh…you poor thing. Kim: (Laughs) No…but listen. There’s a lot more that comes with it. I got a divorce, I resigned from my job to go on this adventure. Holmes: You’re no longer a Macy’s buying director. Kim: Correct. I’m no longer at Macy’s. I’ll always have a job there if I want. But, I’ve always been a careerist my entire life. I’m a Capricorn, we’re dedicated, we’re steadfast, we get what we want. We’re ambitious. But, I feel like I’ve let my life pass me by. To give all of that up, and then to get here, “Survivor” has been a huge dream of mine, and then to get sent back? This year cannot possibly get any worse. Holmes: To be clear, you were out here for season twenty nine. Kim: I was out here before. Holmes: You were a part of a Blood vs. Water team. Kim: Yeah, I was out here with my sister and she had a medical emergency. Holmes: I hope everything turned out alright. Kim: She’s fine now. But, unfortunately we couldn’t play together. Holmes: What was it like to be so close and then to not get to play? You didn’t know if they’d ever bring you back. Kim: It was heartbreaking. My sister and I, it was really an opportunity for us to grow closer and to forge a better relationship. And, I wanted it for her. I’m the “Survivor” fan and she got more involved in the process throughout. And she eventually wanted it for herself. But I’m very grateful to be here. Holmes: So, after a very tumultuous year…here you are. Kim: And I’m here to win. I’m holding nothing back. I think I have everything it takes to win. I think with my personality…I can work with a lot of different types. I’m stronger, and more mentally tough than I’ve ever been. I’m ready to play. Holmes: With all you’ve been through, when Jeff Probst hands you that big check… Kim: (Laughs) Yeah, it’s going to have been worth it. Holmes: Your bio says you have about 100 pet peeves…dishonesty, narcissism, losing, complacency…you’re going to see most of them on “Survivor.” Kim: Yeah, I know. Holmes: Are you good at keeping things internally, or are you going to blow up on someone who has a “princess attitude”? Kim: The one thing that I can’t fathom is the hunger and the sleepiness. I like to think that I am good with people. I have to know you really well to get on your case about it. Everything I do or say I try to do with a smile. I’ve been boxing a lot. It’s taught me that you can’t do things out of anger, you have to be patient. You have to set up your shot. Like Ali said, you’ve got to float like a butterfly and sting like a bee. I think I also know how to take things in stride. Aggressive females get a target on their back. I’m smart enough to bypass that. Holmes: Any issues with lying? Kim: We’re playing “Survivor.” You can’t get to the end without lying. Anybody who has a problem lying is going to get voted out. I’m not looking at it as lying, so much as I’m going to change my mind. That happens naturally. I’m hoping not to use constrictive words such as “I promise,” it’s more like “I’ll consider.” Holmes: So, no swearing on your family. Kim: Right. But, we’ll see. I’m going to try as hard as possible to not completely break promises. But, circumstances will change. People have to learn to be flexible. I’m going to protect myself and put myself in the position to win. It’s a business trip. Holmes: This isn’t kindergarten. Kim: Yeah! Holmes: You’re recently single. Is flirting going to be a part of your game? Kim: (Laughs) For sure. I’ll pull all of the cards out. Whatever I need. And it’s not even flirting, it’s…anyone that knows me will say that I’m very inquisitive. I’m curious and ask a lot of questions. I don’t mean to even be a flirt. But people think I’m a flirt because I ask personal questions. I cross the line way too much. I’ve gone through a lot, I’ve had hardships, and I’m very open to share the things I’ve gone through. There was a time in my life that I was so insecure and you think, “Oh my God, I’m so weird because I have these insecurities.” But really so many people have these same issues. And the more you share it, the more open people are. And I am single. I want to fall in love. I’m a romantic at heart. Holmes: Win “Survivor,” fall in love, we’re gonna turn this year around. Kim: (Laughs) Holmes: And does it bother you that I’m asking all the questions? Kim: No. Holmes: Good, cause that’s my job. Holmes: Do you have any experience roughing it? Kim: I do. And people probably look at me and think I’m high-maintenance, but I’m actually a total tomboy. I think some girls are worried about not showering and not brushing your teeth. I couldn’t care less. I’m worried about being hungry because I love eating, I’m going to go into sugar withdrawal for sure. I eat tons of candy and tons of junk food. Holmes: I’m a monster when I don’t eat. Kim: You know the Snickers commercial where they turn into a diva? That’s me. Holmes: How long have you been a “Survivor” fan? Kim: For years. Probably since season twelve. Holmes: Your answer to the “which player am I like” question… Kim: I don’t want to compare myself. I could follow someone’s else path or I could create my own. To me, that’s what I’m about. I’m not about following. Maybe that’s an ego thing, but there aren’t a lot of memorable women and there’s probably a reason for that because women get out here and they play the submissive role and they get scared and they censor themselves. They want to hide under the biggest (expletive deleted) guy. You can get far doing that or you can play your own game and have a strategy. It’s tricky, if women play the same game as men they’re perceived as bitchy or aggressive. Holmes: Unfortunately, that’s more of a society thing than a “Survivor” thing. Kim: So, how do you play a strong game but still be perceived as a strong, fun, female? It’s tough. Holmes: It’s almost like you’d have to keep reminding people that it’s fun and business and not personal. Kinda like Tony. Kim: Yeah. Holmes: OK, where I was going with this is; if you could align with any player, who would it be? Kim: I really like smart people. I think you’ve got to align yourself with smart people and people who think they are smart but are really dumb. I relate to Tony. He’s paranoid as (expletive deleted) and I’m paranoid too. But all the measures he was taking with the spy shack, and planning ahead…that’s how I think. I think he’d be a good person to play with, but he took it too seriously. It’s fun. The spy shack is fun. So, he forgot to inject the humor in there. I also love Sandra because she says whatever the (expletive deleted) she wants and never lies about who she is. Holmes: What do you think of this cast? Kim: The first person I noticed was Max Dawson. He’s a big reality person. That’s his job to know about reality shows. He blogs about it. He probably knows more about “Survivor” than any other contestant out here. So, I’d love to align with him and make some big moves together. And I think he’s cocky enough that he’s going to hang himself. Holmes: Who else? Kim: I think that everyone is out here to play. Everyone is journaling, everyone is taking this very seriously. There’s this surfer dude. He’s like half Malcolm/half Ozzy. He seems really charming, really nice. There’s a woman who I call “identity crisis” because one day she comes out looking like a professor, the next she comes out wearing tie-dye and a neon headband. Right off the bat, she’s someone I wouldn’t want to work with. She seems bossy. I think the females…I can’t get a good sense of. I feel better about working with the males. I’d like to be in a final four with three males and then flip them on their ass. Holmes: If there is a twist, what do you think it’ll be? Kim: I’m already thinking it’s three tribes of six. Or, there are two people meeting us. I think there’s something weird going on with ages. There are clearly age buckets. There are six people in their twenties, six people in their thirties, and six people in their forties and above. I don’t think it’s Brains vs. Brawn vs. Beauty. That doesn’t seem to work out with this group. Holmes: They asked me to be in the None of the Above tribe… Kim: Aww… Holmes: Aww…. Kim: That’s too bad. Or, you could be in all of the above. Holmes: That’s right! Kim: That’s the one I want to be in. Don’t miss the 90-minute premiere of “Survivor: Worlds Apart” on Wednesday, February 25, 2015 at 8 pm ET on CBS. The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.On May 10, 2013, two men took the elevator up Toronto’s shimmering Ritz-Carlton hotel to a condominium owned by the DeGroote family. They were met by Michael DeGroote, who complained that he had been “robbed” by the Carbone brothers. “They shouldn’t be in business … slimebags,” the billionaire told his guests, in the first of two conversations that were recorded without Mr. DeGroote’s knowledge. Copies of those recordings were entered into the court record and obtained by The Globe and the CBC. Photo: Former Crown attorney Peter Shoniker, who would consult for Dream partner Andrew Pajak, leaves his home in Toronto's Rosedale neighbourhood in 2004. (J.P. Moczulski/The Globe and Mail) One of his guests – Peter Shoniker, a former Crown attorney and criminal-defence lawyer who had pleaded guilty to money laundering in 2006 after he was caught up in an undercover RCMP sting – was the son of someone who had been close to Mr. DeGroote: Mr. Shoniker’s late father, Eddie Shoniker, had chaired the Ontario Highway Transport Board, which regulates the trucking industry, at a time when Laidlaw was one of the biggest players in the industry. The elder Shoniker, a onetime fundraiser for Ontario’s Progressive Conservative party, had gotten to know Mr. DeGroote, and the billionaire thought highly of him. So he responded positively when Eddie’s son, Peter, contacted him through an intermediary, Mr. DeGroote later said in a sworn statement. Peter Shoniker explained to Mr. DeGroote that he had been consulting for Mr. Pajak at Dream, that he was familiar with the company’s books, and that he could help Mr. DeGroote prove that he had been defrauded. That revelation gave rise to the meeting. The man accompanying Mr. Shoniker introduced himself to Mr. DeGroote as Alex Visser. He was large and loud, with dark black hair, and was surprisingly fresh-faced for someone who claimed to be 60. Photo: Alex Visser told Mr. DeGroote that the Carbone brothers had defrauded Mr. DeGroote and offered to gather evidence against them. (Supplied photo) He said he was a former soldier – he didn’t specify for which country – who had been hoodwinked by the Carbones in a casino deal gone wrong in Montenegro. Mr. DeGroote wanted to know where his money had gone, and Mr. Visser said he could help him. Using contacts he had in the Dominican Republic, he was prepared to gather up witnesses and affidavits for Mr. DeGroote to prove that the Carbones, in building Dream, had paid less for casinos than they reported, and had pocketed the difference. “I’ll bring you everybody from their organization,” Mr. Visser said. “You ask me to do whatever... I’m at your disposal, Mike.” Mr. DeGroote was adamant that he wanted Mr. Visser to speak with his lawyers at the Bay Street powerhouse McCarthy Tétrault. But Mr. Visser was dismissive of the idea. He aggressively pressed the billionaire – repeatedly asking Mr. DeGroote to look him directly in the eyes – to unleash him on the Carbones. The exchange seemed to exhaust the billionaire; at one point he had to lie down. “I’m going to make sure the Carbones can’t even sell chestnuts on the corner of the fucking street,” Mr. Visser said. DeGroote: “Well, hopefully they’ll be in jail by then.” Visser: “Fuck jail. Jail’s too nice.” Mr. Visser said he needed $500,000 and Mr. DeGroote’s complete confidence. He described how he would need to pay certain Dream officials to procure their evidence and testimony. “I’m looking you in the eyes and I’m not wavering. … When I tell you you’re going to need $5,000 to pay off the head of security for a statement, you’re going to give him $5,000.” Mr. DeGroote replied, “I cannot buy evidence.” But Mr. Visser prodded the billionaire, trying to get him to yes. They discussed the possibility of giving Mr. Visser an ownership stake in the company once Dream was no longer controlled by the Carbones. Eventually, Mr. DeGroote agreed to wire Mr. Visser $250,000, and promised to pay him an additional $250,000 if he could come up with proof that he had been defrauded. “I’m ready to go to war,” Mr. Visser said. “You’ve got to do it quietly.” “I’m stealth. I’m the shadow of the shadows. You hired me to be your shadow … You’re a man that can take care of me.” The discussion continued the next day at the Ritz. Mr. DeGroote said he had spoken with his lawyer, who had advised him that he shouldn’t “dare do it.” Mr. DeGroote said he didn’t want Mr. Visser to do anything for now, but nonetheless agreed to retain him for possible work in the future. DeGroote: “Give me your wiring instructions, where to send the money to.” Visser: “Okay.” DeGroote: “No strings attached. I am not buying anything right now. But you’ll keep it in mind in the future. I am going to send you $150,000 Monday morning for nothing.” He explained that, before he could deploy Mr. Visser, he needed to discuss the matter with his lawyers in more detail: “When I get things straightened out with the lawyers, how to do it, then we’ll be in touch. Then we’ll make it a deal. I have to do it right or I can’t do it at all.” Unbeknownst to the octogenarian, Mr. Visser was one of many identities utilized by the intense man standing before him. Photo: Clockwise from top left: Mr. Visser’s Bosnian passport under the name Željko Žderić, his Croatian passport under the name Pavle Kolić and his Canadian passport under the name Sasha Vujacic. Each passport indicates a different place of birth. (Supplied photos) Crown attorneys and police across Ontario know Mr. Visser as a con artist named Zeljko Zderic, with a record of dozens of criminal convictions for, among other crimes, fraud, assault and uttering threats. He’s also known to carry a Croatian passport with the name Pavle Kolic, as well as a Canadian passport with the name Sasha Vujacic. (In the underworld he is simply known, like a criminal rock star, as Sasha.) The billionaire was also unaware that his new acquaintance was recording these conversations – and that at some point in the days after their meetings, he would give the Carbones snippets of his first exchange with Mr. DeGroote. The brothers filed the recordings in response to Mr. DeGroote’s suit, arguing that there was a conspiracy to derail their business. Mr. DeGroote responded by saying that after the meeting he had received legal advice that paying for affidavits or evidence would be illegal, so he never sent Mr. Visser any money. He also sent Mr. Visser a letter four days after the meeting stating that the deal was off. “It is not my desire to interfere in the running of the business,” he wrote. (Judge Newbould of the Ontario Superior Court ruled in November, 2013, that Mr. DeGroote’s discussion with the gangster did not undermine his claim of being defrauded by the Carbones. “A huge amount of money appears to have been misused, and it is understandable that without any reports that he was entitled to, [Mr. DeGroote] would try to obtain evidence from someone who would know the situation in the Dominican Republic,” the judge stated.) Relying on Mr. Visser also proved to be damaging for the Carbones. Given their shared penchant for recording conversations, it should have come as no surprise to them that Mr. Visser was also wired up when negotiating with one of them. Mr. Visser would later claim that in one of those recorded conversations Francesco Carbone discussed the idea of engaging him to murder Mr. Pajak. Starting in late July, a lawyer for Mr. Visser entered into talks with Mr. DeGroote about handing over Mr. Visser’s recordings. They were unable to reach an agreement because Mr. DeGroote refused to pay for evidence, the billionaire said in an affidavit. But on July 30, Mr. Shoniker agreed to go to the Ritz to play the recording of the alleged murder discussion for Mr. DeGroote; he arrived with Mr. Visser’s son. What Mr. DeGroote heard showed how dangerous this venture had become. Visser: “What do I have to make Pajak look like? Like just a shooting, or just like a … But can we whack him in the Dominican?” Francesco Carbone: “No.” Visser: “We can’t kill him in the Dominican?” Carbone: “It’s worse, bro.” Visser: “Why?” Carbone: “It’s worse there. Because it’ll fucking hit every fucking paper … the fuck you kidding? Bro, you’re fucking destroying me. It will be a catastrophe. Think about it. Fucking here it’s a regular fucking builder – big fucking deal. Over there it’s the president of Dream Corporation.” Now it was Mr. DeGroote’s turn to pull a fast one. Unbeknownst to Mr. Shoniker, Toronto police officers were hiding at the Ritz, also listening in. They swooped in, seized the computer and took Mr. Visser’s son and Mr. Shoniker in for questioning, according to two sources present for the meeting. Mr. Visser’s response was to flee the country. A little more than a week later, the police charged Francesco Carbone and Mr. Visser with counselling to commit murder. (Mr. Visser was charged under the identity of Zeljko Zderic, but the charges were dropped two weeks later.) Mr. Carbone surrendered his passport – which meant he could no longer travel to the Dominican Republic. In December, five months after the arrest, the charges against Mr. Carbone were also dropped. As is its standard practice, the Crown did not publicly explain the decision. Mr. Carbone has since launched a malicious-prosecution lawsuit against Toronto police and the Attorney General’s office. As for the contents of the recording, he says, “I believe the tape was spliced and cut.”An oddball superconductor is the first of its kind — and if scientists are lucky, its discovery may lead to others. At a frigid temperature 5 ten-thousandths of a degree above absolute zero, bismuth becomes a superconductor — a material that conducts electricity without resistance — physicists from the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in Mumbai, India, report online December 1 in Science. Bismuth, a semimetallic element, conducts electricity less efficiently than an ordinary metal. It is unlike most other known superconductors in that it has very few mobile electrons. Consequently, the prevailing theory of superconductivity doesn’t apply. The result is “quite important,” says theoretical physicist Marvin Cohen of the University of California, Berkeley. New ideas — either a different theory or a tweak to the standard one — areA radical group that Recep Tayyip Erdogan might have joined in his youth is now a challenge to Turkey's prime minister.reports. ISTANBUL // Young Turkish Islamists have a warning for those who regard Turkey's blend of a free-market democracy with a Muslim identity as a model for a better future after the Arab Spring. "They should stop seeing Turkey as a dream and start seeing it as a nightmare," said Muhammed Cihad Ebrari, 27, a website editor and host of a meeting of young Muslims in his Istanbul apartment to discuss the injustices of the modern world. Mr Ebrari and the others are members of a group called Anti-capitalist Muslims. They accuse Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the religiously conservative prime minister, of ignoring Islamic principles by making the rich even richer. Analysts say the mere existence of the group, which has about two dozen active members and, according to Mr Ebrari, the ability to mobilise thousands through social media, shows the pro-business policies of the Erdogan government have raised serious questions in Islamic circles. The Turkish Left, weak and divided, has been unable to draw strength from social problems such as youth unemployment, which stands at 18 per cent, or poor workplace safety standards that led to the death of 69 people in work-related accidents in May alone. The Anti-capitalist Muslims say they can fill that void. They shot to nationwide media fame when hundreds of them marched in this year's May Day celebrations on Istanbul's central Taksim Square, an event traditionally dominated by leftist groups and trade unions. "Allah - Bread - Freedom," read one of their banners. Members of the group, mostly students in their twenties, had known each other for some time on the internet before deciding to make their first public appearance as a group at the May Day march. They have taken part in other rallies since then, such as a demonstration by Kurdish women calling on the state to investigate unsolved crimes in Turkey's Kurdish region. The young men and women gathered in Mr Ebrari's apartment support expanding workers' rights, social justice and autonomy for Turkey's Kurds, and oppose nuclear power and mandatory military service. "Aspects of justice, freedom and equality in Islam have been ignored for many years," Mr Ebrari said. Commentators compare the basic ideas put forward by the group to demands made by Mr Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP) when it was founded in 2001. Fehmi Koru, a respected columnist for the Star newspaper and close to the AKP, says Mr Erdogan and other top AKP officials would probably have joined the Anti-capitalist Muslims as young men, had they had the chance. "But I am sure that, as politicians, they are also concerned, thinking: 'Is this something directed against us?'" Mr Ebrari agrees: "The AKP sees us as a threat." Government officials have made no official comment on the group. Mehmet Gucer, a sociologist at the International Strategic Research Organisation, a think tank in Ankara, said the Anti-capitalist Muslims had tackled questions that had not been much discussed within religious circles. "Time will tell what kind of impact they have," Mr Gucer said. "But it is a very positive development for Turkey because it shows the pluralism of society." Members of group supported Mr Erdogan's political reforms in the early years of AKP rule between 2002 and 2005, when freedom of speech and other basic rights were strengthened, but they were put off by other aspects of government policy, including what they see as a one-sided stance in economic and social matters that hurts workers and benefits the rich. "You can see skyscrapers rising and people sinking ever lower at the same time," said Kadir Kacan, a member of the group. "Everybody says Turkey has big economic growth, but just a few rich people rake in the profit, while hundreds of thousands don't have anything." Soli Ozel, a political scientist at Kadir Has University in Istanbul, said the group's rallying cry of equality pointed to ideological and class divisions within Turkey's Islamic movement. Mr Erdogan's policies have resulted in the rise of a new middle class of pious Muslims, while ideological principles such as equality moved to the background. "All those radical Islamists became shop owners," Mr Ozel said about the changes under Mr Erdogan. "At the end of the day, it's the inherent contradictions in the policies of the government" that triggered the anti-capitalist group, he said. Those contradictions are evident in rows that have broken out within the families of some group members. "My parents are nationalistic and conservative," said Mustafa Timucin Ozoguz, 25, whose family was opposed to his being in the group. "They just do what the AKP says. There are big tensions." The Anti-capitalist Muslims do not want to become a political party, but will try to reach people with the help of the internet, demonstrations, seminars and lectures. "We are revolutionaries," Mr Ebrari said. "We are against this system; we do not want to enter parliament." Asked what he would do if given the run of the prime ministry for one day, he said: "I would dissolve it." The group is also critical of Mr Erdogan's foreign policy. It accuses him of siding with the United States in Middle Eastern affairs and of trying to resurrect Turkish dominance in a region ruled by the Ottoman Empire for centuries. "Fans of Erdogan in the Middle East should remember that there are cemeteries all over the region filled with victims of the Ottomans," Mr Ebrari said. tseibert@thenational.aeMany people know that law schools use a rolling admissions process, which means that schools consider applicants in batches as the applications arrive. Thus, when an application comes in at the beginning of the application period (in the fall of each year), there are the fewest number of competing applications completed and the greatest number of available spaces in the class. As time goes on, more applications come in, and towards the end, there are the greatest number of applications completed but far fewer spaces remaining in the class. Thus, there is a significant advantage to applying as early possible, and many students try to get their applications in early. But, what actually is "early" in comparison to other applicants? In reviewing one recent admissions season, LSAC produced a chart that showed how applicants applied over time: Source: http://www.lsac.org/lsacresources/publications/pdfs/dec_2012_lsr.pdf, page 4 The chart divides the applicant group into three groups: The First Group, which comprises 40% of the entire pool. These individuals put their first application in between early August and early January. The Middle Group, which also comprises 40% of the entire pool. These individual put their first application in between early January and late February. The Last Group, which comprises 20% of the entire pool. These individual put their first application in between early March and the following August. Let's look at some of the details of each group: The First Group From the opening of the admissions window in the fall through early January, 40% of applicants put in their first application. However, there are some notable milestones along the way: By early September, about 10% of applicants have applied. Thus, that first month is not overly competitive in terms of apps received. By early November, about 20% of applications have been received. Thus, if you take the October LSAT, you can still get an advantage in applications if you complete every aspect of your applications prior to the release of your score. During this entire first period, applications steadily trickle in, at a nearly constant rate (there's a small dip just before the holidays--finals and holiday travel cause that drop, most likely--and small bump upwards towards the end of holidays, as people use that time to complete all the paperwork). The Middle Group After early January, the pace of applications accelerates significantly as deadlines loom. By roughly January 15th, about half of all applications have been submitted, meaning that anyone applying after this point is now facing the bulk of their competition for a space in the class. The Last Group After early March, the majority of law school applications deadlines have passed, and the rate of applications slows down dramatically. Some schools have later windows, so apps to those schools still come in, but the vast majority of applications are completed by early March. So, what lessons can we draw from all this data? First, if you take the June LSAT and can get your applications completed by early September or so (which is plenty of time if your LSAT is already out of the way), you will be facing only 10% of the other applicants. That's a huge advantage for June test takers! Second, most October LSAT takers use the remainder of the fall period to finish their apps after taking the exam. So, if you take the October LSAT and can finish all your paperwork prior to your score release, you can still get a strong early application advantage. If you can't finish your paperwork by the end of October, you still will have an advantage if you can complete everything by the end of November. Third, even if you can't finish your apps by September or November, you still gain an advantage (albeit a much smaller one) if you can get your applications in by mid-December. After that point, applications begin to really pour in, and the admissions office is so swamped that there isn't any further time advantage to be gained (mainly because, well, it isn't "early" anymore!). So, if your applications won't be completed until after January 1st, don't rush to complete them; instead take the time to make sure they are as good as possible (a useful piece of advice at all times, actually). Have further questions about early admissions? Please post your questions in the comments section and we are happy to answer them! Image courtesy of Shutterstock.True story: I'm a celebrity makeup artist (yes, Kiernan Shipka is one of my clients). Perhaps more importantly, though, I'm a proud woman of color. But that wasn't always the case—especially when I was entering an industry that tends to cater to a definition of white, porcelain beauty. But the great thing about makeup is that there really can be something for everyone, it just takes a little extra know-how. And now, after a few years in the industry, I like to think I've got a handle on what works for the Middle Eastern and South Asian girls (like me) who just can't seem to find that right foundation shade, or don't know how to get rid of those pesky dark spots. Sometimes life is just plain easier when you know that someone's going through the same things you are—pretty hurts, right? That's why I thought it'd be fun to outline the seven common problems that only we Middle Eastern girls would understand. And, of course—I would hate to leave out any South Asian girls who feel our pain. Read on to learn more about what they are and exactly how to solve them. 1. We just need more when it comes to the under eyes. The number one concern I hear about from girls who are from either Middle Eastern or South Asian decent is that, no matter what, they have dark eye circles. You've probably found that no matter how much you sleep or how much concealer you apply, you just can't get rid of the darkness. Alternatively, it's hard to know when you've applied too much concealer—you want to look rested and bright, not cakey. For many girls from this part of the world, it's just a part of how our skin is made up. Seriously, I've even seen that happiest, most well-rested 6-year-olds were just born with those little dark rings. First things first: Accept that they will never truly go away. Second, you have to look at them differently. Most people might be able to combat an under eye circle with one product, but I recommend a trio of circle-busting goodies. And, as always, it begins with skin care. I like using an under eye brightener like Renée Rouleau's to begin. I let that sink into the skin, then I use a hybrid of two concealers: a liquid and a stick. Let the liquid do most of your dirty work (I love NARS Radiant Creamy) and then erase any existing shadows with a stick concealer and your finger. Oh, and also, forget that rule about picking a concealer lighter than your foundation shade. Pick one that matches your skin exactly, or else you'll end up totally ashy. 2. Foundations don't address our undertones. Especially as a makeup artist, this one can be so tough. I can't remember how many times a medium shade looked perfect in the bottle, but when I got home and applied it in the mirror, I looked like I had gotten sick from eating too much potato salad at a picnic. Whether you're alabaster or the deepest of cocoa, you have to choose a foundation that not only matches your hue, but also takes your undertone into consideration. Anything pinky (mostly everything on the market) will make us look off and ill, not bright and flawless. Most likely you have green, gold, yellow, or olive in your skin. The brands I find that work best with our special skin tones are NARS, Smashbox, Armani, Bobbi Brown, and Covergirl!Texas is getting its own navy. Next month, the state's Department of Public Safety will deploy the first of a fleet of six gunboats on the Rio Grande, the river that forms the border between the state and Mexico, CNN affiliate WFAA-TV reports. The 34-foot-long boats, each powered by three, 300-horsepower outboard engines, will have bulletproof plating and six machine guns apiece, not unlike the river patrol boats the U.S. Navy used during the Vietnam War. The vessels will be able to operate in as little as 2 feet of water, according to the report, and will work with U.S. Customs and Border Protection to combat drug smuggling coming across the Rio Grande. "They're finding out when those people are coming across, and one of the things they need to be able to do is interdict them on the water," Texas state Rep. Paul Workman told CNN affiliate KVUE-TV when the first of the boats, the JD Davis, was christened in December. "If you're trying to suppress organized smuggling activity, there's no substitute for putting people on the ground," Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steven C. McCraw said at the December ceremony. "The way they're operating right now, you need them on the water as well." "It sends a message: Don't mess with Texas," Jose Rodriguez, a regional commander of the Texas Department of Safety, told WFAA. The six boats will be named after Texas state troopers killed in the line of duty. The first was named after Jerry Don Davis, who was shot and killed in 1980. Another, to be commissioned Thursday in Austin, will be named in honor of trooper David Irvine Rucker, who was killed in 1981, according to The Brownsville Herald.Apple recently released the latest version of Configurator, the company's management software for iOS devices, for download in the Mac App Store. Configurator version 1.2 is intended to give organizations a way to mass-configure iPads, iPhones, and even iPods with applications, settings, and security policies. It's also, as it turns out, the perfect tool to prank a teenage son, teaching him the hazards of leaving his iPad unattended and of interrupting conference calls with extended drum solos. Configurator version 1.2 is enhanced to take advantage of the enterprise management features in iOS 6. It provides all the policy configuration muscle Apple gives to mobile device management tool developers with its management interfaces, in a free Mac OS X application. That includes the ability to lock down the lock screen, put a device into "app lock" mode, making it boot straight into an application, and blocking users' access to the rest of iOS's features. All those features let you turn a device into a secure wireless kiosk, a point-of sale system, or (as I did to my son's iPad) a dedicated My Little Pony Ruckus Reader platform with an appropriately themed lock screen. Of course, I backed all his stuff up first. I'm not that evil. From iPad to iPwnie in three easy steps There are two distinct levels of management control in iOS 6—supervised and unsupervised devices. Unsupervised device management is best for BYOD situations; it can be configured without being overly intrusive. Profiles set up this way
very real,” said Nath, clinical director of the NIH’s National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). “But they haven’t received the attention they deserve because most of the tests don’t show anything.” Related: Chronic Fatigue is Real, New Brain Scans Show Nath is not the only expert who is convinced. In 2015, a committee appointed by the Institute of Medicine (now renamed the National Academy of Medicine) said CFS needed a new name to distance it from the stigma of being an imaginary illness. “The committee recommends that this disorder be renamed ‘systemic exertion intolerance disease’ (SEID),” the panel of experts said. They estimated that between 836,000 and 2.5 million Americans have a disorder falling under the definition. The naming recommendation hasn’t had much pickup, but Nath hopes to get to the bottom of at least some of the mystery. He is recruiting 40 ME/CFS patients plus 20 healthy patients, along with 20 people who have recovered from Lyme disease — an infection that can cause long-term symptoms that often overlap with CFS/ME. Nath has limited the study to people who develop their symptoms after an infection and he is trying to keep his volunteers as similar to one another as possible. It’s possible ME/CFS is not a single disease with a single cause, and he believes that may be throwing researchers off. Dr. Avindra Nath, a neurologist at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, examines Brian Vastag as part of a study Nath is conducting into the causes of myalgic encephalomyelitis. Beth Mazur Nath is deploying his expertise on the links between infections and the immune system to try to find out whether an infection may have somehow altered the immune system, whether some people have a genetic susceptibility to certain viruses or bacteria, or whether it’s in fact a persistent infection or a change in a patient’s natural population of microbes — the microbiome — that is causing the symptoms. They want to more precisely define the condition and its symptoms. For Vastag, these symptoms have been profound. “There is and was for me exhaustion, utter exhaustion after doing things,” Vastag said as he leaned back in a hospital bed in the NIH’s flagship Clinical Center hospital. “My long-term memory is mostly intact. Working memory — it’s not there any more.” “I couldn’t even watch TV. Any noise could be painful.” Vastag, a 45-year-old former Washington Post science reporter, said his case is fairly typical. After his sudden illness, instead of getting better in about a week, Vastag continued feeling tired and feverish for months. Neuropathy — a tingling and numbness — started in his foot and moved to other limbs. Related: Congress Defies Trump, Gives NIH $ 2 Million Raise He uses a reporter’s landmarks to remember the timeline. The first week in October is when the Nobel Prizes for science and medicine get awarded and, like many reporters on the science beat, Vastag was up early to report on the winners in 2012. “I was sitting there looking at my computer screen and the lines of text started moving around. There were shimmery, swimming lines of text,” he said. “It was terrifying.” He had trouble reading after that. “I was struggling to keep the life I had been building in Washington, D.C.,” he said. “It was like my brain had gone to another dimension where nothing was working any more.” Being a reporter, he tried to find explanations for his symptoms. “I thought I had multiple sclerosis. It was terrifying. At some point I was worried about ALS.” ALS or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a degenerative nerve disease that eventually completely paralyzes patients, killing them as they lose the ability to breathe. Vastag became unable to work and left his job. He’s now on Social Security disability. “By early 2013, I was almost 100 percent bed-bound,” he recalled. “I had friends bring me food. I showered every 10 days.” He went from one doctor to another with no clear diagnosis. “The physical sensation is that the body is shutting down, that the end is near,” he said. “I couldn’t even watch TV. Any noise could be painful.” Mostly, he slept. Vastag signed up to be evaluated for rare diseases at NIH. Reading about something called myalgic encephalomyelitis, Vastag realized the symptoms being described matched his. He says there are some clear clues that someone has ME/CFS, including abnormal immune cell function. Exercise tests also show it, Vastag said. Most people quickly adapt to exercise. If they push hard one day, the next day it will be a little bit easier. CFS/ME patients don’t. “We don’t compensate for exercise,” he said. Vastag, who once enjoyed 20-mile bike rides, struggled to finish seven minutes on an exercise cycle. Related: NIH tests New Bacteria Therapy for Eczema The next day would be even worse. “Your anaerobic threshold goes down on the second day,” Vastag said. “It is a sign your energy production system has been damaged.” He moved to Hawaii, where he could rest away from the stress of city life and where he could share a small space with a fellow ME/CFS patient. Vastag tried taking long-term antivirals and has done a little self-hacking after exploring ME/CFS websites and forums — for instance, inhaling insulin in a self-treatment approach that some patients say helps them to think more clearly. “I feel there has been this ‘don’t go there’ sign around here.” Gradually, he has become able to cope with daily living and regained his appetite. "But I am still disabled," he said. Vastag’s weight had plummeted from 185 pounds to 150 pounds. He’s still gaunt, four years later, but says he is up to around 160 pounds now. “Now I feel like I’ve stabilized,” he said. “I have problems with everyday life but I am not bedbound any more.” In 2015, Vastag wrote an open letter in the Post to the NIH asking that the world’s largest funder of biomedical science allot more time and attention to ME/CFS. NIH director Dr. Francis Collins took up the challenge and authorized Nath’s study. Dr. David Goldstein tests Vastag on a tilt-table. Beth Mazur It’s a full-court press. The study team includes a long list of top NIH experts from the sprawling campus, including neurologists, virologists, allergists, psychologists, a cancer fatigue specialist, an expert in measuring metabolism and physical therapists. “NIH has finally kind of opened itself up to the illness and the need of understanding this illness,” Vastag said. “I feel there has been this ‘don’t go there’ sign around here.” Once the study is done, Nath hopes he can help establish biomarkers for ME/CFS, perhaps a certain abnormality in a certain immune cell, or a precise balance of immune system cells. That way the condition can be more precisely diagnosed and, eventually, treated. "If I come back for part two of the study in about year, maybe I'll get to meet my mouse," Vastag said.A British ISIS suicide bomber has been revealed as a former Guantanamo prisoner who was handed the equivalent of $1.25million in British taxpayers' money as compensation before fleeing to Syria. UK national Jamal Udeen al-Harith was photographed moments before blowing himself up in an attack on a military facility near Mosul in Iraq. The Muslim convert - who changed his name from Ronald Fiddler in 1994 - was sent to Guantanamo Bay in 2002 after he was caught by American forces in Afghanistan. After intense campaigning by Tony Blair’s government led by then-Home Secretary David Blunkett, the British citizen was freed two years later. He launched a compensation claim on the grounds British agents knew or were complicit in his mistreatment and was handed £1million ($1.25million) in reparations. Scroll down for video UK national Jamal Udeen al-Harith was photographed moments before blowing himself up in an attack on a military facility near Mosul in Iraq (pictured) Shortly after detonating the explosive-laden car near an army base this month, ISIS released a statement revealing al-Harith had been fighting for them under the name Abu Zakariya al-Britani. Al-Harith, however, previously denied being a terrorist and claimed to have been taken prisoner by the Taliban after visiting the Middle East as part of a'religious holiday'. At the time of his release from Guantanamo, Blunkett said: 'No one who is returned… will actually be a threat to the security of the British people.' But it emerged that, despite security services being fully aware of his previous detention, al-Harith, who worked as a web designer for a time, was able to escape the UK in 2014 to fight with ISIS in Syria, leading to his eventual death. ISIS claim his suicide attack, during a raging battle for control of the city, caused multiple casualties but this has not been confirmed. The Muslim convert changed his name from Ronald Fiddler to Jamal Udeen al-Harith in 1994, before fighting for ISIS under the new name Abu Zakariya al-Britani After his release from Guantanamo, al-Harith spoke of the treatment he received at the hands of the guards. Speaking in 2004, he told the Mirror: 'The whole point... was to get to you psychologically. 'The beatings were not nearly as bad as the psychological torture - bruises heal after a week but the other stuff stays with you. 'After a while, we stopped asking for human rights - we wanted animal rights.' He said he was interviewed upwards of 40 times by American officials - sometimes to 12 hours at a time - and nine times by British agents. He was finally released with five others and alongside the three men known as the Tipton Three – Rhuhel Ahmed, Asif Iqbal and Shafiq Rasul. Al-Harith gives testimony before a Council of Europe panel in 2004 (shown right), as part of an inquiry into human rights abuses at Gauntanamo Bay Leon Jameson, Harith’s brother, told the Times he had ‘wasted his life’. Shown his picture, he said: ‘It is him, I can tell by his smile. If it is true then I’ve lost a brother, so another family (member) gone.’ His journey was revealed following an escape from ISIS-controlled Syria in 2015 by British mother Shukee Begum and her five children. Miss Begum was married to al-Harith before he left the family home in Birmingham to fight in Syria, and had flown to the war-torn country to try to persuade the fanatic to return to the UK. Al-Harith's British wife Shukee Begum, along with their five children, joined him in Syria in 2015 before fleeing from the ISIS-controlled territory However, her attempts failed, and she endured a ten-month ordeal being passed between hostages and rebel groups as she tried to escape. In 2015, she told Channel 4: 'I’d love to go back to the UK. The UK is my home. I grew up there. My friends are there. My family are there. That’s where I consider to be home. 'But I’m just not sure at the moment, with the track record of the current government, if the UK is somewhere I can achieve justice. I hope I’m wrong.' At the time, she said she was biding her time before returning to Britain because she fears she could face terrorism charges. Ms Begum, a law graduate from Greater Manchester, insists she did not support the extremists, and says she wanted to persuade al-Harith to return to the family home. She told Channel 4 News: 'I was thinking about the children's futures. Was he part of it? Will he come back? All these things go through your mind.' Footage said to have been captured yesterday morning shows Abu Zakariya's reinforced vehicle setting off along a dusty road The video then cuts to a plume of smoke in the distance after the car bomb is detonated TIMELINE OF EVENTS 1966: Ronald Fiddler is born in Manchester to devout Christian parents originating from Jamaica 1994: He converts to Islam, changing his name to Jamal Udeen al-Harith October 2001: Al-Harith travels to Quetta in Pakistan, on a'religious holiday'. A few day later the US invasion of neighbouring Afghanistan began Early 2002: He is arrested by American forces in Afghanistan after they discover him in a Taliban jail and later transferred to Guantanamo Bay prison 2004: After lobbying from Tony Blair's Labour government, al-Harith is released along with five others. He returns to the UK where he is released without charge, and joins three other prisoners in suing Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld 2009: His case against Rumsfield and the US government is finally dismissed on the grounds of 'limited immunity' for government officials 2014: Despite security services being fully aware of his previous detention, he is able to escape the UK to fight with ISIS in Syria 2015: His British wife Shukee Begum, along with their five children, join him in Syria before fleeing from the Isis-controlled territory February 2017: Al-Harith is killed in a suicide attack near Mosul, Iraq She added: 'I was seeing on the news at this point that Isis was going from bad to worse… So I decided that I was going to try and speak some sense into him. 'At the same time I wanted to see him. I wanted the children to see their father. I wanted the baby to meet his father as well.' After arriving in Syria, Ms Begum ended up living in a crowded safe-house in the ISIS stronghold of Raqqa, along with dozens of other foreign women looking for their husbands. Eventually, Ms Begum and her children were reunited with al-Harith, and the family moved to a house near al-Bab in northern Syria. But her planned to bring him home failed as she could not convince him to leave. Ms Begum said she only planned to keep the children in Syria for a month, but after a bag containing her phones, travel money and passports was stolen, she found herself trapped. She asked her husband to help her get out, to no avail. And she appealed to an Islamic court to give her permission to leave, but was told: 'Women and children belong in ISIS territory.' She reached safety when she was rescued by Al Qaeda-linked group Al Nusra. Her last known location was in Syria, on the Turkish border. Al-Harith's back story has resurfaced after pictures online shows him grinning next to what appears to be wires connected to a red-buttoned detonator. Muslim convert al-Harith (left) was sent to Guantanamo Bay in 2002. He has been pictured in the past with fellow Guantanamo prisoner Moazzam Begg (right) Born Ronald Fiddler, he turned to Islam in the 1990s and changed his name to Jamal Udeen al-Harith. He visited Australia for several months in 2000 after striking up a relationship online with Samantha Cook, the daughter of senator Peter Cook. He stayed with Samantha in Perth up until mid-2000, before returning to Manchester. In October 2001, he travelled to Quetta in Pakistan, on what he claimed was a religious holiday. A few days later the US invasion of neighbouring Afghanistan began. He claimed the Taliban locked him up and accused him of being a British spy. A few months later he was found in a Taliban jail by US special forces and transferred to Guantanamo Bay. Maxine Fiddler, Jamal's father and Maxine Fiddler, Jamal's sister, pictured during his detention at Guantanamo US authorities considered that he was ‘probably involved in a former terrorist attack against the US’. He was assessed as being an Al Qaeda fighter and considered a ‘high threat to the US’. When al-Harith was released in 2004, he was repatriated to England and released without charge. ‘This is a scandalous situation,’ said Tory MP Tim Loughton. ‘So much for Tony Blair’s assurances that this extremist did not pose a security threat. ‘He clearly was a risk to Britain and our security all along. It adds insult to injury that he was given £1million in compensation because of Blair’s flawed judgement that he was an innocent.’ Liberal Democrat MP John Pugh said: ‘This raises serious questions about the reassurances Labour gave us that this man posed no danger. CAGE WEBSITE'S GLOWING AL-HARITH REFERENCE The website, originally formed to raise awareness of the plight of prisoners of Guantanamo, still has a profile for al-Harith on its website, from when he was released. It reads: 'Al-Harith converted to Islam in his 20s after reading Malcom X's biography. He has two sisters, Maxine and Sharon. 'His family say he is a gentle, quiet man who rarely spoke of his faith unless asked, and after four years learning Arabic and teaching English at Khartoum University in Sudan, he seemed happy enough to return home where he started to study nursing. At this time, he also established a computer business. He later moved back to Manchester, where he worked as an administrator in a Muslim school. 'He travelled from the UK to Pakistan at the end of September 2001, retracing a journey he had made to Iran in 1993. He paid a lorry driver to take him from northern Pakistan to Iran as part of a backpacking trip, but they were stopped near the Afghan border by Taliban soldiers who saw his British passport and jailed him, in October, fearing he was a spy. He had been away from home only three weeks when he was captured. 'As the operation to mop up al Qaida forces went on into the spring of 2001, he was captured by US forces while being held in Kandahar Jail. He was interrogated by the CIA in Afghanistan before being taken to Guantanamo. 'He was released from Guantanamo and returned to the UK on 9th March 2004. After a few hours of questioning he was released without charge and reunited with his family. Jamal was the first of the British detainees to speak publicly about his ordeal. He married in late 2004 and has three children (aged 3,5, and 8) from a previous marriage.' Source: old.cageprisoners.com Al-Harith (left) is pictured in his early years in Manchester, England, before his detention at Gauntanamo in 2002. His wife Shukee Begum is shown right ‘It is a kick in the teeth that he was given a fortune in taxpayers’ money after claiming he was innocent only to flee to Islamic State and pose a risk to the UK. ‘The Home Office needs to explain how he was able to leave the country so easily despite his background mixing with those at the very top of Islamic terrorism.’ ISIS said al-Harith as one of two militants involved in the attack on a Shiite army outpost. The attack came as Iraqi forces advanced on ISIS positions in the west of the city. Footage said to have been captured on Monday shows a reinforced vehicle setting off along a dusty road. The video then cuts to a plume of smoke in the distance. A statement released by the terror group today said: 'The martyrdom-seeking brother Abu Zakariya al-Britani - may Allah accept him - detonated his explosives-laden vehicle on a headquarters of the Rafidhi army and its militias in Tal Kisum village, southwest of Mosul.' The attack came as Iraqi forces advanced on ISIS positions in the west of the city Kyle Orton, a specialist in Islamist groups at the Henry Jackson Society security think-tank, said: ‘Fiddler is part of a considerable cadre of people released from Guantanamo Bay who have returned straight to the ranks. This keeps happening so the drive to shut the camp has always been a very, very serious threat. ‘Allowing people to be put back in the field is a concrete security threat. The drive to release has been disastrous in terms of the consequences for Western security.’ Afzal Ashraf, a former counter-terrorism adviser to the United States in Iraq, told the BBC that the incident showed ‘some of the people in Guantanamo Bay were up to no good’. A Foreign Office spokesman said: 'The UK has advised for some time against all travel to Syria, and against all travel to large parts of Iraq. 'As all UK consular services are suspended in Syria and greatly limited in Iraq, it is extremely difficult to confirm the whereabouts and status of British nationals in these areas.' Terror suspects we gave $1.25million each to keep them quiet By Ian Drury, Home Affairs Editor As many as 16 British citizens and residents received millions of pounds in compensation after being held in Guantanamo Bay. A deal believed to be worth almost $25million was agreed by the Government after the terror suspects threatened legal action. The detainees, many of whom claimed they were victims of kidnap and torture, warned they would sue Britain for its involvement in their abuse. Many alleged that UK spies were complicit in barbaric mistreatment at the US military base in Cuba following 9/11. Ministers settled the case on the grounds that they could not defend themselves against the damaging allegations without harming British security by revealing sensitive intelligence information. Former detainees of Guantanamo Bay; al-Harith, Moazzam Begg and Martin Mubanga Then Justice Secretary Ken Clarke, who revealed details of the settlement in the Commons in November 2010, said the deal was confidential but necessary. A legal battle would have laid bare the depth to which Tony Blair’s Labour Government was complicit in rendition and torture – but the Tory-led coalition made clear that it wanted to avoid a court case which would have cost up to $60million. The payouts sparked anger among MPs, who called them money for old rope and said the settlements would give comfort to our enemies. Up to $1.25million was handed to each of the former Guantanamo Bay captives, including Binyam Mohamed, who alleged that British agents fed questions to his interrogators. Mohamed was arrested in Afghanistan in 2002 and sent to a CIA prison in Kabul, then transferred to Morocco, where he claimed he was cut and repeatedly beaten. In 2004 he was sent to Guantanamo, where he was held until his return to the UK in 2009. Another terror suspect to receive compensation was Martin Mubenga, a joint citizen of both the United Kingdom and Zambia. He was held in Africa, and claimed to have been interrogated by a British man who said he was an MI6 official. They allegedly told him that his UK passport, which he had reported stolen, was found in an Al Qaeda cave in Afghanistan. He was sent to Guantanamo Bay and held for 33 months. Another recipient was Moazzam Begg, who ran a Muslim bookshop in Birmingham before moving to Afghanistan. He was captured in Pakistan in 2002 by the CIA, who said he was an Al Qaeda recruiter. He is now a leading member of the discredited Cage human rights group, described knife-wielding executioner Mohammed Emwazi – dubbed ‘Jihadi John’ – as a ‘beautiful young man’ after he was killed in an airstrike. Shaker Aamer, the last British resident in Guantanamo, also received $1.25million. The father of four was freed in October 2015, but his release was delayed for at least eight years amid claims the US was concerned about Britain’s ability to monitor terror suspects. Mr Aamer, who was held without trial or charge for almost 14 years, was seized in Afghanistan in 2001. He denied accusations that he was a key aide of Osama Bin Laden. CompensatioN: (from left to right); Martin Mubanga, Moazzam Begg and al-Harith He was released after a campaign by the Mail, which argued that although he had questions to answer about his presence in Afghanistan, it was an affront to justice to detain him without charge or trial. In 2010, then Prime Minister David Cameron ordered Sir Peter Gibson to head the Detainee Inquiry to look into the claims that our intelligence services were complicit in torture. However, it was suspended after two years while police investigated claims that MI6 was involved in the extraordinary rendition of two Libyan dissidents, Abdul Hakim Belhaj and Sami al-Saadi. In 2013 Sir Peter’s inquiry closed its investigation on the basis that it could not continue while Scotland Yard pursued its own inquiries. The probe was scrapped after prosecutors controversially ruled that no one would stand trial over claims that spies helped to put Mr Belhaj and Mr al-Saadi in the clutches of Colonel Gaddafi in 2004. However, an interim report by Sir Peter, a High Court judge, found that MI6 agents had not properly raised concerns about sleep deprivation and waterboarding for fear of offending US allies. Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee was handed the case as part of its wider inquiry into rendition. For the first time, it was officially confirmed that politicians knew the UK was involved in the CIA’s unlawful programme of torture flights. Mr Cameron was accused of a whitewash after rejecting calls to re-open the Detainee Inquiry. He re-iterated that the work would be done by Parliament’s secretive ISC – even though it is subject to a Government veto on the evidence it sees and what it can publish. In 2010, Mr Cameron had told Parliament an ISC inquiry could not command ‘public confidence’. But last June he maintained that giving it the brief was the ‘right approach.’Your browser does not support HTML5 video tag.Click here to view original GIF Not so long ago, Reddit users gathered around a digital fire to tell horror stories using only two sentences. The experiment demonstrated that the power of suggestion is infinitely more powerful than the explicitness of modern Hollywood gore. Here are the top 10: I begin tucking him into bed and he tells me, "Daddy check for monsters under my bed." I look underneath for his amusement and see him, another him, under the bed, staring back at me quivering and whispering, "Daddy there's somebody on my bed." The doctors told the amputee he might experience a phantom limb from time to time. Nobody prepared him for the moments though, when he felt cold fingers brush across his phantom hand. I can't move, breathe, speak or hear and it's so dark all the time. If I knew it would be this lonely, I would have been cremated instead. I woke up to hear knocking on glass. At first, I though it was the window until I heard it come from the mirror again. They celebrated the first successful cryogenic freezing. He had no way of letting them know he was still conscious. I wish I could remember whose these people are. They tell me I have Alzheimers. Yesterday my parents told me I was too old for an imaginary friend and that I had to let her go. They found her body this morning. It sat on my shelf, with thoughtless porcelain eyes and the prettiest pink doll dress I could find. Why did she have to be born still? My daughter won't stop crying and screaming in the middle of the night. I visit her grave and ask her to stop, but it doesn't help. Advertisement Got any other? Post it in the comments.REUTERS - U.S. Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump said on Monday he was “not 100 percent” certain he would participate in a debate this week co-hosted by Fox News Channel because he did not think moderator Megyn Kelly could treat him fairly. Trump told CNN he would probably participate, but added: “I’m not 100 percent; I’ll see. If I think I’m going to be treated unfairly, I’ll do something else. But I don’t think she can treat me fairly, actually, I think she’s very biased. But that doesn’t mean I don’t do the debate.” Trump added he had won every debate so far. “So I want to do the debates, they’re good for me, but I don’t think she can treat me fairly and I’m not a big fan of hers. Maybe I know too much about her.” Thursday’s debate, also co-hosted by Google, is the last one before the Feb. 1 Iowa caucuses, the first contest in the nomination race for the Nov. 8 presidential election. Later on Monday, Fox News responded to Trump’s remarks in an emailed statement it attributed to a network spokesperson. “Sooner or later Donald Trump, even if he’s president, is going to have to learn that he doesn’t get to pick the journalists - we’re very surprised he’s willing to show that much fear about being questioned by Megyn Kelly.” Following a debate hosted by Fox News last August, the real estate billionaire accused the network and Kelly of asking him tougher questions than those asked of the other candidates. Kelly responded that probing questions were part of her job. Trump also drew criticism at the time for comments that many people interpreted as suggesting that Kelly was affected by hormones during the debate. Trump’s blunt speaking style has boosted ratings for the Republican presidential debates. The August debate on Fox News drew 24 million viewers, a record for a presidential primary debate and the highest non-sports telecast in cable TV history.In last night's EA financial splurge we learned that Titanfall 2 will release alongside Battlefield 1 this autumn. Both have very different settings but both are shooters with a emphasis on multiplayer. During an investor call this prompted a question about "cannibalisation" - odd thing to bring up at a time like that - and "mistiming". EA big cheese Andrew Wilson responded. He believes the "giant" category the games belong to is big enough, with an audience diverse enough, that it will support the two games at once. The games both scratch different itches, he said. "There is a very broad and diverse set of players who play games in that category who are looking for - to fulfil different game play motivations," he said, transcript via Seeking Alpha. "Some people play very quick play, some people more strategic play, and some people want both in different context. The result [is] we feel like we actually have a really strong position to deliver the broadest set of gameplay mechanics as it relates to first-person shooter genre across the two titles, and feel very confident that we are well-positioned to do very well in that category [this] year." Wilson said EA felt "very good" about the reception to Battlefield 1, and said "the energy around Titanfall 2 is also building very nicely". I'm not sure what instrument he uses to measure that energy with. Battlefield 1 was revealed last Friday and takes the series back in time again - back even further to World War 1. That means it has horses (!) and bi-planes as well as player classes now, too. Wesley interviewed producer Aleks Grondal to find out more. Titanfall 2 won't be properly revealed until E3 next month but we already know it has a single-player campaign in which "science meets magic", and that its giant robots can now wield giant swords. Sounds great to me! We don't know when Titanfall 2 will release beyond its Q4 window. Battlefield 1, however, will be out 21st October, with a couple of early access options available.In May 2017, illustrator Cristiano Siqueira (aka @crisvector) took it upon himself to create one poster for every Part of Twin Peaks: The Return. “My intention was to create a single poster for the whole season, but I think I never could answer to the complexity of Twin Peaks with just one poster,” the São Paulo-based illustrator tells Welcome to Twin Peaks. And thus, a challenge was born. Cristiano, who got into Twin Peaks back when he watched the original series on VHS in the 2000s, is loving the new series: “It’s much more intriguing, surrealistic and Lynchesque than ever. It’s been exciting and inspiring!” But it’s not always easy to select a single moment from 58 minutes of “moving art.” Part 5 was the toughest so far, remembers Cristiano. “I wanted to portrait Becky Burnett since the first time I saw the car scene, but there’s SO much going on in that episode.” He decided the key is to always follow your intuition. “I hope that when the season is over, with all posters for each of the 18 episodes, we will have a good statement of the whole season.” UPDATE: With the simultaneous release of posters for Part 17 and Part 18, the series is now complete. Hooray! Prints are available for purchase again! Twin Peaks Part 1 Twin Peaks Part 2 Twin Peaks Part 3 Twin Peaks Part 4 Twin Peaks Part 5 Twin Peaks Part 6 Twin Peaks Part 7 Twin Peaks Part 8 Twin Peaks Part 9 Twin Peaks Part 10 Twin Peaks Part 11 Twin Peaks Part 12 Twin Peaks Part 13 Twin Peaks Part 14 Twin Peaks Part 15 Twin Peaks Part 16 Bonus: Audrey’s Dance from Twin Peaks Part 16 Twin Peaks Part 17 Twin Peaks Part 18 Harry Dean Stanton Tribute Hooray! Prints are available for purchase again!One of the more interesting runners in the race to build scalable quantum computers is the idea of using point-like defects in a diamond lattice that have been filled with a nitrogen atom. The nitrogen interloper provides an extra electron which can be used to generate photons or to store quantum information. The big advantage of these so-called nitrogen vacancies is that they’re easy to see (because they can be made to emit photons) which means they can be relatively easily addressed. They are also well isolated from many types of environmental interference and so can store qubits for relatively long periods of up to several hundred microseconds. But the problem is how to make them en masse. Until now, the fastest way was to fire nitrogen atoms one by one through an aperture into a thin layer of diamond. That makes for slow going if you need hundreds of thousands of them in a single layer. Now David Toyli at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and few buddies have demonstrated a much faster technique. Their approach is to cover the diamond with a thin layer of resist, through which they then blast an array of holes using electron beam lithography. In the next step, they then bombard the many-holed resist with accelerated nitrogen ions. So any nitrogen ions that pass through the holes created by the electron beams end up burying themselves in the diamond layer, creating a nitrogen vacancy under each hole. Toyli and co have carried out a proof-of-principle experiment to create a micrometer scale 60 x 60 array of nitrogen vacancies in a thin layer of diamond. They say that this creates nitrogen vacancies at a rate of 1000 per second, orders of magnitude faster than the current technique. The team say they can see these vacancies by making them photoluminesce and have even used them to store qubits and measured how long they remain coherent. In these first experiments, the coherence times are relatively poor, just a few microseconds rather than the few hundred that are known to be possible. The team says this can be improved with better control over the number of nitrogen ions that end up being implanted under each hole in the resist. In this experiment, some 30 ions ended up in a volume of diamond normally expected to carry only on ion. Overall, this looks like an interesting step forward. An array of nitrogen vacancies that are easily addressable and coherent for hundreds of microseconds is a ready-made quantum register of the kind that quantum computer scientists have been crying out for. Which means that the odds have suddenly improved of nitrogen vacancy technology winning this race and making scalable quantum computers possible for the first time. Ref: arxiv.org/abs/1007.0240: Chip-Scale Nanofabrication Of Single Spins And Spin Arrays In DiamondDollar to sail past greenback: ANZ Updated Another of the big four banks now believes the Australian dollar will rise above parity with the American greenback. Three weeks ago Westpac tipped $US1.01 for the Australian currency by early next year. Now ANZ has raised its forecast to $US1.04 by the end of this year. The revised prediction has been prompted by a change of mind on interest rates. ANZ expects official interest rates to be raised again twice this year, with the first tightening to come in August, in response to worsening inflation figures. The currency's strength will also be supported by high commodity prices and possibly more cuts to US interest rates. Last week the dollar rose to its highest level since being floated in 1983, pushing above 96.5 US cents. At around 7:30am AEST it was sitting at 95.85 US cents. Topics: currency, business-economics-and-finance, markets, australia, united-states First postedI've been taking on some Microsoft certifications recently, and my latest success is passing the 70-532 Developing Microsoft Azure Solutions exam; earning me the Microsoft Specialist: Developing Microsoft Azure Solutions Certification. As with all Microsoft certification exams, this exam covers a huge amount of information and content. As a result of this, a variety of materials and sources need to be studied in order to get the level understanding and memorization necessary to pass the exam. Now that I've passed the exam, I thought I'd share what I used so you too can become a certified Azure developer! UPDATE: November 2016, the 70-532 Developing Microsoft Azure Solutions exam is getting a big update to include Azure Resource Manager (ARM) coverage as well as Azure Functions, DocumentDB, Logic Apps, and many more newer Azure features and services. This is a major refresh, so you'll want to go check out the latest list of exam objectives to make sure you're studying the right stuff. Exam Target Audience The 70-532 Developing Microsoft Azure Solutions exam is targeted towards a Developer audience. If you're an experienced.NET developer, then you'll likely have an easier time preparing for this exam. As a result, the exam will assume you are proficient with development tools, techniques and have experience developing scalable and resilient solutions. Skills Measured Here's a high level break down of the exam objectives: Design and implement websites (15-20%) Create and manage virtual machines (20-25%) Design and implement cloud services (20-25%) Design and implement a storage strategy (20-25%) Manage application and network services (15-20%) Note: The percentage next to each is the approximate break out of how much of the exam focuses on each objective area. As you can see it's pretty evenly distributed across the 5 areas. The full exam objectives are listed on the official page for the 70-532 Developing Microsoft Azure Solutions exam. Free Video Courses / Training There are many video training courses available for the
. "We penny-pinch to see what we're buying for groceries, and to have someone just walk in and take it away," she said. "And I feel bad for the other people who are probably worse off than we are that she took advantage of." The thefts began in September, with the most recent one taking place earlier in January, deputies said. "The victims are trustworthy and allowed the suspect to enter their homes out of good nature, and the suspect took advantage of that by being deceptive," detectives wrote in a charging affidavit. According to the investigation, Gautier would go to Wal-Mart immediately after the thefts and load money onto pre-paid cards. She would typically make small food purchases with the stolen bank cards for items such as bananas, plantains of turnips and load $200 at a time onto gift cards during the same transactions, a news release states. Detectives said they moved in on Gautier on Wednesday when they learned she was selling her furniture and getting ready to move. During questioning, Gautier couldn't explain how money from stolen credit cards had been transferred to her gift cards. Detectives said they had video surveillance of her using the stolen cards. Gautier was booked into the Volusia County Branch Jail in Daytona Beach on Wednesday on $65,000 bond for the charges with one of the Deltona cases. After the additional 44 charges were filed, Gautier's combined bond is at $335,000 on 54 charges. The new charges include money laundering, obtaining property by fraud, two counts of burglary, two counts of theft from a person 65 years of age or older, three counts of theft, three counts of illegal use of a credit card and 32 counts of dealing in stolen property. Anyone who believes they were victimized by Gautier is asked to call the Volusia County Sheriff's Office at 386-860-7030.Batman: Arkham Knight was slated for a 2014 release when it was announced last month. Evidence from game retailers pointed to an October 14th release date, but now it seems that the game has been delayed. Advertisement At the DC All Access panel at WonderCon last weekend, the trailer for Batman: Arkham Knight was shown. According to Bleeding Cool, who was at the panel, the audience was told that the game is no longer coming this year, and that it has been pushed back to 2015. The official website still reads “Coming 2014” and Rocksteady has yet to make an official announcement about the delay, but I expect one to come soon if this report is correct. Delays are always disappointing, but sometimes extra time is needed to get things just right. If WB Games Montreal’s Batman: Arkham Origins was delayed instead of being released with a laundry list of bugs last year, it would have been a much better game. Rocksteady has a reputation for delivering excellent, high quality games and it seems like they felt like they weren’t going to hit their 2014 deadline. Update: A report from Comic Book Resources, who was also at the WonderCon panel, says that the game is still on track for 2014. I’ll reach out to Rocksteady and see if I can get a definitive answer. SOURCE: Bleeding CoolA couple who founded a charity to help bring the remains of loved ones back to Ireland has won £1m (€1.14m) in the Northern Ireland National Lottery. A couple who founded a charity to help bring the remains of loved ones back to Ireland has won £1m (€1.14m) in the Northern Ireland National Lottery. Eithne and Colin Bell, from Co Down, lost their 26-year-old son Kevin, in 2013, when he was knocked down by a car in New York. Their charity, the Kevin Bell Repatriation trust, has helped to repatriate the remains of more than 100 people who have died in tragic circumstances while abroad. Eithne already has plans for some of the winnings, she told Q Radio after collecting the cheque. She intends to extend the conservatory out into the garden and get some landscaping done. And the couple booked their first cruise two weeks ago, to belatedly mark their retirement. She's also splurged on some clothes, after "watching the pennies, raising seven children on a teacher's salary." Belfast TelegraphLooking for news you can trust? Subscribe to our free newsletters. In September, Congress let expire the Children’s Health Insurance Program, a bipartisan-backed program that covers millions of low-income kids whose families earn too much to qualify for Medicaid. First created in 1997 under President Bill Clinton, CHIP provides health insurance for routine checkups, doctors’ appointments, and hospital care for nearly 9 million kids—as well as 370,000 pregnant mothers—across the United States. The Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC), an independent agency tasked with making recommendations about Medicaid and CHIP, estimated in July that more than 1 million children would lose medical coverage if Congress failed to reauthorize CHIP—and that some 4 million CHIP enrollees were at risk in states where programs weren’t tied to Medicaid and where, as a result, the states were “not obligated to continue covering these children.” Over the weekend, the debate over CHIP came to a boil after comments from Sen. Orrin Hatch, the Utah Republican who helped create the program two decades ago. When debating the GOP tax bill Thursday on the Senate floor, Hatch said that CHIP was in trouble “because we don’t have money anymore,” even though he believed it had done a “terrific job.” He then added he had a “rough time wanting to spend billions and billions and trillions of dollars to help people who won’t help themselves, won’t lift a finger and expect the federal government to do everything.” The comments set off a social-media firestorm, especially after MSNBC host Joe Scarborough highlighted Hatch’s remarks in a since-deleted tweet. When critics insisted that Scarborough, a former GOP congressman, had taken Hatch’s remarks out of context, and that Hatch had been attacking other entitlement spending—and not CHIP itself—Scarborough responded on Twitter to say that Hatch had played “a cartoon version of a GOP senator” in his remarks. The weekend mudslinging came weeks after the Washington Post reported that about a dozen states were gearing up to notify families that federal funds for the program could run out soon. On November 27, Colorado officials began sending out letters to CHIP recipients, including 75,000 children and about 800 pregnant women, saying the state’s program would end on January 31, 2018. If Congress doesn’t come up with a solution before the Christmas holidays, says Tricia Brooks, senior fellow at Georgetown University’s Center on Children and Families, it’s “going to have a real chilling effect on our country’s historic progress in covering children.” Why’d Congress let CHIP lapse in the first place? It all comes down to political priorities. While Republican lawmakers rushed, unsuccessfully, to repeal the Affordable Care Act before September 30, they let the deadline to renew CHIP pass. And now that lawmakers have homed in on tax reform, the program’s future remains in limbo two months later. CHIP is on the brink despite the fact that it’s popular across the political spectrum. Not only has it been credited with expanding access to health care for low-income families, research shows that it boosts educational outcomes and reduces hospitalization rates. (Thanks to Medicaid expansion and CHIP, the percentage of children under 19 who are uninsured has dropped from 14 percent in 1997 to 5 percent in 2016.) A September poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation noted that 75 percent of all respondents said it was “extremely” or “very important” for Congress to renew CHIP, including 62 percent of Republicans. The problem is that Democratic and Republican lawmakers are at odds on how to pay for the program. The federal government spends about $14 billion a year on CHIP (it pays for about 88 percent, with states picking up the rest of the tab), and the bill that passed through the Senate Finance Committee in October proposed giving more than $100 billion to the program over five years. But the Senate bill didn’t lay out how the program would be paid for, the New York Times reported at the time. A month later, the House of Representatives passed along party lines a similar bill to renew CHIP for five years and fund community health centers for two. House Democrats took issue with the bill, because it paid for CHIP by taking money from the Affordable Care Act Prevention and Public Health Fund, which pays for a range of programs, and raising Medicare premiums for wealthy seniors—something one Democratic representative rejected on the House floor and likened to robbing “Peter to save Paul.” What’s the immediate impact of letting CHIP expire? The program’s expiration hasn’t trickled down to families just yet, but parents are starting to get worried. “Even if they run out of money in February, it doesn’t actually mean they have enough money to last them until February. So we’re going to see some pressure here toward the end of the year if Congress doesn’t renew funding for CHIP,” Georgetown’s Brooks tells Mother Jones. “States are either going to come up with more money to provide coverage for these kids or they are going to have to take steps to close down or temporarily freeze their programs.” Some states have already had to dip into their budgets or federal funds that have been carried over from previous years to maintain services. Projections from MACPAC and Georgetown suggest two states will run out of money this month; five more (and the District of Columbia) will run out by early January; and 22 more by March. Once July 2018 comes around, all states but Illinois and Wyoming would exhaust funds. If the money runs dry, states will have to figure out which children are eligible for Medicaid or encourage families to seek out health insurance through Obamacare, according to a November letter from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), which administers CHIP. They’ll also have to decide whether to freeze or cap enrollment in their programs—or shut them down altogether. Arizona’s past could offer a glimpse at the future. Back in 2010, in response to the recession, the state froze enrollment in its CHIP program at 46,000 kids, and by 2012, 13.2 percent of children in the state were uninsured. In 2012, Arizona opened an alternative program, and when that program ended in 2014, the results were devastating: 14,000 kids lost medical coverage, according to an analysis by Georgetown’s Center on Children and Families. The federal government has already had to approve funding to keep some states’ programs afloat. So far, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has sent about $1.2 billion in reserve funds—roughly 40 percent of the federal government’s total allotted pot—to 16 states and the District of Columbia to keep programs running. “This availability of extra money has given Congress the impression that they have a cushion of time,” Brooks says, “but that cushion is getting pretty darn thin now.” And projections for when states will run out of money can change. In Texas, where roughly 400,000 are enrolled, CHIP funds could run out quicker than anticipated—sometime in January—after the state suspended enrollment fees in areas affected by Hurricane Harvey. And Florida faces similar concerns as a result of Hurricane Irma. Meanwhile, some states, including Arizona and West Virginia, are required by law to terminate their programs altogether if funding goes away. In West Virginia, one of 12 states that receive 100 percent in total funds from the federal government, a state board determined the program would end enrollment on February 28, 2018, if Congress fails to pass a spending measure. All of this has state officials preparing for the worst. Linda Nablo, chief deputy director at Virginia’s Department of Medical Assistance Services, told WBUR the state would wait to send letters to CHIP enrollees on December 1 to tell them the program would end at the end of the month. “The last thing we want to do is scare parents and then turn right around and have to tell them, ‘Sorry, never mind. Congress has finally acted and your coverage is safe.’ It’s terrible,” Nablo said. “At this point, the draft letter says, ‘You may, your child may lose coverage, you know, we’ll let you know as soon as we know.'” Can CHIP be saved this year? Yes. Brooks points out both Republicans and Democrats agree on how long funding should last and how much the program should be funded but adds that they have prioritized the tax package over CHIP. “There’s this strong sense that Congress has every intent to get this done and doesn’t have to debate it anymore,” she says. “It’s just a matter of following through.” The Senate doesn’t appear likely to vote on its version of the bill soon. With lawmakers focused on a tax bill that will disproportionately benefit the wealthy, Brooks says funding for the program could be part of the end-of-the-year spending bill Congress needs to pass to avoid a government shutdown. Senators have told the New York Times as much. “We’re in a tricky time period. We have hope,” Brooks said. “We think Congress can get this done.” Until then, 9 million kids will be waiting. We want to hear your story Millions of families rely on CHIP each year. Are you one of them? Tell us how the program played a role in your life. We may share your response with our newsroom and publish a selection of stories which would include your name, age, and location. Your email address will not be published and by providing it, you agree to let us contact you regarding your response. We respect your privacy and will not use your email address for any other purpose.With the release of Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8, Microsoft took a big step toward true cross-platform development. Both run on the same kernel now, which means with a little bit of planning, much of your application code can be reused in both. By leveraging the Model-View-ViewModel (MVVM) pattern, some other common design patterns, and a few tricks, you can write a cross-platform presentation layer that will work on both Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8. In this article, I’ll take a look at some specific cross-platform challenges I faced and talk about solutions that can be applied that allow my app to maintain clean separation of concerns without sacrificing the ability to write good unit tests for it. About the Sample App In the July 2013 issue of MSDN Magazine, I presented code from a sample Windows Store application, and the start of an open source, cross-platform framework I developed, called Charmed (“Leveraging Windows 8 Features with MVVM,” msdn.microsoft.com/magazine/dn296512). In this article, I’ll show you how I took that sample application and framework and evolved them to be more cross-platform. I also developed a companion Windows Phone 8 app with the same base functionality, leveraging the same framework. The framework and sample apps are available on GitHub at github.com/brentedwards/Charmed. The code will continue to evolve as I move toward the final article in my MVVM series, which will delve into actually testing the presentation layer and additional considerations around testable code. The app is a simple blog reader, called Charmed Reader. Each platform’s version of the app has just enough functionality to illustrate some key concepts relating to cross-platform development. Both versions are similar in the UX they provide, but still fit the look and feel of their respective OS. Solution Structure Any proper discussion of cross-platform development with Visual Studio 2012 must start at the beginning: solution structure. While Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 do run on the same kernel, their apps still compile differently and have different project types. There are various ways to approach creating a solution with different project types, but I prefer to have one solution with all my platform-specific projects included in it. Figure 1 shows the solution structure for the sample apps I’ll be discussing. Figure 1 Cross-Platform Charmed Reader Solution Structure Visual Studio lets you have more than one project file reference a single physical class file, allowing you to add an existing class file by selecting Add As Link, as shown in Figure 2. Figure 2 Adding an Existing Item with Add As Link By leveraging the Add As Link functionality, I can write much of my code one time and use it for both Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8. However, I don’t want to do this for every class file. As I’ll demonstrate, there are situations where each platform will have its own implementation. View Differences Although I’ll be able to reuse much of the code containing my presentation logic, which is written in C#, I won’t be able to reuse the actual presentation code, which is written in XAML. This is because Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 have slightly different flavors of XAML that don’t play well enough with each other to be interchangeable. Part of the problem is syntax, particularly the namespace declarations, but most of it is due to different controls being available for the platforms as well as different styling concepts being implemented. For example, Windows 8 uses GridView and ListView quite heavily, but these controls aren’t available for Windows Phone 8. On the flip side, Windows Phone 8 has the Pivot control and the LongListSelector, which aren’t available in Windows 8. Despite this lack of reusability of the XAML code, it’s still possible to use some design assets in both platforms, particularly the Windows Phone UI design. This is because Windows 8 has the concept of Snap View, which has a fixed width of 320 pixels. Snap View uses 320 pixels because mobile designers have been designing for screen widths of 320 pixels for years. In cross-platform development, this works in my favor because I don’t have to come up with a brand-new design for Snap View—I can just adapt my Windows Phone design. Of course, I have to keep in mind that each platform does have its own unique design principles, so I may have to vary a little to make each app feel natural to its platform. As Figure 3 shows, I implemented the UI for Windows 8 Snap View to be very similar but not quite identical to the UI for Windows Phone 8. Of course, I’m not a designer, and it shows in my thoroughly uninteresting UI design. But I hope this illustrates how similar Windows 8 Snap View and Windows Phone 8 can be in their UI designs. Figure 3 Sample App UI for Windows 8 Snap View (left) and Windows Phone 8 (right) Code Differences One of the interesting challenges I faced as I embarked on cross-platform development with Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 is that each platform handles certain tasks differently. For example, while both platforms follow a URI-based navigation scheme, they vary in the parameters they take. Creating secondary tiles is also different. Though both platforms support them, what happens on each platform when a secondary tile is tapped is fundamentally different. Each platform also has its own way of dealing with application settings, and they have different classes for interacting with these settings. Finally, there are features Windows 8 has that Windows Phone 8 doesn’t. The main concepts my Windows 8 sample app leverages that Windows Phone 8 doesn’t support are contracts and the Charms menu. This means that Windows Phone doesn’t support the Share or Settings charms. So, how do you deal with these fundamental code differences? There are a number of techniques you can employ to do so. Compiler Directives When Visual Studio creates Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 project types, it automatically defines platform-specific compiler directives in the project settings—NETFX_CORE for Windows 8 and WINDOWS_PHONE for Windows Phone 8. By leveraging these compiler directives, you can tell Visual Studio what to compile for each platform. Of the techniques that can be employed, this is the most basic, but it’s also the messiest. It results in code that’s a little like Swiss cheese: full of holes. While this is sometimes a necessary evil, there are better techniques that work in a lot of cases. Abstraction This is the cleanest technique I use to deal with platform differences, and it involves abstracting the platform-specific functionality into an interface or an abstract class. This technique allows you to provide platform-specific implementations for interfaces and, at the same time, a consistent interface for use throughout the codebase. In cases where there’s helper code each platform-specific implementation can utilize, you can implement an abstract class with this common helper code, then provide platform-specific implementations. This technique requires that the interface or abstract class be available in both projects, via the Add As Link functionality mentioned earlier. Abstraction Plus Compiler Directives The final technique that can be used is a combination of the previous two. You can abstract the platform differences into an interface or an abstract class, then leverage compiler directives in the actual implementation. This is handy for cases where the platform differences are minor enough that it’s not worth separating them for each project type. In practice, I’ve found that I rarely use compiler directives on their own, especially in my view models. I prefer to keep my view models clean whenever possible. So, when compiler directives are the best solution, I usually also slip in some abstraction to keep the Swiss cheese a little more hidden. Navigation One of the first challenges I encountered in my cross-platform travels was navigation. Navigation isn’t the same in Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8, but it’s close. Windows 8 now uses URI-based navigation, which Windows Phone has been using all along. The difference lies in how parameters are passed. Windows 8 takes a single object as a parameter while Windows Phone 8 takes as many parameters as you like, but through the query string. Because Windows Phone uses the query string, all parameters must be serialized to a string. As it turns out, Windows 8 isn’t so different in this respect. Although Windows 8 takes a single object as a parameter, that object must somehow be serialized when another app takes center stage and my app gets deactivated. The OS takes the easy route and calls ToString on that parameter, which isn’t all that helpful to me when my app gets activated again. Because I want to bring these two platforms together as much as possible in terms of my development effort, it makes sense to serialize my parameter as a string prior to navigation, then deserialize it after navigation is complete. I can even help facilitate this process with the implementation of my navigator. Note that I want to avoid directly referencing the views from my view models, so I want the navigation to be view model-driven. My solution is to employ a convention in which views are placed in a Views namespace/folder and view models are placed in a ViewModels namespace/folder. I’ll also make sure my views are named {Something}Page and my view models are named {Something}ViewModel. With this convention in place, I can provide some simple logic to resolve an instance of a view, based on the type of view model. Now I need to decide what other functionality I need for navigation: View model-driven navigation The ability to go back For Windows Phone 8, the ability to remove a back stack entry The first two are straightforward. I’ll explain the need to remove a back stack entry a little later, but this ability is built in to Windows Phone 8 and not Windows 8. Both Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 leverage classes for their navigation that aren’t easily mocked. Because one of my main goals with these apps is to keep them testable, I want to abstract this code behind a mockable interface. Therefore, my navigator will employ a combination of abstraction and compiler directives. This leaves me with the following interface: XML Copy public interface INavigator { bool CanGoBack { get; } void GoBack(); void NavigateToViewModel < TViewModel > (object parameter = null); #if WINDOWS_PHONE void RemoveBackEntry(); #endif // WINDOWS_PHONE } Note the use of #if WINDOWS_PHONE. This tells the compiler to compile the RemoveBackEntry into the interface definition only when the WINDOWS_PHONE compiler directive is defined, as it will be for Windows Phone 8 projects. Now here’s my implementation, as shown in Figure 4. Figure 4 Implementing INavigator XML Copy public sealed class Navigator : INavigator { private readonly ISerializer serializer; private readonly IContainer container; #if WINDOWS_PHONE private readonly Microsoft.Phone.Controls.PhoneApplicationFrame frame; #endif // WINDOWS_PHONE public Navigator( ISerializer serializer, IContainer container #if WINDOWS_PHONE, Microsoft.Phone.Controls.PhoneApplicationFrame frame #endif // WINDOWS_PHONE ) { this.serializer = serializer; this.container = container; #if WINDOWS_PHONE this.frame = frame; #endif // WINDOWS_PHONE } public void NavigateToViewModel < TViewModel > (object parameter = null) { var viewType = ResolveViewType < TViewModel > (); #if NETFX_CORE var frame = (Frame)Window.Current.Content; #endif // NETFX_CORE if (parameter!= null) { #if WINDOWS_PHONE this.frame.Navigate(ResolveViewUri(viewType, parameter)); #else frame.Navigate(viewType, this.serializer.Serialize(parameter)); #endif // WINDOWS_PHONE } else { #if WINDOWS_PHONE this.frame.Navigate(ResolveViewUri(viewType)); #else frame.Navigate(viewType); #endif // WINDOWS_PHONE } } public void GoBack() { #if WINDOWS_PHONE this.frame.GoBack(); #else ((Frame)Window.Current.Content).GoBack(); #endif // WINDOWS_PHONE } public bool CanGoBack { get { #if WINDOWS_PHONE return this.frame.CanGoBack; #else return ((Frame)Window.Current.Content).CanGoBack; #endif // WINDOWS_PHONE } } private static Type ResolveViewType < TViewModel > () { var viewModelType = typeof(TViewModel); var viewName = viewModelType.AssemblyQualifiedName.Replace( viewModelType.Name, viewModelType.Name.Replace("ViewModel", "Page")); return Type.GetType(viewName.Replace("Model", string.Empty)); } private Uri ResolveViewUri(Type viewType, object parameter = null) { var queryString = string.Empty; if (parameter!= null) { var serializedParameter = this.serializer.Serialize(parameter); queryString = string.Format("?parameter={0}", serializedParameter); } var match = System.Text.RegularExpressions.Regex.Match( viewType.FullName, @"\.Views.*"); if (match == null \|\| match.Captures.Count == 0) { throw new ArgumentException("Views must exist in Views namespace."); } var path = match.Captures[0].Value.Replace('.', '/'); return new Uri(string.Format("{0}.xaml{1}", path, queryString), UriKind.Relative); } #if WINDOWS_PHONE public void RemoveBackEntry() { this.frame.RemoveBackEntry(); } #endif // WINDOWS_PHONE } I need to highlight a couple parts of the Navigator implementation in Figure 4, in particular the use of both the WINDOWS_PHONE and NETFX_CORE compiler directives. This allows me keep the platform-specific code separated within the same code file. I also want to point out the ResolveViewUri method, especially how the query string parameter is defined. To keep things as consistent as possible across the two platforms, I’m allowing only one parameter to be passed. That one parameter will then be serialized and passed along in the platform-specific navigation. In the case of Windows Phone 8, that parameter will be passed via a “parameter” variable in the query string. Of course, my implementation of navigator is pretty limited, particularly due to the overly simple convention expectation. If you’re using an MVVM library, such as Caliburn.Micro, it can handle the actual navigation for you in a more robust way. However, in your own navigation, you may still want to apply this abstraction-plus-compiler-directives technique to smooth over the platform differences that exist in the libraries themselves. Application Settings Application settings are another area where Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 diverge. Each platform has the ability to save application settings fairly easily, and their implementations are quite similar as well. They differ in the classes they use, but both use classes that aren’t easily mockable, which would break the testability of my view model. So, once again, I’m going to opt for abstraction plus compiler directives. I must first decide what my interface should look like. The interface must: Add or update a setting Try to get a setting, without throwing an exception on failure Remove a setting Determine if a setting exists for a given key Pretty straightforward stuff, so my interface will be pretty straightforward: XML Copy public interface ISettings { void AddOrUpdate(string key, object value); bool TryGetValue < T > (string key, out T value); bool Remove(string key); bool ContainsKey(string key); } Because both platforms will have the same functionality, I don’t have to bother with compiler directives in the interface, keeping things nice and clean for my view models. Figure 5 shows my implementation of the ISettings interface. Figure 5 Implementing ISettings XML Copy public sealed class Settings : ISettings { public void AddOrUpdate(string key, object value) { #if WINDOWS_PHONE IsolatedStorageSettings.ApplicationSettings[key] = value; IsolatedStorageSettings.ApplicationSettings.Save(); #else ApplicationData.Current.RoamingSettings.Values[key] = value; #endif // WINDOWS_PHONE } public bool TryGetValue < T > (string key, out T value) { #if WINDOWS_PHONE return IsolatedStorageSettings.ApplicationSettings.TryGetValue < T > ( key, out value); #else var result = false; if (ApplicationData.Current.RoamingSettings.Values.ContainsKey(key)) { value = (T)ApplicationData.Current.RoamingSettings.Values[key]; result = true; } else { value = default(T); } return result; #endif // WINDOWS_PHONE } public bool Remove(string key) { #if WINDOWS_PHONE var result = IsolatedStorageSettings.ApplicationSettings.Remove(key); IsolatedStorageSettings.ApplicationSettings.Save(); return result; #else return ApplicationData.Current.RoamingSettings.Values.Remove(key); #endif // WINDOWS_PHONE } public bool ContainsKey(string key) { #if WINDOWS_PHONE return IsolatedStorageSettings.ApplicationSettings.Contains(key); #else return ApplicationData.Current.RoamingSettings.Values.ContainsKey(key); #endif // WINDOWS_PHONE } } The implementation shown in Figure 5 is pretty straightforward, just like the ISettings interface itself. It illustrates how each platform is only slightly different and requires only slightly different code to add, retrieve and remove application settings. The one thing I will point out is that the Windows 8 version of the code leverages roaming settings—Windows 8-specific functionality that lets an app store its settings in the cloud, allowing users to open the app on another Windows 8 device and see the same settings applied.How better to understand history than through the words of those who lived it? Competing Voices from the Russian Revolution: Fighting Words presents documents that underscore the extraordinary richness of public discussion about key events and issues during the 1917 Russian Revolution, one of the pivotal events in modern history. Carefully edited and annotated, the documents help clarify the issues while revealing the broad range of ways in which Russians understood the events unfolding around them. Focusing on public rhetoric and debate in Russia from the outbreak of World War I in 1914 through the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly in January 1918, the documents present the views not only of key political figures, but also of ordinary men and women--mothers, soldiers, factory workers, peasants, students, businesspeople, and educated professionals.Memorial to Tina Fontaine, slain 15-year-old aboriginal girl whose body was found in the Red River in Winnipeg. Winnipeg police have released the identity of a girl found dead in the Red River Sunday afternoon. Tina Fontaine, 15, was reported missing on Aug. 9. Her body was found in the Red River near the Alexander Docks at about 1:30 p.m., more than a week after she was reported missing. Police are treating Fontaine's death as a homicide. "It's obvious this child didn't put herself in the river in that condition," said homicide investigator Sgt. John O'Donovan. "She's definitely been exploited and taken advantage of." Fontaine was last seen in downtown Winnipeg on Aug. 8 wearing a white skirt, blue jacket and pink-and-white runners. She stood five-feet-three-inches tall and weighed about 100 pounds. O'Donovan said the teen was known to spend time near Portage Place. "She frequented mainly the central area. [She] frequented places like Portage Place and the streets adjacent to that, parallel to that, around Portage Avenue," he said. "She frequented the central area in general." Winnipeg police pull up a tarp after recovering a body from the Red River near the Alexander Docks on Sunday. (CBC) Fontaine, of Sagkeeng First Nation, had only been in Winnipeg for a month before her disappearance. "She's a petite little thing — just turned 15, barely in the city for a little over a month," O'Donovan said. "And she's definitely been exploited and taken advantage of and murdered." Fontaine was in the care of a Child and Family Services agency when she went missing, according to police. She had run away from her foster home before, including once in July of this year. "We know that she was in care and that she was rebelling in that care she was in. She was running away and had a history of that, but obviously she was in danger doing that," O'Donovan said. "At 15 I'm sure she didn't realize the danger she was putting herself in." Police said she was found wrapped in a bag, in "a condition she couldn't have put herself in," O'Donovan said. "She's a child. This is a child that has been murdered … Society should be horrified," he said. "That's why we're asking for people to come forward. And that's why we're asking for people to help us and to come forward with anything they know about this child." O'Donovan said police can confirm she was alive on the morning of Aug. 9, but "anything further than that we would love to hear from people on." She's a child. This is a child that has been murdered … Society should be horrified - Winnipeg police Sgt. John O'Donovan Anyone with information can contact police at 204-986-6508 or Crime Stoppers at 204-786-8477. "It's an upsetting case here because we have a child here who is dead, plus we don't know when she died," O'Donovan said. "We want to get it to the general public for their help." Police said Fontaine's body was discovered while police were looking for another — a man who had been seen struggling in the water near the Forks on Friday. "The circumstances surrounding it are rather unique in that our dive unit was out there looking, you know, for somebody else," said Const. Eric Hofley. "Unfortunately, the second body was located and recovered." Faron Hall's body also recovered The body of Faron Hall was also retrieved from the river Sunday evening, according to family members. Police confirmed Monday afternoon a man's body had been recovered from the Red River near Kildonan Park. They also confirmed it was the same person who had been seen struggling in the river near The Forks on Friday. On Monday evening, family members identified the man as Faron Hall. Rescue divers spent the weekend searching the river for the man after the distress call and attempted rescue on Friday. Police said they are not treating the death as suspicious, and they are not releasing details about how he ended up in the water.It's one of those things somebody says at a backyard barbecue when the subject turns to Baltimore and what needs to be done to make the city a better place: "For one thing, they should tear down all those vacant houses." I've been hearing this suggestion for the last four decades, a time when the city experienced significant population loss. It's a reaction to jarring images of abandoned rowhouses that symbolize "the rot beneath the glitter," a phrase famously quoted in a 1986 Goldseker Foundation report about the city's prospects following the Inner Harbor renaissance. For many people, especially those offering their opinions from the suburbs, the solution seems obvious, simple, even irresistible: Just clear ugly blocks of abandoned houses on the blighted east side or on the crumbling west side, and... And what? People who call for bulldozing whole blocks seem to think that a developer will suddenly find the flattened area wildly attractive and build new, well-appointed "townhomes" for Baltimore's growing professional class. In that dream, there's no consideration of geography — whether the demolished blocks are anywhere near a job center or supermarket or school or even an adjoining neighborhood that's stable and attractive. And there's no accounting for people who already live in or near the blighted areas. What happens to them? This is complicated stuff. Some people believe the demolition of old, decrepit Baltimore will create grand opportunities for more green space — vast city parks and sprawling urban gardens. I once wholeheartedly supported that idea, but not so much anymore. (More on that later.) Some believe that, at the very least, more demolition will give areas of the city a psychological lift and a break from crime. That sounds good, but unless those areas are refilled, they could start in time to look hopeless. Maryland's governor, Larry Hogan, expressed love and support for the city in an opinion piece in The Baltimore Sun on Sept. 18. He pledged to help, and knocking down buildings was at the top of his agenda. "Fixing what's broken in Baltimore starts with the sea of abandoned, dilapidated buildings that infect entire neighborhoods," Hogan said. "These empty, decaying structures are a breeding ground for crime and an impediment to private sector investment. … Therefore, my administration will advance a plan to knock down blocks of derelict buildings that tarnish communities across Baltimore, replacing them with parks and other open spaces." A couple of things. First, a reminder about what I said after the April 27 riot: With the nation's eyes on Baltimore, the Republican governor of Maryland, a suburban real estate broker and not a professional politician, had an opportunity to strike a new course for his party — right through the heart of a city that had not seen any help from Republican leadership in half a century. But Hogan did not take the challenge, and his relationship with Baltimore's mayor seemed frigid at best. Hogan kicked the city when it was down by killing the Red Line light rail plan and using the savings on suburban and rural road projects. Now that Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake has decided not to seek re-election, Hogan has come around again, expressing a desire to help the city. That's great. But, please, sir, just send money, not a bulldozer. Talk of knocking down "blocks of derelict buildings" makes the governor sound like that guy at the backyard barbecue. He should know better. While some whole blocks might need to go, many with vacant rowhouses also have homes that are owner-occupied. As I said: Complicated. Resolving Baltimore's vacant house problem involves vigorous housing code enforcement; going to court to seize properties; respecting the rights of homeowners who live in or near blighted properties and, if necessary, relocating them (at significant expense to taxpayers); getting developers to invest; giving financial incentives to homebuyers
UK since the Conservatives entered government in 2010. The exact trend in child poverty under the Conservatives depends on the year you start counting from. There’s been little change in the numbers of children in absolute child poverty whether you compare the latest figures for 2015/16 to 2009/10 or to 2010/11. The change in relative child poverty is much more different depending on the years being compared. Since 2009/10 there’s little change, while since 2010/11, there’s a rise of roughly 400,000 (both before and after housing costs). We’ve asked Mr Smith what he was referring to. Little overall change in child poverty comparing now to 2010 The Conservatives entered government in coalition in May 2010, so it’s not always clear which time period we should start counting from. There’s been little change in child poverty levels and rates comparing 2015/16—the latest year of data—to 2009/10, according to official data from the Department for Work and Pensions. Those show an estimated 3.8 million children in absolute poverty since 2009/10, taking housing costs into account. That compares to 3.7 million in 2015/16. On relative poverty, the number was estimated at 3.9 million in 2009/10 and 4 million in 2015/16. There’s also little change in absolute poverty if you compare to 2010/11. But the change in relative poverty is roughly 400,000 since then. But the trend hasn’t been a straight line Those comparisons do mask one thing: the trend between those years wasn’t consistent. Relative child poverty, for example, showed falls up until 2012/13, and rises since then (before and after housing costs). That rise (after housing costs) was recently calculated by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) as the equivalent of about 400,000 children as well. A press release this week from the JRF said: “Almost 400,000 more children and 300,000 more pensioners are now living in poverty than in 2012/13.” The official published data on poverty isn’t as detailed as the researchers at JRF have access to. Child poverty is forecast to rise up to 2022 The Institute for Fiscal Studies produces estimates for what might happen to child poverty levels and rates over the next few years, assuming current economic forecasts prove correct and that the government sticks with its current benefits policy. Again, because the latest data available is for 2015/16, these estimates actually start in the past, and look forward as far as 2021/22. They suggest absolute child poverty, taking housing costs into account, may increase by around 400,000 children over the period, from about 27% of children to 31%. It also suggests relative child poverty increasing from 30% to 37%. The IFS puts these changes down mainly to the effect of tax and benefit reforms introduced by the government. This factcheck is part of a roundup of BBC Question Time. Read the roundup.“Why would I pay ten thousand dollars for a diamond ring?” I asked, incredulous. “Why, a diamond is forever, mister,” the man in the impeccable suit behind the counter explained, “It is also perfectly cut and crafted by a famous Russian diamond craftsman.” He looked at me with a face of smugness as if he was the cutter himself. “A perfectly cut diamond? Why would I want something that is perfect when we, as humans, are riddled with flaws?” I looked at Daphne and continued, “It is precisely the imperfections in us that make us perfect, make us real and human.” It was a great paradox, she told me once. She smiled. And that smile has the same intensity of sweetness as the smile she wore on the our very first date — shy but coy. “I would buy a blemished diamond ring if you have any,” I challenged the man. He stared at me with a blankness of disbelief. If he hadn’t spoken earlier I would have thought he was a mute. Without another word, I grabbed Daphne by the hand and left the shop.Nathaniel Gorham (May 27, 1738 – June 11, 1796, his first name is sometimes spelled Nathanial) was a politician and merchant from Massachusetts. He was a delegate from Massachusetts to the Continental Congress, and for six months served as the presiding officer of that body. He also attended the Constitutional Convention and was one of the signers of the United States Constitution on September 17, 1787, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Biography [ edit ] Early life and family [ edit ] Gorham was born in Charlestown, Boston, Massachusetts, and was the son of Captain Nathaniel Gorham and his father's wife Mary Soley.[2] His 3rd great grandfather was John Howland (c. 1599–1673), who was one of the Pilgrims who traveled from England to North America on the Mayflower, signed the Mayflower Compact, and helped found the Plymouth Colony.[3][4] His sister, Elizabeth Gorham, who married John Leighton, was the ancestor of Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt, the second wife of Theodore Roosevelt, who served as First Lady of the United States during his presidency from 1901 to 1909.[5] Marriage [ edit ] He married Rebecca Call, who was descended from Anglican vicar and the first minister of Dorchester, Massachusetts, John Maverick, and his royally descended wife, Mary Gye Maverick. Rev. John Maverick was born in Awliscombe, Devon, baptized there on December 28, 1578, and enrolled at Oxford October 24, 1595, age 18. He was the son of Rev. Peter Maverick (spelled Mavericke in old English records), the vicar of Awliscombe. on September 6, 1763, in Charlestown, Massachusetts. She was born on May 14, 1744, in Charlestown, and died there on November 18, 1812. She was the daughter of Caleb Call and Rebecca Stimson.[6] They were the parents of nine children.[2] Career [ edit ] Starting at 15, he served an apprenticeship with a merchant in New London, Connecticut, after which he opened a merchant house in Charlestown, Massachusetts, in 1759.[7] He took part in public affairs at the beginning of the American Revolution: he was a member of the Massachusetts General Court (legislature) from 1771 until 1775, a delegate to the Provincial congress from 1774 until 1775, and a member of the Board of War from 1778 until its dissolution in 1781. In 1779 he served in the state constitutional convention. He was a delegate to the Congress of the Confederation from 1782 until 1783, and also from 1785 until 1787, serving as its president for five months from June 6 to November 5, 1786, after the resignation of John Hancock. Gorham also served a term as judge of the Middlesex County Court of Common Pleas.[8] In 1786 it might have been Gorham who suggested to Alexander Hamilton that Prince Henry of Prussia would become President[9] or King of the United States. However, the offer was revoked before the prince could make a reply.[10] For several months in 1787, Gorham served as one of the Massachusetts delegates to the United States Constitutional Convention.[8] Gorham frequently served as Chairman of the Convention's Committee of the Whole, meaning that he (rather than the President of the Convention, George Washington) presided over convention sessions during the delegates' first deliberations on the structure of the new government in late May and June 1787. After the convention, he worked hard to see that the Constitution was approved in his home state. In connection with Oliver Phelps, he purchased from the state of Massachusetts in 1788 pre-emption rights to an immense tract of land in western New York State which straddled the Genesee River, all for the sum of $1,000,000 (about $14.8 million today) (the Phelps and Gorham Purchase).[11][12] The land in question had been previously ceded to Massachusetts from the state of New York under the 1786 Treaty of Hartford. The pre-emption right gave them the first or preemptive right to obtain clear title to this land from the Indians. They soon extinguished the Indian title to the portion of the land east of the Genesee River, as well as a 185,000 acres (750 km2) tract west of the Genesee, the Mill Yard Tract, surveyed all of it, laid out townships, and sold large parts to speculators and settlers. Nathaniel Gorham Jr. (died October 22, 1836, Canandaigua, New York) was a pioneer settler of this tract, having been placed in charge of his father's interests there.[13] In 1790, after Gorham and Phelps defaulted in payment, they sold nearly all of their unsold lands east of the Genesee to Robert Morris, who eventually resold those lands to The Pulteney Association. Phelps and Gorham were unable to fulfill their contract in full to Massachusetts, so in 1790, they surrendered back to Massachusetts that portion of the lands which remained under the Indian title, namely, the land west of the Genesee. It also was eventually acquired by Robert Morris, who resold most of it to The Holland Land Company. Morris did keep 500,000 acres (2,000 km2) of land that became known as The Morris Reserve. Death and legacy [ edit ] Gorham died in Charlestown, Massachusetts, in 1796. A eulogy was delivered in his memory by Dr. Thomas Welch of Charlestown.[14] He is buried in the Phipps Street Cemetery in Charlestown.[11][15] Gorham Street in Madison, Wisconsin, is named in his honor.[16] The Town of Gorham, New York, is also named in his honor.[17] Descendants [ edit ] Nathaniel Gorham's descendants number in the thousands today.[18] Some of his notable descendants include: Notes [ edit ] References [ edit ]⇓ More from ICTworks We all talk a good game about how we want to scale ICT4D programs. How we want to reach 100,000 or even +1 million constituents with our cool technology solutions. If that’s the true goal, and we’re honest about reaching it, we really should abandon Africa for India or China. Go to China or India The key to scale is people of course. And most surveys put China and India at the top of population counts with over a billion people each. Africa, as a continent, also has over a billion people. Africa, however, is not a country, so any solution needs to be reflective of 50+ countries and administrative regions. China and India have their own political barriers too of course. However, Uttar Pradesh, just one state in India, has 25 million more people than Nigeria, sub-Sahara’s most populous country. Now let’s say you could cross political barriers without too much hassle, working in Africa, you would still have to surmount steep language barriers. Nominally, most Africans speak English, French, Portuguese, or Arabic, but in reality, those are languages of the elite. You would need to localize to hundreds of tribal languages to reach millions of Africans, or just English and Hindi to reach 540 million Indians, or Traditional Chinese to reach almost all 1.3 billion mainland Chinese. Or Redefine Scale Finally, let’s really be honest about “scale”. This term doesn’t mean we need to reach millions, go continental, or even national. Reaching scale can mean a majority of community members in a single village, town, or city. Or just your key constituents, no matter their quantity. When we understand that scale is relative, we can let go of the need to abandon Africa to reach millions, and accept that scale is best defined on an individual basis, one changed mind at a time.Senegal's Siné Saloum Delta is a biodiversity hotspot. Just 180 kilometers south-east of Dakar, the UNESCO world heritage site covers some 180,000 hectares, comprising wetlands, lakes, lagoons and marshes, as well as sandy coasts and dunes, terrestrial savannah areas and dry, open forest. It's home to 400 species and plays a vital role in flood control and regulating the distribution of rainwater for the local people and wildlife. Lack of fresh water But due to drought, climate change and the uncontrolled logging of mangrove forests, the ground's salinity has shot up – threatening the livelihoods of thousands of people living there. One of them is Khadiome Ndongue, a resident of Sadio Ba near the west coast town of Foundiougne. Every day she draws water from a well in the community vegetable garden. The water from the well dug in 1988 has gradually turned salty over the last twenty years. During the dry season, in the wetland along the Saloum river, underground fresh water retreats, letting seawater in. This is known as saltwater intrusion - the movement of saline water into freshwater aquifers – making fresh water sources undrinkable. Sadio Ba village has had to abandon rice cultivation because of this salination. "The salt has caused a lot of damage in the fields. The scale of our agriculture is decreasing more and more because we don't use the salted ground,” she said. Khadiome Ndongue relies on the well for water "We can only use the arable land. Our yields are low and we have problems feeding families and selling our crops like before. Because of the salt we've abandoned the rice fields. Instead, we grow groundnuts, maize, and millet,” said Ndongue. A few years ago a visiting engineer suggested dropping bags of rice and millet husks, a fine inedible powder residue made from pounding grain, into the well, in order to reduce salinity. It has worked, at least in the contained area of the well. Djigane Mboup, another villager, has taken up rearing chickens to make ends meet. "Salt has really damaged our land. Before, you could earn 50,000 CFA francs (80 euro) from your crop. Now you'll barely make 30,000 CFA. It's been like that since 1999 or 2000. Last year was bad, but this year, it's even worse,” he said. The Siné Saloum Delta has been identified as the most important place in Senegal, and even in West Africa, for its population of bird species. The goliath heron, the great egret and the grey heron are a common sight. Uncontrolled logging of mangroves Seyé advises residents on dealing with salinification But climate change, drought, and the uncontrolled cutting of mangroves, a natural saltwater barrier, are increasing the salinity of the ground with huge impacts on the delta's unique biosphere, says Ballé Seye, project manager at the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). "Mangrove forests help stop the advancement of salinisation in the crop fields,” said Seye. "Now all these mangroves are just relics, destroyed. The result is that there's a strong advance of salinisation in the fields and especially pastoral zones. No grass grows on this land,so you can imagine the difficulties herders will have in a few years,” he said. To improve environmental conditions, the IUCN launched three pilot initiatives under the Ecosystems Protecting Infrastructure and Communities (EPIC) project, in six villages in Senegal. The first initiative was to develop ways to regulate the exploitation of forestry and fisheries. The second was to construct anti-salt barriers with local materials and lastly, to restore 90 hectares of forest to improve soil quality. Sadio Ba residents have built anti-salt barriers to retain humidity and keep salt water off the land. A new village forest Villagers were trained to grow a nursery of forestry species that can resist increased salt levels in the soil. In Sadio Ba village, 100 square metres of land have been fenced off so that trees can be planted, and will serve as a managed forest area. "Here, the major difficulty for women is access to firewood. If there's a village forest set up with rules, it will enable women in the long term and in the medium term to have wood for fuel for their consumption, and to replant at the same time,” said Seye. Around the world, wetlands continue to be drained and reclaimed for farming, as they are seen as a barrier to agriculture. According to the Ramsar Convention, while there is a need for more food production from land, the conversion of wetlands has far reaching impacts on their own ecosystem, and communities living off the ecosystem wetlands provide. World Wetlands Day is celebrated every year on 2 February. It marks the day the Convention on Wetlands was adopted in 1971, in the Iranian city of Ramsar. This year's the theme is Wetlands for Disaster Risk Reduction highlighting the vital roles healthy wetlands play in reducing the impacts of extreme events, like floods.CHICAGO (Reuters) - Monsanto Co sued Arkansas agricultural officials on Friday to stop a proposed summer ban on a weed killer linked to widespread crop damage beyond the major farm state’s borders. FILE PHOTO: Monsanto logo is displayed on a screen where the stock is traded on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., May 9, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo The lawsuit seeks to block the Arkansas State Plant Board from prohibiting the use of dicamba herbicides, manufactured by Monsanto and BASF SE, during summer when the products are meant to be sprayed on soybeans and cotton engineered by Monsanto to resist the chemical. Growers across the farm belt said this summer that dicamba hit areas other than where it was sprayed, damaging millions of acres of crops that could not tolerate the herbicides. Experts say dicamba is more likely to vaporize in high temperatures in a process known as volatility. Chemical companies, though, have blamed the damage on farmers misusing dicamba. To prevent damage, the Arkansas plant board advanced a proposal at a September meeting that put the state just one step away from banning dicamba sprayings after April 15, 2018. However, the board did not review 14 studies on volatility Monsanto submitted at the meeting, according to the lawsuit. The board’s action hurt Monsanto and its dicamba herbicide brand through the loss of direct sales and indirect business through distribution and licensing agreements, the complaint said. “The plant board’s action disadvantages Arkansas farmers,” Scott Partridge, vice president of global strategy for Monsanto, said on Friday. Terry Walker, director of the plant board, said on Friday he had not seen Monsanto’s lawsuit and declined to comment. Board spokeswoman Adriane Barnes also had no immediate comment on the complaint. Arkansas previously prevented farmers from using Monsanto’s dicamba herbicide, called XtendiMax with VaporGrip, in 2017. The state allowed sales of a version made by rival BASF SE. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved use of the herbicides on crops that had emerged from the ground only through next year and could stop sprayings beyond 2018 if farmers suffer another year of damage. The case is Monsanto Co v Arkansas State Plant Board et al, Circuit Court of Pulaski County, Arkansas, No. CV-17-5964.Since last summer, Americans have seen their investments shrink and their property values plummet. At the heart of the problem is something called the subprime mortgage crisis, which began back then and continues to ricochet through the economy. It sounds complicated, but it's really fairly simple: banks lent hundreds of billions of dollars to homebuyers who can't pay them back. Wall Street took the risky debt, dressed it up as fancy securities, and sold it around the world as safe investments. If it sounds like a shell game or Ponzi scheme, in some ways it was a house of cards rife with corruption, greed, and negligence. And as correspondent Steve Kroft first reported in January, it started in places like Stockton, Calif. Real estate agent Kevin Moran gave Kroft a tour of the wreckage in one subdivision called "Weston Ranch," with block after block of vacant and abandoned houses. "If you see a 'for sale' sign in this neighborhood that probably is a sign of distress, right?" Kroft asks. "I would say that, yeah. Two out of three of all the sales are probably foreclosed properties, and/or people who are in distress," Moran explains. The "for sale" signs and the overgrown lawns in Weston Ranch only show part of the picture. To get a real overview, you need to look at a map from Sean O'Toole's Web site, foreclosureradar.com, which tracks distressed properties in Stockton and other California communities. "The light blue circles are folks that have gone into default. And that means that's the first step of the foreclosure process," O'Toole says, explaining how his maps color-code properties. "The dark blue is auction properties. And the red icons are properties that were sold at auction, had no bid, and therefore went back to the lender." As of last week, there were 4,200 Stockton homes either in default or foreclosure; $1.4 billion in bad loans in just one California community, and it is far from over. "Two months from now, what's this map gonna look like? How many of those light blues are gonna be red?" Kroft asks O'Toole. "We'll probably see at least 60, 70 percent of these light blues turn red. And we'll see at least this many light blues again," O'Toole predicts. Banks are auctioning off houses all over California and in South Florida, in Nevada, and in parts of Ohio and Texas, the result of a huge real estate bubble that began forming in Stockton back in 2003, when people priced out of the Bay Area and Silicon Valley discovered that you could buy a four-bedroom home there for just $230,000. Developers started turning asparagus fields into subdivisions, and lenders handed out free money to anyone who wanted to buy. "What do you mean by free money?" Kroft asks Jim Grant, the editor of "Grant's Interest Rate Observer" and one the country's foremost experts on credit markets. "I mean free money. I mean you had to apply not to get a loan, almost. Sometimes you have to apply to get a loan, you almost had to apply not to get one," Grant says. "When you opened your mailbox in 2004, 2005, you could barely -- people were pressing on you, if you were not institutionalized, all matters of schemes in which to expand your personal debt and mortgage debt. You could, and people did, borrow more than 100 percent of the price of a house with the most fragile of financial bonafides," Grant explains. Most of the mortgages issued in Stockton, and half of those now in default or foreclosure, were something called subprime loans, meaning less than prime quality. The borrowers often had sketchy credit, were financially strapped or lacked sufficient income to qualify for a standard mortgage. After a year of artificially low payments, the interest rates on subprime loans jumped all the way to ten or 11 percent.New research finds having no distractions makes most of us uncomfortable. Which pastime would you prefer: Sitting alone quietly with your thoughts, or experiencing an electric shock? The answer may seem obvious. But consider for a moment what it’s like to have no distractions from your ongoing mental chatter, which Buddhists refer to as “monkey mind.” Thoughts pop up rapidly and randomly, like a sour, surrealistic movie we can’t turn off. Fears and regrets we’ve pushed aside reappear front and center, resulting in increased agitation and the desire for some form of escape—even, perhaps, a jolt of current. ADVERTISEMENT Thanks for watching! Visit Website That scenario may or may not sound familiar, but it clearly applies to a lot of people. A research team led by University of Virginia psychologist Timothy Wilson reports that, in a series of studies, “participants typically did not enjoy spending 6 to 15 minutes in a room by themselves with nothing to do but think.” "Simply being alone with their own thoughts for 15 minutes was apparently so aversive that it drove many participants to self-administer an electronic shock that they had earlier said they would pay to avoid." What’s more, in the researchers’ most remarkable result, “many preferred to administer electronic shocks to themselves instead of being left alone with their thoughts.” ADVERTISEMENT Thanks for watching! Visit Website ADVERTISEMENT Thanks for watching! Visit Website “The untutored mind does not like to be alone with itself,” Wilson and his colleagues conclude in the journal Science. The researchers demonstrated our aversion to rumination in 11 similarly structured studies. Participants—mostly university students, but also community members recruited at a church and a farmer’s market—were instructed to spend a specific amount of time (five to 15 minutes) “entertaining themselves with their thoughts.” In most of the studies, the participants sat in an unadorned room at the university, separated from “all of their belongings, including cell phones and writing implements.” After their “thinking period” was over, they reported on the experience. “Most participants reported that it was difficult to concentrate,” the researchers report, adding that “on average, participants did not enjoy the experience very much: 49.3 percent reported enjoyment that was at or below the midpoint of the scale.” In two additional studies, participants performed the same experiment at home, with similar results. Many found it difficult to follow the simple instructions, admitting afterwards that they had cheated by listening to music or checking their cell phone during their quiet period. In the most startling study, participants began by rating the pleasantness or unpleasantness of different sorts of stimuli, including attractive photographs and the aforementioned electric shocks. Afterwards, they were asked how much they would pay (out of a $5 allowance) to not experience the jolts again. They then began 15 minutes of quiet time. But unlike previous participants, they had an out: “They could receive an electric shock again during the thinking period by pressing a button.” Amazingly, 67 percent of the men—that is, 12 of 18—gave themselves at least one shock during this period of thought and reflection. Only 25 percent of the women self-administered the jolt—still a high number when you consider there is physical discomfort involved. “The gender difference is probably due to the tendency of men to be higher in sensation-seeking,” the researchers write. That point aside, “Simply being alone with their own thoughts for 15 minutes was apparently so aversive that it drove many participants to self-administer an electronic shock that they had earlier said they would pay to avoid," they write. Wilson and his colleagues (including Daniel Gilbert of Harvard University) can only speculate as to why solitary thinking proved so unsettling to so many. They noted that participants may have “focused on their own shortcomings and got caught in ruminative thought cycles”—the scenario described earlier. Linguistic analysis of their answers didn’t show evidence of such spirals, but it’s hard to imagine what else would cause such intense discomfort. “It may be particularly had to steer our thoughts in pleasant directions and keep them there,” the researchers conclude. Their results imply that a more practical approach may be to cultivate the ability to watch our thoughts pass by from a detached state. Meditation isn’t an easy technique to learn, but it has many advantages--and requires no electricity.Ubuntu 13.04 (Raring Ringtail) released The Ubuntu team is very pleased to announce the release of Ubuntu 13.04 for Desktop, Server, Cloud, and Core products. Codenamed "Raring Ringtail", 13.04 continues Ubuntu's proud tradition of integrating the latest and greatest open source technologies into a high-quality, easy-to-use Linux distribution. This release cycle has seen a significant push toward daily quality, which has allowed most developers and users to participate more actively throughout the cycle, and we feel this also shows in the final quality of this release. Along with performance improvements to Unity, updates to common desktop packages, and updated core and toolchain components, Ubuntu 13.04 also includes the new Friends service, to consolidate all social networking accounts via Ubuntu Online Accounts. Also included is a tech preview of Upstart's new user session feature. Ubuntu Server 13.04 includes the Grizzy release of OpenStack, alongside deployment and management tools that save devops teams time when deploying distributed applications - whether on private clouds, public clouds, x86 or ARM servers, or on developer laptops. Several key server technologies, from MAAS to Ceph, have been updated to new upstream versions with a variety of new features, and a preview of the new Go rewrite of Juju is available in the backports repository. Read more about the new features of Ubuntu 13.04 in the following press releases: http://ubunt.eu/1304Server http://ubunt.eu/1304Client Maintenance updates will be provided for Ubuntu 13.04 for 9 months, through January 2014. Thanks to the efforts of the global translation community, Ubuntu is now available in 42 languages. For a list of available languages and detailed translation statistics for these and other languages, see: http://people.canonical.com/~dpm/stats/ubuntu-13.04-translation-stats.html The newest Kubuntu 13.04, Edubuntu 13.04, Xubuntu 13.04, Lubuntu 13.04 and Ubuntu Studio 13.04 are also being released today. More details can be found in their announcements: Kubuntu: http://kubuntu.org/news/13.04-release Xubuntu: http://xubuntu.org/news/13-04-release Edubuntu: http://edubuntu.org/news/13.04-release Lubuntu: http://wiki.ubuntu.com/Lubuntu/Announcement/13.04 Ubuntu Studio: http://ubuntustudio.org/?p=726 This release cycle, we welcome two new flavours to the Ubuntu archive, Ubuntu GNOME and UbuntuKylin. For more information about each, see their wiki pages, and welcome them to the family: Ubuntu GNOME: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuGNOME UbuntuKylin: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuKylin To get Ubuntu 13.04 ------------------- In order to download Ubuntu 13.04, visit: http://www.ubuntu.com/download Users of Ubuntu 12.10 will be offered an automatic upgrade to 13.04 via Update Manager. For further information about upgrading, see: http://www.ubuntu.com/download/desktop/upgrade As always, upgrades to the latest version of Ubuntu are entirely free of charge. We recommend that all users read the release notes, which document caveats, workarounds for known issues, as well as more in-depth notes on the releaseitself. They are available at: http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/releasenotes Find out what's new in this release with a graphical overview: http://www.ubuntu.com/desktop http://www.ubuntu.com/desktop/features If you have a question, or if you think you may have found a bug but aren't sure, you can try asking in any of the following places: #ubuntu on irc.freenode.net http://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-users http://www.ubuntuforums.org http://askubuntu.com Help Shape Ubuntu ----------------- If you would like to help shape Ubuntu, take a look at the list of ways you can participate at: http://www.ubuntu.com/community/get-involved About Ubuntu ------------ Ubuntu is a full-featured Linux distribution for desktops, laptops, netbooks and servers, with a fast and easy installation and regular releases. A tightly-integrated selection of excellent applications is included, and an incredible variety of add-on software is just a few clicks away. Professional services including support are available from Canonical and hundreds of other companies around the world. For more information about support, visit: http://www.ubuntu.com/support More Information ---------------- You can learn more about Ubuntu and about this release on our website listed below: http://www.ubuntu.com To sign up for future Ubuntu announcements, please subscribe to Ubuntu's very low volume announcement list at: http://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-announce On behalf of the Ubuntu Release Team, Adam ConradPaul Morris / Bloomberg / Getty Images Savant Automation Inc. guided vehicles sit on display to be auctioned off at the Solyndra LLC building in Fremont, Calif., on Nov. 2, 2011 The controversy over the failed solar company Solyndra which received $535 million in federal aid before it went bankrupt earlier this year has reignited the debate on how much, if at all, Washington should be subsidizing clean-energy research and development. Critics of federal clean-energy aid were given new ammunition this past weekend, as a pair of articles in the New York Times and the Washington Post made the case that much of the public's money was essentially being wasted. The Times story, by Eric Lipton and Clifford Krauss, examined the "gold rush of subsidies" now available to developers of large-scale clean-energy projects, thanks in part to stimulus spending by the Obama Administration. The article revolved around the California Valley Solar Ranch, a 250-megawatt utility project being built by NRG Energy on more than 4,000 acres of dry, sun-drenched land in San Luis Obispo County, northwest of Los Angeles. The ranch's 1 million solar panels will provide enough power for 100,000 homes, but at the cost of $1.6 billion nearly all of which, according to the Times, will be paid for by government subsidies. (Read about the Solyndra syndrome.) The Post piece, by Steven Mufson, noted that from 1961 to 2008 the federal government spent $172 billion on basic research and development of advanced energy and suggested that we hadn't gotten anywhere near our money's worth. Experimental nuclear plants, synthetic fuels, hydrogen-powered cars on the long list of government bets on new energy technology, Mufson found few clean winners. As former Obama economic adviser and Clinton-era Treasury Secretary Larry Summers put it in an e-mail to other White House staff about possible loans for Solyndra, the federal government seems to be "a crappy VC." All this, plus the lingering fallout from Solyndra a poster child for the Obama Administration's green-investment plans before its spectacular failure in September would seem to put the final nails in the coffin for government green investment. Or does it? First, it's important to note that subsidies for clean energy still lag far behind the public money that goes toward oil, coal and natural gas projects. According to the International Energy Agency, fossil fuels received $409 billion in subsidies globally in 2010, compared with $66 billion for renewable power. Of course, fossil fuels supply far more energy than renewable sources about 80% of global energy consumption and thus give a better return on investment, on a megawatt-by-megawatt basis. But coal and oil have been around for over a century, making them the very definition of mature industries and therefore, one would think, less in need of sustained government assistance. Furthermore, the price tag on green-energy subsidies may be overstated. NRG Energy pushed back on the Times story, arguing that much of the government money it was receiving for the California project was in the form of loans that would need to be repaid not as part of a simple Washington giveaway. And as Michael Levi of the Council on Foreign Relations noted, that $172 billion of government spending on clean-energy research cited in the Post is just pennies compared with the $30 trillion spent on primary fuels and electricity infrastructure from 1970 to 2009. (Actually less than pennies: 0.5%.) "It's not hard to imagine ways that government spending could have paid off at least this much, whether through technologies that made cars more efficient, natural gas extraction more feasible or nuclear power safer," he writes. "Government would need to be spectacularly ineffective to not have generated a positive return on its investment." (Read about why you shouldn't be fooled by the fallout of Solyndra.) Indeed, as the staff of the energy-policy think tank Breakthrough Institute point out, it's easy to see the benefits of government spending on advanced energy even on projects deemed to be total failures. President Jimmy Carter launched the synthetic-fuels campaign in the 1970s as an effort to wean the U.S. from foreign oil; the government would spend billions figuring out how to create liquid fuel from coal, only to watch synfuels fail after the price of oil collapsed in the 1980s. The effort became a byword for government fallacy on energy, yet the research helped lead to coal gasification and carbon-capture and -storage technology that's being used today. Finally, it's not as if the private sector necessarily has a better track record than the government when it comes to energy investments. Silicon Valley venture capitalists like to boast about their willingness to fail multiple times on the way to their one big success, and while VC funds don't have to make their investment records as public as, say, the Department of Energy's budget, a little trip to the Web 1.0 graveyard hi, Pets.com! would show more than a few colossal mistakes. If it's accepted that private sector investors need to fail in order to succeed especially with something as huge and complex as energy why shouldn't the government be able to take the same risks? Look at defense spending, in which the government has thrown billions at turkeys like the V-22 Osprey its costly, crash-prone tilt-rotor aircraft without much pressure to cut back on the military budget. Of course, that argument doesn't hold much water with conservatives, who believe that the government has a role in ensuring national defense and should freely spend lots and lots of money to do so but not necessarily in promoting clean energy. "I do not think it is the federal government's business to be picking winners and losers in frankly any of our energy sources," GOP presidential candidate Rick Perry said at a recent campaign stop. That's easy to say, though in practice even Republican politicians tend to favor government spending on energy when the fruits are flowing to their constituents. But let's have some real talk: if we want to avoid extremely dangerous climate change and if we
U.S., Cerberus Capital Management, was also kicking the tires of the failing company, with the Wall Street Journal reporting that it had signed a confidentiality agreement that would allow it to access BlackBerry's private financial information. BlackBerry shares were down around 2.4 per cent on the Nasdaq, trading at $7.77 US in early afternoon trading. It was down about three per cent on the TSX, trading at $8.02 Cdn.Buying a phone involves too many trade-offs. This one has a great camera, but the battery kind of sucks. This one lasts forever, but it's giant and feels like a car tire. Phones with a single, otherworldly feature, like the Lumia 1020 or the Droid Turbo, are just novelties: great when you need a camera or a big battery, but the rest of the time it's just a fat phone. It doesn't have to be like this—and soon it won't. In the near future, you'll be able to build a smartphone to your exact specifications. Even better, you'll be able to change the configuration after you buy it. Your gadgets won't be fixed things, upgraded annually. They'll come in pieces, which you'll change constantly to suit your every need and whim. Anyone will be able to afford one. It'll happen first to your phone, then everything else. We're at the dawn of the age of modular gadgets, and it's going to be awesome. Build-A-Gadget Rangan Srikhanta, CEO of One Education in Australia, is sold on the future of modular devices. He's working on the XO-Infinity, a modular laptop/tablet hybrid in the legacy of the One Laptop Per Child project. The appeal of the Infinity is obvious: Buy one device, use it forever. You can upgrade individual parts as you need to, but you only need to endure the high cost of an entirely new gadget once. Much of the world can't afford to upgrade even the cheapest phone every couple of years, but modular gadgets can turn upgrades from a major expense to a minor tweak. Maybe your phone will need a new camera eventually, but the rest of it works just fine. Why pay for new versions of parts you already have? "So often the cost analysis is, 'Hey, what's the up-front cost?'" Srikhanta says. "But very little has been done on the long-term cost, if you apply that over a child's full childhood." It's still early to say for sure, but Srikhanta is confident that "we're going to come in a lot more cost-effective than getting new cheap tablets every few years. The Infinity is far from the first of its kind. Modular tech projects have been springing up for years. There was the Motorola Atrix, the phone that wanted to also be a laptop but actually didn't do either very well. And the Asus Padfone—see above. Way back when, you could even pop an MP3 player or a camera into the slot on the back of your Handspring Visor. The XO-Infinity, a modular laptop / tablet hybrid from One Education. One Education The difference is that these pieced-together devices are finally feasible now. CPUs are more powerful and more integrated, pulling everything from the Wi-Fi chip to the processor and GPU onto a single, tiny board. USB-C is reversible, wildly compatible, and capable enough to handle some intense throughput. And as more capability shifts to browsers and the cloud, you don't need so much hardware anyway. As they get better, they're breaking into even more pieces: Google's Project Ara, the most high-profile project in the space, dissects a phone into swappable modules for the battery, the processor, the camera, the screen, and so much more. Want an X-ray machine on your phone? Just pop it in. Right now, the technology is controlling us. It needs to be vice-versa. It's not only easy upgrades; repairs are easier, too. One Education is looking into sending the devices unassembled, and just by learning how to put it together the first time, kids will teach themselves to repair and upgrade the devices later. It's cheaper for One Education: The company won't have to replace the whole device every time something breaks. The Infinity comes in five modules: the core frame for the device, the battery, the camera, the screen, and the computing and networking chip. It can run Linux, Android, or Windows, depending on which module you plug in. Everything connects through USB. Srikhanta is especially excited about USB-C, which the Infinity will support soon—at the moment, there's not enough support for the new connector, especially among lower-end components like those in the XO-Infinity. But here's the beauty of modular technology: That won't slow production down. They'll just swap a USB-C module into the default set later. One Education is looking at other possible modules to build, but Srikhanta says there are no plans to create a gigantic store full of third-party modules. Instead, Srikhanta wants build a sort of gray market, where people are selling and trading their modules. The only way a device like this can work is with a sprawling, vibrant support system, where it's easy to find the replacement or upgrade quickly and at an affordable price. Where everyone can get what they need. As Srikhanta says over and over again, no two users are alike—so why should their gadgets be? One For You and You and You... and You Alireza Tahmasebzadeh is a co-founder of Blocks Wearables, which is in the middle of building a totally modular smart watch. He says the idea for its modular device came from disagreeing with his co-founder about what should go into a regular smart watch. Tahmasebzadeh wanted contactless payment and gesture control; Serge Didenko, his co-founder and an athlete, wanted heart-rate and galvanic skin response. "So we said OK, we can't put everything here," Tahmasebzadeh says. But, in true young-startup fashion, they wanted it all—so they decided to build a watch with a modular band. The band is made up of a series of interchangeable, hot-swappable links that could contain any combination of these sensors. You can even swap the watch itself on the fly, switching from a round one to a square one. Each co-founder got exactly the smart watch he wanted, in the same device. "Right now, the technology is controlling us," Tahmasebzadeh says. "It needs to be vice-versa." He remembers when smartphone manufacturers used to try weird things—Samsung would stick a pico projector inside a phone, Nokia would make its phone mostly a camera. Now, everyone's just competing to be the thinnest and prettiest. The Samsung Galaxy S6 has no swappable parts; neither does the Apple Watch or the new MacBook. High-end devices offer little to no customization, so they compete based on look and feel. They shave off tenths of millimeters of thickness just to stay competitive, forgoing camera fidelity, battery life, and anything in the way of unique features. Trust me when I say this: The Samsung Galaxy S7 is not going to have a pico projector inside. Nexpaq adds a modular case to your smartphone. Nexpaq The real question now is, do you, dear reader, want this stuff? Tahmasebzadeh is betting you—and a whole new class of early adopters—do. So is Vlad Ivanovski, who's about to start raising money to make his MODR case, which lets you add battery, camera, and other modules to a case on the back of your Android phone. "Every phone has gaps," he says. "Every mobile device has gaps." MODR's job is to fill them with batteries, memory, pico projectors, and gigantic Bluetooth speakers. It's not an entirely unproven market. Clearly, consumers are already on board with the idea of customizing our gadgets. We bump up smartphone camera capabilities thanks to products like Moment or Olloclip; or add storage, thanks to Mophie's new Space Pack. Then there are the crazy add-ons, things like air-quality sensors brought to us by the likes of MODR or Nexpaq (a buzzy Kickstarter project that has already tripled its fundraising goal). Use them when you need them, take them off when you don't. Of course, those who crave thinner, prettier devices won't be appeased. Project Ara, MODR, the XO-Infinity, and every other swappable product you can find are comparatively large, blocky, and unappealing. But Srikhanta doesn't think they will have to complete, at least not everywhere. "In a school environment, you have two calculators you can choose from. And they haven't changed in ten or 15 years. Decades, really." Basically they work because they work. And that's the whole promise of modular tech—it does exactly and only what you need from it. But it's not truly being made for the average consumer. The most powerful implications for these devices will be seen in developing countries, in places where the competition is not between the latest Galaxy handset and the latest iPhone. The first Ara devices, which will initially launch out of restyled food trucks in Puerto Rico, will cost as little as $50. Thanks to fast, cheap processors, standardization of USB and HDMI, and the total commoditization of so many sensors and processors, an entirely new group of people is going to be able to buy a phone and trust that it'll change as they do. It'll be a phone they can use for years, far beyond the lifespan of your average Samsung. The perfect device for today can be reborn as the perfect device for tomorrow. These big, blocky, high-tech Lego bricks are going to change everything.Last Thursday morning, by very good fortune, I went to see the plants in flower in the páramo, the high elevation, dwarf vegetation environment found in the highest parts of the Andes and in certain peaks of Central America. We visited the páramo (pronounced “PAH ram oh”) on about 20 km above (east of) Guaranda, or about 15 km below (west of) Chimborazo. Chimborazo is the highest mountain in Ecuador: its snow-capped peaks are 6,268 meters (20,564 ft) above sea level. Most days the peaks are surrounded with clouds, but this morning was clear and bright. My trip was organized by Diego Gutierrez, a botanist from Spain now working in Ecuador. He had arranged for a vehicle and driver to be provided by our hosts, the Agriculture College at the Bolivar State University (UEB). Our driver William brought us from Guaranda up the winding, two lane highway that connects Guaranda with Ambato and Riobamba. Site 1. We pulled over slightly below the high plains, at patch of semi-level ground along the road. Our elevation was around 3800 m. The ground was a broken surface of hard sandy soil and nearly flat clumps of vegetation. A few flowers were obvious, especially the bright yellow dandelion-like heads of Hypochaeris sessilifolia. They grow in the typical form of páramo plants: low cushion-like or pillow-like clumps. Their leaves are also typical of the plants from these heights: very reduced in size, and the small blades are rather thick. Both of these traits are common adaptations to dry environments. Another bright yellow inflorescence (flower cluster or head) belonged to Bidens andicola, a páramo species in the genus of “Spanish needles”, so named for the narrow black seeds with barbed hooks which it produces. Another prominent flower was a relative of the mouse-eared chick-weed, a Cerastium species. In the family of carnations (Caryophyllaceae), this species has fuzzy gray-green leaves and five-petaled white flowers with fine lines (nectar guides for the pollinators). The fruit is a capsule which opens from the top to release its seeds. Blue flowers were also abundant. The most showy blue flowers were those of Gentiana sedifolia, a gentian native to the high mountains from Costa Rica to Bolivia. The round flowers are about 1 1/2 inches (>3 cm) across. The gentian family (Gentianaceae) includes some of the most showy flowers in the páramo flora. Other blue flowers aren’t so obvious, but are just as abundant. An bean family plant bears the pea-shaped flowers typical of the bean family. This species, Astragalus geminiflorus, has tiny, pinnately compound leaves (leaves with multiple leaflets arranged along a central axis, like parts of a feather) that are amazingly small: with about a dozen leaflets per side the leaves are only about an inch long. They are gray-green, covered with whitish hairs, another common adaptation of xeric (dry area) plants. Their little bean-fruits are also covered with grayish hairs, and though relatively large, are only about 1/4″ long. Diego is particularly fond of the legumes (bean family plants), and calls for me to see another tiny representative of this global, and often woody, plant family. The tiny lupine (Lupinus microphyllus) is aptly named: “microphyllus” means “minute leaves”. The lupines have palmately compound leaves (leaves with multiple leaflets radiating from a central point, a bit like fingers on a hand), but the leaflets of this lupine are so small (about 1/4 inch or less) that one might need a 10x hand lens to really see how they’re arranged. The lupine flower is very similar to other pea flowers, which all belong to the bean sub-family Papillionoideae (papillion: butterfly, due to the butterfly wing-like side petals of these flowers). Knowing some of the major plant families (groups of related genera, usually with common morphological traits) helps to add meaning and interest to this sort of flower-hunting. The flowers of Pernettya prostrata are almost identical to flowers of our blueberry plant – white urn-shaped corollas with small petal-lobes surrounding a downward-facing opening. These blueberry-type flowers are designed for buzz-pollination: visiting bees buzz beneath the flower and their wing vibrations eject the pollen onto their backs, to carry to the next flower. The leaves of this Pernettya, like other páramo plants, are tiny and thick. Another well-known northern plant family is the Rosaceae, named for Rosa, the genus of roses. Included in the Rosaceae are the apples (Malus), pears (Pyrus), cherries, peaches, plums and apricots (Prunus), blackberries and raspberries (Rubus), and strawberries (Fragaria). Here in the páramo one Rosaceae is abundant and in flower, but its flowers are inconspicuous to our eyes. They’re a light green-yellow color, and lack petals. The leaves are rather round and folded with zig-zag edges, like an oriental fan. This genus, Lachimella, includes some 80 species, ranging from southern California to Chile, and 34 of these grow in the páramos from Costa Rica to Peru. There appear to be two different Lachimella species growing on the rocky ground here, differing in leaf lobe-depth, inflorescence shape and flower number, however its also possible that they belong to one highly variable species. One of these species is likely Lachimella orbiculata, a common ground cover in high open areas. Another member of the rose family Rosaceae was in fruit, its flowers matured and passed. This miniature plant, like its neighbors, was only a few inches high, and its pinnate leaves only about an inch long. Its fruits were covered with hooked hairs or barbs, a means of dispersal on the fur of animals one assumes. This plant, Acaena elongata, belongs to a genus of about 100 species, mostly Southern hemisphere in distribution, especially New Zealand, Australia and South America. Like Lachimella, its flowers lack petals. I climbed down a drainage ditch that led below the rim of the upper pull-over area, and found another much of a muchness of floral diversity. The yellow “little slipper flowers” (“zapatillas”) of a Calceolaria species stand out with their pouch-like petals. Their flowers provide the pollinator-bees with oils instead of sugary-nectar, a welcome reward at these chilly high elevation environments. This genus is species-rich: 260 species from Mexico to the tip of South America (Tierro del Fuego), with 65 páramo species. Perhaps this one is Calceolaria rosmarinifolia. Growing on rocks below the drop-off is a beautiful red and yellow flower with a long, bell-shaped corolla: Gentianella cernua. Red flowers often attract hummingbirds, while yellow flowers are typically bee-pollinated. I wonder who pollinates these! As the genus name suggests, this flower belongs to the gentian family. The Gentian family (Gentianaceae) is also represented here by Halenia weddelliana, a common páramo species, but a most bizarre flower. Halenia flowers are yellow-green and have four long nectar spurs extending from their petals. The flowers hang downwards, and the pointy spurs point up. The name of this plant in Quichua is Turugacacho, which translated means “bull’s horns”. The common name in Spanish is the same: cacho de venado. All this complex floral morphology suggests a specialized pollinator: I wonder what insect we can thank for this service. Another red blossoming plant here is the Indian Paintbrush, which grows amid the rocks and grass. Its genus, Castellija includes some 200 species, mostly in western North America, with a handful of species from the eastern US, from north Asia, and from Central and South America. The páramo hosts three Castellija species. Their bright red surfaces aren’t petals – they’re bracts, or modified leaves surrounding the inconspicuous flowers. They perform the same function as colorful petals- to attract pollinators. Castellija species are hemiparasitic (half parasites): they’re both photosynthetic (their green, chlorophyllous leaves make sugar) and parasitic (their roots tap into the roots of other plants to take nutrients. Site 2. We climbed the few meters back to the roadside area, photographed a few more species, and then crossed the highway to have a look at the grassy páramo on the hill opposite our pullover. We entered the hilly terrain where an old dirt road had eroded deeply into the soft dirt. Páramo grass, Calamogrostis intermedia, covered the hilly ground with its clumped, needle-like brown-green blades. Parts of this area had been burned about three years ago, and there was evidence of grazing near the roadway. From a distance one wouldn’t guess that the spaces between the páramo grass were bright with the colorful blossoms of low-growing páramo plants. The páramo plants here showed the classic growth structure for this habitat: mound-shaped pillows growing in low clumps, with their tiny leaves held tight to the surface, the flowers just above the leafy cushion. Their stems grow deep beneath the surface, branching underground where they slow grow atop the wind-blown soil. One of the cushion-plants flowering there was Azorella tridentata, a carrot family (Apiaceae) species with three-pronged leaves and tiny white flowers. Another big pillow-plant, belong to the sunflower family (Asteraceae), is Baccharis caespitosa (“caespitose” means “growing in small clumps or tufts”). Baccharis, like all Asteraceae, bears its flowers in heads (tight clusters with surrounding scale-leaves). The flowers of Baccharis are all small tube-flowers; the daisy-like ray flowers are absent from this genus. Baccharis species are numerous in the páramo, but most are trees and shrubs. Two Baccharis species occur along the coast of North Carolina. The páramo has about 52 Baccharis species; South America has about 400. Werneria nubigena is another member of the sunflower family. This small plant has thick strap-like leaves growing in two rows, the white and yellow daisy-like head of flowers (inflorescence) held close to the ground between the low-spreading leaves. The Asteraceae (sunflower family) is one of the most diverse and distinctive parts of the páramo flora. The small plant Loricaria thuyoides looks almost fern-like, but is a member of the Asteraceae. The tiny overlapping scale-like leaves help this plant survive the cold and wind of the páramo. Even without flowers, this species is distinctive. A valerian species presents its clusters of white flowers on a long stem to get above the bunched grasses. This species may be Valeriana microphylla. Genera familiar from the southeast US (or Tennessee mountain) flora are also present: a geranium (perhaps Geranium multipartitum) and a buttercup (perhaps Ranunculus praemorsus) flower between the mounds of páramo grass. Ferns are also quite present in places not covered by the grass, as along the trench-like banks of the deep-worn animal paths. A fern with entire (un-lobed, un-divided) leaves is Elaphoglossum. Its fertile leaves are covered with spores on their bottom side. Another fern encountered in the fertile condition has spores in clusters (sori) on the leaf underside. This one may be a Thelypteris, another genus with species in the Tennessee mountains. One plant that had us guessing (what is it?) for a while was Eryngium humile, a member of the carrot family. This páramo species, from a widespread genus also represented in Tennessee, grows in a low clump – called a basal rosette – with a circle of small, stiff leaves surrounding a central flower cluster. This basal rosette growth form occurs in páramo species of many different families, and thus exemplifies convergent evolution for this growth form. Site 3 We returned to the truck and proceeded up a couple kilometers up the highway to the rather flat plain which sits below the towering slopes of Chimborazo. There the vegetation was more intermittent, the ground more wind-swept and eroded. Even so, the clumps of plants amid the desert-like dusty volcanic soil. I was really impressed to see the pale purple flowers of a member of the mallow family (Malvaceae), because I associate this family with warm habitats, not the cold wind-blown páramo. The flower was unmistakable: members of this family, which includes okra, cotton and hibiscus, have a very distinctive tube, formed of the stalks of the stamens (the male reproductive parts), bearing the anthers on a column which surrounds the style (the stalk of the ovary, the female reproductive part). This flower type is a familiar motif on Hawaiian shirts. This species is Nototriche hartwegii. It normally occurs at or over 4000 m elevation (13,200 feet). Close by was a large Chiquiraga plant, with its distinctive tops of orange-red bracts (modified leaves). This high-páramo plant, Chuquiraga jussieui, is used medicinally in teas as a diuretic and kidney anti-inflammatory. It’s another unusual member of the sunflower family, Asteraceae. The leaves are stiff and prickly. The flowers are bright yellow, but are smaller than the overlapping red bracts. The genus includes 20 species from the Andes of Columbia, Ecuador and Peru, and grows to elevations of 4750 m (15,700 feet). Another very strange cushion plant is Eudema rubigena. I was surprised to find a member of the mustard family (Brassicaceae) growing here, but the flowers, with four petals (“crucifer” or cross-bearing) is a key trait for this largely temperate plant family. Eudema is yet another cushion-plant, its low build and thick leaves in a basal rosette protecting the stem from páramo’s wind, drifting soil, cold and high light. Before leaving – we had a lunch meeting in Salinas de Guaranda – we stopped by the statue of Baron Alexander von Humboldt (1759-1859). In 1802 and 1803 Von Humboldt traveled in Ecuador, from Guayaquil on the coast to the snowy peaks of Chimborazo. The field of biogeography, which examines the distributions of species, is founded on his publications, including his book “The Geography of Plants”, which is based on his botanical travels in Ecuador and around the world. The von Humboldt statue stands in front of a small museum, closed at the time of our visit. [see detailed information on von Humboldt at wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_von_Humboldt] Upon leaving the von Humboldt statue, we drove 1-2 kilometers towards Ambato and the Via Flores (the Flower Road). The old cobblestone roadway is visible along the newly repaved asphalt of the new two-lane highway. It follows the ancient Inca and pre-Inca road which connected Guayaquil and the coastal cities with Ambato and the cities of the inter-Andean valley, including Riobamba and Quito. This ancient road ran through Guaranda on its way across the western cordillera of the Andes. Along the road we passed a flock of vicuñas. Thousands of hectares surrounding Chimborazo are protected as a wildlife sanctuary. In just two hours of sunny-bright morning we’ve seen over 30 species in flower. Most are small plants, a few inches or under a foot high. They represent diverse plant families. Ferns, mosses, lichens and mushrooms were also present. What a pleasant, continuing surprise to see, photograph and puzzle out the identity of these bizarre and beautiful species. I feel most fortunate to have had the chance to visit the Chimborazo páramo in blossom time! I recommend the trip to anyone who may get the opportunity. Many thanks to all who’ve helped make my trip possible. A super web resource for information on the plants of the páramo is provided the Missouri Botanical Garden botanist Dr. Carmen Ulloa Ulloa and associates. http://www.mobot.org/MOBOT/Research/paramo_flora.shtml See the excellent links for greater detail on the paramo vegetation, especially an introduction to the páramo by New York Botanica Garden botanist Dr. James L. Luteyn. http://www.mobot.org/MOBOT/research/paramo_ecosystem/introduction.shtml A well illustrated description of the páramo at Cajas Nationa Park near Cuenca is provided by MBG Drs. Ulloa and Peter Jørgensen, with both english and spanish text. http://www.mobot.org/MOBOT/research/paramo/welcome.flash.asp For a great resource available on-line, but actually the pdf files of a great book, see the amazingly well written (in Spanish) and superbly illustrated volume by Erwin Patzelt titled “Flora del Ecuador”. It’s found on-line in a series of pdf files at: http://www.patzelt-ecuador.de/html/flora1.htm The chapter on the paramo vegetation is in file 2, especially pages 24-56, at: http://www.patzelt-ecuador.de/Patzelt_Flora_del_Ecuador-2-Tierra_nevada_y_tierra_helada.pdf Some of the botanical names have changed since this 1995 book was published. A similarly book by Patzelt on the “Fauna del Ecuador” is also on-line in pdf: http://www.patzelt-ecuador.de/ Another useful on-line source is a study of one páramo in Columbia. This is the reference: Madriñán, S. & F. Zapata. 2001. Flora Ilustrada del Páramo de Chingaza, Colombia. Laboratorio de Botánica & Sistemática, Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá [http://chingaza.uniandes.edu.co/FIC/]. It includes many photos for plant species, found on the web pages linked to here: http://chingaza.uniandes.edu.co/FIC/index.html AdvertisementsAs strange as it might seem, there really have been things happening in the world of superhero movies recently other than the Sony/Marvel Spider-Man deal. Although, admittedly, that remains one of the biggest stories around. If the almost literally unbelievable rumor about who Marvel is considering to direct Captain Marvel turns out to be true, however, all bets are off because that news would be huge. But don't take our word for it, read on to catch up on the biggest stories of the past seven days' worth of superhero movie news. SUPER IDEA: Marvel Helping Out With Spider-Man More details are emerging about the deal between Marvel and Sony over future usage of Spider-Man on the big screen, and it's beginning to look as though things aren't going to be as different as it originally seemed. According to Variety, plans for the three Spider-Man spin-off movies are still on track and Marvel will have no creative input on anything other than the core Spidey flicks. However, Spider-Man himself might be a bit different than what we're used to. The Hollywood Reporter notes Sony is looking for an actor "much younger" than Andrew Garfield for the role, as well as a writer for the reboot. Interestingly enough, that report also suggests that this is the beginning of something bigger, with both Marvel reacquiring rights to the character and, impressively, Marvel parent company Disney buying Sony being mooted as possibilities. Well, if you can't beat 'em, buy 'em, right? (Wait. Marvel had pretty much beat Sony in terms of superhero movies, so that doesn't work...) Why this is super: A lot of people are very, very excited about this prospect and the Spider-Man movies are now hotter than they've been in years, so clearly something's gone right for the franchise. Shame about poor Andrew Garfield, though. MEH IDEA: You Really Can't Keep An Old Mutant Telepath Down, It Turns Out If you thought that X-Men: Days of Future Past was a good send-off for Patrick Stewart's elder statesman version of Charles Xavier, prepare to be disappointed: He's not done yet. "What I'm very excited about is that we have been talking about a Wolverine movie, which would team Hugh Jackman and myself together," the actor revealed in an interview earlier this week. Why this is villainy: Patrick, you have been great in the role, there's no denying that. But it would be really, really nice if we could have less X-Men movies that were all about Xavier, Magneto, and Wolverine, and more that were about... well, any of the many other characters that are part of the franchise. It's time, let's face it. SUPER IDEA: Marvel Aims High For Its Captain Marvel Director (Maybe) File under: "Wait, that can't be for real." No less an authority than OK! Magazine reports that Marvel is looking to hire Angelina Jolie as the director of 2018's Captain Marvel, with the magazine suggesting that the studio was preparing to pay her $20 million for the pleasure. Yes, that's right, Marvel Studios paying a director $20 million for Captain Marvel. Why this is super: If this were in any way believable, it would be super indeed. What better way to get attention for the studio's (long overdue) first female-led movie than to have one of the biggest female movie stars—and, as Unbroken showed, a pretty grand director—helm it? Unfortunately, it just doesn't have the ring of truth, in large part because of that $20 million figure, which is astonishingly high even for a studio as famously stingy as Marvel. We're all on-board with Marvel going for a female director, though. In fact, this is where we remind you Selma director Ava DuVernay is open to making a Marvel origin story movie. Get on that, Marvel. SUPER IDEA(S): The Wacky Shortlist of Potential Deadpool Female Co-Stars The news that Fox has drawn up a shortlist of female co-stars for Deadpool came as quite a surprise, considering that he usually goes stag (Or, at least, he did until his wedding last year). But it's an interesting list of hopefuls, from The Red Band Society's Rebecca Rittenhouse and Teen Wolf's Crystal Reed to Morena Baccarin (Homeland, Firefly, a guest spot on The OC) and Orange is The New Black's Taylor Schilling. We all know it should really go to Judy Greer, though, right? Just checking. Why this is super: That is a really strange list of actresses up for the same part, which either means that producers have no idea what they want, or the part is open enough that different actors can bring different things to it. Either way, we're intrigued. (Of course, we're just a year away from the movie's release, so hurry up and cast that role, producers.) SUPER IDEA: Astro Boy Becoming the New Iron Man Apparently, the appetite for superhero movies is such that an Australian company has plans to turn the classic Japanese manga series Astro Boy into the next Iron Man. "We've seen him as a manga, an anime, and an animated movie but we've never seen him as a live-action movie or him as a superhero," producer Zareh Nalbandian told The Hollywood Reporter. Why this is super: There's a reason we've not seen him as a superhero... and that's because he's not really a superhero. Astro Boy (Mighty Atom, if we're going by his original name) is an adorable boy robot who fights monsters and saves the world to impress his "dad"—which, admittedly, is kind of Iron Man, only with added adorableness. Hrm. As much as we feel cynical about this turn of events (and sad it might mean we don't see the movie version of Pluto that was tossed around a while back), it just might work...Adam Smith lived from 5 June 1723 to 17 July 1790. He was a hugely influential political economist and moral philosopher whose book An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations founded the modern academic discipline of economics. The wider picture in Scotland at the time is set out in our Historical Timeline. Adam Smith was the son of the Controller of the Customs at Kirkcaldy in Fife, though his father had died some months before Adam was born. As a 4 year old he was kidnapped by Gypsies, before being quickly rescued by his uncle and returned to his mother. In 1737, at the aged of 14, Adam went to the University of Glasgow, where he studied moral philosophy under Francis Hutcheson. Here he founded his strong beliefs in liberty, reason and free speech. In 1740 he received a Snell Scholarship, under which Glasgow University students could study at Balliol College, Oxford. Some have argued that this was a sign he was destined for the clergy (given the stated aims of the scholarship), but he returned from Oxford having abandoned his religious beliefs. From 1748 Smith was commissioned by Lord Kames to give a series of public lectures at the University of Edinburgh. These covered a variety of subjects, but included themes such as "the progress of opulence" and "the obvious and simple system of natural liberty" which were to form the foundations of his later work. In about 1750 Smith met David Hume, whose ideas meshed closely with his own. Adam Smith returned to Glasgow University in 1751, taking up the Chair of Logic. The following year he became Chair of Moral Philosophy. Areas covered in his courses included ethics, rhetoric, jurisprudence, political economy, and "police and revenue". In 1759 Smith published The Theory of Moral Sentiments drawing on his Glasgow lectures. The book established Smith's reputation as a leading thinker of his day. In 1763 Smith was offered a well paid position as tutor to the young Duke of Buccleuch. Between 1764 and 1766 Adam and his pupil travelled widely across Europe, coming into contact with many renowned academics of the day, including Voltaire, Rousseau, Franklin, Turgot, Jean D'Alembert, André Morellet, Helvétius and Francois Quesnay. Smith returned to Kirkcaldy in 1766, and spent most of the next decade writing An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, which was published in 1776. The book was written for the average educated individual of the day rather than for specialists, making it widely accessible. This in turn helped ensure its considerable success. The Wealth of Nations became one of the most influential books ever written. It is a well written account of the state of the political economy at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution; makes a comprehensive case for free market policies; and is generally accepted to be the first modern work in the field of economics. Its five books were published as two volumes. At a stroke, all earlier work in the field was defunct, and academics turned their attention to the development of Smith's ideas into what became known as Classical Economics. This in turn (by very different routes) formed the basis of Modern Economics and Marxist Economics. The ideas behind the book are best summed up in a single quote: "It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest. We address ourselves, not to their humanity but to their self-love, and never talk to them of our own necessities but of their advantages." In 1778 Adam Smith became Commissioner of Customs in Scotland and lived with his mother in Edinburgh. He died on 17 July 1790, and was buried in the kirkyard of Canongate Kirk in Edinburgh's Royal Mile. At the time of his death he is thought to have been working on two books, one on the theory and history of law, and one on the sciences and arts. However he left instructions that his literary executors, scientist Joseph Black and geologist James Hutton, were to destroy any manuscripts or notes not immediately fit for publication. His Essays on Philosophical Subjects was posthumously published in 1795, but there is a widespread belief
the Cuban state formed very real barriers to organising solidarity long before anyone went online. Indeed in many ways the pre-internet left was far less capable of working together despite disagreements, differences leading to actual physical conflict seem to have been much more common in the pre-internet decade that they are today. Going online However online communication has introduced a number of additional complexities that tend to both make the impact of disagreement more hurtful and patching things up afterwards more difficult. Regardless of the right or wrongness of people on either side of disputes this is having a major impact on our ability to organise. There is no simple cure, people are not going to stop having arguments on Facebook or denouncing others on Twitter. But if we are self-aware of what the additional difficulties are we can accelerate the process of developing a collective culture that takes these into account. Why do we need to do this. Why not simply go ‘fuck ‘em’ and reach for the block button? Generally because we need solidarity, numbers and resources to win what we are fighting for and defeat what we are fighting against. We need to maximise co-operation and minimise hostility in order to organise. “Fuck ‘em” as a casual individual decision made in anger needs to examined and considered again and again in the light of what we want to win. That’s the context in which its useful to individually and collectively understand why online disagreements seem to have a much bigger impact on organising than what went before. Specifically what are these additional difficulties which online disagreement creates? 1. It’s hard to gauge online when the words we use are causing real immediate hurt. If I’m sitting in the same space as someone else there is a large range of visual and auditory cues that I can use to moderate and qualify what I say. I can also often tell when someone is taking a different meaning from my words than what I intended in speaking them. And those in the room with me, watching a conversation unfold, will be more inclined to intervene to reign me back or suggest a time out period is taken. Online we have none of these indicators. In fact the lack of these sorts of feedback results in us escalating our words in order to make it clear that this is something we deeply care about. Perhaps at a subconscious level we read the lack of expected feedback as a need to increase the force we put behind the words we use because we presume the other person fails to understand how we feel. 2. Mood does carry online. We can’t see that the other person can tell our words are angry. But those on the receiving end often can and this does trigger the emotions that probably evolved in part for feedback purposes. When they feel that emotion but far from that moderating our words we escalate them (because we don’t see that feedback of the hurt caused) that’s going to intensify their response. Which will make us angrier in turn for the same reasons. Perhaps this is why online arguments quickly become polarised to the point that those on the other side are not just wrong but are seen as terrible people. What’s worse is that preliminary research on how moods expressed online transmit to others seem to indicate that anger is more influential than joy or sadness on Twitter style networks. This would seem to confirm my own anecdotal experience that people I know watching an angry argument on Twitter or Facebook tend to take a side and become angrier in turn in a way I haven’t observed with the same people when we share the same physical space. It worth mentioning here that although these feedback mechanisms exist in physical spaces they don’t exist equally for everyone. They will be strongest for homogenous groups that share a common culture and life experience. Someone from outside, in particular someone who first language is different to that being used may already be at a very significant disadvantage at reading mood, particularly if the rest of the group is homogenous. In that sense a significant advantage of online discussion may be that it might actually reduce the impact of marginalisation on people who are ‘outsiders’ in any particular context. A common observation even as long ago as the early 90’s was that on the internet people couldn’t as easly judge you by who you ‘were’. You could choose to present yourself in a way that didn’t make some or all of the reasons why you might find yourself margainalised in physical spaces obvious. There are lots of pop journalism articles that related different ways those perceived as women rather than men and vice versa are treated in online forums. 3. It’s hard to get away. In physical space situations a conversation that reaches a certain intensity of anger will often result in people storming out of the space that it is happening in. They may then avoid that space / those people for considerable periods of time, perhaps permanently. In situations where that is not possible (e.g. work) the result will often be either a formal or informal intervention to sort out of smooth over the conflict. This doesn’t happen so much online. Internet forums do occasionally build to a critical mass of anger that sees a group depart and set up their own forum. Normally that’ss a good thing as the disadvantage of splitting numbers is balanced by the advantage of restoring functionality to the twin sets of emerging conversations. The particular problem of Facebook But things don’t work that way on Facebook. There isn’t really an alternative because Facebooks attraction is that it’s where you hang out will all your friends, relations and that random new person you fancy from last weeks party. That makes the costs of walking away completely to get away from those you are fighting with very large, people do try but often they get pulled back within a couple of weeks. Facebook does provide the nuclear option of the blocking tool or the simpler one of unfriending people but in big rows which result in a lot of people ‘picking sides’ this can simply mean that while the original primary instigators opt out of contact the topic of conflict reignites with other people who have picked sides during the course of the original argument. Something as simple as a brief minor reference to a months old row can see it explode once more. The blocking tool has disastrous consequences when it comes to using Facebook as an organising tool, and very frequently these days it is used that way informally if not formally. Conversations and even events become invisible to some participants in a way that may not even be obvious to them but when discovered reignite old rows once more but in new circles. 4. Online is now the real world. I’ve used ‘physical space’ or even the old cyber punk ‘meat space’ above rather than the common but misleading ‘In Real Life / the Real World’ expressions. Those expressions had a meaning a decade or more ago when few people used the internet but today they are misleading when most people have some form of access. This in itself presents the problem of further excluding those who do not, in particular when they are a small minority in a movement where most have access. The internet has meant that leaderships can no longer monopolise information and communication in a way that was once extremely common. But it hasn’t and probably can’t create a level playing field where everyone has equal access. I was first seriously exposed to internet arguments in the early 1990s. Back then it was very unusual to even know what the internet was, it was populated by some students and tech workers - and there weren’t many tech workers back then. We had huge arguments on USENET alt.society.anarchy but they were huge rows between me sitting in Dublin and some guy in Indiana. We had never met and we were unlikely to ever meet - for the curious he went by the handle DanceswithCarp. It was in fact very exciting to meet ‘someone off the internet’ at events like 10 Days that shook London (in 1994 ) or Zapatista encounters ( 1996 ). So distinguishing between our online world and ‘the real world’ made sense, they were two completely separate spheres of people and you had to go out of your way to get them to cross. Now while we still have those long distance people to argue with our online arguments are now often most intense with people in the same city who we know from campaign groups, social centres and political organisations. Facebook is very much the real world if the people you have a furious online argument with on Sunday are the people you will see at a protest or campaign meeting on Monday. And if the result of that argument is that you feel unable to attend that meeting then you really can’t get much more ‘real world’ than that. 5. We no longer slowly drift apart. After secondary school I lost contact over a span of five or so years with almost everyone I knew there. This was pre internet and partly driven by an almost fatal fight at a party after our exam results came out. Until a short few years ago it was the case that if your interests or opinions started to diverge drastically from former friends or comrades alongside that divergence you drifted out of regular contact. Their new opinions might make you really angry if you heard them but you were unlikely to hear them Facebook changed that. Different people use it in different ways but almost no one maintains a friend limit below the 150 it is thought to be possible for our brains to maintain ‘real relationships’ with. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunbar's_number Instead each year we tend to accumulate additional friends and generally only purge old ones in pretty extreme circumstances. Which means lots of people we probably no longer are talking to are getting regular updates of our cat photos and political opinions. And those people will be close to other friends of ours and may have come to be hated by yet other friends, quite possibly without us even knowing. This is a very explosive mix when heated disagreements emerge. 6. Bystanders get sucked in and judged. Political disagreement offline tends to happen with quite a small cast arguing the point and watching. So serious relationship damage is confined to the few who are arguing. With online arguments very much larger numbers can become involved and many of them may not realise how bitter the argument is becoming. With arguments that turn really nasty people will be remembered and judged not only for what they write but even for the simple act of clicking Like under what others have written. 7. It used to be quite easy to create and maintain several different public personas. We might have one for family, another for work, a third for friends and then yet another for our political circle. Unless you are very restrictive about who you accept as a friend on Facebook you can’t really do the same online, you are forced to perform all these in the one space. It’s very unlikely that we will know what the reality of work & family spaces are for our political Facebook friends, or that they will know ours. That means there are going to be additional forces at play in determining their response if we choose to challenge them on their profile rather than our own. And likewise I will have costs others will be unaware of if they challenge me on my own profile. Both will be completely invisible in a way that, for instance having my family members in the same room as me at a meeting would probably not be. 8. The lengthy monologues. In online discussions we get to talk over people without limit. If you are in a physical meeting everyone else in the room is probably not going to sit through one 10 minute, 1200 word rant never mind several. Online you can do that over and over, perhaps without even reading, never mind understanding the clarifications and points that have been published when you are hammering away on your latest devestating comment. This is pretty much the opposite of effective communication which is instead based around really listening to someone else's perspective, understanding it, and responding. — I’ve deliberately stayed away from what sort of issues people fall out around. For the purposes of this discussion that doesn’t matter - what I write above will apply to the most pointless argument about the right way to style a poodle as much as the political issues that drive us (apologies to Poodle fanatics). An uncle recently had a huge falling out in his choir, at least partially driven by the sort of things I outline above. I’m also not dissing anger as such here - I think there are major issues with simply framing anger as the problematic element, for a longer discussion of why see that Vampire Castle piece. The problem with the non-specific framing I’ve used above is that its very easy to see anger as the problem because we can’t see the cause of the anger and consider how legitimate that may be. We can’t see that anger may be necessary to be heard above the existing relationships of privilege, maginalisation and power. But that doesn’t absolve us from the need to recognise, as humans have evolved to do, the huge burden the expression of strong emotions including anger can place on group stability. I’m also suggesting that burden is greatly increased because of the lack of expected feedback we receive when we are angry online. It is that element above all that we need to be very self-aware of and consider how to offset. If its the case that the heat of an argument online is going to stop or limit the ability of people to work together in campaigns than we have to be very sure that heat is worth while when we choose to express it. We need to avoid the default ‘anger is an energy’ setting that only looks at whether or not it feels good in the moment to be angry. The problem in saying this though is who is this ‘we’ I’m talking of and who gets to make such judgements? Very often those who complain most about online anger are those with the most power, people who not used to others being able to speak back to them. Those who have power in particular situations can afford not to be angry - the power they have means that all other things being equal they are likely to get their way because they will be listened to. Those who are marginalised on the other hand may never really be ‘heard’ except when their words are illuminated by the force of their emotion. We have to look at the relationship of power involved. Anger directed down at those who have less power in situation is almost always going to be both illegitimate and counter productive. Anger directed up at those with power will in many cases be the only way that those who are ignored draw enough attention to get listened to rather than not even noticed. That means a willingness by those with power in such a situation to be willing to receive and even learn from anger without retaliation in kind. The exact opposite of the far too typical ‘don’t you know who I am’ reaction that those with rank in a particular situation often exhibit. Lastly someone who is marginalised in one situation may have power in another. The most difficult situation to judge in this regard is also perhaps the most common one, the dynamics of peer to peer anger where there are no consistent imbalances of power within and across the group involved. I’d suggest that here too the use of online anger should be limited and carefully thought about. It shouldn’t be excluded but it should be delayed and shifted to offline facilitated situations built around obtaining useful outcomes. Doing it How do we shift online discussion culture towards those objectives. Well the good news is that it may not be that difficult. Online anarchism suffered badly from what were called ‘flame wars’ but it turned out it was easy enough to stop these through simple transparent protocols that people who used such spaces were expected to follow. This was fiercely controversial at the time - we had to construct new spaces like the Organise list to allow this to happen. But the result was not only the ending of flame wars but creating and maintenance of a number of projects of international co-operation. Similar methods were used for indymedia.ie which is probably why it remained useful years after most of the ‘say what you like’ indymedia’s had sunk beneath the weight of racist, sexist trolling. This wasn’t done through the creation of ‘free speech’ zones free of anger but almost the opposite, by banning marginalising behaviours directed at those with less power, in particular racist or sexist slurs. That works for formal spaces we control collectively but it doesn’t work for Facebook and Twitter where the corporations get to decide what is and is not permissible. Neither are going to provide the tools need for self organised autonomous groups to agree and implement rules & procedures for discussion outside the very narrow spaces of FB Groups. Which are in any case are required to have hierarchical administration structures. We can and do develop our own tools but these tend only to be useful as spaces for already well established circles of organisers & activists. The power of Facebook for organising is precisely the power to quickly bring new people from observer to participant to activist to organiser without having to teach them how to use technical communication tools. Within these limitations there are two things that can be done 1. Groups can ensure that their informal use of Facebook as an organising tool is formalised with collectively agreed rules & procedures to handle disagreements and ensure discussions remain visible to all. 2. Individuals can deal with strong conflict through more nuanced tool than the blocking one. This is complex because the nature of Facebook means many people use it as a very personal space for sharing family photos and relationship updates as well as a political space. If you have very little time for someone it’s easy to see why you wouldn’t want to share personal information with them. But if you are both working around the same issue from a similar perspective than blocking them will be pretty disastrous for such work. Unfriending them is one solution if your own posts tend to be friends only, a second is to use Facebook’s Restricted list tool as any ‘friend’ you add to that will only be able to see your public updates and anything you choose to tag them in. But what is more important is recognising that many online disagreements are actually not trivial but very important and so that rather than being silenced they should be brought off-line, brought into physical space where many of the disadvantages outlined above are counter acted. Humans are meant to have strong, heartfelt and often angry disagreements as part of our decision making processes. Their existence is not in itself a problem, indeed an insistence on cold rationality and emotionless discussion may be a far bigger problem as it will exclude all except those who can perform disagreement in such a manner, skills that are very often tightly connected to privilege. As humans we have also collectively developed many, many skills and procedures for the handling of conflict in a productive fashion. Some of those are pretty terrible and designed to magnify the power of those who already have power. The court system for instance is constructed in a way to greatly favour those with education and money while pretending to provide a neutral space. But a lot of work has also been done by radical groups to create spaces for discussion that are either genuinely neutral (as with many trade union procedures) or which are weighed to reduce the disadvantages of those who are marginalised and the advantage of those who have privilege will bring with them. Developing such skills & structures online needs to be part of the tool set of all of us who organise to change the world. WORDS Andrew Flood (Follow Andrew on Twitter )Some broadcasters might have recently scored a victory against Aereo in court, but they can't party just yet. The startup just got a 14-day grace period from a six-state preliminary injunction (it has won its share of court battles, and this is considered its biggest legal setback thus far) handed down last week. That means the over-the-air TV service can continue any expansion plans in Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah and Wyoming... at least for a while. Current customers in Salt Lake City and Denver, sites in the affected states where Aereo is already available, should be able to continue enjoying the OTA service, as well. According to Deadline, the court granted Aereo a brief reprieve, because it "finds some benefit in allowing [its] customers uninterrupted service" while waiting for the Tenth Circuit's decision regarding the firm's appeal. Aereo, which is very, very used to being sued by now, will also face TV networks at the Supreme Court on April 22. If the startup wins, it could lead to an acquisition or, amusingly enough, a sudden boom in Aereo copycats."The descriptions, physical properties, behavior of the gas, and signs and symptoms resulting from exposure, as well as the response of patients to the treatment, leads the FFM [fact finding mission] to conclude with a high degree of confidence that chlorine, either pure or in mixture, is the toxic chemical in question," the OPCW said. Chlorine was used in attacks on three villages, the mission concluded, after conducting dozens of interviews with victims, doctors and eyewitnesses, as well as reviewing medical records, video and other documentation. The OPCW has been overseeing the disassembling and destruction of Syria's chemical weapons stockpile after Assad's government signed the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) in October 2013 following a chemical attack in August that year that killed as many as 1,400 people. However, it announced in late April that it would launch a fact-finding mission to investigate the reported use of chlorine gas. The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said on Wednesday it had "compelling confirmation" that a toxic chemical, likely pure or mixed chlorine, had been used "systematically and repeatedly" as a weapon in parts of the country where anti-government rebels have been clashing with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's troops. Chlorine gas was used in attacks on northern Syria earlier this year, according to the global chemical weapons watchdog. Read more Chlorine gas was used in attacks on northern Syria earlier this year, according to the global chemical weapons watchdog. The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said on Wednesday it had "compelling confirmation" that a toxic chemical, likely pure or mixed chlorine, had been used "systematically and repeatedly" as a weapon in parts of the country where anti-government rebels have been clashing with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's troops. The OPCW has been overseeing the disassembling and destruction of Syria's chemical weapons stockpile after Assad's government signed the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) in October 2013 following a chemical attack in August that year that killed as many as 1,400 people. However, it announced in late April that it would launch a fact-finding mission to investigate the reported use of chlorine gas. Chlorine was used in attacks on three villages, the mission concluded, after conducting dozens of interviews with victims, doctors and eyewitnesses, as well as reviewing medical records, video and other documentation. "The descriptions, physical properties, behavior of the gas, and signs and symptoms resulting from exposure, as well as the response of patients to the treatment, leads the FFM [fact finding mission] to conclude with a high degree of confidence that chlorine, either pure or in mixture, is the toxic chemical in question," the OPCW said. A convoy of inspectors from the mission came under attack in Syria in May while traveling to the rebel-held of Kafr Zita, site of one of the alleged incidents. The OPCW noted that there had been a reduction in reported chlorine attacks since the fact finding mission had begun its work, but that a number of new allegations had surfaced in August. These too, it added will be investigated. A report released by Human Rights Watch (HRW) in May concluded, based on witness interviews as well as video and picture analysis, that Assad's forces had used bombs containing chlorine gas on the villages. HRW noted that fragments of chlorine canisters found at the scene indicated that they had been dropped from considerable heights, strongly suggesting that Syrian government forces dropped crude "barrel bombs" containing chlorine canisters from helicopters. Opposition groups do not have access to aircraft.The enigmatic Tea Party movement softened its hardcore image with the recent appearance of Pam Stout, president of the Sandpoint, Idaho Tea Party Patriots, on the Late Show with David Letterman. Mrs. Stout is no doubt a sweet-hearted woman with growing concerns over the welfare of America, but her popularity as a political activist in the fragmented Tea Party movement has cast a spotlight upon common naivete rampant among many Tea Party groups. Disillusioned Tea Partiers Widespread political ignorance among various Tea Party supporters appears to be the culprit that undermines legitimate ideals and concerns articulated by many of its informed diplomatic members. On March 30, Letterman sought to conduct a tough interview in a soft tone and bring to light some of the surface-level thinking that seems common among Tea Party members. Leaving aside the insidious rancor and racial hostilities that have attached themselves to the outskirts of the growing movement, Letterman did a good job of getting to a few core issues. One of Stout's major points was her concern over the notion that businesses receive a bad rap: "We demonize business," Stout said. "We need businesses to succeed. There's no jobs without businesses." The audience applauded. Good point, Stout. But, there's a hole being dug here. The presumed demonization of "business" is an inaccurate characterization of the righteous indignation expressed by a citizenry duped by numerous large corporations in the financial sector. The domino effect of the banking industry crisis impacted businesses across the nation, both small and large. Americans were, and still are, rightfully outraged over abuses of power by large corporations. Upon close examination, we find that Americans do not despise nor demonize businesses in general. There is, however, a healthy skepticism over the notion that large corporations ought not be subjected to regulatory efforts. The rampant fraud and abuses of power in the business world -- especially in the financial sector -- cries out for some sort of trustworthy regulatory oversight to protect consumers. Who can be trusted to wield such enormous regulatory power is a legitimate question. Collusion Caused Crisis America's economic crisis can be pinpointed to a collaborative effort between the controlling powers in the financial sector and controlling powers in Congress and the White House. Where would Tea Party advocates draw the line between business freedoms and government regulation? Tea drinkers unfortunately missed their big opportunity to divert America from the path of economic crisis when all 50 states attorneys general were battling the federal government and Federal Reserve from efforts to empower banks to employ predatory lending practices. Cause of Crisis Tea Party supporters, like Stout, apparently slept through this epic battle of the states versus the federal government. Ironically, at the time of this economic war over the premise of states rights to protect the citizenry, the federal government was led by a Republican president, George W. Bush. The current issues that have sparked outrage from awakened sleepy-eyed Tea drinkers are reactions to the crisis that has already occurred, initially exposing itself in early 2008 during the collapse of Bear Stearns. The question on the minds of millions of Americans is: Where were Tea Party supporters when the problems that caused the financial crisis were occurring? The aforementioned civil war between the states and federal government took place early in President Bush's tenure, while today's Tea Party Constitutionalists remained silent. Tea Party President Letterman asked Stout to explain how a Tea Party president would've handled the financial crisis. She stated flatly: "I think several businesses would've gone out of business. Car companies and the banks." Stout acknowledged Letterman's rebuttal that nearly two million jobs may have been lost if the government had not stepped in (which was the basis of the bailout begged for by Republicans, including Dubya and then-presidential candidate John McCain). Ironically, the Tea Party's fundamental complaint today was reflected in a poll reported by Fox News that showed a mere 30 percent of American citizens supported Bush's Bailout plan in Sept. '08. Senator John McCain was quite direct about Bush's Bailout when he spoke to a crowd of supporters in Scranton, PA on Sept. 22, 2008 (according to a report by a local CBS affiliate television station): "Never before in the history of our nation has so much power and money been concentrated in the hands of one person. This arrangement makes me deeply uncomfortable. We will not solve a problem caused by poor oversight with a plan that has no oversight." Senator McCain expressed that President Bush and Treasury Secretary had crafted a plan that was unprecedented in American history. The labels of "socialist" and "communist," however, would be reserved for the next president. Meanwhile, McCain openly stated the economic crisis was caused by "poor oversight." If that's the case, who was overseeing whom? And did anything change, other than a bit of reshuffling the same deck of cards that built the economic house which currently requires all the propping it can get? Pam Stout remains stalwart in her position against both parties' efforts to buy time toward a solution to avoid an even greater economic catastrophe. "I understand that," Stout said, in response to Letterman's comment about losing nearly two million jobs. "And sometimes I think you have to take the medicine and perhaps we need to do that as a nation. We have overspent. And at some point you cannot continue to do that. And so, if you let people fail, and you let businesses fail, then other businesses step up because there's still a need; there'd still be a need for cars. So somebody else will start producing more and those jobs will be retained." Letterman followed with a laugh line, concluding that the "somebody" who would produce more cars would be China... and the jobs would be lost forever. Naive Notion Stout ignores the catastrophe inherent in the sudden loss of two million jobs, making the naive point that something will simply crop up due to entrepreneurial creativity. In the interim between job loss and gain, each out-of-work American is facing monthly living expenses and the creditors and banks who aren't concerned with the debtor's lack of income. Will the two million newly created jobs magically appear before the mortgage is due? Stout's premise is one that underscores the argument of the theoretical "free market." Unfortunately, her naive notion that the nation simply "overspent" opens her points to criticism of being simply surface-level. Stout has inadvertently overlooked the deliberate deception that has built up an economic institution so powerful that it can bundle bad debt into U.S. securities and secretly trade it overseas. The bad debt sold by the Fed was accrued initially by banks across the U.S., which sold bad loan packages to institutions like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, both of which are today overburdened with bad debt. Economic Revelation The reality is that the banking industry, controlled by the Federal Reserve, is in a severe crisis of losing the trust it has built as an institution. That trust is, unfortunately, built upon a foundation of deception, secrets and abuses of power -- as revealed by Mark Pittman, an award-winning financial reporter for Bloomberg who suddenly died last year at the age of 52. The Bernie Madoff scandal pales in comparison to the secrets being shielded by the Fed's refusal to open its books to auditing. The stakes are high -- more than $2 trillion in U.S. securities. Fortune magazine published a series of articles about the Bear Stearns collapse, which initiated the toppling of dominoes in the financial sector. Here is a tell-tale excerpt: "Former Bear CEO Alan Schwartz has told friends that he sees their role this way, 'These things happen and they're big, and when they happen everybody tries to look at what happened in the previous six months to find someone or something to blame it on. But, in truth, it was a team effort. We all f***ed up. Government. Rating agencies. Wall Street. Commercial banks. Regulators. Investors. Everybody.'" Despite changes in the White House and Congress, the same people who were in charge leading up to the economic crisis in this country are the same people who are in charge today. In case Mrs. Stout and the Tea Party folks needs names, simply check the roster of the House Financial Services Committee and the Senate Banking Committee. The Federal Reserve is still controlled by Ben Bernanke. The former president of the New York Federal Reserve, Timothy Geithner, who stood against a media lawsuit to shed light on the Fed's inner workings, is now the Treasury Secretary working together with the Fed. None of this consistency in the financial sector occurs without congressional collusion. There are, quite simply, 535 members of a single powerful body that has, in collusion with the president, maintained the status quo. Meanwhile, Tea Party supporters, who are rightfully outraged over abuses of power in government, seem oblivious to the machinations of giant corporations and banks in manipulating the political processes. When a sweet little old lady from Idaho boils down the economic crisis in America to the notion that the election of a Black president with a presumed socialist agenda has brought the nation to its knees and threatens the future of America, it reveals the depth and width of the chasm between the Tea Party movement and reality.TransCanada have always maintained that the Keystone XL pipeline, for which they are battling to gain permission to build, will provide a huge boost to the US economy through the generation of over half a million permanent jobs. A study which they commissioned in 2010 stated that the construction of the pipeline would create 118,935 non-permanent jobs, mostly in construction and manufacturing whilst the pipeline was being built; an additional 553,235 permanent jobs due to the increased US oil supply. The State Department has just this week released a report which actually estimates a far lower number of jobs will be created by the Keystone XL pipeline. The one to two year construction phase of the pipeline will likely only create around 42,100 jobs, and this number would fall to just 35 permanent jobs in order to perform maintenance and inspections along the entire length. (Related article: Environmentalists Futile Battle Against Keystone XL) The report also mentioned that the threat to the environment that the pipeline offers is far less than many have feared. Original source: http://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/New-Report-States-that-Keystone-XL-will-Only-Create-35-Permanent-New-Jobs.htmlThe possible end of Michael Phelps‘ Olympic career failed to lift NBC’s primetime Olympic ratings. Primetime coverage of the Rio Summer Olympics had a 14.2 final rating and 25.5 million viewers on NBC Saturday night, down 11% in ratings and 9% in viewership from London in 2012 (15.9, 28.0M) and down 20% and 19%, respectively, from Beijing in 2008 (17.8, 31.6M). Versus the same night of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, ratings increased 48% and viewership 49% from a 9.6 and 17.1 million. Viewership peaked at 32.7 million from 10-10:15 PM ET, as Phelps competed in his final race of the Games. On the same night in 2008, when Phelps won his single-Olympic record eighth gold medal on the final night of swimming, NBC’s viewership peaked at 39.9 million from 11-11:30 PM. ADVERTISEMENT Ratings and viewership have dropped for every night of the Rio Olympics compared to four years ago, though it should be noted that London was the highest rated non-U.S. Olympics since 1994. Compared to Beijing in 2008, all nine nights have posted a decline in ratings and all-but-one has declined in viewership. Among adults 18-49, Saturday’s telecast had a 6.8 rating — down 21% from London (8.6), down 36% from Beijing (10.6), and the lowest for the middle Saturday of a Summer Olympics since at least 1992. Figures do not include the live streaming audience on NBCOlympics.com or cable viewership on NBCSN. Viewership on NBCSN was not immediately available, but the network scored 967,000 for its featured event of the night, Brazil/Colombia men’s soccer. With streaming and cable included, the NBC family of networks combined for a 15.0 rating and 26.8 million viewers Saturday night — still behind both London and Beijing. NBC’s telecast was measured from 8:30-11:08 PM ET, excluding about 90 minutes of its five-hour window. It has been standard practice at NBC since at least 2000 to lop off the first half-hour of Olympic coverage by scheduling only local and in-house ads during that period (the Nielsen ‘clock’ does not start until the first national ad). It is the same on the back end of the telecast, with NBC having the option to cut off the numbers after the last national ad. The maneuvers are not frowned upon by Nielsen and are not limited to the Olympics, with NBC using the same method to cut off the first half-hour of Football Night in America. Norfolk, VA, led all markets Saturday night with an 18.4 rating, followed by Indianapolis (18.1), Denver and Ft. Myers, FL (18.0) and Columbus (17.7). Salt Lake City, which had been the top market for each of the previous seven nights, ranked seventh (17.6). For posterity, Saturday’s telecast scored a 16.4 in the metered markets. CORRECTION 8/16: This post originally said the Saturday telecast had 25.0 million viewers, when even in the fast-nationals it was 25.5 million. (Sun. numbers from NBC Sports, with additional info from ShowBuzz Daily)Most Americans seem to regard 15 April – the day income tax returns are due to the Internal Revenue Service – as a recurring tragedy on the order of a biblical plague. Particularly this year, with US government deficits soaring, everyone from the Teabaggers to Senate Republicans are reviving a scary Friday the 13th scenario from the 1990s about a return to Big Government. Recently Rudy Giuliani even stated that President Obama was moving us towards – heaven forbid – European social democracy. Europe frequently plays the punching bag role during these moments because there is a perception that the poor Europeans are overtaxed serfs. But a closer look reveals that this is a myth that prevents Americans from understanding the vast shortcomings of our own system. A few years ago, an American acquaintance of mine who lives in Sweden told me that, quite by chance, he and his Swedish wife were in New York City and ended up sharing a limousine to the theatre district with a southern US senator and his wife. This senator, a conservative, anti-tax Democrat, asked my acquaintance about Sweden and swaggeringly commented about "all those taxes the Swedes pay". To which this American replied, "The problem with Americans and their taxes is that we get nothing for them." He then went on to tell the senator about the comprehensive level of services and benefits that Swedes receive. "If Americans knew what Swedes receive for their taxes, we would probably riot," he told the senator. The rest of the ride to the theatre district was unsurprisingly quiet. The fact is, in return for their taxes, Europeans are receiving a generous support system for families and individuals for which Americans must pay exorbitantly, out-of-pocket, if we are to receive it at all. That includes quality healthcare for every single person, the average cost of which is about half of what Americans pay, even as various studies show that Europeans achieve healthier results. But that's not all. In return for their taxes, Europeans also are receiving affordable childcare, a decent retirement pension, free or inexpensive university education, job retraining, paid sick leave, paid parental leave, ample vacations, affordable housing, senior care, efficient mass transportation and more. In order to receive the same level of benefits as Europeans, most Americans fork out a ton of money in out-of-pocket payments
said learning and perfecting the nuances of the position is part of teaching McKinney the building blocks of first base. Their goal is to reach a point where the other infielders trust McKinney and do not have to think about making perfect throws every time to avoid an error. “Whenever the other infielders feel comfortable throwing to that first baseman, they tend to make better throws,” Bell said. Bell does not want to create an Instructional league or Spring Training vibe; he wants McKinney to have fun while getting his work in. “You want them to enjoy it,” Bells said, “(and)At the same time you want (them) to get their work in so they can improve, and they can get a little bit of knowledge.” McKinney is doing a ‘solid average’ job adjusting to first base according to the Tampa Yankees manager. Bell defined solid average as a player doing a good or solid job playing a position every day. “What I look for in a player is (for him to be) solid average,” Bell said. “Give me that daily, and I can show you a guy that is going to make all the routine plays.” For Bell, once a player becomes ‘solid average’ he has what it takes to make the major leagues and help a team win a championship. However, before McKinney can help the Yankees win a championship he has to make the team learning first base might help him crack a young, talented and crowded roster. “The more positions you can play the better,” McKinney said. “That’s one more position to play to help me get on the field.” McKinney was initially drafted by the Oakland Athletics, traded to the Cubs and then last season the Yankees in the deal that sent Aroldis Chapman to Chicago last year. This offseason could result in another change of scenery for the Yankee prospect. McKinney is eligible for the rule 5 draft this offseason if not added to the Yankees 40 man roster. McKinney said he is not thinking about the possible change and focusing on how he can improve over the next few weeks. “I’m just trying to get better every day and get better,” McKinney said, “(I’m)Just looking forward to the rest of the fall league.”Too bad theres no Olympic gold to be won for writing songs with crazy complex time signatures or TTNG (This Town Needs Guns) would probably be taking it home. Currently on tour to promote their new album Disappointment Island, I finally got to bear witness to the mathematical genius at The Foundry in Philadelphia this past Sunday. On said island of disappointment was the drop of Giraffes? Giraffes! from the line-up, as they played only select shows and had just played with them in NY the night before. On the bright side, we got to experience LITE, a 4 piece instrumental band with lots of stamina and great collaboration. It was definitely something watching Jun Izawa slapping away at that bass. Very groovy vibe and worth a listen. Lots of laughs and crowd interaction during TTNGs set. Beginning with Henry, bass/guitarist, telling us that Bush had been unknowingly touring with them, since he’d heard them playing at the same venue for 2 consecutive nights, with gratitude that we chose them of course. Great choice of setlist and much excitement with the performance of +3 Awesomeness Repels Water, which they were able to play with help from a fill in (Henry of Mylets) since TTNG lost a member. Another oh sh*t moment during I’ll Take the Minute Snake, when Henry doubled up with a guitar and bass at the same time all while singing. The infamous quote of the night sparked when Chris Collis (drummer) couldn’t get the timing right and their unanimous confusion on where to jump back in caused them to start from the top. Understandable seeing as how their signatures bounce around within songs, it was evident to blame it on the genre. “Don’t do math rock kids, it’s dangerous” – Henry Tremain The crowd completely unaltered by the mishap was fully engaged in the comeback, once they were all on the same page. They ended with the perfect song 26 is Dancier than 4 to show just how clever math rock can be, 26 really is Dancier than 4/4. Overall great show with valuable lesson learned. 39.952584 -75.165222First, he went viral on Youtube with his Get Low video, where he surprised patrons in a coffee shop with his acoustic interpretation of the rap song. Then, he went throughout Ann Arbor, surprising people in various locations, with his follow up of Move Bitch. Now it's time for Dan Henig to showcase his own original music! Up until now, all of Dan's videos have been made with next to nothing. You can check them out here: https://www.youtube.com/danhenigmusic Imagine what we could create with your support! We could pay for proper equipment, professional camera operators, set designers, lights, the works! Please help us film a music video for the song "Falling", off of Dan's EP! For Dan's debut music video, we want it to look as beautiful as it sounds; which is why we’ve decided to shoot on the RED camera. It’s one of the most technologically advanced motion picture cameras in the world today, and shoots video at a stunning 4K resolution! (over twice the resolution of High Definition). We’ll be hiring a supremely talented crew to help us, including a wonderful production designer to help bring the sets and scenes we are creating to life. We're offering a bunch of awesome incentives, including one where Dan will play an event for you in booty shorts! We have a new merch line that we're giving out with the incentives. New shirts, stickers, the hard copy of Dan's EP, and the highly anticipated Cover Song Album! Get it before it hits itunes! We are featuring two new shirt designs: The "Falling" video Producer's shirt, which is exclusive to Kickstarter backers: "Falling" Music Video Producer's Shirt! And the new Dan Henig shirt that will be sold at shows. New merch line T-shirt! Since we're only doing a 15 day campaign, we we're going to boost each incentive with daily perks! We'll also be sharing new (one backer only) incentives, having specials, and throwing in some extra gifts with each incentive everyday, so follow Dan on Twitter and Facebook! Example: There is a new cover album coming out, with an awesome matching shirt. http://www.facebook.com/dan.henig.music https://twitter.com/danhenig Check out the song! http://www.reverbnation.com/danhenig/song/16363891-falling Thank you so much for your time and your support!Kim Hak-min, a North Korean defector-turned-repairman for iPhones with the nickname SogangJobs, poses in his room, where he receives customers and fixes their broken iPhones, in Mapo District, central Seoul, during an interview with the Korea JoongAng Daily on Wednesday. [PARK SANG-MOON] Kim fixes a damaged iPhone. [PARK SANG-MOON] [PARK SANG-MOON] Kim Hak-min, 30, was born in coal country in the North Korean province of North Hamgyong, which borders China. His father worked in the mines as an engineer.At the age of 7, Kim became obsessed with electric gadgets. “I just wanted to disassemble everything,” he says. “I was especially fascinated with speakers, blown away by the fact that all kinds of sounds were coming from a tiny box.”At 13, he started fixing neighbors’ watches and electrical appliances, earning the nickname “Repair Boy.” It was a hobby that would eventually land him in jail – and lead him to defect to South Korea.“Because I didn’t have many tools,” he says, “I developed a set of skills to fix products. For example, to take apart a wristwatch, which is composed of many parts, all I needed was a tiny needle.”After his father died of liver cancer in 2003, Kim started making a living fixing people’s broken appliances. He got to know how televisions work.“To prevent North Koreans from watching Chinese channels that air South Korean dramas, state security officials fix televisions so they only broadcast state-run channels. I was the kid in the town who could unlock that code and let people watch South Korean dramas. I watched them myself.”He was arrested three times for watching forbidden dramas. The first two times he avoided punishment because he was underage. The third time he got caught, in early 2009, he was 22.“Watching a single drama can earn you a five-year sentence. I was busted for having watched hundreds! I was certain I would be sent to a far-flung prison camp, where I would perish.”Soon after his arrest, beatings and sleep deprivation began. “They [interrogators] made you sit absolutely rigid for 15 hours straight,” he recalls. “If you move an inch, a punch follows.”To his surprise, he was released after two months.“People in the town pleaded with the authorities to release me, for which I am forever grateful.” They were the neighbors and friends whose electric gadgets Kim had fixed in the past – often for free.“This is something people in the capitalist South find it hard to understand,” he says. “But in the North, we didn’t have a clear sense of payment for services. When people approached me and asked me to repair their televisions, I would go to their houses and fix them. But many times I couldn’t mention money because I could see how they were struggling to make ends meet. A television was their only source of joy. I couldn’t demand money from such families.”The South Korean dramas had also taught him something about the affluent outside world – and made him yearn for it.“Before I watched South Korean dramas, I was brainwashed to believe that South Korea was full of people dying of hunger and was ruled by imperialist U.S. army. Once I watched these dramas, I saw that people were so civilized. The way men spoke to women was so polite and full of courtesy. I was immediately attracted to the country over the border.”He crossed the frozen Yalu River to China with a girlfriend on a freezing day in January 2011.“My girlfriend began sobbing, worrying about getting caught by border security and being sent to a prison camp. She wanted a suicide pill. I told her, ‘Our mission here is to make it to the South alive.’”After making another crossing into Thailand, a route arranged by defection brokers, the couple landed in Seoul in March 2011. Kim had an identity crisis, became depressed and broke up with his girlfriend.“Though I was standing on the land I had dreamed of, I soon realized there weren’t many things I could do here. I didn’t know anyone. I couldn’t get a job. I lived in a gosiwon (one-room studio), which made things much harder.”A book turned Kim around: “Steve Jobs” by Walter Isaacson, which was published shortly after Jobs’ death in 2011.“The book filled me with energy for a better life. It made me determined to go to college. I slept only a few hours a day, studying and memorizing 100 English words every day. After two and a half years, I was admitted to Sogang University in 2014.”Kim says Jobs’ principles were his biggest inspiration.“He said you should find work that you like, just like you try to marry someone you love. You have got to have passion for the work you do, that was his lesson. For me, it was fixing electronic gadgets. Jobs’ idea that you should actively lead your life with intuition and passion, instead of being swayed and interrupted by others, practically saved my life. I am who I am today because of Jobs.”Kim is majoring at electronic engineering at Sogang University in Mapo District, western Seoul. He took a leave of absence after his sophomore year to concentrate on a business he started. He rents a two-room house in Mapo where he lives and works.He hung a neon sign outside that reads: “SogangJobs.” He repairs damaged iPhones. Business is good. He’s in the process of trading in his Honda Accord for a second-hand Mercedes.“I fell in love with the iPhone when I first saw it,” says Kim. “When you dissemble an iPhone and see what’s inside, it’s just beautiful. A great engineer not only makes gadgets beautiful on the outside but also inside.”When the Korea JoongAng Daily visited his shop Tuesday afternoon, a stream of customers arrived, hoping he could work some magic on their iPhone for far less than Apple’s official repair service. On a wall hangs a framed photo of Steve Jobs.He refuses to repair any other smartphone. “I don’t even want to touch them,” said Kim, laughing.The only time he fixed a Samsung product was when he met a Sogang student whose Samsung laptop screen was shattered. “She was crying. I found out she was supporting her parents financially and working every day to pay her tuition.” Kim went to a Samsung repair center for chip replacements. Then he fixed the screen himself. He didn’t charge her. She visited him a few days later with a thank-you gift: a soft drink.“When I fixed people’s gadgets for free in the North, I saw people overwhelmed with joy. That led me to believe that the most important thing in life is not money or something tangible, but honor.”“I think it’s all connected. I was released from an interrogation center in North Korea because my neighbors pleaded with the authorities for my release,” said Kim. “I had helped them out of a sense of honor as a technician.“My life has been connecting the dots that people in the North and South have drawn for me. It’s like what Steve Jobs said: ‘You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.’”BY KANG JIN-KYU [kang.jinyku@joongang.co.kr]Viber, the popular cross-platform VoIP service, has just been given a large-scale update. Both the Android and iOS versions of the app have been refreshed, and notably, Viber is also now available on both Windows and OS X. With 200 million users worldwide, Viber is right up there with Skype in terms of reach, and today’s update is easily the most significant in its history. More details, as well as download links, are coming up after the jump. Both the iOS and Android apps have been bumped to version 3.0, and as you might expect, the changes are rather significant. There’s new-found support for video messaging, enhanced call quality thanks to the implementation of a voice engine, and a handy feature for checking the online status of contacts. Features in the offing for the brand-new Windows and Mac apps include video calling, integration with the mobile versions, and with an iteration for BlackBerry 10 also nearing completion, Viber certainly isn’t intimidated by the huge amount of money attached to the imposing figure of Skype. As well as building new apps from the ground up for Windows, OS X and BB10, Viber is also prepping an app for Linux, which will become available in the near future. Below, you can check out a video demonstration of the new desktop experience. This is a very impressive statement intent from Viber, and although the Microsoft-owned Skype is seen as the de facto VoIP service, Viber’s 200 million-strong user base more than implies that there is room for competition. I’ve been using the OS X version for a couple of minutes just to get a feel for it, and I have to say, I am very impressed by what I’ve seen so far. It’s clean, easy to operate, and only takes a couple of moments to install. Grab the new Viber for Android and iPhone apps via the links provided below and the desktop apps from Viber.com, and be sure to leave a comment and let us know how you get on. (Source: Viber for iOS / Android) Be sure to check out our iPhone Apps Gallery and iPad Apps Gallery to explore more apps for your iPhone and iPad, and also our Android Apps gallery to explore more apps for your Android device. You can follow us on Twitter, add us to your circle on Google+ or like our Facebook page to keep yourself updated on all the latest from Microsoft, Google, Apple and the web. Related StoriesThe Regina Food Bank has a new way to grow fresh vegetables year-round with their new Four Seasons Urban Agriculture Project. After several months of planning, the greenhouse officially opened its doors on Wednesday. “We’re able to grow fresh vegetables, get people involved in the growing of the food, choosing what they eat, and we can do that 12 months a year because we’re in a nice, warm space,” Regina Food Bank CEO Steve Compton said. The space is warm – a balmy 18 C during the cold Saskatchewan winters. It holds 48 towers, which can each hold up to 70 individual plants. “Right now, we’re testing out a lot of different things,” Compton said. “We’re testing out lettuces, tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, different herbs. We’re finding out what grows well at this time of year, what grows well in this environment.” Food grown in the greenhouse will be used for the Food Bank’s charitable distribution and their community kitchen. “The one thing we’ll always get back is, we’d like to see more fresh products, more proteins, all those kinds of things,” Compton said. “This is where we’re trying to make our contribution back to the people that we support.” Harvests of the vegetables are done every five to seven weeks. Compton says the Food Bank hopes to encourage volunteers wanting to do some winter gardening to come help with the project. “When the cold weather comes and you’re a green thumb and you’ve shut down your own private garden, please come here,” he said. “We’re going to be reaching out to community agencies and lots of different organizations and getting kids involved. All are welcome, and it’s just that language of food.”Pharmaceutical company ISTA Pharmaceuticals, Inc. pled guilty earlier today to conspiracy to introduce a misbranded drug into interstate commerce and conspiracy to pay illegal remuneration in violation of the Federal Anti-Kickback Statute, the Justice Department announced today. U.S. District Court Judge Richard J. Arcara accepted ISTA's guilty pleas. The guilty pleas are part of a global settlement with the United States in which ISTA agreed to pay $33.5 million to resolve criminal and civil liability arising from its marketing, distribution and sale of its drug Xibrom. ISTA pled guilty in the Western District of New York to criminal charges that the company conspired to illegally introduce a misbranded drug, Xibrom, into interstate commerce. Under the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA), it is illegal for a drug company to introduce into interstate commerce any drug that the company intends will be used for uses not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Xibrom is an ophthalmic, nonsteroidal, anti-inflammatory drug that was approved by FDA to treat pain and inflammation following cataract surgery. In order to expand sales of Xibrom outside of its approved use, ISTA conspired to introduce misbranded Xibrom into interstate commerce. Between 2005 and 2010, some ISTA employees promoted Xibrom for unapproved new uses, including the use of Xibrom following Lasik and glaucoma surgeries, and for the treatment and prevention of cystoid macular edema. The evidence showed that continuing medical education programs were used to promote Xibrom for uses that were not approved by the FDA as safe and effective, and that post-operative instruction sheets for unapproved uses were paid for by some company employees and provided to physicians. These activities are evidence of intended uses unapproved by FDA, which rendered the drug misbranded under the FDCA. ISTA pled guilty to a felony based on evidence that some ISTA employees were told by management not to memorialize in writing certain interactions with physicians regarding unapproved new uses, and not to leave certain printed materials in physicians' offices relating to unapproved new uses. These instructions were given in order to avoid having their conduct relating to unapproved new uses being detected by others. ISTA agreed that this conduct represented an intent to defraud under the law. In addition, ISTA pled guilty to a conspiracy to knowingly and willfully offering or paying remuneration to physicians in order to induce those physicians to prescribe Xibrom, in violation of the federal Anti-Kickback Statute. Under the law, it is illegal to offer or pay remuneration, directly or indirectly, overtly or covertly, in cash or in kind, to physicians to induce them to refer individuals to pharmacies for the dispensing of drugs, for which payments are made in whole or in part under a Federal health care program. In this matter, certain ISTA employees, with the knowledge and at the direction of ISTA, offered and provided physicians with free Vitrase, another ISTA product, with the intent to induce such physicians to refer individuals to pharmacies for the dispensing of the drug Xibrom. In addition, ISTA provided other illegal remuneration, including a monetary payment to sponsor an event of a non-profit group associated with a particular physician, a golf outing, a wine-tasting event, paid consulting or speaker arrangements, and honoraria for participation in advisory meetings which were intended to be marketing opportunities, with the intent to induce physicians to refer individuals to pharmacies for the dispensing of the drug Xibrom. Under the terms of the plea agreement, ISTA will pay a total of $18.5 million, including a criminal fine of $16,125,000 for the conspiracy to introduce misbranded Xibrom into interstate commerce, $500,000 for the conspiracy to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute, and $1,850,000 in asset forfeiture associated with the misbranding charge. ISTA also entered into a civil settlement agreement under which it agreed to pay $15 million to the federal government and states to resolve claims arising from its marketing of Xibrom, which caused false claims to be submitted to government health care programs. The civil settlement resolved allegations that ISTA promoted the sale and use of Xibrom for certain uses that were not FDA-approved and not covered by the Federal health care programs, including prevention and treatment of cystoid macular edema, treatment of pain and inflammation associated with non-cataract eye surgery, and treatment of glaucoma. The United States further alleged that ISTA's violations of the Anti-Kickback Statute resulted in false claims being submitted to federal health care programs. The federal share of the civil settlement is $14,609,746.16, and the state Medicaid share of the civil settlement is $390,253.84. Except as admitted in the plea agreement, the claims settled by the civil settlement agreement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability as to those claims. "As today's global resolution demonstrates, the Department of Justice is committed to making sure that pharmaceutical companies play by the rules," said Stuart F. Delery, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division. "Health care fraud in any form undermines the integrity of our health care system and can drive up costs for all of us." "Today's resolution sends a clear message that pharmaceutical companies cannot put profit ahead of people, by disregarding laws designed to protect the health of the American public," said United States Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. "The fact that ISTA offered doctors illegal inducements - such as a wine tasting, golf outing, and payments to attend what were in essence marketing sessions - makes the company's illegal conduct particularly deserving of the hefty penalty ISTA has agreed to pay." "It is especially concerning when companies actively take steps to conceal improper conduct which may jeopardize public health," said Antoinette V. Henry, Special Agent in Charge, Metro-Washington Field Office, FDA Office of Criminal Investigations. "We will continue to work tirelessly with the Department of Justice and our law enforcement counterparts to uncover such conduct." In addition to the criminal fines and asset forfeiture, ISTA's parent company, Bausch+Lomb, Incorporated (B+L), has agreed to maintain a Compliance and Ethics Program. B+L has agreed that it will maintain policies and procedures that: (1) prohibit the involvement of sales and marketing personnel and others on the businesses' commercial team in the final decision-making process with respect to educational grants in the United States, while also ensuring that the educational programming is focused on objective scientific and educational activities and discourse; (2) require sales agents to discuss only those product uses that are consistent with what is indicated on the product's approved package labeling and to forward requests for information regarding uses of B+L's products not approved by FDA to a Medical Affairs Professional; and (3) prohibit the company from engaging in any conduct that violates the Anti-Kickback Statute, including the offering or paying of any remuneration to any person to induce such person to prescribe any drug for which payment may be made in whole or in part under a Federal health care program. The Program also requires that B+L's President of Global Pharmaceuticals conduct an annual review of the effectiveness of B+L's Program as it relates to the marketing, promotion, and sale of prescription pharmaceutical products, and certify that to the best of his or her knowledge, the Program was effective in preventing violations of Federal health care program requirements and the FDCA regarding sales, marketing, and promotion of B+L's prescription pharmaceutical products. The civil settlement resolves two lawsuits filed under the whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act, which permit private parties to file suit on behalf of the United States for false claims and obtain a portion of the government's recovery. The civil lawsuits were filed in the Western District of New York and are captioned United States ex rel. Keith Schenker v. ISTA Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and United States, et al., ex rel. DJ PARTNERSHIP 2011, LLP v. ISTA Pharmaceuticals, Inc. As part of today's resolution, Mr. Schenker will receive approximately $2.5 million from the federal share of the civil recovery. Upon conviction for the criminal charges described above, ISTA will face mandatory exclusion from Federal healthcare programs. Exclusion will mean that on the effective date of the exclusion, any ISTA labeled drugs in ISTA's possession would no longer be reimbursable by Medicare, Medicaid, or other Federal healthcare programs. In June 2012, B+L acquired ISTA. Simultaneous with the False Claims Act settlement and the entry of the plea, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Inspector General, ISTA, and B+L will enter into a Divestiture Agreement under which ISTA agrees to be excluded for 15 years, effective six months after the date of the settlement. Under the terms of the Divestiture Agreement, ISTA will transfer all assets to B+L or a B+L subsidiary and will stop shipping ISTA labeled drugs within six months of the Divestiture Agreement. Six months after the effective date of the Divestiture Agreement, all ISTA labeled drugs in the possession of ISTA or B+L will no longer be reimbursable by Medicare, Medicaid, and other Federal healthcare programs. Those ISTA labeled drugs in the stream of commerce at that time will continue to be reimbursable. "We agreed to enter into this Divestiture Agreement based on the facts of this case, including that B+L did not have a corporate relationship with ISTA during the improper conduct," said Daniel R. Levinson, Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. "In addition, B+L acquired ISTA more than a year after the improper conduct ended, and B+L did not hire any of ISTA's executives or senior management." The criminal case was prosecuted by Assistant Director Jeffrey Steger of the Consumer Protection Branch of the Civil Division of the Department of Justice and Assistant United States Attorney MaryEllen Kresse of the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of New York. They were assisted by Associate Chief Counsel Kelsey Schaefer of the Food and Drug Division, Office of General Counsel, Department of Health and Human Services. The case was investigated by the Food and Drug Administration's Office of Criminal Investigations and Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General. The civil settlement was handled by Trial Attorneys Colin Huntley and Benjamin Young of the Commercial Litigation Branch of the Civil Division of the Department of Justice and Assistant United States Attorney Kathleen Lynch of the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of New York. This resolution is part of the government's emphasis on combating health care fraud and another step for the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT) initiative, which was announced by Attorney General Eric Holder and Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services in May 2009. The partnership between the two departments has focused efforts to reduce and prevent Medicare and Medicaid financial fraud through enhanced cooperation. One of the most powerful tools in that effort is the False Claims Act, which the Justice Department has used to recover more than $10.4 billion since January 2009 in cases involving fraud against federal health care programs. The Justice Department's total recoveries in False Claims Act cases since January 2009 are over $14.3 billion.While the project, funded by the government to the tune of 16 million yuan, launched earlier this year, would be used for scientific research and defense monitoring, it could also monitor areas on land as well as undersea and underground areas. It would feature a radar antenna 50 meters high and special astronauts' quarters as well. The radar itself would be capable of generating 1.4 gigabytes of data per second, which outclasses the bandwidth available from long-distance space communications tech, but it would require on-site astronauts to aid in processing the data there. It would be an extremely pricey endeavor, which is what lead researchers to call it a "lunatic idea" or denounce it entirely, suggesting spy satellites could perform the same tasks at a fraction of the cost. The Chinese goverment is supposedly looking for a "significant breakthrough" in the plan when 2020 arrives, as will the deadline for the responsible team's final report.The owners of the Melita Honey Farm in Tasmania will have their home auctioned in three weeks after failing to pay their council rates since 2010 because they believe the land is owned by God. A letter from the owners, the Beerepoot family, to the Meander Valley council earlier this year said: "Council's world view is that the 'law of the land' governs life and thus also provides progress, growth and security. On the other hand, we believe that our Heavenly Father is Sovereign and that He reigns today, thus we worship Him and Him alone so that His will is established on the earth … you are asking us to bow down to a false god which is something we cannot do." Meander Valley mayor Craig Perkins said the farm's owners had not made contact with the council since a real estate agent was appointed last month. "On the first of September at 11am at the council office we will be auctioning the property, presuming they don't pay all monies that are owned before then," he said.This article is about the metal. For other uses, see Lead (disambiguation) Chemical element with atomic number 82 Chemical element with atomic number 82 Lead is a chemical element with symbol Pb (from the Latin plumbum) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cut, lead is silvery with a hint of blue; it tarnishes to a dull gray color when exposed to air. Lead has the highest atomic number of any stable element and three of its isotopes each include a major decay chain of heavier elements. Lead is a relatively unreactive post-transition metal. Its weak metallic character is illustrated by its amphoteric nature; lead and lead oxides react with acids and bases, and it tends to form covalent bonds. Compounds of lead are usually found in the +2 oxidation state rather than the +4 state common with lighter members of the carbon group. Exceptions are mostly limited to organolead compounds. Like the lighter members of the group, lead tends to bond with itself; it can form chains and polyhedral structures. Lead is easily extracted from its ores; prehistoric people in Western Asia knew of it. Galena, a principal ore of lead, often bears silver, interest in which helped initiate widespread extraction and use of lead in ancient Rome. Lead production declined after the fall of Rome and did not reach comparable levels until the Industrial Revolution. In 2014, the annual global production of lead was about ten million tonnes, over half of which was from recycling. Lead's high density, low melting point, ductility and relative inertness to oxidation make it useful. These properties, combined with its relative abundance and low cost, resulted in its extensive use in construction, plumbing, batteries, bullets and shot, weights, solders, pewters, fusible alloys, white paints, leaded gasoline, and radiation shielding. In the late 19th century, lead's toxicity was recognized, and its use has since been phased out of many applications. However, many countries still allow the sale of products that expose humans to lead, including some types of paints and bullets. Lead is a toxin that accumulates in soft tissues and bones, it acts as a neurotoxin damaging the nervous system and interfering with the function of biological enzymes, causing neurological disorders, such as brain damage and behavioral problems. Physical properties [ edit ] Atomic [ edit ] A lead atom has 82 electrons, arranged in an electron configuration of [Xe]4f145d106s26p2. The sum of lead's first and second ionization energies—the total energy required to remove the two 6p electrons—is close to that of tin, lead's upper neighbor in the carbon group. This is unusual; ionization energies generally fall going down a group, as an element's outer electrons become more distant from the nucleus, and more shielded by smaller orbitals. The similarity of ionization energies is caused by the lanthanide contraction—the decrease in element radii from lanthanum (atomic number 57) to lutetium (71), and the relatively small radii of the elements from hafnium (72) onwards. This is due to poor shielding of the nucleus by the lanthanide 4f electrons. The sum of the first four ionization energies of lead exceeds that of tin, contrary to what periodic trends would predict. Relativistic effects, which become significant in heavier atoms, contribute to this behavior.[a] One such effect is the inert pair effect: the 6s electrons of lead become reluctant to participate in bonding, making the distance between nearest atoms in crystalline lead unusually long. Lead's lighter carbon group congeners form stable or metastable allotropes with the tetrahedrally coordinated and covalently bonded diamond cubic structure. The energy levels of their outer s- and p-orbitals are close enough to allow mixing into four hybrid sp3 orbitals. In lead, the inert pair effect increases the separation between its s- and p-orbitals, and the gap cannot be overcome by the energy that would be released by extra bonds following hybridization. Rather than having a diamond cubic structure, lead forms metallic bonds in which only the p-electrons are delocalized and shared between the Pb2+ ions. Lead consequently has a face-centered cubic structure like the similarly sized divalent metals calcium and strontium.[b][c][d] Bulk [ edit ] Pure lead has a bright, silvery appearance with a hint of blue. It tarnishes on contact with moist air and takes on a dull appearance, the hue of which depends on the prevailing conditions. Characteristic properties of lead include high density, malleability, ductility, and high resistance to corrosion due to passivation. A sample of lead solidified from the molten state Lead's close-packed face-centered cubic structure and high atomic weight result in a density of 11.34 g/cm3, which is greater than that of common metals such as iron (7.87 g/cm3), copper (8.93 g/cm3), and zinc (7.14 g/cm3). This density is the origin of the idiom to go over like a lead balloon.[e] Some rarer metals are denser: tungsten and gold are both at 19.3 g/cm3, and osmium—the densest metal known—has a density of 22.59 g/cm3, almost twice that of lead. Lead is a very soft metal with a Mohs hardness of 1.5; it can be scratched with a fingernail. It is quite malleable and somewhat ductile.[f] The bulk modulus of lead—a measure of its ease of compressibility—is 45.8 GPa. In comparison, that of aluminium is 75.2 GPa; copper 137.8 GPa; and mild steel 160–169 GPa. Lead's tensile strength, at 12–17 MPa, is low (that of aluminium is 6 times higher, copper 10 times, and mild steel 15 times higher); it can be strengthened by adding small amounts of copper or antimony. The melting point of lead—at 327.5 °C (621.5 °F) —is very low compared to most metals.[g] Its boiling point of 1749 °C (3180 °F) is the lowest among the carbon group elements. The electrical resistivity of lead at 20 °C is 192 nanoohm-meters, almost an order of magnitude higher than those of other industrial metals (copper at 15.43 nΩ·m; gold 20.51 nΩ·m; and aluminium at 24.15 nΩ·m). Lead is a superconductor at temperatures lower than 7.19 K; this is the highest critical temperature of all type-I superconductors and the third highest of the elemental superconductors. Isotopes [ edit ] Natural lead consists of four stable isotopes with mass numbers of 204, 206, 207, and 208, and traces of five short-lived radioisotopes. The high number of isotopes is consistent with lead's atomic number being even.[h] Lead has a magic number of protons (82), for which the nuclear shell model accurately predicts an especially stable nucleus. Lead-208 has 126 neutrons, another magic number, which may explain why lead-208 is extraordinarily stable. With its high atomic number, lead is the heaviest element whose natural isotopes are regarded as stable; lead-208 is the heaviest stable nucleus. (This distinction formerly fell to bismuth, with an atomic number of 83, until its
This figure may now rise at a rapid pace. And Chabahar not just opens up the country to competitively priced Indian consignments and more exports to India but would also open other South and South-East Asian markets for Afghan products. Trade with Bangladesh in particular, feel economic experts, can expand exponentially. And Pakistan? A loss-loss situation. India-Afghanistan trade through Chabahar Port in Iran is a massive blow to Pakistani designs on a number of levels. The failure to revive Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement (APTTA) so far has now come to haunt Islamabad. In the past, Pakistan has dictated terms to Afghanistan - compelling the latter to look elsewhere. The proverbial push came to shove when Kabul communicated via Pakistan's High Commission there that talks on reviving APTTA would only take place if New Delhi was made part of it. The country wanted India to be made part of the Trilateral Transit Trade Agreement between Pakistan, Afghanistan and Tajikistan. Long opposed to any Indian involvement, The Hindu reported that Pakistan Army Chief Qamar Javed Bajwa then mulled the prospect of involving India. It may have been just too late. Indian officials at the SCO Afghanistan-Contact group meeting in Moscow reportedly told the Afghan delegation that it would not take up Pakistan's offer for talks. And the snub may cost Pakistan dearly. Pakistan's exports to Afghanistan have come down from a record high of USD 2.4 billion in 2010-11 to USD 1.43bn in 2015-16. And it continues to be in freefall. "The dwindling trade relationship with Afghanistan shows the absence of rationality," read a recent report in the Dawn. In such times, Chabahar Port not just further erodes Pakistan's influence over Kabul but also makes its Gwadar Port - developed with Chinese help - rather irrelevant. Overall then, Chabahar Port opens up a world of possibilities for India, Afghanistan and Iran. It is mostly agreed that it is a massive boon for trade operations and doubles up as a diplomatic one-two-three punch to Pakistan. For Pakistan on the other hand though, it slams shut prospects of greater trade with its neighbours.Designers often enjoy creative tools and little trinkets that can enhance their workflow. So if you wanted to buy something creative for a designer (or yourself), how would you know what to get? Take a look at the following collection of gift ideas for designers and see if anything catches your eye. Some are digital while others rely on more traditional design mediums. Each person’s taste is slightly different so this collection aims to provide gift ideas for everyone. Cordies Wire management isn’t something that anyone wants to deal with. But when tangled wires drop behind your desk, that’s when problems occur. Save some grief by ordering one of the Cordies cord organizers. They come in various colors and can hold at least 5 cords in a tight grip from any location on a desk. Satechi Desktop Organizer This self-branded iDesk Organizer is perfect for anyone with a cluttered office. While it seems geared towards Mac users this can actually work great with any computer setup. Satechi builds a lot of accessories for computers and workstations. They’re well known for ingenuity and this product could make the perfect gift for someone who’s always on the computer and just needs a better way to organize. Browser UI Sketch Pad Wireframing is crucial to any successful UI design project. Many designers like the fluid nature of sketching on paper which makes wireframing by hand so pragmatic. The Browser Sketch Pad by UI Stencils is perfect for any designer who builds for the web. It can save time with a pre-built template and measurable dots for grid-based design elements. Alternatively you might consider the iPhone sticky pad for mobile app designers. Website UX Deck of Cards What could be more fun and creative than a deck of cards with a focus on user experience? This UX card deck contains 53 unique cards that can be used to rearrange user experience components for a website or mobile app. A designer might use these cards to make an analog sitemaps by rearranging specific UX elements. It can be the perfect gift for someone who builds interfaces and might be looking to try a different approach. Moleskine Smart Notebook Adobe’s Creative Cloud has changed the way designers produce content. Now it seems even product designers are getting into Adobe CC with items like the Moleskine Smart Notebook. It functions like a digital Moleskine notebook where drawings can be turned into digital files. These can be stored locally or shared into Adobe’s Creative Cloud with a subscription. Either way it’s a fantastic gift for the designer who likes sketching but prefers to stay digital. Of course, some designers prefer traditional mediums and would enjoy the classic Moleskine instead. PHP Elephant Plush Web design and development both go hand-in-hand to create valuable products. One of the most popular languages for backend development is PHP which powers platforms like WordPress. The recognized mascot of this language is the PHP elephant which garners much adoration from the community. If you know anyone who loves plushies and PHP then this elephant should be a surefire addition to your shopping list. Whooz Custom Charger Stickers Designers like to get creative with their workspace and their tools. This creativity often comes out in the form of customization with sleeves and stickers. The Whooz custom sticker set can be used to decorate all chargers from phones to laptops and even desktop power cables. Each pack contains 4 sheets of unique sticker designs that’ll make anyone’s cables stand out from the herd. Deleteus Eraser Artistic designers and draftsmen who still use pencils will need a vital ancillary tool: the eraser. These come in all shapes and sizes but techies may prefer the Deletus eraser. It’s shaped just like an old-school grey delete key. The size is plenty large enough and perfect for the designer with a passion for technology. Wireless Bluetooth Shower Speaker A cordless music player in the shower has been nothing but a pipe dream until now. This wireless bluetooth speaker is also waterproof which makes it perfect for shower time. Just connect it to your laptop or desktop and stick it to the wall for endless tunes while you shower. If you or someone you know prefers baths instead, then consider picking up the iDuck speaker system which connects into any nearby MP3 player. MacBook Air Compact Mirror For any fashion emergency it’s always good to have a mirror handy. Compacts are typically made to be feminine but this MacBook Air Compact is unisex and stylish for techies. It measures about 3.5 inches(92mm) wide so it’s large enough to prove useful but small enough to store anywhere. Coder Duvet Cover A proud programmer would want to write code even in his/her sleep. While this isn’t technically possible(yet), this programmer’s duvet cover is the next best thing. It comes fitted for twin, queen, and king size beds. And the underside is made of a cotton polyester blend which is comfy enough to fall briskly into snoozeland. Post-it Door Hangers Although not geared directly towards a designer, these post-it door hangers could be invaluable to anyone who struggles with task management. They make the perfect reminders to do something or grab something before leaving the house. Or if you’re living with someone and need to leave them a note, these post-its are sure to grab their attention. Mophie iPhone 6 Space Pack iPhone users love their protective cases, and with so many options it can be tough to find the right one. Mophie has their own iPhone 6 space pack which acts as a protective case along with a battery and extra storage. Since iPhones cannot get upgraded storage this case is one of the best accessories for a heavy iPhone user. The battery life can be essentially doubled and extra file storage comes in 32GB, 64GB, or 128GB. Slate Mobile AirDesk The Slate Mobile AirDesk is easy to carry and perfect for anyone who likes moving around. It has plenty of space for any size laptop and includes slots for touchscreen devices. The AirDesk also sports a small whiteboard for taking down notes by hand. The board itself is incredibly light and is made to absorb heat from any laptop. Big Big Cursor For the fun techie in your life consider grabbing a Big Big Cursor for touchscreen devices. The cursor behaves like a tablet pen but styled with a more traditional flair. You can order either a mouse pointer or hand cursor design. Both are about the same size and can even stick to the side of tablets for easy portability. Closing New trends pop up each year and new products are being released all the time. This list should get you started but if you love design or love someone who loves design, stay vigilant in searching for the perfect gift to give!A Multnomah County jury unanimously awarded $2 million Wednesday to a former foster child who was abused and starved for two years while under the watch of state child welfare workers. An attorney for the boy successfully argued that the Oregon Department of Human Services repeatedly failed to protect the boy despite repeated reports to a child-abuse hotline. The boy lived in the Clackamas County foster home of Thelma and William Beaver from 2002 to 2004. He weighed more at age 1, when he moved into the home, than at age 3, about the time he was removed from the home. B.D.'s older sister, then known as Jordan Knapp, also suffered. She weighed just 28 pounds at age 5, when she was flown by Life Flight helicopter to OHSU with a broken skull. The girl's injury -- not a long list of reports of suspected abuse to the hotline -- spurred DHS to remove the children from the foster home for good. Attorney Scott Kocher filed suit on behalf of Jordan, and days before B.D.'s trial, settled the case with the state for $1.5 million. The children, along with a younger sister, have since been adopted by one family. Their adopted mom hugged B.D.'s attorney, John Devlin, after the Wednesday's verdict was announced. Jurors awarded precisely the amount Devlin had asked for. "This isn't just about helping (B.D.), it's also about helping other foster children by getting DHS to do a better job," Devlin said. "The defense was not only that (DHS) didn't do anything wrong, but that (B.D.) wasn't abused and starved." Attorneys representing DHS weren't available for comment Wednesday. Juror David Filmer said he was convinced that DHS didn't do enough to protect the boy, especially after his second hospitalization for failing to gain weight. "We all really felt that the system was flawed," Filmer said. "That calls would come into the help line, and...the response was insufficient." At least 10 of the jurors spread the fault among the State of Oregon and five current and former DHS caseworkers and supervisors: Lesley Willette, Steve Duerscherl, Shirley Vollmuller, Peggy Gilmer and Audrey Riggs. Willette and Vollmuller still work at DHS, while the others have retired, Devlin said. Because the jury also found that the boy's civil rights were violated, Devlin can seek that his attorneys fees be paid for by the state. The 3 1/2 week trial included testimony from about 50 witnesses, said Devlin. The boy, who is now 10, took the stand for a short while. He spoke of lingering memories of life in the double-wide trailer that his foster parents and seven other children shared. He said he remembered being forced to sleep in the dog house. According to lawsuits filed on behalf of the boy and Jordan, the Beavers horribly mistreated the children. A child advocate nicknamed the boy "Mr. Won't Smile." And DHS workers didn't believe Jordan when she repeatedly told them of her suffering. According to her lawsuit, her hands were beaten with a wooden spoon, she was hit with a hairbrush, she was held upside down by her feet and her head slammed against furniture and door frames, and she was forced her to sleep outdoors without blankets. Thelma Beaver was sentenced to five years in prison for criminal mistreatment of Jordan, and William Beaver received two years of probation, for a lesser charge. Jordan still faces challenges in her life, but the settlement "will make a big difference in making sure her future is as good as it can be," said Jordan's attorney, Kocher. The boy has made a "remarkable" physical recovery, Devlin said. The jury's award will compensate the boy for what could be life-long psychological trauma. "He's not the same kid he was when he was placed in the Beaver home," Devlin said.The Seattle Sounders could be on the verge of acquiring Japanese international Keisuke Honda from AC Milan, according to an Italian report. TuttoMercatoWeb.com reported on Friday that Milan would be willing to release Honda from his contract, clearing the way for the 30-year-old to make a potential move to the Sounders. Honda has appeared in five Serie A matches for Milan this season, only one of which was a start. He has eight goals in 78 Serie A appearances since joining Milan from Russian club CSKA Moscow in January 2014. Internationally, Honda has 36 goals in 86 career caps for the Japanese national team. A member of Japan’s squad at the 2010 and 2014 World Cups, Honda has seven goals in 12 appearances in World Cup qualification matches for the 2018 World Cup. Honda has been linked with a move to MLS in the past. The attacking midfielder was linked to the LA Galaxy and New York City FC last fall, and told FOX Sports in January 2016 while opening a soccer academy in Southern California that he’s “very interested in MLS.”ALLEN PARK -- Ndamukong Suh has heard the criticism and it doesn't bother him. The Detroit Lions All-Pro defensive tackle's only offseason priority was sticking with the program that's kept him healthy and productive his first four professional seasons. Suh came under fire for skipping out on the team's voluntary workouts and minicamp last month, but he noted it's the same way he has approached every offseason. "This is the same time I came last year, so I'm a person (about) being consistent," Suh said. "I've been in a great program, one that's dialed exactly into me and what's best for my body to have longevity, which has been proven." That fact can't be disputed. Suh hasn't missed a game due to injury in his career and rarely sits out a practice. He's also been one of the league's most consistently disruptive interior pass rushers during that stretch. But the notable differences, compared to previous years, is the Lions have a new coaching staff and Suh is in a position of leadership after serving as a captain in 2013. Suh had reasonable counters to both points, noting he was one of the first players to meet the new coaches while working out at the team's facility earlier in the offseason. He also reminded reporters that his teammates didn't question his ability to lead last season, despite his personal offseason schedule causing him to miss voluntary workouts. "Last year I came in the same exact time and showed I was worthy of wearing that 'C' at that point in time," Suh said. Suh reiterated his desire to stay in Detroit long-term, saying his absence had nothing to do with his on-going contract negotiations. As for the criticism, which has flooded in from all directions, including his own Twitter feed, Suh has definitely seen it. "For sure, I'm aware of it," Suh said. "I have friends, family, people that are close to me that are saying people are saying bad things about me. There are people that are always going to talk bad about you. You have to be a deaf mute if didn't hear it." But just because Suh has heard it doesn't mean he's taking it to heart. "I hear it, but it doesn't necessarily bother me because I'm staying consistent in who I am," Suh said. "I'm going to be here, prepared when it's time to go, as I am now." -- Download the Detroit Lions MLive app for iPhone and Android -- Follow Justin Rogers on Twitter -- Like MLive's Detroit Lions Facebook pageDuring a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing earlier this week, one of President Donald Trump’s judicial nominees struggled to answer basic questions from a Republican senator about legal terms. Matthew Spencer Petersen, who was nominated to serve as a district court judge for the District of Columbia, formerly served on the Federal Election Commission and as Republican chief counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on Rules and Administration. Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) quizzed Petersen on his legal background and knowledge on Wednesday, beginning by asking if he had ever tried a case in court. Petersen replied that he had not. Petersen also said that he has never taken a deposition on his own, though he helped while working as an associate at a law firm after he finished law school. Kennedy then started on legal terminology, asking Petersen if he knows what the Daubert standard is. “Sen. Kennedy, I don’t have that readily at my disposal, but I would be happy to take a closer look at that. That is not something I’ve had to contend with,” Petersen replied. Similarly, Petersen said he did not have a deep understanding of a motion to limine. The nominee then touted his experience at the FEC, which he argued has prepared him to be a judge. “Yes, I’ve read your resume,” Kennedy interjected before asking again about a motion to limine. “Just for the record, do you know what a motion in limine is?” “I would probably not be able to give you a good definition right here at the table,” Petersen replied. Watch a video of the exchange shared by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) Thursday night:Wildfire ‘Will my tears cool the ash?’ A firefighter contemplates the fire season. Come fall, there is more time to linger over the morning coffee. Your boots, with dirt still clinging between their treads like forgotten food in un-brushed teeth, are tossed into the familiar corner. The grind of the rock and the hills still vaguely echo through your bones. Shorter days now, but the sun, drifting lower in the southern horizon, still squeezes water from the corner of your eyes. Waking up in the morning brings the phantom tendrils of sulfur-sweet diesel exhaust, existing in memory for a few long moments before your head clears. Come winter, the old vulnerabilities that plague the summer are forgotten. Perhaps a few too many beers have dulled the aches, and you recover the weight that was shed on some line scratched across some hill in some place for some reason that seemed important at the time, existing out there still like a star you saw once but can’t point to again. Courtesy of S.D. Fillmore During the holidays, your uncles want to hear a story about it. When you make up your missed appointments, your dentist asks if it was a bad fire season. At some point, someone saw a story on the news — were you there, on that one? Maybe you were, maybe you weren’t, but you were somewhere doing the same thing anyway, so it doesn’t really matter, and it’s better to humor them, to make them feel a part of it in some small way. They are the taxpayers, after all, so why not share a thrill or two? Vicarious living is all some people can manage. Come spring, the trepidation hidden during the dark months resurfaces. Grim uncertainty arrives in your mind alongside the rising creeks outside, and it rushes you down in a tumult of doubt. Thoughts previously deflected return: Maybe this will be the year that your words out the door will turn into falsehood, and you will become an unwitting liar. Not that there is really a choice, if you can understand that. And so I’m made to wonder how it will happen, if I will hear the crack of the rock as it spins from above, or feel the soft push of wind on my back as the branch approaches. Would I alert to the helicopter’s master caution warning, and bravely resign myself for the ride to the ground? Or hear the leaves rustle with a falling chunk of wood and realize the danger? Would I notice the smoke that forewarns of oncoming fire, or know the screech of truck’s tires before the crash? Would I feel my heart careen violently as I fell to my knees, feeling the tightness grip at my insides as the breath vanishes? Will there be time for “Shambhala” to tumble from my lips, or mere curses, or mute disbelief? Will my family have to endure reluctant memories of me, clichés, and an honor guard of my friends? The drums that beat with puissant bitterness, and the pipes that always made me well up in sadness and pride? Will the accompaniment have the poignancy of other fires, like Montana’s Mann Gulch, or hold the decadal remembrance of the Loop Fire, or offer a stern lesson like Colorado’s South Canyon? Would the blaze prove as pointless as Arizona’s Yarnell, become fable like the old Blowup, or have the seamless anonymity of Klone? Maybe the despair of the Dutch Creek Fire, the blame of the 30-Mile, or the hopelessness of the Esperanza? During the long drives, I wonder if I will linger for days, or slip right through the gap? Will the grains of my flesh be burned into the earth, or be cast up into a towering column of smoke? Will my blood soak the roots and be transpired, will my tears cool the ash? Will my eyes see silver, blue or black? Maybe dirt, maybe water, maybe smoke or sky? Ears filled with silence or ringing, head gripped by panic or calm? Will there be air in my lungs, or will the heat burn from within? Last stand: flat on my back or my belly or my side, in pieces or in whole, in pain or in a trance? I hope that my patience did not falter, that I was not insolent. That I was not hasty, nor ignorant, nor dramatic, nor vain. Just that I missed the signs, the directions, and the path to be followed. Most of all: I hope I fall for a reason that can stand the test of time. Will my widow be told it was for the accepted greater good, and will this be the truth of it — something that my son will believe in and be proud of for his days? Or will the end be pointless, as a man felled in battle against a firestorm whose sovereignty can never be challenged? Note: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that the Mann Gulch Fire was in Idaho. It occured in Montana. S.D. Fillmore works as a professional wildland fire manager for a federal land management agency in the Western U.S., and has been a firefighter for almost 20 years. He is the editor of the recently published book: Fire on the Land.Not to be confused with modern-day Albania in the Balkans. Caucasian Albania is a modern exonym for an ancient country in the eastern Caucasus, on the territory of present-day republic of Azerbaijan (where both of its capitals were located) and southern Dagestan. Its endonym is unknown.[4][5] The name Albania is derived from the Ancient Greek name Ἀλβανία and Latin Albanía.[6] The prefix "Caucasian" is used purely to avoid confusion with modern Albania, which has no geographical or historical connections to Caucasian Albania. Little is known of the region's prehistory, including the origins of Caucasian Albania as a geographical and/or ethnolinguistic concept. In the 1st century BC and the 1st century AD, the area south of the Greater Caucasus and north of the Lesser Caucasus was divided between Caucasian Albania in the east, Caucasian Iberia in the center, Kolchis in the west, Armenia in the southwest and Atropateneto the southeast. After the rise of the Parthian Empire the kings of Caucasian Albania were replaced with an Arsacid family and would later be succeeded by another Iranian royal family in the 5th century AD, the Mihranids. Geonyms Old map showing Colchis, Iberia and Albania. Aghuank (Old Armenian: Աղուանք Ałuankʿ, Modern Armenian: Աղվանք Aġvank’) is the Armenian name for Caucasian Albania. Armenian authors mention that the name derived from the word "ału" («աղու») meaning amiable in Armenian. The term Aghuank is polysemous and is also used in Armenian sources to denote the region between the Kur and Araxes rivers as part of Armenia.[7] In the latter case it is sometimes used in the form "Armenian Aghuank" or "Hay-Aghuank".[8][9][10] The Armenian historian of the region, Movses Kaghankatvatsi, who left the only more or less complete historical account about the region, explains the name Aghvank as a derivation from the word ału (Armenian for sweet, soft, tender), which, he said, was the nickname of Caucasian Albania's first governor Arran and referred to his lenient personality.[11] Movses Kaghankatvatsi and other ancient sources explain Arran or Arhan as the name of the legendary founder of Caucasian Albania (Aghvan) or even of the Iranian tribe known as Alans (Alani), who in some versions was a son of Noah's son Yafet.[12] James Darmesteter, translator of the Avesta, compared Arran with Airyana Vaego[13] which he also considered to have been in the Araxes-Ararat region,[14] although modern theories tend to place this in the east of Iran. Caucasian Albania until 387 The Parthian name for the region was Ardhan (Middle Persian: Arran).[5] The Arabic was ar-Rān.[5][15] In Georgian, it was known as რანი Rani. In Ancient Greek, it was Ἀλβανία Albanía.[6] Its endonym is unknown.[4] Geography In pre-Islamic times, Caucasian Albania/Arran was a wider concept than that of post-Islamic Arran. Ancient Arran covered all eastern Transcaucasia, which included most of the territory of modern-day Azerbaijan Republic and part of the territory of Dagestan. However, in post-Islamic times the geographic notion of Arran reduced to the territory between the rivers of Kura and Araks.[5] Ancient Caucasian Albania lay on the south-eastern part of the Greater Caucasus mountains. It was bounded by Caucasian Iberia (present-day Georgia) to the west, by Sarmatia to the north, by the Caspian Sea to the east, and by the provinces of Artsakh and Utik in Armenia to the west along the river Kura.[16] These boundaries, though, were probably never static - At times the territory of Caucasian Albania included land to the west of the river Kura.[17] Albania or Arran in Islamic times was a triangle of land, lowland in the east and mountainous in the west, formed by the junction of the Kura and Aras rivers,[5][18][dubious – discuss] Mil plain and parts of the Mughan plain, and in the pre-Islamic times, corresponded roughly to the territory of modern-day Republic of Azerbaijan.[5] The districts of Albania were:[19] Cambysene Getaru Elni/Xeni Begh Shake Xolmaz Kapalak Hambasi Gelavu Hejeri Kaladasht The kingdom's capital during antiquity was Qabala (Kapalak).[20] Classical sources are unanimous in making the Kura River (Cyros) the frontier between Armenia and Albania after the conquest of the territories on the right bank of Kura by Armenians in the 2nd century BC.[19] The original territory of Albania was approximately 23,000 km².[21] After 387 AD the territory of Caucasian Albania, sometimes referred to by scholars as "Greater Albania,"[19][citation needed] grew to about 45,000 km².[21] In the 5th century the capital was transferred to Partav in Utik', reported to have been built in the mid-5th century by the King Vache II of Albania,[22] but according to M. L. Chaumont, it existed earlier as an Armenian city.[23] In a medieval chronicle "Ajayib-ad-Dunia", written in the 13th century by an unknown author, Arran is said to have been 30 farsakhs (200 km) in width, and 40 farsakhs (270 km) in length. All the right bank of the Kura River until it joined with the Aras was attributed to Arran (the left bank of the Kura was known as Shirvan). The boundaries of Arran have shifted throughout history, sometimes encompassing the entire territory of the present day Republic of Azerbaijan, and at other times only parts of the South Caucasus. In some instances Arran was a part of Armenia.[24] Medieval Islamic geographers gave descriptions of Arran in general, and of its towns, which included Barda, Beylagan, and Ganja, along with others. Ethnogenesis Originally, at least some of the Caucasian Albanians probably spoke Lezgic languages close to those found in modern Daghestan;[25][26] overall, though, as many as 26 different languages may have been spoken in Caucasian Albania.[27] After the Caucasian Albanians were Christianized in the 4th century, parts of the population was assimilated by the Armenians (who dominated in the provinces of Artsakh and Utik that were earlier detached from the Kingdom of Armenia) and Georgians (in the north),[28] while the eastern parts of Caucasian Albania were Islamized and absorbed by Iranian[25] and subsequently Turkic peoples (modern Azerbaijanis).[4] Small remnants of this group continue to exist independently, and are known as the Udi people.[29] The pre-Islamic population of Caucasian Albania might have played a role in the ethnogenesis of a number of modern ethnicities, including the Azerbaijanis, the Armenians of the Nagorno-Karabakh, the Georgians of Kakhetia, the Laks, the Lezgins and the Tsakhurs of Daghestan.[30] Alphabet and languages Caucasian Albanian language According to Armenian medieval historians Movses Khorenatsi, Movses Kaghankatvatsi and Koryun, the Caucasian Albanian (the Armenian name for the language is Aghvank, the native name of the language is unknown) alphabet was created by Mesrob Mashtots,[31][32][33] the Armenian monk, theologian and translator who is also credited with creating the Armenian.[34] This alphabet was used to write down the Udi language, which was probably the main language of the Caucasian Albanians. Koryun, a pupil of Mesrob Mashtots, in his book The Life of Mashtots, wrote about how his tutor created the alphabet: Then there came and visited them an elderly man, an Albanian named Benjamin. And he (Mashtots) inquired and examined the barbaric diction of the Albanian language, and then through his usual God-given keenness of mind invented an alphabet, which he, through the grace of Christ, successfully organized and put in order.[35] [36] The column capital is now kept on display at A column capital of a 7th-century Christian church with an inscription in Caucasian Albanian, found in Mingachevir The column capital is now kept on display at Azerbaijan State Museum of History A Caucasian Albanian alphabet of fifty-two letters, bearing resemblance to Georgian, Ethiopian and Armenian characters,[Note 1] survived through a few inscriptions, and an Armenian manuscript dating from the 15th century.[37] This manuscript, Matenadaran No. 7117, first published by Ilia Abuladze in 1937 is a language manual, presenting different alphabets for comparison – Armenian alphabet, Greek, Latin, Syriac, Georgian, Coptic, and Caucasian Albanian among them. The alphabet was titled: "Ałuanicʿ girn ē" (Armenian: Աղուանից գիրն Է, meaning, "These are Albanian letters"). In 1996, Zaza Aleksidze of the Georgian Centre of Manuscripts discovered at Saint Catherine's Monastery at Mount Sinai, Egypt, a text written on parchment that had been reused in a Georgian palimpsest. In 2001 Aleksidze identified its script as Caucasian Albanian, and the text as an early lectionary dating to perhaps before the 6th century. Many of the letters discovered in it were not in the Albanian alphabet listed in the 15th-century Armenian manuscript.[38] Muslim geographers Al-Muqaddasi, Ibn-Hawqal and Estakhri recorded that a language which they called Arranian was still spoken in the capital Barda and the rest of Arran in the 10th century.[5] Iranian languages Iranian contact in the region goes back to the Median and Achaemenid times. During this Arsacid Dynasty of Caucasian Albania, the Parthian language spread in the region.[1] It is possible that the language and literature for administration and record-keeping of the imperial chancellery for external affairs naturally became Parthian, based on the Aramaic alphabet. According to Toumanoff: "the predominance of Hellenism, as under the Artaxiads, was now followed by a predominance of "Iranianism", and, symptomatically, instead of Greek, as before, Parthian became the language of the educated".[1] With the establishment of the Sassanids, Middle Persian, a closely related language to Parthian,[39] became an official language of the Sassanid empire.[3] At this time, Persian enjoyed even more success than the Caucasian Albanian language and the region was greatly affected by Iran.[2] According to Vladimir Minorsky: "The presence of Iranian settlers in Transcaucasia, and especially in the proximity of the passes, must have played an important role in absorbing and pushing back the aboriginal inhabitants. Such names as Sharvan, Layzan, Baylaqan, etc., suggest that the Iranian immigration proceeded chiefly from Gilan and other regions on the southern coast of the Caspian".[40] The presence of the Persian language and Iranian culture continued after the Islamic era.[41][42] Religion The original population of the Caucasus followed different pagan religions. Under Achaemenid, Parthian and especially Sassanid influence, Zoroastrianism also grew in the region. Christianity started to spread in the late 4th century in the Sassanid era. The Arab conquest and the Chalcedonian crisis led to severe disintegration of the Church of Caucasian Albania. Starting from the 8th century, much of the local population converted to Islam. By the 11th century there already were conciliar mosques in Partaw, Qabala and Shaki; the cities that were the creed of Caucasian Albanian Christianity.[43] These Islamised groups would later be known as Lezgins and Tsakhurs or mix with the Turkic and Iranian population to form present-day Azeris, whereas those that remained Christian were gradually absorbed by Armenians[44] or continued to exist on their own and be known as the Udi people. The Caucasian Albanian tribes of Hereti were converted to Eastern Orthodoxy by Dinar, Queen of Hereti in the 10th century. The religious affairs of this small principality were now officially administered by the Georgian Orthodox Church. In 1010, Hereti became absorbed into the neighbouring Georgian kingdom of Kakheti. Eventually in the early 12th century, these lands became part of the Georgian Kingdom under David the Builder finalising the process of their Georgianisation.[45] History The history of Albania before the 6th century BC is unknown. Median and Achaemenid era According to one hypothesis, Caucasian Albania was incorporated in the Median empire,[23] as early as the 7th or 6th century BC. However, an increasing Persian influence on the region is usually believed to be connected with the defence of Persia's northern frontiers,[22][23] from invading nomads. As early as the Achaemenid empire, measures may have been taken to fortify the Caucasian passes. By the mid-6th century BC, Albania has been incorporated in the Achaemenid empire; it was later controlled by the Achaemenid satrapy of Media.[23][46] The building of fortifications and gates in and around Darband is traditionally ascribed to the Sassanid empire.[22] Hellenistic era The ruins of the gates of Albanian capital Qabala in Azerbaijan The Greek historian Arrian mentions (perhaps anachronistically) the Caucasian Albanians for the first time in the battle of Gaugamela, where the Albanians, Medes, Cadussi and Sacae were under the command of Atropates.[23] Albania first appears in history as a vassal state in the empire of Tigranes the Great of Armenia (95-56 BC).[47] The kingdom of Albania emerged in the eastern Caucasus in 2nd or 1st century BC and along with the Georgians and Armenians formed one of the three nations of the Southern Caucasus.[19][48] Albania came under strong Armenian religious and cultural influence.[22][49][50][51][52] Herodotus, Strabo, and other classical authors repeatedly mention the Caspians but do not seem to know much about them; they are grouped with other inhabitants of the southern shore of the Caspian Sea, like the Amardi, Anariacae, Cadusii, Albani (see below), and Vitii (Eratosthenes apud Strabo, 11.8.8), and their land (Caspiane) is said to be part of Albania (Theophanes Mytilenaeus apud Strabo, 11.4.5).[53] In the 2nd century BC parts of Albania were conquered by the Kingdom of Armenia, presumably from Medes[4] (
Bay Area! Although there are motion simulators in other parts of the country, most flight simulator are either restricted to pilot use only, or usually charge visitors an expensive fees for a few minutes of flight. We built the FlightSim to inspire other students about the fun of physics, robotics, software and hardware. Best of all, students can ride for free on certain days every month.By - - Se viene el próximo gran evento astronómico que será visible desde gran partes de las Américas: un Eclipse Lunar Total. Si quieres disfrutarlo deberás estar en pie durante la madrugada del día martes 15 de abril. A continuación los detalles de este evento y las mejores formas de poder apreciarlo. Un eclipse lunar es posible de apreciar sin necesidad de ningún telescopio o protección para la vista, como es el caso de los eclipses solares. Son visibles desde cualquier parte, incluso desde una gran ciudad con mucha iluminación, y es posible apreciar como la Luna se va “apagando” poco a poco al entrar a la sombra de la Tierra. Aunque siempre es recomendable ir a un lugar alejado de la ciudad para apreciar mejor como la Luna deja de iluminarnos cuando se eclipsa. Timelapse durante Eclipse Lunar del 21 de Diciembre de 2010, La secuencia comienza de Noche con Luna Llena, Eclipse Total y termina al amanecer. Secuencia del Eclipse Lunar del 21 de Diciembre de 2010 El eclipse empezará aproximadamente a las 2:58 am del martes 15 de abril (la noche del lunes para martes), cuando empiece a oscurecerse la Luna por uno de sus extremos. El punto máximo del eclipse, o sea, cuando la Luna esté con su menor intensidad, será a las 4:45 am, por lo que quizás sea mejor levantarse “temprano” a observar el fenómeno para poder ir presentable a trabajar o a clases el día martes, antes que pasar toda la noche despiertos. Simulación realizada con Stellarium para la Hora de Chile (GMT -03) Por último, solo deberías asegurarte de revisar el pronóstico del tiempo para tu ciudad revisando en el Sitio de Meteorología o AccuWeather, para poder arrancar de las nubes hacia algún lugar donde pueda estar despejado. Y ustedes, ¿desde qué lugar verán el eclipse? Comparte tus fotos con nosotros a nuestro Twitter @Star_tres o a nuestro correo startres@gmail.com para publicarlas en nuestro sitio! Imágenes del Eclipse Lunar del 21 de Diciembre de 2010 Luna LLena Luna Eclipsada Parcial Luna Eclipsada Parcial Luna EclipsadaMessage from Josh Fox: Dear Fracktivists- So many of us were working incredibly hard to stop the Keystone XL pipeline and we won this round. I got arrested in front of the White House. Almost all of my friends got arrested in front of the White House. My mom got arrested in front of the White House. And we stopped the pipeline for now. We did it. We owe a huge thanks to Bill McKibben and TarSandsAction and all of their brilliant organizers. Now we can do the same to stop fracking in the Delaware River basin. We’re not just going to sit back and enjoy victory are we? We are going to keep up the momentum and get ready for November 21st! I was on Democracy Now! today – take a moment to check out the video from that appearance: We’ve come a long way in the fight against fracking. The flaming faucets in GASLAND has been seen by upwards of 40 million people in 20 countries. Our awareness campaign has worked. A recent study shows that 4 out of 5 Americans say that they are concerned about the effect of fracking on drinking water. Our most important stand is less than two weeks away. On November 21st the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) will vote to approve a plan that will allow for 20,000 or more fracked gas wells in the Delaware River Basin. We need you to come out and protest the vote in huge numbers. Because this moment is so important, I made a new video, my first video addressing fracking since GASLAND. You can watch it here: The crucial decision to frack or not to frack the Delaware is in the hands of President Obama and the Governors of Delaware and New York. We need you to take charge and push them to do the right thing. I have travelled all over this world, in over 30 states in the USA, to Africa, to Europe, Asia and Australia and one thing is clear: Fracking is not only one of the most destructive forms of extreme energy development, creating water contamination, horrific and hazardous air pollution and a health crisis, it is a world wide scourge that pushes us farther away from the renewable energy future that we need. Now the fight comes back to my home, the Delaware River Basin, where it started for me. But this fight isn’t about me. It’s about the drinking water for 16 million people that the Delaware River provides. THE CRUCIAL VOTE: The Delaware River Basin Commission is an interstate body with five voting members, the Governors of New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey and the Obama Administration as represented by the Army Corps of Engineers. Three out of five votes will either pass or reject the plan to frack the Delaware River. It seems clear that the Governors of New Jersey and Pennsylvania will vote to allow fracking on a huge scale in the River Basin, which is why we need all three remaining votes in order to prevail. Like the massive actions these past few months against Tar Sands development and the Keystone XL pipeline, this decision will be a “watershed” moment for President Obama and a must win for us fighting against extreme energy development. Not only is the Delaware River the source of drinking water for 16 million people (or 5% of Americans), it is a designated Wild and Scenic river, a tourist destination for 5.4 million people a year and a national treasure. The proposed plan to frack the Delaware would forever industrialize and contaminate this precious and currently pristine watershed. 20,000 fracked gas wells would be an industrialization that the fragile river basin would never recover from. We are asking you to do two things: 1) Make calls. 2) Come join us in an amazing protest effort on November 21st. MAKE CALLS RIGHT NOW: Call the Army Corps of Engineers to urge them to vote no fracking in the Delaware River Basin. Tell them you will hold President Obama accountable for the vote and make it clear that you know that it is his decision. 703 697 4672 Leave a message for Jo Ellen Darcy, Army Corps of Engineers. Call Governor Jack Markell of Delaware. Delaware has been sitting on the fence on fracking. We need them clearly and unequivocally voting no. Tell him to vote no fracking on the upcoming DRBC vote. 302-577-3210 Call Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York. Tell him to oppose fracking in the Delaware River Basin watershed, just as he has in the New York city and Syracuse watersheds. 518-474-8390 PROTEST on NOVEMBER 21st in Trenton, N.J. When: November 21, 8 am Where: Patriots Theater at the War Memorial, 1 Memorial Drive Trenton, N.J. Coming from another location? Bus sign up HERE. PRE ACTION TRAINING: November 2oth, New York City and Trenton. Delaware Riverkeeper Network will host a training session in lawful, peaceful, first amendment activity. For more information and to sign up for Trenton, Click HERE. For NYC, Click HERE. Questions: savethedelawareriver@gmail.com and/or continue to check back. AND just for a shot in the arm, here is a special statement from Bill McKibben sent to me just two days ago: “We’re obviously deep in the trenches in Keystone XL pipeline fight, which has galvanized the whole country. But it’s not just the pipe we’re fighting, it’s the carbon it carries. And that carbon–that extreme energy, the second round of fossil fuels now that the easy stuff is gone–doesn’t just come from tarsands. It also comes from removing mountaintops for coal, and from drilling deep under the ocean–and, urgently, from fracking. We’ve simply got to somehow slow the rush to this new and dangerous technology, which promises to overwhelm the atmosphere with global warming gases. As once before in American history, the Delaware will play a crucial role.. “ WE CAN AND WILL CONTINUE TO MAKE HISTORY! See you Monday the 21st! All my love, support and respect, Josh Fox AdvertisementsDean Lapierre has been reinstated as president of the Windsor Minor Hockey Association after being suspended for more than two months for making misogynistic comments about women on Facebook. Lapierre was removed from the position in January after his post described Canadian participants in the Women's March on Washington as "dumb bitches." The post was investigated by the Ontario Minor Hockey Association. "I took the hit, I did the time," he said when reached by phone Monday. "I used the wrong words. If they wanted to march I should have left it alone." No more social media In order to learn from the experience, Lapierre said he has removed himself from all social media, participated in online training and did some in-person training with Lydia Fiorini from the Sexual Assault Crisis Centre of Essex County. Lapierre described the hockey association as the "love of his life" along with his family, so it was difficult to be barred from awards banquets and camps while he was suspended. Still, he maintains he learned his lesson. "The most important thing I learned is anything you put on the Internet stays there," he said. "I think my comments offended people and the last thing I wanted to do was be malicious to anyone whether it be women or anything like that." In the days after Lapierre's comments were made public, Fiorini called on him to make a public apology, female hockey players in Windsor said his words were moving women's hockey in the "wrong direction" and Unifor Local 444 pulled its funding from the association. 'Things can be blown out of proportion' Having a large public persona is part of the president's role according to Lapierre. "That comes with the spotlight, good or bad," he explained. He said some people in the community don't like him "for whatever reason" and that he's not worried about changing the opinions of the detractors who don't even know him. "It's... not putting down women, but having to watch what you say because people will take it that it was demeaning towards women," he said. "Things can be blown out of proportion and I don't need any negative spotlight anymore." The association is still considering how they could include respect-for-women training before the season starts in September, according to Lapierre, who added 30-40 girls participate in the league. "Hopefully our coaches realize too that they're players just like the boys," he said, adding that has never been a problem before. As for concerns his comments about women could have a negative impact on young female players, the president said comparing female marchers on Washington to 8-year-old players is "apples to oranges" and "not even close." "I made a mistake," Lapierre said. "I guarantee it will never happen again."Story highlights GOP legislators propose alternate spending cuts to sequestration Defense Secretary Panetta says political partisanship threatens U.S. stability "This is not a game. This is reality," Panetta says of reduced readiness The across-the-board cuts will take effect March 1 unless Congress acts Furloughed workers, reduced combat readiness, shrunken naval operations and cuts to Air Force flying hours and weapons maintenance. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta listed those consequences as he provided a stark warning on Wednesday about the effects of impending budget cuts on the military unless Congress acts to avert them. The result, he said, would be "the most serious readiness crisis" faced by the armed services in over a decade. Panetta's address at Georgetown University, which he called "hopefully one of my last speeches as secretary of defense," included the first details of how the Pentagon would deal with the automatic spending cuts -- or sequestration in congressional jargon -- set to trigger March 1 across federal agencies. For the Pentagon, sequestration would mean almost $500 billion in cuts over 10 years. For 2013 alone, some $46 billion in reduced spending would result in "a serious disruption in defense programs and a sharp decline in our military readiness," Panetta said. JUST WATCHED Panetta to recommend pay cut for military Replay More Videos... MUST WATCH Panetta to recommend pay cut for military 01:46 JUST WATCHED Panetta to recommend pay cut for military Replay More Videos... MUST WATCH Panetta to recommend pay cut for military 01:46 JUST WATCHED Obama: Debt showdown would harm economy Replay More Videos... MUST WATCH Obama: Debt showdown would harm economy 01:42 JUST WATCHED Obama: Debt showdown would harm economy Replay More Videos... MUST WATCH Obama: Debt showdown would harm economy 01:42 JUST WATCHED Obama, Congress punt on spending cuts Replay More Videos... MUST WATCH Obama, Congress punt on spending cuts 01:33 JUST WATCHED Obama, Congress punts on spending cuts Replay More Videos... MUST WATCH Obama, Congress punts on spending cuts 01:33 "There are no good options" to deal with the situation, he continued, saying 46,000 department jobs would be at risk and more damaging measures in coming months could include: -- Furloughing as many as 800,000 civilian workers for up to 22 days; -- Cutting back on Army training and maintenance, which would reduce readiness of combat brigades outside Afghanistan; -- Shrinking naval operations; and, -- Reducing Air Force flying hours and weapons systems maintenance. "This is not a game. This is reality," Panetta said, his voice rising. "These steps would seriously damage a fragile American economy and they would degrade our ability to respond to crisis precisely at a time of rising instability across the globe." His comments sought to increase pressure on Republicans and Democrats to reach agreement on deficit-reduction steps, thereby avoiding the across-the-board spending cuts of sequestration that were part of a 2011 deal that raised the federal debt ceiling. On Tuesday, President Barack Obama called for a short-term deal to put off the cuts so Congress could continue work on a permanent fix that provides desired reductions in the federal deficit. Obama made clear that he still wants a broader deficit-reduction agreement with Republicans that includes spending cuts, some entitlement reforms and increased revenue from eliminating some tax breaks. However, Obama said, with time running out before the sequestration cuts slash government spending and result in job losses and economic slowdown, Congress should pass a temporary fix that would allow time for further negotiations on a broader plan. "Compromise is a way to achieve it," White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters Wednesday, noting that Obama continued to offer proposals to cut spending and increase revenue that shifted to the middle from his original stances. However, House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, accused Obama and Democrats of avoiding needed spending cuts and trying to put off tough decisions instead of facing their responsibilities as elected leaders. Deficit reduction should focus on cutting government spending and must include savings from popular entitlement programs such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, Boehner insisted on Wednesday. "At some point, Washington has to deal with its spending problem," he told reporters. "I've watched them kick this can down the road for 22 years. I've had enough of it. It's time to act." Boehner also echoed Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky in opposing Obama's call for including more tax revenue in the mix. Also Wednesday, GOP legislators proposed $85 billion in reduced spending through attrition -- or not filling all vacated government jobs -- and freezing congressional pay as an alternative to the sequestration this year. They said the plan achieves the same amount of deficit reduction without more tax revenue sought by Obama and Democrats. The debate continues the ideological showdown between Republicans and Democrats over the size and role of government. Republicans driven by their conservative base want to reduce government and taxes to fund it, arguing that is the best way to grow the economy. Democrats promote a strong government safety net through entitlements and support programs that they say bolsters middle-class opportunity necessary for economic growth. Congress and the White House agreed to the sequestration cuts as part of the 2011 debt ceiling deal that ended a showdown over whether to increase the federal government's borrowing limit to meet its obligations. The automatic spending cuts never were intended to become law, but instead were designed to be so unwieldy and overbearing that Congress would reach a broader deficit reduction deal to avoid them. Deep partisan divisions prevented such an agreement from happening in 2012, an election year. Initially the cuts were to go into effect on January 2, but the government delayed the impact of sequestration for the first two months of 2013. In his speech, Panetta referred to what he described as "partisan dysfunction in Congress" that he said threatens the quality of life and national security of the nation. Instead of making tough decisions to resolve problems, political leaders from both parties let issues become crises that require immediate but insufficient responses, he said. "It's the easy way out," Panetta said, adding that there is a price to be paid for such an approach. "You lose the trust of the American people," he said. "You create an aura of constant uncertainty that pervades every issue and gradually undermines the very credibility of the nation." In another effort to stoke public alarm over the pending cuts, Carney told reporters that top defense contractors met at the White House with senior administration officials to discuss the impacts on their industry. According to Carney, those impacts would be overwhelmingly negative. "It's not just a parlor game here in Washington," he said of the issue. "These are real-world decisions that significantly affect the economy and the American people." Obama said Tuesday that he still supports a broader deficit deal and made clear that revenue from tax reform measures previously agreed to by Republicans -- such as eliminating some loopholes to increase revenue for the government -- should be part of it. Boehner, however, reiterated the GOP call for replacing the sequester plan with spending cuts and reforms -- a reference to changes in entitlement programs. A last-second agreement in the previous Congress that passed in the first days of 2013 raised tax rates on top income earners as part of a limited deficit-reduction package. That measure followed weeks of tough negotiations involving Obama and Congress in which other steps to increase government revenue, such as eliminating some tax breaks for corporations, were considered but not included in the final deal. Obama and Democrats now want such revenue-raising steps to be part of a package that would replace the mandated deficit reduction of the sequester cuts. McConnell expressed his opposition to such a move Tuesday, saying, "The American people will not support more tax hikes in place of the meaningful spending reductions both parties already agreed to and the president signed into law."One of O‘ahu’s largest assistance food pantries could shut down if it doesn’t find a new home in the next few months. For nearly two decades Feeding Hawai‘i Together has provided free goods and food on a daily basis to around 400 clients living below the poverty level. The food is provided mostly by Hawaii Food Bank, Aloha Harvest, hotels, and other corporate and private donors. Once approved, clients are allowed to essentially shop for goods they otherwise couldn’t afford. Organizers say providing food for people who live in affordable housing helps them focus their resources on rent… ultimately keeping them off the street. It also gives them hope. But the landlord of its 19,000 square foot location in Kaka‘ako has decided to sell the building-- giving them until December to move. Feeding Hawai‘i Together Executive Director Charlie Lorenz says it’s not the fault of his landlords, adding that they have been the most gracious hosts. Lorenz says they are looking for a new space in the area… but are willing to relocate if it’s near a bus line. More information… or to help the organization… visit FeedingHawai‘iTogether.Org. (Note: The video is a little dated, but gives a great background into the organization.)Please enable Javascript to watch this video SPENCER, Ind. — People living near an Indiana gun range say they're scared of being struck by a bullet inside of their own homes. “The neighbor’s daughter and I were outside and we heard the bullet whizz by,” said Spencer resident Kathy Wise. “It went whirr, thump.” Homeowners who live directly across from the Precision Gun Range say their houses on Hardscrabble Road have been struck by several bullets. During an interview with WXIN, Wise walked around the house and pointed out bullet holes she and her husband found on the back of the garage. Then, she showed where she says state police and local investigators found even more bullet holes, along with some of the bullets themselves. “When he checked our house, he found a bullet in our house, a.223,” said Wise. “He’s got it on record where he pulled the siding out and pulled it out of the side of the house.” Investigators traced the path of one bullet from the outside of the garage, through a divider and clear through another wall. “It’s a dangerous safety issue,” said Wise. “Our ballistics man was shocked. He says it’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when someone gets hurt.” Investigators have also found bullet holes or bullets on the neighbors’ properties. Ballistics professionals have flagged bullets throughout the tree line separating the gun range from the homes and beyond, on the residential side of the woods. They’ve told the Wises and other neighbors that the woods should stop any bullets from leaving the property, but, in a Facebook post, also claimed any bullets that clear the berm—used to stop bullets that miss targets—would clear residential houses as well. Wise said that’s problematic for two reasons. First, the woods aren’t owned by the range – but bullets shot by the customers have torn up the trees, leaving the owner unable to log the timber for money. The second issue, Wise said, is that if bullets are clearing their house, the range is still acknowledging bullets are leaving their property. “No bullet should ever leave their property on a gun range,” Wise said. “If it goes over us, it’s going to be in the road, where school buses are. There’s a man who rides a bike up and down the road, you driving in the road, anybody could get hit in their car now.” Precision staff would not talk on camera, but did say they take safety seriously. They claimed their investigation shows the bullet holes didn’t come from them and they’re likely not responsible. However, Wise claims the owners left her a voicemail offering to pay for damages to their house and trailer, something she believes they wouldn't do if they didn’t feel responsible. Since then – despite the gun range backing away from taking responsibility – the owners did shorten the distance between its building and the targets. But the bullets keep coming anyway, Wise said. Owen County Sheriff Leonard Hobbs told WXIN he recommended Precision shutter the rifle range portion of the business until the investigation is over. Wise said that she and her husband won't sleep peacefully until Precision can guarantee "100 percent" a bullet won’t come through their home. “Every time he comes out to the garage, I now say a little prayer to keep him safe,” said Wise. “It’s like, you shouldn’t have to pray for your husband’s safety in your own house in Spencer, Indiana.” If the problems with the rifle range aren’t solved, Wise said they’ll be forced to continue planning their lives around trying to avoid bullets. “We used to keep our dog outside, we can’t keep our dog outside anymore,” said Wise. “We don’t have cookouts, we mow on Mondays, whether it rains or shines, because they’re closed on Mondays because then we’re safe. It’s crazy that something can’t be done. It’s just crazy.”Image copyright Reuters Celtic has said the club is "appalled" by fans chanting in apparent celebration of the murder of soldier Lee Rigby. The fans were recorded outside the ground when Celtic visited Sunderland for a friendly match on Saturday. Their abusive chant concerned the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers soldier, who was murdered by terrorists in May 2013. Lee Rigby's family said they were "hurt and traumatised" by the fans' behaviour captured on video. The club has promised to take firm action against anyone identified as being involved. Image copyright PA Image caption Fusilier Lee Rigby was wearing a Help for Heroes hooded top when he was murdered The Celtic statement said: "Clearly everyone at Celtic is appalled by these events. Such behaviour in no way represents Celtic Football Club or our supporters. "We understand this incident is now subject to an ongoing police inquiry. "Let us be clear, in the event that any individuals are identified as being responsible, Celtic will take the strongest possible action." Lee's mother, Lyn, was quoted on the the Lee Rigby Foundation Facebook page saying she had been "shocked" by the fans in the video. She said: "As you can imagine we have been hurt, traumatised and deeply shocked to see the hate filled video directed at Lee by fans of Glasgow Celtic. "It has been heartbreaking for his sisters who still feel the pain of his loss every day. "Football fans the world over have supported our family and continue to do so." Northumbria Police has confirmed it has been made aware of the content of the video. In a statement, the force said: "We're aware of the chants that were made and are looking into these to see if any criminal offences took place and will take necessary action." Image copyright Met Police Image caption Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale killed Lee Rigby outside Woolwich barracks Two were found guilty of murdering Lee Rigby outside Woolwich barracks in south-east London. Michael Adebolajo, 29, and Michael Adebowale, 22, struck Fusilier Rigby with a car before hacking him to death. Adebolajo had claimed he was a "soldier of Allah" and the killing was an act of war.Screenshots from an alleged Sony Honami system dump have surfaced online. A developer by the name of krabappel2548 posted the dump over on XDA where it was ripped apart and dissected. Specifically coming from a Canadian version of a device codenamed C6906, the screenshots show us a new version of Sony’s custom user interface, soon to come bundled with the device. Digging through the build.prop yielded some “confirmed” specs of the Honami and just as we suspected, the Snapdragon 800 processor and 20MP camera made the cut. What’s interesting is the ability for the Honami to record video in “Super Resolution” 4000×2000 — that’s 4K video for us normal folk. The low light performance should trump most other smartphone cameras on the market thanks to a maximum ISO of 12,800 (by comparison, the HTC One maxes out at 1,600). Camera software can be further enhanced thanks to Sony’s new API that allows for camera add-ons to be used in the camera app. Icons for add-ons like Bokeh, Info-Eye (provides Google Search info cards on whatever you’re shooting), Manual, Socialcast, Timeshift (burst shot), and Effect mode (augmented reality) were all found buried inside the system dump. As we mentioned before, just about all other areas of Sony’s custom UI has been touched up. Users will find a redesigned home screen, app drawer, Walkman app (with Sony Music Unlimited integration), clock, phonebook, settings, calendar, and “small apps” floating widgets have all been given a refresh. What’s more is this system dump has already been ported to the Sony Xperia Z for adventurous ROM flashers. Judging just from the UI, this Honami sounds like a bona-fide flagship if we ever saw one. We expect to learn more about the device at Sony’s press event scheduled for the July 4th in Germany. We’ll keep you posted. [Xperia Blog]Luisa Brown's accident happened three weeks before a woman was killed. Princes Street: Scene of Wednesday's accident. STV A cyclist was involved in a near-miss on Edinburgh's tramlines less than a month before a woman died in a similar accident. Luisa Brown was cycling along Princes Street when her wheel slipped on a rail and she fell, injuring her arm and leg. She narrowly avoided being run over by a car and later reported the incident to Edinburgh Trams. Her accident on May 13 happened at the same junction where a 24-year-old cyclist lost her life on Wednesday. 'I luckily [...] came away with only a sprained knee and elbow, but this could have been so much worse.' Louisa Brown Ms Brown said: "I was waiting at the traffic lights where Shandwick Place meets Princes Street. "When the lights turned green the car behind me got extremely close, so I felt pressured to move over a tramline into the centre of the lane. "This resulted in my bike wheel slipping on the wet tramline and I fell to the ground between the traffic. I came incredibly close to being run over by the driver behind me. "I was luckily helped off the junction by some passers-by and came away with only a sprained knee and elbow, but this could have been so much worse." Luisa Brown: Injured in tramline incident. Professor Chris Oliver, a surgeon at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, says at least 191 cyclists have been injured in tramline accidents. More than 140 of them have made legal claims against Edinburgh City Council. He said: "The injuries have been things like wrists and elbow fractures. We've also had people with skull fractures and broken hips. In total, we've had to do 29 surgeries." Prof Oliver, who tweets as @CyclingSurgeon, said the most common injury was from bike wheels getting wedged in tracks. Edinburgh's tramline troubles in numbers 252 people injured on Edinburgh tramlines people injured on Edinburgh tramlines 191 cyclists hurt including 119 men and 72 women cyclists hurt including men and women 55 suffered arm fractures or dislocations suffered arm fractures or dislocations 29 surgeries carried out on injured cyclists surgeries carried out on injured cyclists 142 accidents caused by bike wheels getting stuck in tramlines accidents caused by bike wheels getting stuck in tramlines 32 as a result of wheels sliding or slipping on tracks as a result of wheels sliding or slipping on tracks 141 people making legal claims against council Meanwhile, it has emerged that campaigners previously discussed improving safety at the junction where the woman died with authorities. Pressure group Spokes sent a detailed proposal to council officers and councillors more than 18 months ago. It includes suggestions for changes to lanes and traffic lights at the intersection near House of Fraser, which campaigners believe would allow cyclists to cross the tramlines more safely. The fatal accident on Wednesday occurred three years to the day since Edinburgh's trams opened to the public. 'We remain deeply saddened by yesterday's tragic accident. Our thoughts are with the young woman's friends and family.' Edinburgh City Council spokeswoman A council spokeswoman said the local authority intends to carry out a safety consultation in the area. "We remain deeply saddened by yesterday's tragic accident. Our thoughts are with the young woman's friends and family," she said. "In light of this, and notwithstanding Police Scotland's ongoing inspection, we will carry out a road safety assessment of the area, considering all users and aspects of the junction and its approaches. "This will include consultation with key stakeholders and any findings that could lead to safety improvements will be carefully considered. "Further, and more generally, we have invited Edinburgh Trams to review their day-to-day operations and consider any changes that can be made to enhance safety. "The council and our partners take road safety extremely seriously and we constantly review the range of measures we have in place to ensure that the Capital's roads are safe for all road users. "Following feedback regarding Haymarket junction, for example, we made a number improvements to road markings and signage, resulting in a better experience for cyclists and a drop in the number of incidents." Fatal accident: Emergency services at scene. STV "We continue to make every effort to raise awareness of the impact of the tram on all road users." "Since launching three years ago, we have carried out extensive awareness-raising activity both online and on-street, in partnership with other organisations, much of which has focused specifically on cyclists," she added. Want to receive the latest headlines straight to your inbox? Subscribe to our 'Morning Briefing' newsletter. Subscribe This field is required. That doesn't look like a valid e-mail format, please check. That e-mail's already in our system. Please try again. Please tick the box below to confirm your subscription Thanks for subscribing to our 'Morning Briefing' newsletter. Subscribed Want to receive the latest headlines straight to your inbox? Subscribe to our 'Morning Briefing' newsletter. Thanks for subscribing to our 'Morning Briefing' newsletter. Subscribe Download: The STV News app is Scotland's favourite and is available for iPhone from the App store and for Android from Google Play. Download it today and continue to enjoy STV News wherever you are.On the afternoon of Oct. 30, 1998, Kimberly Arrington left her home and walked the short distance to the CVS Pharmacy on Forest Avenue in Montgomery to pick up some candy and soda. The 16-year-old never made it to the store. She disappeared without a trace. Nearly 17 years later, her family is still searching for answers. The Arrington family was one of a handful that participated in Alabama's inaugural Missing Persons Day, which involved law enforcement training and counseling for families of missing persons. The event was coordinated by the Alabama Attorney General's Office, the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office and the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUS). Nearly 170 Alabamians are missing, said Louis Zook, the Alabama Attorney General's law enforcement coordinator, but at today's event law enforcement from across the state and families of the missing are able to coordinate and share resources. "These missing people are not just cases, they are the loved ones of hundreds of citizens of Alabama," he said. "It is time to bring them home." Bailey said he would consider the event a success if at least one missing person's case was solved. During the event, families could provide DNA samples to aid in the search and identification of their loves ones. Kimberly Arrington's father, Walter, said he is still in shock over the disappearance of his daughter. "I have been up and down for years," he said, describing the emotional toil Kimberly's disappearance had on him. Her sister, Jennifer Arrington Youngblood, was 14 years old when her sister went missing. She described not knowing what happened to her older sister as "very stressful." "She asked me to walk to the store with her," Jennifer said, but for some reason she didn't. She said her sister, who was in 10th grade at Jefferson Davis High School, had severe allergies and liked to stay inside. She wasn't involved with an older man, and it wouldn't have been like her to run away from home. Youngblood said her sister's case was featured on almost every talk show, a decade or more ago, from "Nancy Grace" to "Maury." There were never any concrete leads, though, and no evidence that Kimberly ever made it to the CVS. Youngblood suspects her sister may have been picked up by a human trafficker, and that she may be living somewhere else now. To honor her sister, Youngblood named her 11-year-old daughter, Kimberly. Walter heard from a psychic who said Kimberly is still alive and has two children, but she doesn't remember her life before she was taken. See related: Where is my daughter? Decade-old mystery tortures Montgomery motherThe majority of Fortune 500 companies stash their cash away from the reach of United States authorities in tax havens around the world, keeping $90 billion out of the country’s coffers and placing an extra burden on American citizens, according to a new report released on Thursday. In 2013, Apple, GE, Microsoft, Pfizer and Merck rounded out the top five in the amount of profit held offshore in subsidiary shell companies, often just post office boxes, located in countries with corporate tax rates far lower than those in the United States, according to the study, conducted by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group and the Center for Tax Justice. Under current U.S. tax code, these companies can defer paying taxes on the offshore money indefinitely since corporations do not have to pay income tax on their overseas profits until that money is brought into the U.S. Experts say the tax rules that allow this were put in place due to lobbying by the companies that reap the benefits. “Congress has left loopholes in our tax code that allow this tax avoidance,” the report said. “Every dollar in taxes that corporations avoid by using tax havens must be balanced by higher taxes on individuals, cuts to public investments and public services, or increased federal debt.” The companies sometimes spread their profits across hundreds of tax haven subsidiaries. All told, the report identified 7,827 tax havens, and the “30 companies with the most money officially booked offshore for tax purposes collectively operate 1,357 tax haven subsidiaries.” The Netherlands, Singapore, Hong Kong, Luxembourg and the Cayman Islands are the top five most common places to store profits, the report found. Ireland, in seventh place, is a popular place for subsidiaries of Apple Inc. and Google. According to the report, Apple, with $111.3 billion offshore, is holding the most money in tax havens, and would owe $36.4 billion in U.S. taxes if the money were taxable. For at least part of 2013, two of Apple’s subsidiaries in Ireland didn’t pay taxes to any government, according to a Senate investigation cited by the study. In a 2013 testimony before Congress, Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook said the company does not use tax gimmicks, Reuters reported. The company declined media requests for comment on the new report. Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., called it the “holy grail of tax avoidance,” Reuters reported. Sen. Ron Wyden, the Senate finance committee chairman, has called for repeal of the deferral laws, which he last month called "a rotten carcass that the special interests feast on." Bank of America maintains the highest number of tax havens, at 264, while investment firm Morgan Stanley has 226, tied for second
if your league uses a draft or auction. Allow me to use the rest of this column to convince you why you should want him on your roster at, or even a bit higher than, his expected draft day price. First of all, Miller was very good last season. He entered the year as the No. 1a to Knowshon Moreno’s No. 1 status in Miami’s backfield, but quickly took advantage when Moreno suffered an elbow injury in Week 2. Even with Moreno out there for the season opener, Miller racked up 78 yards and a touchdown on 15 touches. He would go on to run for 1,099 yards, catch 38 passes for 275 yards, and hit paydirt nine times, finishing the season as the No. 9 overall running back in standard-scoring leagues. He averaged 11.6 points per game—better than LeSean McCoy, Alfred Morris and Jeremy Hill—and had at least nine points in 11 of his 16 games. Given that he played for a team that went 8-8 and lost five game by at least 13 points, that’s an awfully high standard of achievement. It wasn’t just the traditional numbers that liked Miller. Pro Football Focus ranked him as the 15th best overall running back in the league by its metrics. When isolated for what he contributed purely as a runner, he ranked fifth, trailing only Marshawn Lynch, DeMarco Murray, C.J. Anderson and Le’Veon Bell. A solid 5.1% of his carries went for at least 15 yards, on par with Bell, Hill and Matt Forte. Miller wasn’t impeccable in pass protection, but he wasn’t a liability either. In fact, among starting running backs, only seven had a better pass-blocking efficiency than Miller. That should keep him on the field on third down this year. Secondly, let’s take a look at the depth chart in Miami. Rookie Jay Ajayi is certainly an intriguing player, but the Dolphins aren’t handing their backfield over to a fifth-round pick. The other three running backs on the roster are LaMichael James, Damien Williams and Mike Gillislee, a triumvirate of fantasy nothingness. Ajayi is going to have a role in the offense to be sure, but what back isn’t splitting duties at this point? Even Jamaal Charles (Knile Davis) and Adrian Peterson (Jerick McKinnon) will give way to backups for a drive here and there. That’s not to say that Miller is on their level, but illustrates that no runner has a backfield completely to himself. Ajayi is not a concern as far as Miller’s fantasy value goes. Third, there’s plenty of reason for optimism in Miami. Ryan Tannehill had his best year as a pro last season, and is a popular breakout pick in 2015. The quarterback put up career-best marks in yards, completion percentage, yards per attempt, touchdowns, interceptions, quarterback rating, and rushing yards. In his age-27 season, he looks primed to take this offense to another level. The team beefed up its offense over the offseason, with general manager Dennis Hickey acquiring Kenny Stills and Jordan Cameron, and drafting DeVante Parker out of Louisville. Center Mike Pouncey missed four games because of a hip injury, and then played the remaining 12 at guard out of necessity because of an ailing offensive line. Those defects showed on the field, as the Dolphins line ranked 27th in the league in run blocking. Pouncey will return to his natural center position this season, and that should make the entire line better. Remember the message of this column: Excitement be damned. Let’s just look at the facts when considering Miller’s draft stock. He’s a 24-year-old running back coming off an 1,100-yard season in which he ran for 5.1 yards per carry. His competition in the backfield is as minimal as possible in the modern NFL. He plays in an up-and-coming offense, captained by a quarterback who could very well have a breakout season. His team looks like a legitimate playoff contender, and more wins invariably means more touches for the starting running back. He was the ninth-highest-scoring fantasy back in 2014 despite running behind one of the worst run-blocking lines in the league that, at the very least, can’t be any worse this year. The advanced metrics said he was a better runner than Jamaal Charles and Eddie Lacy last season. He’s sound in pass protection and a solid receiver out of the backfield. He has a reliably high floor for fantasy production, and you likely won’t have to use anything more than a late-third- or early-fourth-round pick to get him. That may not feel exciting in August, but it will September through December, and that’s what truly matters.The article below gave details about the Freecycle website which aims to prevent reusable household goods being needlessly discarded, and reported that some people'make a decent living gathering things from Freecycle and selling them at car boot sales'. We should make it clear that Freecycle requires that anyone intending to sell goods must declare so. Our article might have been interpreted as encouraging people to take goods from Freecycle and sell them, but this was not the writer's intention. We live in the most watched-over society in Europe. Exposure, especially in The Observer, has done little to hold the state and private sector in check. Phone records have become police records, as Henry Porter pointed out in this paper last week, and CCTV camera records are now fed into the automatic registration number computer. Credit and store-card records have become marketing records and our email addresses are points of entry for all sorts of crime and spam. It's time to fight back using all the legal means at our disposal. We need to duck under the radar of government surveillance, credit-checking agencies, internet and mobile phone companies or the DVLA. I have been learning how to keep the info-snoopers at bay. My research has led me into a world of middle-aged hoodies, who cover up in shopping centres to avoid the CCTV cameras; of young computer users who keep their names off spam lists and out of reach of the megacorps; and people who live off-grid, out of sight of the system and unplugged from the utility companies. So, here's is a survival checklist for the information age. 1 Buy an untraceable mobile phone Travel to a town you have never visited before, to an area with no CCTV cameras and ask a homeless person to buy a pay-as-you-go mobile phone for you. That way no shop will have your image on its CCTV. You will also have an anonymous mobile. In order to keep your anonymity, top it up in a shop with no CCTV outside. Or dispense with the phone altogether and return to the humble payphone, now the preserve of tourists and the super-poor. Even if you stick to your traceable phone, leave it switched off whenever possible to avoid having your movements tracked. Many phones are still traceable, so you need to take the battery out to be certain. If you have a Bluetooth phone, keep the service switched off because this is now being tested for advertising and other marketing activities. 2 Safeguard your email If you use one of the free, web-based services like Gmail, your communications are being stored to build up a picture of your interests. Instead, you can use a service called Hushmail to send encrypted emails. Or work out a private code with friends you want to communicate with. You do not need an email address of your own. One hacker I spoke to sends emails from cybercafes via The Observer website, using the service which allows anyone to send any article to a friend. He embeds his message into the covering note which goes with the article. Others with their own computer use the free XeroBank browser (in preference to Explorer or Firefox), which includes several privacy-enhancing add-ons and sends all data through a network 'cloud' which hides most of the data you normally give away as you use a computer, but at the cost of reduced speed (http://xerobank.com/xB_browser.html). 3 Safeguard your computer and your files There is sophisticated software that deletes all traces of your activities from your computer. Assuming you don't have access to this, it is still worth remembering the data about you contained inside each file. Many digital photos, for example, contain within them the serial number of the camera that took them. Word documents contain the name of the author as well as traces of previous drafts. 4 Be invisible to CCTV cameras Steve is a middle-aged IT consultant who lives in a bungalow on a smart private estate in south west London. He has never committed a criminal act. When he goes to business meetings, he wears a suit and tie, but when he walks around his local high street, he dons a hoodie. He does it on principle. 'I don't disapprove of the technology in its rightful place,' Steve told me, 'but we have an unregulated mess. It hasn't reduced crime in any real sense - it's displaced it in some cases.' Media reports always say there are 4.2 million CCTV cameras in the UK, but they have been using that figure for the past two years. So it's a safe bet we have at least six million by now, and there is no central register. You can use the Data Protection Act to request a copy of your own image from any particular camera, but that is simply a way of harassing CCTV owners, not safeguarding your identity. 5 Stay off spam mailing lists Each time you submit your email address to register for a new website, create a special address, either on a free webmail service or on your own email server so you have control over it. Then, if the company later sells your email address or loses it through poor security, you will know exactly who to blame. And you will be able to close the account or block all email to that particular address. Again, Hushmail is useful for this. You can set it up to create these aliases for you. 6 Prevent supermarkets knowing your shopping habits Swap your supermarket loyalty card with a friend or acquaintance every few months, after having cashed in any points you have accumulated (treat Oyster and other local transport cards the same way). You lose no benefits and it prevents tracking of specific purchasing patterns (or journeys) tied to your name and address. Use cash more often - save your credit card for emergencies. 7 Avoid utility companies' marketing departments Live off-grid, unplugged from the system with solar panels and rainwater harvesting. There are tens of thousands of people living without mains power, water or sewerage, in isolated cottages, behind hedgerows in caravans or in groups of yurts in country fields. And this is not just a movement for tree huggers and climate campers. Many live on boats in towns and cities, and if you live in a flat or house, you can still unplug. 8 Keep your car off the automatic number recognition system The simplest way is to leave the car at home and use a bicycle. But if you must drive, don't go into a congestion zone at any time. There are other legal ways to hide your registration number from the cameras - swap the light above the rear numberplate for an infrared bulb and that will flood the video-camera which operates at near infrared frequency. 9 Safeguard your NHS data If you are born in this country, then your NHS records are inescapable. But you can choose to store them with your GP to keep them off the central computer, and this should reduce the chances of the medical records being sold (legally) to drugs companies or (illegally) to private detectives or being snooped on by the 300,000 'authorised users' of the system, without affecting medical care. There is no need to worry about, for example, records of your blood group not being available to medical staff after an accident - doctors no longer rely on paper or computer records. The automated diagnostic blood group tests are done by the ambulance crew on the way to hospital. You can get a form letter to send to the NHS from nhsconfidentiality.org. 10 Shop outside the system The website Freecycle (freecycle.org) could provide many of your needs. It consists of hundreds of short announcements from people trying to give away stuff they no longer need: beds, TVs, bookcases, the whole of human life is there in return for the cost of picking it up from the donor. There are local Freecycle groups all over the country (and the world), each with their own local web address. Some people make a decent living gathering things from Freecycle and selling them at car boot sales. There are full-time scavengers living off food retrieved from supermarket bins, because vast amounts of produce are simply thrown away on the eve of their sell-by date. Another way to avoid buying food is to barter for it. The car park of the pub in the centre of Longframlington village in Northumberland has been a barter centre for decades. On any Friday night between April and October, locals arrive and flip down the backs of their 4x4s laden with the week's produce, whether its chanterelles, venison, pheasant, line-caught salmon or the latest crop of beetroots and lettuces. Technically, this innocent activity is tax evasion. 'It's all very rustic and encourages a paper-free environment, but this can underpin what can only amount to potential income tax, corporation tax or VAT non-disclosure, or even fraud,' said accountant Julie Butler. But does Alistair Darling really want to take another bash at the delicate fabric of the countryside? It may seem almost comical to go to these lengths, but the ways companies and the public sector can misuse data isn't a joke. We cannot trust them to safeguard our data or use it ethically, so we must provide our own safeguards. · Nick Rosen is editor of the Off-Grid website: off-grid.netThe type community has been in a bit of an uproar after last week’s news of the acquisition of FontShop by Monotype. FontShop’s FontFont library was the world’s largest independent collection of original typefaces while Monotype is a huge publicly traded company that already owns the Linotype, ITC, Ascender and Bitstream type libraries. I’ve seen responses ranging from light-hearted jabs about Erik Spiekermann “cashing out” to extreme tirades against capitalism. Lyle Lanley explaining what the name Monotype means. FontShop claims that they are now more independent than ever, saying everything will stay the same within the company but they will now have the resources of Monotype backing them. All Your Fonts Are Belong to Us Seemingly within minutes of the news breaking, an anonymous spoof Twitter account popped up called Monopolype Imaging. The account attempts to acquire all the remaining independent foundries. I find the tweets pretty hilarious for the most part, however I feel like the person behind the account must actually be pretty upset with the whole thing. Monopolype is on a mission to acquire all the foundries. I think the name “Monotype” certainly doesn’t help the situation—it sounds like a corporate monolith that has a monopoly on the type industry. But really, I think people might be overreacting… My Thoughts on the Acquisition I personally don’t have much of a problem with the acquisition coming from the perspective of someone who purchases typefaces. Maybe if I was a type designer I would feel differently. But the truth is, FontFont has an excellent library of typefaces and they will still be the same typefaces even if Monotype owns them. (Update: Chester Jenkins from Village pointed out to me that Monotype will only own Erik Spiekermann’s designs—the other fonts in the FontFont library will remain the intellectual property of their creators who signed 10-year publishing contracts with FontFont.) FontShop may very well had valid business reasons for going forward with the sale. I don’t know what their financial situation was like. And type is the core business of Monotype, so it’s better that they were purchased by a company that focuses solely on type, rather than a company where type is just a portion of their business (like Adobe). The purchase price was $13 million, which seems shockingly low to me in the days of Facebook purchasing WhatsApp for $19 billion. But I guess the type industry just isn’t that big in comparison. There Are Still Plenty of Excellent Independent Type Foundries So however you feel about the acquisition, I still wanted to highlight 24 of my favorite independent font foundries who continue to produce awesome work on their own. Chicago-based studio of type designer Jackson Cavanaugh. Popular typefaces: Alright Sans and Harriet. The font Harriet from Okay Type. Germany-based type foundry of Hannes von Döhren established in 2008. Popular typefaces: Brandon Grotesque and Supria Sans. The font Brandon Grotesque from HvD Fonts. London/New York City-based type foundry established in 2009. Popular typefaces: Apercu and Relative. The font Apercu from Colophon Foundry. Partnership between type designers Veronika Burian and José Scaglione established in 2006. Popular typefaces: Adelle and Adelle Sans. The font Adelle Sans from TypeTogether. Swiss type foundry established in 1993. Popular typefaces: Circular and Akkurat. The font Circular from Lineto. Type designer based in Minnesota. Popular typefaces: Proxima Nova and Grad. The font Proxima Nova from Mark Simonson. Berlin/Zurich-based type foundry established in 2010 by Timo Gaessner and Alexander Colby. Popular typefaces: Maison Neue and Maison Mono. The font Maison Neue from Milieu Grotesque. Swiss type foundry established in 2009. Popular typefaces: GT Walsheim and GT Haptik. The font GT Walsheim from Grilli Type. New Zealand-based type foundry of Kris Sowersby established in 2005. Popular typefaces: Tiempos Text and Founders Grotesk. The font Tiempos Text from Klim Type Foundry. Netherlands-based foundry of type designer Jos Buivenga. Popular typefaces: Museo Slab and Calluna. The font Calluna from exljbris Font Foundry. Germany-based type foundry of Tim Ahrens and Shoko Mugikura founded in 2004. Popular typefaces: Lapture and Facit. The font Lapture from Just Another Foundry. Brooklyn-based studio founded by Joshua Darden in 2004. Popular typefaces: Freight Text and Freight Sans. The font Freight Sans from Darden Studio. Type foundry set up by the London-based design studio A2/SW/HK in 2010. Popular typefaces: Regular and Battersea Slab. The font Battersea Slab from A2-Type. Los Angeles-based design studio and type foundry of Silas Dilworth. Popular typefaces: Heroic Condensed. The font Heroic Condensed from TypeTrust. Portugal-based type foundry established by Dino dos Santos in 1994. Popular typefaces: Acta Display and Leitura News. The font Leitura News from DSType. Belgium-based type foundry established in 2002 by Fred Smeijers. Popular typefaces: Arnhem. The font Arnhem from OurType. New York-based type foundry established by Richard Kegler and Carima El-Behairy. Popular typefaces: P22 Underground. The font P22 Underground from P22 Type Foundry. Netherlands-based type foundry established in 1999 by Peter Biľak. Popular typefaces: Plan Grotesque and Fedra Serif. The font Plan Grotesque from Typotheque. Minnesota-based type foundry established by Eric Olson in 2002. Popular typefaces: Colfax and Maple. The font Maple from Process Type Foundry. A joint venture between Paul Barnes and Christian Schwartz, who have worked together since 2004. They publish their own fonts as well as fonts designed by an international team of collaborators. Popular typefaces: Graphik and Atlas Grotesk. The font Graphik from Commercial Type. Type foundry established in 1991 with offices in London and Brazil. Popular typefaces: Aktiv Grotesk and Effra. The font Aktiv Grotesk from Dalton Maag. Brooklyn-based co-op with member foundries located around the world. Popular typefaces: Balto and Ogg. The font Ogg from Village. Boston-based type foundry established in 1989. Popular typefaces: Benton Sans and Miller. The font Benton Sans from Font Bureau. New York City-based type foundry formerly known as Hoefler & Frere-Jones. Popular typefaces: Gotham and Sentinel. The font Gotham from Hoefler & Co. These are 24 of the best independent type foundries out there whose work that I admire. I’m sure there are many other small foundries releasing high-quality typefaces. If there are any other notable foundries I should add to the list, please let me know in the comments below.If you tried to determine a woman’s health by analyzing her vaginal microbes, the results would be hard to interpret and might be outdated by the time they arrived. This befuddling complexity is not confined to the vagina. Earlier this year, Patrick D. Schloss at the University of Michigan analyzed microbes from 18 different body parts on 300 volunteers. They were all healthy, with nary a dental cavity among them. And yet, Dr. Schloss found that their microbes varied greatly, and flipped between different states, for as yet inexplicable reasons. The dynamic nature of the microbiome partly explains the enthusiasm that surrounds it. If scientists identify changes in the human genome that increase the risk of disease, it is hard to rewrite those genes or to find drugs that target them. But the microbiome could theoretically be altered through probiotics, fecal transplants or other means. It is, as some researchers say, the only “organ” that can be replaced without surgery. But how can you tell when it needs replacing? A bloom of C. difficile is an obvious problem, but most other communities are not so easily classified. The microbiome is a teeming collection of thousands of species, all constantly competing with one another, negotiating with their host, evolving, changing. While your genome is the same as it was last year, your microbiome has shifted since your last meal or sunrise. We need to start thinking about it as an ecosystem, like a rain forest or grassland, with all the complexities that entails. And just as the gorillas and leopards of African forests differ from the wolves and moose of American ones, so, too, do microbiomes vary around the world. Take the Hadza. Their microbial roll call is longer than a Western one, with both omissions and additions. They are the only adult humans thus far sequenced who are devoid of Bifidobacteria — a supposedly “healthy” group that accounts for up to 10 percent of the microbes in Western guts. But they do carry unexpectedly high levels of Treponema, a group that includes the cause of syphilis. Is this menagerie worse than a Western one? Better? I suspect the answer is neither. It is simply theirs. It is adapted to the food they eat, the dirt they walk upon, the parasites that plague them. Our lifestyles are very different, and our microbes have probably adapted accordingly. Generations of bacteria can be measured in minutes; our genomes have had little time to adapt to modern life, but our microbiomes have had plenty.The attorneys general of West Virginia and 14 other states filed another premature, defective lawsuit today in an effort to stop the Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Power Plan. Nothing new here. Their latest case comes the same week that the dwindling but hardy band of polluter-backed climate deniers launched their latest "CO2-is-good-for you" PR campaign - "that carbon dioxide is plant food and shouldn't be controlled," according to E&E News. What planet do these old-school-energy AGs and climate contrarians think they are living on? After going 0 for 6 in premature challenges - all thrown out of court - the AGs have jumped the gun again. They filed their latest case in the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington under the "All Writs Act." This despite a June ruling by a conservative three-judge panel that the "All Writs Act" doesn't allow a challenge to the Clean Power Plan. The judges explained in June that the AGs will get their day in court under the Clean Air Act if they just follow the rules. Once the final Clean Power Plan rule is published in the Federal Register - which will happen in the normal course of things in the next few weeks - challengers will be able to bring proper lawsuits. When they do, the AGs will confront a Clean Power Plan that rests on solid legal ground. We've explained here and here why the challengers' legal attacks are likely to fail. The Supreme Court has already found that EPA has authority to curb power plants carbon pollution under the very part of the Clean Air Act that the agency used. And the AGs' breathless claims of immediate harm have no substance. To block the Clean Power Plan, its foes have to show "irreparable injury" in the time it takes for the court to decide a properly-filed case on the normal schedule - roughly a year. They won't be able to do it. Under the final Plan, power companies will have the next seven years to get ready for compliance in 2022. The states have three years to submit a state plan, and they don't have to do it at all - they have the right to refuse and to leave power plant regulation entirely to the EPA. The Clean Power Plan is a historic step to rein in power plant pollution that will speed America's transition to cleaner energy, protect our health and help to safeguard future generations from the worst effects of climate change, and position the United States for global leadership on climate change. It is a step out of the past, into the future.Xiaomi Redmi Note 5A was recently spotted at China’s TENAA certification agency. Rumors surrounding the Redmi Note 5A had claimed that the budget phablet would be debuting on Aug. 21. An official launch invitation shared by none other than Lin Bin, the co-founder, and president of Xiaomi confirms that the Redmi Note 5A is going to be official on Aug. 21 at 7:30 PM local time. It seems that the Note 5A will be unleashed through a live webcast event. The Redmi Note 5A is rumored to arrive in two models. According to the TENAA listing of the smartphone, it features a 5.5-inch HD display and is powered by Snapdragon 425 chipset. It features 2 GB of RAM and 16 GB of storage. It is expected to feature a 13-megapixel rear camera and a front-facing camera of 5-megapixel. It is rumored to come with a 3,000mAh battery. It does not feature a fingerprint scanner. It appears to be a larger version of the Redmi 4A. It is also expected to be available in another model featuring Snapdragon 430 chipset, 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB of storage. This model may feature a 16-megapixel rear camera and a 13-megapixel front camera. This model may come with a pricing of 1,199 Yuan (~$179) and the lower-specced Note 5A is expected to be priced at 999 Yuan (~$149). TENAA listing has revealed that the Redmi Note 5A would be available in multiple colors like black, gray, gold, silver, white, pink and red. Read More: Xiaomi Chiron Listed On Beijing Subway Database, Is Mi Mix 2 Really Coming Soon? An official image shared on Weibo shows the handset with a fingerprint reader and in multiple colors like gold, pink and silver. Xiaomi founder and chairman Lei Jun has described it is a high quality cost-effective smartphone that will come in vibrant colors. He has also revealed that the handset does not feature a metal body. It indicates that it may come with a polycarbonate chassis with a metallic finish. It seems that there is a version of the smartphone that comes with a fingerprint reader. Rumors have also claimed that the highest configuration model may feature 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of storage. There is a possibility that it could be powered by Snapdragon 630 chipset. This model may feature a 5.5-inch full HD display. There is a possibility that this smartphone may debut as Redmi Note 5. These specs seem confusing. More information on the Redmi Note 5A is expected to surface as the official launch date draws near. (source 1,2)Switzerland Use National flag Proportion 1:1 Adopted 1841 Design A square flag with a white cross in the centre and background in red. Civil Ensign of Switzerland Use Civil ensign Proportion 2:3 Design Rectangular flag with a white cross in the centre and background in red. The flag of Switzerland displays a white cross in the centre of a square red field. The white cross is known as the Swiss cross (German: das Schweizerkreuz, French: la croix suisse, Italian: la croce svizzera, Romansh: la crusch svizra). Its arms are equilateral, and their ratio of length to width is 7:6. The size of the cross in relation to the field was set in 2017 as 5:8.[1] The white cross has been used as the field sign (attached to the clothing of combattants and to the cantonal war flags in the form of strips of linen) of the Old Swiss Confederacy since its formation in the late 13th or early 14th century. Its symbolism was described by the Swiss Federal Council in 1889 as representing "at the same the Christian cross symbol and the field sign of the Old Confederacy".[2] As a national ensign, it was first used in 1800 during the Hundred Days by general Niklaus Franz von Bachmann, and as regimental flag of all cantonal troops from 1841. The federal coat of arms (eidgenössisches Wappen) was defined in 1815 for the Restored Confederacy as the white-on-red Swiss cross in a heraldic shield. The current design was used together with a cross composed of five squares until 1889, when its dimensions were officially set.[3] The civil and state ensign of Switzerland, used by Swiss ships, boats and non-governmental bodies, is rectangular in shape and has the more common proportions of 3:2.[4] The Swiss flag is one of only two square sovereign-state flags, the other being the flag of Vatican City.[5] The emblem of the Red Cross is the Swiss flag with switched colours. Design [ edit ] According to the 2017 flag law (SR 232.21),[6] "The Swiss flag shows a Swiss cross on a square background". Special provisions are made for the naval ensign and for civil aircraft identification.[7] The Swiss cross is defined as "a white, upright, free-standing cross depicted against a red background, whose arms, which are all of equal size, are one-sixth longer than they are wide."[6] Swiss Standard German consistently uses Fahne (cognate with vane) rather than the term Flagge used for national flags in Germany. The name of the flag of the Swiss Confederation is a nominal compound, Schweizerfahne.[8] Proportions [ edit ] While the proportions of the cross have been fixed since 1889, the size of the cross relative to the flag (the width of the margin separating the cross couped from the edge of the flag) had not been officially fixed prior to 2017. The annex to SR 232.21 provides an image specifying that the margin is to be of the same width as the cross arms, so that the total height of the cross is fixed at 20:32 = 5:8 of the height of the flag (in other words, the width of the margin is 6:32 = 3:16). This ratio is also given as a "vexillological recommendation" in the flag regulation used by the Swiss Armed Forces.[9] Flags with a cross of larger relative widths than the prescribed 20:32 = 62.5% remain in wide use; common ratios include 20:26 ≈ 76.9% and 20:28 ≈ 71.4%.[10] 20:32 ratio 20:28 ratio 20:26 ratio 2:3 ratio (proportions of the 1841 military flags, no longer recommended) 3:5 ratio (regular division of the field into 25 squares, not recommended) For the ensign, the ratio of the size of the cross to the height is likewise 5:8, so that the ratio of cross to flag width is 5:12.[11] Colours [ edit ] The shade of red used in the flag was not defined by law prior to 2017. The 2017 flag law specifies the colour of the flag as: CMYK 0 / 100 / 100 / 0 Pantone 485 C / 485 U RGB 255 / 0 / 0 Hexadecimal #FF0000 Scotchcal 100 -13 RAL 3020 Traffic red NCS S 1085-Y90R Example using RGB #FF0000 Example using RGB #D80000 Example using RGB #D52B1E, intended as approximating Pantone 485 In 2004, the Federal Chancellery published a corporate design guide for the federal administration, in force since 1 January 2007. The colour specifications given there are compatible with those later put in the annex to the flag law.[12] The matching of heraldic tincture to modern color specifications for print or screen display is very uncertain, and to some extent left to the discretion of the publisher. A 2004 source specifies "Pantone Red 032 C", or RGB #F00000, for heraldic red.[13] Recommendations for using "web safe" colours for electronic displays have partly been obsoleted by technological progress; since the "web safe" recommendations are often markedly different from the colours used in print, digital publications often attempt to approximate the printed colour. However, it has become common to specify colours for printing using the "Pantone Matching System", which is a proprietary colour space, and Pantone LLC prevents the publication of keys to their codes under intellectual property laws. The pdf document of the official "corporate design" manual published by the Federal Chancellery (2018 version) appears to be representing the red in the Swiss flag as RGB #e30613.[14] There are conflicting conventions in use among those canotons whose cantonal coats of arms have red tincture; Solothurn has specified "Pantone 032" since 1993, later followed suit by Bern and Schwyz, while Obwalden uses "Pantone 3G", and Basel-Landschaft, Nidwalden and Glarus have opted to issue no official recommendation.[15] History [ edit ] Middle Ages [ edit ] The ultimate origin of the white cross is attributed by three competing legends: To the Theban Legion, to the Reichssturmfahne (Imperial War Banner) attested from the 12th century, and to the Arma Christi that were especially venerated in the three forest cantons, and which they were allegedly allowed to display on the formerly uniformly red battle flag from 1289 by king Rudolph I of Habsburg at the occasion of a campaign to Besançon. Use of a white cross as a mark of identification of the combined troops of the Old Swiss Confederacy is first attested in the Battle of Laupen (1339), where it was sewn on combatants' clothing as two stripes of textile, contrasting with the red St. George's cross of Habsburg Austria, and with the St. Andrew's cross used by Burgundy and Maximilian I. The first flag used as a field sign representing the confederacy rather than the individual cantons may have been used in the Battle of Arbedo in 1422 (notably without the participation of the Canton of Schwyz). This was a triangular red flag with an elongated white cross. Battle of Arbedo (1422) in the depiction of the Lucerne chronicle (1513). The Swiss Confederates are shown as marching under their cantonal flags (Lucerne, Uri, Unterwalden, Zug), with the white cross attached to their garments. Reinforcements of Schwyz are shown arriving in the top left, with a red triangular flag showing the white cross. Ten cantonal war flags carried in the Battle of Nancy (1477) in the depiction of the Luzerner Chronik of 1513. All flags of the Eight Cantons are shown, but the flags of Berne and Uri omit the heraldic animal, showing only the cantonal colours. In addition, the flags of Fribourg and Solothurn are shown, at the time not yet full members, who would join the confederacy in the aftermath of this battle. Each flag has the confederate cross attached. The white cross was thus in origin a field mark attached to combatants for identification, and later also to cantonal flags. The Lucerne chronicle of 1513, in battle scenes of the Burgundy wars of the 1470s shows cantonal flags with an added white cross. In this context, the solid-red war flag of Schwyz with the addition of the white cross appears much like the later flag of Switzerland. Other depictions in the illustrated chronicles show a flag of Schwyz with an asymmetrical white cross, drawn in greater detail. The symbol of the confederation as it developed during 1450-1520 was thus the white cross itself, not necessarily in a red field, but attached to existing flags, so that it appeared before a red background in those cantonal flags that contained red, notably the solid-red flag of Schwyz. War flag of the Holy Roman Empire ( Reichssturmfahne ) during the 13th century Triangular field ensign used by Swiss confederate forces from ca. the 1420s Field ensign used from ca. 1470 and during the early 16th century Early modern [ edit ] The first explicit mention of a separate flag representing the Confederacy dates to 1540, in the context of an auxiliary force sent by the Swiss to aid their associate, the city of Rottweil, in a feud against the lords of Landenberg. The Tagsatzung decided that the Swiss auxiliaries sent to Rottweil should receive "a red flag with a white upright cross". The first mention of the term Confederate Cross (Eidgenossen Crütz) dates to
brigades, half were destroyed and the rest suffered 50% losses - half a million Germans died there. Image copyright AP Image caption Operation Bagration, 1944 Surprise is a key ingredient in maskirovka and the clandestine forces which occupied Crimea last February certainly delivered that. Pyotr Shelomovskiy, a Russian photojournalist, was there as they arrived. He had rushed down to Crimea expecting tensions to arise after Ukraine's Russian-backed president, Viktor Yanukovych, fled the country - and on 24 February he watched local pro-Russian activists building a small barricade on the square outside parliament. Maskirovka is used to wrong-foot your enemies, to keep them guessing "They started brewing tea and distributing drinks. Some journalists, myself included, were allowed to take pictures," says Shelomovskiy, "and that was it for the night." Or so he thought. But in the small hours, unmarked military trucks drove up filled with heavily armed men. "They ordered those demonstrators to lie face down on the ground - until they realised they were on the same side," says Shelomovskiy. Then they made them carry ammunition into the parliament. He was told this story by the activists the next morning. "They didn't really understand themselves what was going on," he says. The troops which had arrived in the dark, as if by magic, with no insignia on their olive-coloured uniforms, were soon nicknamed "little green men". "We know now these guys were Russian special forces," says Shelomovskiy. "But no-one said so at the time." Image copyright Getty Images Image caption One of the "little green men" - Russian soldiers without insignia spearheading the 2014 annexation of Crimea Denial is another vital component in maskirovka. At a press conference a few days later Vladimir Putin coolly batted away awkward questions about where the troops came from. "There are many military uniforms. Go into any shop and you can find one," he said. But were they Russian soldiers? Poker-faced, the president said the men were local self-defence units. Five weeks later, once the annexation had been rubber-stamped by the Parliament in Moscow, Putin admitted Russian troops had been deployed in Crimea after all. But the lie had served its purpose. Maskirovka is used to wrong-foot your enemies, to keep them guessing. Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Vladimir Putin in Crimea, May 2014 after the region was annexed Maj Gen Gordon 'Skip' Davis, in charge of operations and intelligence at Nato's military HQ in Belgium, admits it took him and his colleagues some time to figure out the "size and the scale" of the troop reinforcement which was "continuously denied by the Russians". But if Nato was taken by surprise, the historian and journalist Anne Applebaum was not. "I knew immediately what it was because it reminded me of 1945. It looked so familiar," she says. "With Crimea I got a bizarre sense of deja vu, because bringing in soldiers who weren't really soldiers - that was what the NKVD did in Poland after the war. They also created fake political entities which nobody had seen before, with fake ideologies already attached to them… It's a game of smoke and mirrors." After Crimea came the war in eastern Ukraine. Officially there are no Russian troops or little green men fighting there either - only patriotic volunteers who have gone to the region on holiday. But there is growing evidence of Moscow's intervention in the separatist conflict including a mounting toll of Russian soldiers killed in action. In August Russian TV showed footage of water and baby food being loaded on to lorries heading for Ukraine's war zone. The Russian government called this humanitarian aid but many were more than a little suspicious. Nato already had plenty of intelligence about Russian air defence and artillery forces moving into Ukraine. Maj Gen Davis calls the first convoy "a wonderful example of maskirovka" because it created something of a media storm. TV crews breathlessly followed the convoy, trying to find out what was really inside the green army trucks which had been hastily repainted white. Was this a classic Trojan horse operation to smuggle weapons to rebel militias? And would the Ukrainian authorities allow the convoy in? Image copyright Getty Images Image caption The Russian humanitarian aid convoy - a classic case of maskirovka? "All the while at other border crossing points controlled by the Russians - not by the Ukrainians - equipment, personnel and troops were passing into Eastern Ukraine," says Davis. He sees the convoy as a clever "diversion or distraction". The fog of war isn't something which just happens - it's something which can be manufactured. In this case the Western media were bamboozled, but the compliant Russian media has also worked hard to generate fog. The Russian strategy, both at home and abroad, is to say there is no such thing as truth Peter Pomerantsev, Russian film-maker Ukrainian novelist Andrei Kurkov says he is constantly amazed by what he calls "the fantasy and imagination of Russian journalists". One of the most lurid stories broadcast on a Moscow TV channel claimed that a three-year-old boy in Sloviansk - a town in eastern Ukraine with a mostly Russian-speaking population - was crucified... for speaking Russian. The TV report is still online. A blonde woman, her voice choked with emotion, tells a serious-looking Russian news reporter that the three-year-old child was nailed to a wooden notice board in front of his mother and died in agony. The mother she alleges, was then tied to a tank and dragged through the streets until she died. She adds that she is risking her life by talking but wants to protect children against Ukrainian soldiers who behave like beasts and fascists. "The lady claimed she'd witnessed this horrible story in Sloviansk," says Kurkov. "But then she mentioned the name of the square where it happened and this square doesn't exist in Sloviansk. There's no such place." As Kurkov says, the story doesn't stand up. It emerged that the woman eyewitness had a history of filing false police reports and her own parents said they thought she'd given the interview for money. The elements of maskirovka Image copyright Getty Images Surprise Kamufliazh - camouflage - camouflage Demonstrativnye manevry - manoeuvres intended to deceive - manoeuvres intended to deceive Skrytie - concealment - concealment Imitatsia - the use of decoys and military dummies - the use of decoys and military dummies Dezinformatsia - disinformation, a knowing attempt to deceive TV and the digital world are awash with similar reports. A group of Kiev journalism students who set up a website to expose fake stories say some approaches are more sophisticated than this, mixing truth and falsehood to produce a report that appears credible. But even an incredible story may serve to confuse, and create uncertainty. Peter Pomerantsev, who recently spent several years working on documentaries and reality shows for Russian TV, argues that Russian state media are not just distorting truth in Ukraine, they go much further, promoting a seductive nihilism. "The Russian strategy, both at home and abroad, is to say there is no such thing as truth," he says. "I mean, you know, 'The Americans are bad, we're bad, and everyone's bad, so what's the big deal about us being a bit corrupt? You know our democracy's a sham, their democracy's a sham.' "It's a sort of cynicism that actually resonates very powerfully in the West nowadays with this lack of self-confidence after the Iraq War, after the financial crash - and that's what the Russians are hoping for, just to take that cynicism and then use that in a military environment." Of course, every country uses strategies of deception. Churchill famously said: "In wartime, truth is so precious she should always be accompanied by a bodyguard of lies." The Americans call such tactics CC&D - concealment, camouflage and deception. So what sets Russia apart? Maj Gen Skip Davis argues Western forces are sometimes economical with the truth but says they don't tell outright lies: "We are talking about denial of information - in other words, not confirming facts - versus blatantly denying. Saying, 'No that's not us invading, that's not our forces there, that's someone else's.'" But what about the false information that propelled Britain and the US into war with Iraq? Few would now deny that the facts on WMD were massaged in a maskirovka-type way. The word Davis keeps coming back to is "mindset". He insists maskirovka has become a modus operandi for Russia itself. "I think that there is an alignment between what probably started out as military doctrine, but now is much more a part of state policy and there's an alignment between the strategic down to the tactical level in terms of the mindset of maskirovka." This perception is nothing new for Russia's neighbours. A decade ago Andrei Kurkov predicted recent events in Ukraine in his book, The President's Last Love. He writes in Russian and most of his books are on sale there but this one was stopped at the border. Image copyright Getty Images Image caption A Ukrainian solder stands guard on a checkpoint near Donetsk, August 2014 "Putin is one of the main characters," he says. "In this book he promises the Ukrainian president that he will annex Crimea and cut the gas supply and lots of other things that later became reality - this is the reason why the book is banned." Isn't it uncanny that he managed such accurate predictions? "I don't think it was difficult - somehow when you live in a not very logical world, when the logic of absurdity prevails and the players don't evolve - it's actually quite simple." Maskirovka: Deception Russian Style was broadcast as part of the Analysis series on BBC Radio 4 - listen to the programme on BBC iPlayer or download the podcast. Subscribe to the BBC News Magazine's email newsletter to get articles sent to your inbox.Sea Shepherd Turtle Defense Campaign Ordered to Stop by Costa Rican Government from Costa Rican Times The Costa Rican Government is forcing Sea Shepherd to shut down Operation Jairo II, a campaign to protect endangered sea turtles. Any Sea Shepherd volunteer found patrolling beaches or engaging in sea turtle conservation work will be detained and deported. In Costa Rica, the Jaco Police teamed with Sea Shepherd on the campaign to protect nesting females and nests from poachers. Nests were being relocated to a hatchery run by the Jaco police force. Sea Shepherd was informed on Friday that the Jaco police is no longer authorized to work with the non-profit organization. Captain Osvaldo Rodriguez, Chief of Garabito Police Department in Jaco, was ordered not to work with Sea Shepherd because they are “known criminals.” Presumably the “criminal” reference stems from the Red Notice issued by Interpol on Sea Shepherd Founder Captain Paul Watson back in 2012 for the Costa Rican charge of interfering with a Costa Rican shark fining operation. “This is a very difficult moment for us volunteers here in Costa Rica,” said Operation Jairo II Ground Leader Cristina Cely. “In less than 2 weeks we have saved almost 2000 eggs from the beaches of Hermosa, Claritas and Jaco that most likely would have been poached, and 63 very disoriented hatchlings that didn’t stand a chance to survive if we weren’t here. Our presence has made a difference for these eggs and hatchlings, but now, thanks to mediocre minds we have to stop and the only ones who have everything to lose are the turtles. Added Chief Operating Officer David Hance: “I’m disgusted that the Government of Costa Rica is willing to sacrifice the lives of 1000’s of turtles, simply because they are motivated by international politics.” “No good conservation deed goes unpunished in Costa Rica,” noted Sea Shepherd President and CEO Paul Watson. “If you stop shark finning or rescue baby turtles you are considered a criminal by the Costa Rican government. Costa Rica is a country where rescuing turtles can literally get you killed. This government can always be dependent upon to side with the poachers. The Costa Rican Red Notice: A Fourteen Year Saga Prior to his return to the U.S. last month, Captain Watson had been living in France under the protection of the French government for two years. He is wanted by Costa Rica where he is accused of intervening to stop a Costa Rican shipping vessel, the Varadero I, that was illegally finning sharks in Guatemalan waters in 2002. After obtaining permission from Guatemalan authorities to bring the vessel in for breaking the law, Captain Watson attempted to arrest the vessel, but the poachers broke free and fled toward Costa Rica. Later that month the Costa Rican authorities filed a criminal complaint alleging that Captain Watson and his crew threatened and attempted to murder the seven crew members of the Varadero I, as well as damaging their vessel. This complaint was based on testimony supplied by the Varadero I crew. A local foundation offered Captain Watson counsel, yet neither he nor his appointed counsel were provided timely notification about a preliminary hearing on the matter in December 2002. Sea Shepherd filmed the entire incident that occurred at sea, while the Varadero did not provide any documentation. Although the allegations of attempted murder were later dropped when the court viewed Sea Shepherd’s footage, new charges were added. However, Captain Watson was never informed of this development or given a summons to appear. When Captain Watson did not appear for trial, the Costa Rican court declared him a “rebel” and issued a warrant for his arrest on the charge of “violation of ship traffic.” This charge came a decade after the incident! The matter escalated on May 13, 2012, when German authorities detained Captain Watson in Frankfurt. Six weeks later, Costa Rica submitted a modified extradition request alleging “shipwreck endangerment and aerial disaster,” a far more serious offense typically associated with terrorism. In August 2012, Interpol issued a Red Notice on Captain Watson for the Costa Rican charges. Captain Watson fled Germany after some 70 days of house arrest and eventually ended up in France. Operation Jairo History Operation Jairo II, which began in August of this year, spanned three locations beginning with Florida before moving on to Honduras and Costa Rica. The campaign continues active in Honduras. Sea Shepherd first came to Costa Rica in 2014 for Operation Pacuare, which saved the lives of nearly 3,000 sea turtles. Upon return to the country a year later, the campaign was renamed Operation Jairo, after Jairo Mora Sandoval, a Costa Rican turtle defender who was brutally murdered on May 31, 2013 while attempting to protect leatherback turtle nests. There are seven species of sea turtles in the world. Four have been identified as “endangered” or “critically endangered,” and two are classed as “vulnerable,” by the IUCN Red List of Endangered species. Sea turtles are some of the oldest living creatures, one of the few who’ve watched dinosaurs evolve and become extinct. They are now facing the same fate as their predecessors. # # # ABOUT SEA SHEPHERD CONSERVATION SOCIETY: Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is a non-profit marine conservation organization established in 1977 by Captain Paul Watson, a world renowned, respected leader in environmental issues and co-founder of Greenpeace. Its mission is to end the destruction of habitat and slaughter of wildlife in the world’s oceans in order to conserve and protect ecosystems and species. Sea Shepherd uses innovative direct-action tactics to investigate, document, and take action when necessary to expose and confront illegal activities on the high seas.Visit www.seashepherd.org for more information. Share this: Google Reddit Twitter Facebook Print Email More LinkedIn Pinterest Pocket TumblrThe cost of adapting to a changing climate will be 4-5 times higher than what was estimated two years ago, says a new report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). “The costs of adaptation could range from USD140 billion to USD300 billion by 2030, and between USD280 billion and USD500 billion by 2050,” the report says. As India faces more intense and more frequent heat waves, the report says, “Annual costs associated with additional demand for cooling (in India) could range between USD25 billion and USD100 billion by mid-century, for low- and high-warming scenarios, respectively.” Recent studies have linked increasing heat waves in India to climate change. See India’s killer heat wave linked to climate change The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in its fifth assessment report released in 2014 and 2015 had estimated that the costs of adaptation would be between USD70 billion and USD100 billion by 2030. However, the IPCC had warned that it had “low confidence” in its estimate due to “methodological challenges and data shortcomings”. UNEP had released its first adaptation finance report in 2014 and has been doing it every year since then. “It’s hard to estimate adaptation finance as it depends on methodology used and the assumptions made. However, this can guide us on where should we move towards and explore possibilities to bring money to bridge the gap,” Barney Dickson, director of programmes at UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre said while releasing the new report during the May 10-13 Adaptation Futures conference in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. The report claims the present estimate is more robust than in 2014. “It includes a more in-depth review of national-level cost estimates (bottom-up studies), and global-level, sector specific estimates, while providing additional global-level model estimates (top-down estimates),”said Anne Olhoff of UNEP. Commenting on the new UNEP report, Saleemul Haq, Director of Dhaka-based International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCAD), told thethirdpole.net, “It’s encouraging that the amount has increased in the last few years but it is far clearer that the world is too behind to help out poor and the most vulnerable communities, especially in least developed countries.” At the climate summit in Paris last December, it was decided that the Green Climate Fund (GCF) — designated to provide finance to deal with climate change — would share its budget equally between mitigation and adaptation projects. Four of the eight projects approved by GCF during the Paris summit were for adaptation. But the GCF meeting held after the summit failed to start any further project. Anyway, GCF has just about USD10 billion in its kitty now. See Green Climate Fund does too little, hopefully not too late In 2009, world leaders gathered for the climate summit in Copenhagen had promised to provide USD100 billion per year from 2020 to support developing countries to mitigate climate change and adapt to its effects. However there is a huge gap between the funds pledged and provided. “There is certainly a worry that commitments made by the developed countries are not being translated into reality which is not fair but whatever has been received should be used wisely,” added Haq. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) made an assessment last year that climate finance flow from developed to developing countries amounted to an annual average of USD57 billion between 2013 and 2014. The assessment was hotly contested by most developing countries. Even that assessment admits only USD9.3 billion was directed to adaptation related activities. Still, as soon as the money has started to flow, concerns about its effective use are being expressed. Olhoff said, “It must be noted that finance is a means rather than an end. Availability of funds does not guarantee that they are used efficiently and effectively to increase climate resilience and reduce vulnerability.” Talking about the situation in Nepal, Madhav Giri, Research Fellow at UNEP’s Global Programme of Research on Climate Change Vulnerability, Impacts and Adaptation (PROVIA), said, “Mountainous countries are among the most vulnerable, but they are struggling to get funds to implement their adaptation projects.”I like the way you look and here are the comics Hey you! Here's a nice zip of all the TF2 comics released so far. Load them up into your favorite ebook reader and have a blast reading through the whole series on your tablet or whatever. Details: Each comic is there as a pdf, including those which were not downloadable as pdfs in the first place. I know, right?! Every comic has its publication date in the file name, and the file's creation date kinda matches too. I also included some random extras from the TF2 comics page, and the Catch-up Comic. I guess I'll update the zip every time Valve releases a new comic; it's pretty fast, now that they always offer a pdf download. (wait, now they seem to only offer CBR; good enough) I'll also have you know that all the stuff included in this zip is Valve's property, and that I deny all responsibility for you dying from laughter or something. Seriously, they're worrisomely good at humor.At a time when income inequality continues to grow, the already dominant influence of the richest Americans and corporations on politics is further expanding. Candidates with the greatest access to campaign funds — typically white men — fare best under the current system, while women and people of color are often at a disadvantage. A new study from the Reflective Democracy Campaign found that 90 percent of all U.S. elected officials are white, and 71 percent are men. But there are ways to counter this inequality, starting with campaign finance reform. At the federal level, such reform is currently unlikely, with Congress and the White House controlled by Republicans, who are generally opposed to additional campaign finance regulation, and the Federal Election Commission, which rarely enforces existing laws due to partisan gridlock. At the state and local level, however, communities are increasingly moving towards public campaign finance programs, which encourage candidates to gather small donations in order to qualify for public funds to use in their election efforts. These systems, which include government grants, small-donor matching, vouchers and tax credits, allow candidates who don’t have access to deep-pocketed donors — people traditionally underrepresented in the political system — the chance to compete with candidates who do. “We don’t really have a democracy yet,” Nick Nyhart, founding executive of voting rights advocacy group Every Voice, which committed funds to the Seattle public financing campaign in 2015, told IBT. “With redistricting, barriers to voting, and money in politics, there’s a real battle going on about whether we have ‘one person, one vote’ where everyone is equal, or a few people making all the decisions.” Democracy Vouchers: A First In America Seattle, one of the most recent municipalities to adopt a public financing program, began a first-of-its-kind voucher system this year. In the primary election for two City Council races and one city attorney race, Seattle voters get four $25, taxpayer-funded “democracy vouchers” that they may give to the candidate or candidates of their choice. In the three races, five out of six candidates who advanced to the general election used the democracy vouchers. Of the total 17 candidates, 13 wanted to use the voucher system, but only six qualified. In order to qualify, candidates have to raise a certain number of donations of at least $10 and at most $250; for at-large City Council seats, for example, candidates had to collect at least 400 small donations. In the primary race for Council Position 8, the top two candidates both used vouchers and beat their privately funded opponent, whose combined fundraising and independent, outside support totaled more than the spending limits to which the voucher candidates agreed. The primaries were held on Aug. 1, and the general election will take place on Nov. 7, but a preliminary analysis of donations leading up to the primary shows that the donor pool is already more diverse than in the past, and is more reflective of Seattle’s population. Seattle-based social justice organization Win/Win and the Washington, D.C.-based Every Voice looked at 11,000 residents who used vouchers in the primary. They compared the demographics of these donors with donors to mayoral candidates, who are currently ineligible to use vouchers. In every demographic category the groups examined — age, gender, race and income — representation of traditionally underrepresented groups increased. Using data from Win/Win and Every Voice, The Seattle Times found that through Aug. 1, voucher donors were younger and lower-income, and included fewer whites and fewer men, than the mayoral donors. Over half of the donations came from households with income over $100,000 in the mayoral race, while only 36 percent came from such households among voucher donors. Also, 57 percent of donors in the mayoral race were people 50 and older, as opposed to 42 percent of voucher users. People of color constituted 11 percent of the donors in the mayor’s race, but 14 percent of voucher donors. Women made up 54 percent of voucher users versus 49 percent of mayoral donors. Leftist council candidate Jon Grant, who advocates affordable housing and collective bargaining rights for tenants, helped register and collected vouchers from people living in several homeless encampments. The voucher system isn’t costing Seattle residents a lot of money. Approved by voters in 2015, the program is funded by a property tax which costs the average homeowner roughly $11.50 per year, according to the City of Seattle. But it’s helping give people who wouldn’t ordinarily be able to run for office a chance. “I’m still paying rent, I still pay student loans,” council candidate Teresa Mosqueda told Fox TV station Q13. “I think the intent was to try to get more folks who aren’t independently wealthy, who have a job like I do, to be able to see themselves running for office.” More Communities Fight Big Money Other areas of the country have recently passed public financing measures. As of June 28, there were 27 states, counties and municipalities that offered some kind of public campaign financing, according to Demos. Overall, the results are similar to those in Seattle: greater race and class diversity among donors, more donors, more women running for office — and more of candidates’ time spent with constituents and less on fundraising. In Albuquerque, New Mexico, one mayoral candidate and one-third of the City Council candidates used a public grant program to fund their primary campaigns this year, and five out of the seven who did advanced to the general election. A recent report on past New Mexico elections shows that public financing makes races more competitive, and at the municipal level, more non-white candidates use the program. Among the latest locales to implement public financing is Montgomery County, Maryland, where local 2018 candidates have changed their fundraising tactics under a new matching funds program approved in 2014 and in place now for the first time. Instead of appealing to rich potential donors, candidates are combining their fundraising and outreach at events in, for example, coffee shops, the Washington Post reported. Candidates recently told the Post that the program, which has helped create a large field of 20 candidates competing for four seats on the County Council, is “leveling the playing field” and is “an important tool to get people more engaged in the electoral process.” One at-large County Council candidate told the Post that in the past, it was more efficient to court donors “who have the capability to write very large checks.” Under public financing, “that has changed entirely.” Photo: Mark Sagliocco/Getty Images New York City has for some time had a small-donor matching fund program for city races including for mayor, comptroller, public advocate, borough president and City Council. Passed in 1998 after a major corruption scandal, the original law contained a one-to-one match from the city for donations from individual city residents of $1,000 or less. In 2001, the match ratio changed to four-to-one on donations up to $250, and it’s now six-to-one on $175 donations, further amplifying the preferences of donors who can’t afford large donations and who far outnumber higher-income New Yorkers. In exchange for the matching funds, candidates agree to reduced contribution limits and a campaign spending cap. To qualify for the matching funds, candidates have to raise a certain amount of money from a specified number of small donors. The program is overwhelmingly popular; 92 percent of primary candidates used it in 2013. Since the beginning of New York City’s matching fund program, especially since the city introduced the multiple matching system in 2001, the pools of both donors and elected officials have diversified. With the 2001 matching system, New York City elected its first African-American mayor and its first Dominican-American, first Asian-American, first Asian-American woman, and first African-American woman from Staten Island to the City Council. In 2009, for the first time, people of color made up the majority of the City Council. The difference in the sources of funding between the City Council and the New York State Senate, which doesn’t have a public financing program, are striking; 69 percent of contributions in state senate races came from special interests — corporations, LLCs, political action committees, unions or party committees — while a mere 6 percent in New York City came from these sources. Donors overall, and small donors in particular, have multiplied. Public financing systems exist in other cities and states such as Austin, Texas; Minnesota; Rhode Island and Los Angeles, and still more, including Philadelphia, are considering new programs. The Chance To Shape Policy With only the wealthy funding and communicating with the campaigns of elected officials, politicians are incentivized to make policy decisions that align with their donors’ interests, not those of their broader constituency. But the elite donor class holds views that don’t align with the general public’s, as a 2016 Demos study detailed. Demos cites another report showing that “policy outcomes generally reflect the preferences of the affluent, while ordinary Americans have very little influence.” Research into the U.S. Senate has shown that senators, once elected, “are more responsive to donors than they are to non-donors of their own party or to their own voters.” The Brennan Center and the Campaign Finance Institute found that New York’s public financing system “gives candidates an incentive to reach out to a broader and more diverse array of constituents to fund their campaigns. In so doing, the city’s public financing system appears to have achieved one of its key goals — strengthening the connections between public officials and their constituents.” With public financing, elected officials have the incentive to craft policy that helps the majority of their constituents. Federal Public Financing? Matching public funds for presidential candidates are available, and have been for some time. But very few use the funds today because by accepting them, candidates have a spending limit that’s a fraction of what it takes to win. Candidates can raise far more than that limit through campaign fundraising, and with the influx of outside spending, which increased dramatically after a 2010 Supreme Court decision, Citizens United, the cost of a presidential run has risen to astonishing totals. In 2016, Hillary Clinton, who narrowly lost, raised $1.2 billion for her campaign and joint fundraising and Democratic Party committees. Another $204 was raised by independent super PACs that supported her candidacy. In 2008, Barack Obama was the first major party candidate to reject the general election matching funds since the program began in 1976. In the 2016 primary, only one candidate, Martin O’Malley, accepted public financing. The Democratic Party Platform of 2016 mentions public financing. “We need to amplify the voices of the American people through a small donor matching public financing system,” it says. In party planning, however, it’s not at the top of the list. "There has been absolutely no conversation about public financing [at the DNC Unity Reform Commission meetings], as far as I'm aware," Nomiki Konst, a Bernie Sanders-appointed delegate to the Democratic National Committee’s Unity Reform Commission, told IBT. "It's not being addressed really within the party, with the exception of Christine Pelosi's success in finally passing the ban on [most] corporate money, which could lead to a larger conversation about public financing." Still, Democratic Sen. Tom Udall of New Mexico and Rep. David Price (D-NC) introduced the “We the People” Democracy Reform Act on Sep. 27, building on a similar act they introduced in 2016. The bill would enact several democracy reform measures including a small donor matching funds system for presidential and congressional candidates and modeled after New York City’s. Senate co-sponsor Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) said, “Americans look at Washington and see a giant ‘Government for Sale’ sign. They see politicians working hard to advance the interests of rich donors while ignoring the issues facing their constituents back home. The We the People Act works to get rid of ‘Government for Sale’ by making it harder for wealthy individuals and giant corporations to dump unlimited sums of money into the political process.” The democracy reform bill is unlikely to gain traction in today’s Congress, but Every Voice’s Nyhart is hopeful that the many campaign finance reforms around the country will ultimately result in changes at the federal level. “I think the current big money-driven system is untenable. Every cycle, there are fewer and fewer donors giving more and more of the money. The voices of everyday people get heard less and less each year. People who win under [the current system] don’t promote policies that everyday people want to happen. So I think campaign finance reform will become more part of the debate. “Nothing is more important to democracy than the voices of everyday people being heard by those who make the laws, and [public financing] is a way that everyday people can be heard again.”Jeremy Corbyn must start showing leadership and stop making "inappropriate" comments, his close ally and Unite chief Len McCluskey has said. In a surprising intervention from one of Mr Corbyn's biggest union backers, Mr McCluskey said the Labour leader was used to being a backbench MP but must now realise he can no longer "say what he likes". He pointed to Mr Corbyn's initial comments opposing'shoot-to-kill' following the terror attacks in Paris as an example of him failing to react appropriately in his new role as leader. 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. He added that Mr Corbyn only had a chance of becoming Prime Minister if he put forward a "credible economic alternative" that had widespread support amongst voters. His comments, first reported by the York Press, follows criticism from Unison general secretary Dave Prentis, who also backed Mr Corbyn for the leadership but told The Independent on Sunday that it was time the leadership "got its act together" before it lost any chance of returning to power in 2020. Speaking at an event at the University of York, Mr McCluskey said: "Jeremy Corbyn has to come to terms with it [his leadership]. "He has been a very principled MP and been able to say what he likes, but now he's a leader and in leadership he can't necessarily say the first thing that comes into his head. He has to take some balance." As Labour faces the very real danger of losing a safe seat to Ukip in the Oldham West and Royton by-election next week, Mr McCluskey urged Mr Corbyn to tackle the threat of Nigel Farage's party head-on by taking on "greedy bosses" who exploit cheap Eastern European migrants to undercut British workers. He added: "The only way for Jeremy Corbyn to become Prime Minister is if he puts forward a credible economic alternative that the British people can sign up to." Mr McCluskey later issued a statement insisting he was fully behind Mr Corbyn’s leadership. “Jeremy has my full support as he develops his alternative programme to that of this disastrous government," he said. "He has opened up debate and democracy across the Labour party and that can only be a positive move for the future. “It is exactly his brand of conviction politics and principled opposition that has won him so many supporters and his leadership is stronger for it.” 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 now.There doesn’t seem to be any video of Kaepernick explaining his sudden change of heart. This statement comes via CBS Sports reporter Jason LaCanfora who says he spent several hours talking to Kaepernick Saturday. “He’s not planning on kneeling,” LaCanfora said, adding, “He’s going to donate all his jersey sales and he’s planning on standing for the anthem if given the opportunity.” Here’s video of the interview with LaCanfora: After sitting down with Colin Kaepernick for several hours, @JasonLaCanfora says the QB is still actively trying to play in the NFL. pic.twitter.com/R9qTIZ7EQl — NFLonCBS (@NFLonCBS) October 8, 2017 “My primary takeaway is that his sole focus right now is on being a quarterback,” LaCanfora said. The whole thrust of this interview is the Kaepernick is now thinking about football and wants to be judged on football terms. The statement about the anthem at the end seems to seal that with a pledge going forward. But a short while after the story broke a correction was issued: NEW YORK (AP) – CORRECTION: CBS reporter clarifies on saying Kaepernick would stand for anthem, says they didn't discuss issue. — Zeke Miller (@ZekeJMiller) October 8, 2017 Here’s the tweet from LaCanfora reversing course: Standing for Anthem wasn't something that I spoke to Colin about sat. I relayed what had been reported about him standing in the future… — Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) October 8, 2017 Colin would have to address any future demonstrations. I didn't ask him if he would sit or stand. Our chat primarily about his will to play — Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) October 8, 2017 Frankly, this doesn’t make any sense. If this reporter spent several hours talking to Kaepernick it’s hard to believe the elephant in the room wasn’t discussed. LaCanfora seemed pretty clear when he said “He’s not planning on kneeling” and “he’s planning on standing.” Apparently, he’s now claiming he was only referencing this report from March. In any case, Colin Kaepernick is a political extremist. He’s already made clear once that politics is more important to him than football. Even if he did make such a promise behind the scenes, why would a team take his word? And even if he does drop the anthem protest, there are lots of other ways he could continue to politicize his job (though probably few as counter-productive). Maybe some team wants his drama but it’s hard to see how the NFL as a whole benefits from it. In fact, one prominent fan walked out on a game today after a dozen or more members of the San Francisco 49ers decided to kneel during the national anthem: I left today's Colts game because @POTUS and I will not dignify any event that disrespects our soldiers, our Flag, or our National Anthem
' to mark not only the anniversary of the September 2001 attacks, but also as recognition for some of the first responders and their dogs. 'I felt this was a turning point, especially for the dogs, who although are not forgotten, are not as prominent as the human stories involved,' explained Charlotte, who splits her time between New York and Amsterdam. 'They speak to us as a different species and animals are greatly important for our sense of empathy and to put things into perspective.' Bretagne and his owner Denise Corliss from Cypress, Texas, arrived at the site in New York on September 17, remaining there for ten days Bretagne takes a break from work at the 9/11 site with his handler Denise Guinness, 15, from Highland, California, started work at the site with Sheila McKee on the morning of September 13 and was deployed at the site for 11 days Merlyn and his handler Matt Claussen were deployed to Ground Zero on September 24, working the night shift for five days Most of the search and rescue dogs are Labradors or Golden Retrievers and Charlotte feels that the title works across many aspects of the story. 'I found the dogs, I retrieved them, they were there to retrieve the victims, it is nicely rounded,' explained Charlotte whose work is being exhibited at the Julie Saul Gallery NYC opening on September 8, in time for the anniversary. After working on a project about police canines and other working dogs, she was inspired to concentrate on the animals that played such a huge part in seeking survivors. Contacting the NYPD, the New York Fire Department and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Charlotte discovered that out of the nearly 100 dogs among the first responders deployed by FEMA, there were in fact only 15 still alive last year. Red, 11, from Annapolis, Maryland, went with Heather Roche to the Pentagon from September 16 until the 27 as part of the Bay Area Recovery Canines Abigail, left, was deployed on the evening of September 17, searching for 10 days while Tuff arrived in New York at 11:00 pm on the day of attack to start working early the next day Scout and another unknown dog lie among the rubble at Ground Zero, just two of nearly 100 search and rescue animals who helped to search for survivors 'They were there for the first few weeks, they were trained to find people alive, although that is ultimately not what happened,' said Charlotte, who will hold a fundraiser for the First Responder Alliance at Clic Bookstore in New York on September 29. 'I traveled across the United States to meet with the owners and portray the dogs. They are all retired and I spent time with each of their handlers learning about their experiences. 'It was moving talking to Denise Corliss, who is the handler and owner of Bretagne, one of the Golden Retrievers. 'She told me a touching story of one fireman who was there in the rubble, and how taken he was with Bretagne who comforted him as he sat down to catch his breath. Handler Julie Noyes and Hoke were deployed to the World Trade Center from their home in Denver on September 24 and searched for five days Searching for survivors: The dogs worked around the clock in the vain hope of finding anyone still alive at the World Trade Center site 'Years later at a Remembrance Ceremony, the same fireman recognised Bretagne and her handler and they had a touching reunion. 'It developed that even though the dogs couldn't find people still alive, they could provide comfort for the brave firemen and rescue workers of the emergency services.' Wishing to tell the other side of heroism from 9/11, each of Charlotte's encounters with dogs such as Gabriel and Orion and Scout stayed with her. 'The dogs are now old and they will soon pass away. Even during the time it has taken since my first work on the 'Retrieved' portraits to now, three of the final 15 have died,' said Charlotte.United Water's plan for a Hudson River desalination plant saw a set of curious eyes—the state's—earlier this summer, when New York officials announced they would examine the need for the pricey and controversial project. The plan, which would install infrastructure on the Haverstraw shoreline to convert river water into drinking water, was first proposed years ago to mitigate the possibility of Rockland's water demands surpassing supply in 2015. But in July, the New York State Public Service Commission announced it would investigate whether the project is necessary. United Water is saying "yes." "United Water New York has filed a 53-page report with the New York State Public Service Commission that confirms Rockland County's continuing need for a new long-term water supply project in 2016," Deb Rizzi, a spokeswoman with United Water, told Patch this week. "The analysis is based upon the most recent population projections, water demand forecasts, weather trends, water supply information and economic growth patterns," Rizzi added. Rizzi said the report was explicitly filed because of the July inquiries. Two public hearings on the desalination plant are slated for early September; precise dates have not been announced.Working alone at the turn of the 20th century in Spain, Santiago Ramón y Cajal (1852-1934) ventured into science as both an artist and a pathologist, and became the first person to see a neuron. Working by gaslight, he made thin slices of brain tissue and subjected them to the same silver-nitrate chemistry he used to capture images on photographic plates. Peering through a microscope at the silver-stained tissue, Cajal saw a thicket of bizarre black shapes resembling swarms of spiny insects embedded in translucent amber. Other scientists examining similar preparations perceived only a bewildering tangle of continuous fibers, which they presumed transmitted nervous energy throughout the brain, like vibrations through a spiderweb. But Cajal observed his slides with an artist’s keen eye for discerning form and function amid chaos, and he saw neurons — individual cells, each one a separate, unique jewel of intricate beauty. Moreover, Cajal saw that the neuron is not a knot in a network that broadcasts signals in every direction: The neuron, he concluded, must pass electrical information in only one direction. Simply from their form, Cajal deduced that nervous signals enter the neuron through its elaborate rootlike dendrites and exit through its single slender axon, and that one neuron relays messages to the next by passing information across a gap of separation, the synapse. Cajal’s two brilliant insights — that every neuron in the brain is separate and that neurons communicate across synapses — came to be known as the neuron doctrine. Because that gap between neurons is too small to see through a light microscope, Camillo Golgi and other rigorous scientists of Cajal’s day at first dismissed the neuron doctrine as a fantasy. It would take another half-century until a new instrument, the electron microscope, could finally confirm what Cajal had seen in his mind’s eye — and carefully sketched out in thousands of stunning pen-and-ink diagrams. But long before the synapse was visible, Cajal’s neuron doctrine had transformed scientists’ understanding of the nervous system and formed the bedrock upon which neuroscience is built. For that reason, Cajal was awarded the 1906 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine (an honor that, in an ironic twist, he shared with Golgi, who had invented the silver-staining technique that made Cajal’s observations possible). And Cajal’s exquisite, meticulous drawings of neurons in the brain and spinal cord proved to be powerful tools for persuasively communicating his vision to the scientific world. Even today, they continue to inspire neuroscientists. The strange thing is that every one of Cajal’s immortal drawings is marred by an odd bit of deliberate vandalism: a blue cataloging stamp, often placed directly in the middle of the artwork. The first time I saw one of his drawings of neurons, when I was a neuroscience graduate student at the University of California, San Diego, I was struck by its beauty and intricacy, but I thought it was a postcard because it was defaced by what looked like an ugly postmark. My mentor, the neuroethologist Theodore H. Bullock, assured me that all of Cajal’s drawings had that stamp on them. Why? He didn’t know. In the decades since, when I’ve talked about this with others in neuroscience, no one could solve the mystery.This page is a historical archive and is no longer maintained. For current information, please visit http://www.cdc.gov/media/ Press Release For Immediate Release: July 19, 2010 Contact: Division of News & Electronic Media, Office of Communication (404) 639-3286 Bad Cholesterol Common, But Screening Rates Low Among Young Adults Less than half of young adults don't get cholesterol screening even though up to a quarter of them have elevated cholesterol, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The rate of elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), commonly known as bad cholesterol, among young adults ranges from 7 percent to 26 percent, the study says. However, the screening rate among this age group is less than 50 percent, regardless of the number of individual risk factors, it says. The report, "Prevalence of Coronary Heart disease Risk Factors and Screening for High Cholesterol Levels Among Young Adults, United States, 1999–2006," is in the July-August 2010 issue Annals of Family Medicine. Preventive guidelines for cholesterol screening among young adults differ, but experts agree on the need to screen young adults who are at increased risk of coronary heart disease. The researchers say the report identifies the need to improve screening for and management of high LDL-C among young adults. Elevated LDL-C is a leading cause of heart disease. Approximately 55 percent of American young adults (men aged 20 to 35 years; women aged 20 to 45 years) have at least one risk factor for coronary heart disease, such as high blood pressure, smoking, family history or obesity, according to the CDC study. "What's surprising and, quite frankly, rather concerning, is that we are doing such a poor job of identifying young adults in America who have elevated LDL-C," said Dr. Elena Kuklina, a nutritional epidemiologist with the CDC Division for Heart disease and Stroke Prevention and lead author of the study. "Young men and women experience a high burden of risk factors for heart disease, the nation's leading cause of mortality." The CDC study found elevated LDL-C levels in 7 percent of young adults with no other risk factors, 12 percent with one other risk factor, and 26 percent with two or more other risk factors. LDL-C is a common risk factor for coronary heart disease, one that can be managed with lifestyle changes or treated with medication if needed, once identified. The study examined data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), which explores the health and nutritional status of about 6,000 participants every year. Researchers analyzed results for 2,587 young adults. Elevated LDL-C was defined as levels higher than the goal specific for each heart disease risk category outlined in the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III guidelines. For more information about cholesterol and heart disease, please call 1-800-CDC-INFO or visit the Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention's Web site at www.cdc.gov/cholesterol. ### U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICESWelcome to the one hundred and twenty-fourth issue of LLVM Weekly, a weekly newsletter (published every Monday) covering developments in LLVM, Clang, and related projects. LLVM Weekly is brought to you by Alex Bradbury. Subscribe to future issues at http://llvmweekly.org and pass it on to anyone else you think may be interested. Please send any tips or feedback to asb@asbradbury.org, or @llvmweekly or @asbradbury on Twitter. The main news this week is the announcement of Scala-native, an ahead-of-time compiler for Scala using LLVM. Jos Dirkens has written a getting started guide if you want to compile it and try it out. There's also more information in the slides from the announcement talk. Renato Golin kicked off a discussion about whether LLVM's release process could be better aligned with downstream users. This thread covered a broad range of topics and triggered a lot of discussion, but luckily there's no need to summarise it as Renato has done the job for us. Nicolai Hähnle notes that currently libLLVM.so contains about 1.7MB in its.data.rel.ro section, of which about 1.3MB comes from the MCInstrDesc tables created by tablegen representing a massive number of pointers to be relocated. He suggests reducing this by using offsets instead. Reducing the relocations will both reduce binary size and increase the portion of the binary that can be mapped as shared. So far, responses to the thread are supportive of the idea. James Knight has written a detailed post on how it's not really possible to write an LL/SC loop guaranteed to make forward progress in LLVM IR right now. There are restrictions on what you can do between a load-linked and a store-conditional instruction that the code generator may not meet. A public llvm-foundation mailing list has been announced, which to facilitate discussions related to the Foundation. As well as the long, technically detailed and precise threads each week it's nice to highlight cases where a simple question has a simple answer. How do you register a pass as being opt-in based on a command-line flag? Answer: have it run every time, but return immediately if the desired command line flag isn't present. Sanjoy Das has shared an RFC on adding a callee-saved register verifier. As is clarified later in the thread, the intention is to ensure that code not generated by LLVM (e.g. output from another JIT or hand-written assembly) properly adheres to the calling convention and doesn't clobber registers it shouldn't. The proposed pass would simply add code to check that the test values written to the callee-saved registers aren't modified. In response to questions about pass ordering, Mehdi Amini has written a helpful description of what exactly happens when you do opt -mymodulepass0 -myfunctionpass -mymodulepass1. Konstantin Vladimirov wonders if there's an option to force the register allocator to use as many architectural registers as possible to reduce dependencies. The short answer is there isn't currently, but it would be interesting to investigate. Diana Picus has shared an RFC on modifying llc so it no longer exits after the first error. Generally people are in favour, and the patch should hopefully land soon (it had to be temporarily backed out after exposing some test cases failures in lldb).For the body of water, please see river. Ensign Rivers was a Human male Starfleet officer in the mid-22nd century, serving as an engineer on two NX-class starships, Enterprise and Columbia NX-02. Serving in Starfleet by 2153, Rivers was aboard Enterprise for its mission into the Delphic Expanse, at one point serving on the same engineering team as Crewman Jane Taylor. After Enterprise received devastating damage from the Xindi during the Battle of Azati Prime in 2154, Rivers was among the crew working to repair the ship and was confronted by Chief Engineer Charles Tucker III who had been suffering from a lack of sleep. (ENT: "The Forgotten") After Enterprise returned home from the Delphic Expanse later that year, Rivers transferred to Columbia NX-02 under the command of Captain Erika Hernandez, serving as an engineer aboard the ship. Prior to Columbia's launch, he was assigned by Chief Engineer Tucker to work with Strong in recalibrating the injector assembly in order to bring the Columbia's field matrix down to 0.3 microns. (ENT: "Affliction") Appendices Edit Background information Edit Rivers was played by famed cartoonist (and noted Star Trek fan) Seth MacFarlane in two cameo appearances. He was not identified by name until his second appearance. Some years later, MacFarlane created and starred in The Orville, an homage to Star Trek: The Next Generation co-produced by Brannon Braga. In the final draft script of "The Forgotten", he was referred to simply as "a young engineer". The Star Trek Customizable Card Game gives his first name as Stewart. External link EditWhat, so that’s it? Or, as a noted Greek philosopher from the House of Animal once observed, “What’s all this lyin’ around stuff?” To see all the long faces dragging, to hear all the loud noise dimmed in and around PNC Park right after Andrew McCutchen’s popup ended the Pirates’ Game 4 loss to the Cardinals on Monday … you’d think the National League Division Series had just been lost. Saw one guy in a Clemente jersey leaning on a street light, staring into space. Saw two others embracing and consoling as if at a funeral. All the joy had been wiped out, all the Jolly Rogers lowered to half-mast. Tough, tough thing to watch. Really was. And, honestly, hard to justify. I mean, there will still be a Game 5 Wednesday, right? And the Pirates will have a chance to win it, right? I’d say so, and here are five reasonable reasons why … 5. No Michael Wacha. Not much to analyze about Game 4. Wacha, the Cardinals’ terrific 22-year-old, absolutely crushed the Pirates. Pinpointed fastballs. Pounded with changeups. Showed poise well beyond his — and apparently Johnny Cueto’s — ears. “This place was loud. My ears are still ringing,” St. Louis manager Mike Matheny said, and you couldn’t tell if he was kidding. “But the kid stayed his course, trusted himself.” No matter what the Pirates see in Game 5 from Adam Wainwright, a superlative pitcher in his own right, it can’t possibly be at that level. 4. Lessons learned. The Pirates were set down by Wainwright, too, in Game 1. But unlike Wacha’s aftermath — where all concerned just glowed about him — the immediate Wainwright aftermath was all about regret. They swung at too many curveballs, fell behind in counts, “got away from our plan,” as McCutchen put it that day. “Just having seen him is going to be a big help for us, I think,” Neil Walker said. “We’ll have a better feel.” 3. Gerrit Cole. The Cardinals will have the same benefit from having faced Cole in Game 2. But Clint Hurdle’s call for Cole over A.J. Burnett, which he announced after the game Monday, wasn’t just a good one but the only one. Sure, Hurdle called it “a very hard decision,” and one can only imagine the tension in that meeting when Burnett was told. It had to be the most gut-wrenching moment of Hurdle’s tenure here. But Burnett didn’t just have a bad day in Game 1 with those seven runs in two-plus innings. He also disclosed that he “couldn’t repeat a single delivery” and other flashing red sirens. He was a total mess. Cole, of course, was anything but with a six-inning line of one run, two hits and five strikeouts. And I think he’ll be fine going right back out for Game 5. Fact is, you can see the same guy 30 times a year and it doesn’t matter much if he throws 100 mph. 2. Pedro Alvarez. What we’re seeing now from El Toro reminds me of Manny Sanguillen’s words while watching his first professional batting practice in Bradenton: “I know that swing. That’s Willie.” This playoff Alvarez is having, including home runs off Wacha and Wainwright, is simply Stargell-esque. Now, just move him up to cleanup. That’s all. 1. It’s what they do. I asked Starling Marte if the Pirates will win Game 5 and loved his no-hesitation response: “We have to.” That’s right: They have to. And how have the Pirates fared all through this magical summer when they’ve had to? When a losing streak threatened to stretch too long? When they went into Cincinnati and needed two of three for home field in the wild card, then swept? When the Reds came here and … you know? Aren’t we all a little tired of looking foolish every time we doubt this team? Dejan Kovacevic is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. Reach him at dkovacevic@tribweb.com or via Twitter @Dejan_Kovacevic.In a press release, Paul Mason, Children's Commissioner, says non-medical circumcision is a breach of human rights. And the AMA's President, Haydn Walters, says they would support a ban on the practice, except where there are medical or religious reasons. He says there is only rarely a medical need to carry out the procedure. "There were quite a lot of folk myths around the advantages of circumcision. They've almost all been debunked," Prof Walters said."There are some minimal advantages in some circumstances, particularly in some infectious diseases, but they're overwhelmingly balanced by disadvantages in other areas," he added.For those interested in un-circumcision, there are new tools, among them the TLC Tugger. (Warning, explicit images of foreskin regrowth.)And, since this post is getting some serious traffic, no, I'm not trying to sell the "Tugger" and simply thought the whole thing was hilarious. In fact, there are quite a few products in this growing area... 4restore.com is another one.You tape whatever is left onto the steel thingy, then pull.They sell their stainless steel contraption with the following words:"When a man is circumcised, he loses the protection that is essential to protecting the nerves on the head of the penis. The surface of the glans penis is not skin but a thin mucus membrane. When exposed to constant friction and abrasion to clothing or the harshness of drying from the air, it loses sensitivity because the glans develops a layer of protective tissue to make up for the lack of foreskin.""Restoring the foreskin will help you regain that lost sensitivity, making sex more enjoyable and making the experience highly sensual. Uncircumcised men enjoy more sensitivity at the head of the penis because their nerves are kept fresh and protected in a warm and moist environment. They also report having more comfortable erections because of the extra shaft skin that is built when the foreskin retracts."Editor's note: This essay by scholar Grant Shreve is part of an ongoing Deseret News opinion series exploring ideas and issues at the intersection of "Faith and Thought." When I first picked up the Book of Mormon in preparation for a dissertation on religion and the rise of the American novel, I didn’t expect to fall in love with it. But I did fall — and hard — although not into the arms of the church. I did not, in other words, become a Latter-day Saint. Mine was an aesthetic experience, not a religious one. The Book of Mormon gripped me in the same way Herman Melville’s "Moby-Dick" and Harriet Beecher Stowe’s "Dred" had years earlier. I’m a sucker for books that go against the grain, and the Book of Mormon went against just about every grain I knew. Its strangeness, its audacity, its rebuke to the tacit creeds structuring everyday life in antebellum (and contemporary) America, utterly thrilled me. In it, I felt I had discovered a singularly penetrative and searching intelligence. “How does such a book exist?,” I thought. And why isn’t everyone talking about it? Encounters with the Book of Mormon like mine have been rare, historically speaking. From its inception, the book has more often been a tool for conversion and spiritual edification than an object of belletristic appreciation. Because of its inextricable attachment to a living, thriving, but often marginalized religious community, the Book of Mormon’s place within the academic humanities has been complicated, to say the least. English departments, especially, have simply pretended it doesn’t exist, quietly building a wall of separation between literary studies and the Book of Mormon that, even though it never threatened the book’s status as a religious text, ultimately denied it its power as a literary one. In the past several years, however, scholars of American literature have become increasingly receptive to teaching and writing about the Book of Mormon as an essential part of American literary history, marking a momentous turning point in the respective histories of both the book and literary studies. It’s hard to overstate how remarkable this seachange is. As I argued recently in an essay for Religion & Politics, American literature studies’ historical silence surrounding the Book of Mormon has been deafening. Aside from its surprising inclusion in the “Popular Bibles” section of the first edition of the Cambridge History of American Literature, published in 1921, the Book of Mormon was absent from all major histories of American literature until 2009, when "A New Literary History of America" included an entry on the Book of Mormon written by Terryl Givens. In the interim, the Book of Mormon hardly ever received even passing mention in scholarly publications on American literature. And what nods it did receive were rarely favorable. As the study of American literature became more professionalized after 1930, literary critics learned reflexively to dismiss the Book of Mormon as biblical parody. In 1932, the critic Van Wyck Brooks, echoing a long line of 19th-century critiques, called the Book of Mormon a “solemn parody of the Bible.” Three decades later, in his seminal study of American literature’s arrested adolescence, "Love and Death in the American Novel," Leslie Fiedler parroted Brooks when he wrote that the Book of Mormon had “caricatured the Bible unawares.” Even today, it’s not hard to find scores of critics — professional and amateur, online and in print — who regurgitate this sentiment, whether or not they’ve ever read the book. This history of dismissal underscores how significant it is that professors of American literature across the country are now assigning the Book of Mormon to students alongside such staples as "Leaves of Grass" and "The Scarlet Letter," and that reputable scholarly journals in the field have begun publishing essays on it after decades of either quietly rejecting articles about the Book of Mormon or never receiving them in the first place. Many factors have contributed to this reversal of the Book of Mormon’s fortunes within the academy, but two of the most important are the availability of editions of the book from reputable trade and academic presses as well as a renewed interest among literary critics in the relationship between religion and literature. But just because many literature professors have embraced the Book of Mormon does not mean that they are all teaching it the same way. Indeed, its long exclusion from canons of American literature means that there doesn’t even exist a standard way to teach it in the modern secular classroom, as there does, say, with Henry James’s "Portrait of a Lady." Besides becoming a more familiar presence in large introductory survey courses that familiarize undergraduates with the touchstones of American literary history, the Book of Mormon has also been appearing on syllabi for courses that situate it in some of the discipline’s most cutting-edge contexts. Both Princeton and Johns Hopkins now offer regular courses on American scriptures, which read the Book of Mormon in conjunction with other scriptural works published in the United States (like "Science and Health" and "Dianetics") as well as works that have scriptural aspirations (like "Moby-Dick" and "Ben-Hur"). At the University of California, Davis and the University of Illinois at Chicago, English faculty are teaching the Book of Mormon through the lenses of queer theory and temporality studies. And at the University of Vermont, graduate students were recently treated to a course singularly devoted to the Book of Mormon and the many possible contexts for reading it. In addition to this pedagogical renaissance, a forthcoming collection of essays from Oxford University Press titled "Americanist Approaches to the Book of Mormon" promises to be a culmination of recent literary engagements with the book. For someone like me, whose interest in the Book of Mormon is entirely removed from any church affiliation, these reappropriations and novel interpretations of the book seem all for the good. But I also recognize that the recent embrace of the book by literature scholars radically alters the context in which many are encountering it. For nearly two centuries, the LDS Church has set the terms for the Book of Mormon’s reception and interpretation. But in the 21st-century literature classroom, the book’s spectacular origins and the questions surrounding its veracity are often altogether absent from the conversation. Instead, its narrative structure, its historical context, its textual history and its rhetorical power, have taken center stage. Under such conditions, the book is likely to grow in esteem but is unlikely to swell membership rolls. It’s been disorienting to find myself on more than one occasion over the past several years sitting around the dinner table with family and friends ferociously defending the artistic merits of the Book of Mormon and repeating ad nauseam the old adage that the only thing guaranteed to keep a person in everlasting ignorance is “contempt prior to investigation.” Sometimes I feel like the old deacon who breathlessly reported to Parley Pratt that he had come into possession of a “strange book, a VERY STRANGE BOOK!” I am a full-throated advocate for this very strange book, but the conversations I long to have about it are best suited for the seminar table and the lecture hall. That they are happening more and more in college classrooms throughout the United States testifies to the truth of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s remark that great books endure once they have been “winnowed by all the winds of opinion.” Grant Shreve holds a Ph.D. in American Literature from Johns Hopkins University. His forthcoming book deals with religious diversity, secularity and the American novel.Sheet Music? #1-49 #50-99 #100-149 #150-199 #200-249 #250-299 #300-349 #350-399 #400-449 #450-499 #500-549 #550-599 #600-649 #650-699 #700-749 #750-799 #800-849 #850-899 #900-949 #950-999 #1,000-1,049 #1,050-1,099 #1,100-1,149 #1,150-1,199 #1,200-1,249 #1,250-1,299 #1,300-1,349 #1,350-1,399 #1,400-1,449 #1,450-1,499 #1,500-1,549 #1,550-1,599 #1,600-1,649 #1,650-1,699 #1,700-1,749 #1,750-1,799 #1,800-1,849 #1,850-1,899 #1,900-1,949 #1,950-1,999 #2,000-2,049 #2,050-2,099 #2,100-2,149 #2,150-2,199 #2,200-2,249 #2,250-2,299 #2,300-2,349 #2,350-2,399 #2,400-2,449 #2,450-2,499 #2,500-2,549 #2,550-2,599 #2,600-2,649 #2,650-2,699 #2,700-2,749 #2,750-2,799 #2,800-2,849 #2,850-2,899 #2,900-2,949 #2,950-2,999 #3,000-3,049 #3,050-3,099 #3,100-3,149 #3,150-3,199 #3,200-3,249 #3,250-3,299 #3,300-3,349 #3,350-3,399 #3,400-3,449 #3,450-3,499 #3,500-3,549 #3,550-3,599 #3,600-3,649 #3,650-3,699 #3,700-3,749 #3,750-3,799 Next Some of the imagery in the sheet music cover collection may contain racist stereotyping. It's presented here as historical artefact. That teasin' rag via \| buy on eBay Good-bye Broadway, hello France via \| buy on eBay Just take a trip out to Lakeside via \| buy on eBay Jim Crow rag via \| buy on eBay Possum and taters via \| buy on eBay California, gladsome land via \| buy on eBay The Allen glide via \| buy on eBay In California via \| buy on eBay Watermelon club via \| buy on eBay The cubanola glide via \| buy on eBay Sheet Music #160 via \| buy on eBay Alfalfa rag via \| buy on eBay Sheet Music #162 via \| buy on eBay There's a girl in Arizona via \| buy on eBay Sheet Music #164 via \| buy on eBay Sheet Music #165 via \| buy on eBay California as it is via \| buy on eBay Sheet Music #167 via \| buy on eBay He's a rag picker via \| buy on eBay Can she rag! via \| buy on eBay Checkers via \| buy on eBay He's coming home on the 8 o'clock train via \| buy on eBay Falconer's song via \| buy on eBay Sheet Music #173 via \| buy on eBay Joy rag via \| buy on eBay Hear that orchestra rag via \| buy on eBay Sheet Music #176 via \| buy on eBay Temptation rag via \| buy on eBay The burglar rag via \| buy on eBay Sheet Music #179 via \| buy on eBay The latch string is always hanging out for you via \| buy on eBay Everybody has a whistle like me via \| buy on eBay 12th. Street rag via \| buy on eBay Sheet Music #183 via \| buy on eBay Sheet Music #184 via \| buy on eBay Flippity flop via \| buy on eBay Home sweet home sounds good to me via \| buy on eBay Chow-chow rag via \| buy on eBay Chic-ka-saw via \| buy on eBay Sheet Music #189 via \| buy on eBay Whistling rag via \| buy on eBay Red pepper via \| buy on eBay By the Susquehanna shore via \| buy on eBay The beautiful city via \| buy on eBay Come on and rag with me via \| buy on eBay The aviator rag via \| buy on eBay Our Colorado via \| buy on eBay Over the loop to Mt. McClellan via \| buy on eBay Good-bye Mister Caruso via \| buy on eBay The entertainer's rag via \| buy on eBay #1-49 #50-99 #100-149 #150-199 #200-249 #250-299 #300-349 #350-399 #400-449 #450-499 #500-549 #550-599 #600-649 #650-699 #700-749 #750-799 #800-849 #850-899 #900-949 #950-999 #1,000-1,049 #1,050-1,099 #1,100-1,149 #1,150-1,199 #1,200-1,249 #1,250-1,299 #1,300-1,349 #1,350-1,399 #1,400-1,449 #1,450-1,499 #1,500-1,549 #1,550-1,599 #1,600-1,649 #1,650-1,699 #1,700-1,749 #1,750-1,799 #1,800-1,849 #1,850-1,899 #1,900-1,949 #1,950-1,999 #2,000-2,049 #2,050-2,099 #2,100-2,149 #2,150-2,199 #2,200-2,249 #2,250-2,299 #2,300-2,349 #2,350-2,399 #2,400-2,449 #2,450-2,499 #2,500-2,549 #2,550-2,599 #2,600-2,649 #2,650-2,699 #2,700-2,749 #2,750-2,799 #2,800-2,849 #2,850-2,899 #2,900-2,949 #2,950-2,999 #3,000-3,049 #3,050-3,099 #3,100-3,149 #3,150-3,199 #3,200-3,249 #3,250-3,299 #3,300-3,349 #3,350-3,399 #3,400-3,449 #3,450-3,499 #3,500-3,549 #3,550-3,599 #3,600-3,649 #3,650-3,699 #3,700-3,749 #3,750-3,799 Next >> See more covers...I Am Not Spock proclaimed the title of Leonard Nimoy’s 1975 autobiography, in which the veteran actor tried to distinguish himself from his most iconic role, as Star Trek's emotionless half-human, half-Vulcan science officer. Twenty years later, he published a follow-up entitled, I Am Spock, in which the actor-director warmly embraced his pointy-eared alter ego. Like it or not, Nimoy — who passed away on Feb. 27 at the age of 83 from end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease — was Spock to generations of sci-fi fans, so much so that when J.J. Abrams rebooted the franchise in the 2009 blockbuster, Nimoy was the one original cast member he made sure to bring back. Even though the role defined his career for those of us watching him at home and in theaters, Spock was only one small part of Nimoy’s overall life. An actor from childhood, the Boston-born Nimoy worked steadily on television before and after Star Trek, appearing on such disparate shows as Sea Hunt, Gunsmoke, Mission: Impossible and
an androcentric book? Makes sense. Thoughts matter. Language matters. Perspective matters. They are the tools by which I construct reality. If God is a man, then “he” will take on the characteristics and actions of a man. This is essentially what the Hebrew Bible suggests. God reveals “himself” to Abraham, which is the beginning of a patriarchal order. The God of fathers (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) becomes the Father God, solidifying the association as a significant part of the biblical narrative that even now shapes our human understanding of God. But Genesis 1:27 raises questions about the man-shaped box I have stuffed God into. The text describes God making humanity: “in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” God created them in the image and likeness of God. Therefore, God’s image and likeness are completely expressed in both male and female; God’s gender is technically male and female. Understanding the importance of language, I am looking for new ways to talk about God—away from the use of gender-specific terms and faith claims. I am becoming more aware of the consequences of my words. I grew up thinking God was an old, white man with a long, white beard. I thought that God was only a father. My entire faith was built on this viewpoint. Now, I am wrestling with the consequences of that narrow perspective. As I seek new ways to describe God, I find more meaningful, inclusive language that breaks the chains of stale language and stereotypes. Instead of saying, “him” or “himself,” I can easily say “God” or “God’s self.” I can also use terms that describe who and what God is, such as Creator, Holy One, All-Powerful, and Lord. Changing the way I talk about God isn’t easy, but I hope it will deepen the wells of my spiritual journey. When I associate God with only male language, I focus on male-oriented action and neglect the feminine qualities of the Divine Presence: giving birth to creation, nurturing, the calm soothing that only a mother can bring. The Father gives daily bread; the Mother gives us life to begin with. At best, God as “he” is incomplete. Some Christians might think it is ridiculous, but I find it necessary to refine my language and understanding of God beyond traditional gender-specific roles. In the end, God is not human and cannot be limited to human terms. Why would I continue to use language that not only sells short who God could be, but limits the ways I can experience the divine? Why would I continue to use language that conforms to the traditional patriarchal framework? As I pray, I seek new ways to talk to and about God. I remain quiet, still, and creatively ready to think deeply upon the Divine Presence and, then, to speak meaningfully—to transcend the language of human anatomy to a place of wonder and possibility. In doing so, I hope to find something new, exciting, refreshing, and real. About Shea Watts Shea Watts is from Charleston, SC, and is a second year seminarian at Chicago Theological Seminary where he is pursuing an M.Div. degree. He mostly writes music, but also writes about faith and the way it intersects and contradicts our everyday lives on his blog, The Wandering OptimistGay marriage bid to fail BelfastTelegraph.co.uk A new bid to win Assembly backing for legislation allowing same-sex marriage is set to collapse next week. https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/gay-marriage-bid-to-fail-29225109.html Email A new bid to win Assembly backing for legislation allowing same-sex marriage is set to collapse next week. Stormont is to debate the issue for the second time in just over six months, but the motion will fail because the DUP has tabled a 'petition of concern'. The mechanism means approval would require a majority of both unionists and nationalists – and with its 38 members the DUP can stymie the move. The motion from Sinn Fein came after a so-called constitutional convention, which met earlier this month, recommended that same-sex marriage should be legalised. The party's Caitriona Ruane, who attended the convention in Dublin, said that the 79% vote in favour was "a real cause for celebration". "This is an equality issue. People who are gay and lesbian, bisexual and transgender in our communities, they deserve rights. "What the DUP need to do is go out and explain to the gay and lesbian people in their communities why they are blocking equality. Equality threatens nobody," the former Education Minister argued. The DUP's Peter Weir said, however, the use of the petition device would ensure the motion would not be carried. "We are the only party to have a united position in opposition to the redefinition of marriage. However, we also do not believe that a constitutional convention in the Republic of Ireland should have any input into policy which is wholly a matter for representatives in this part of the United Kingdom to decide," he said. "The debate on Monday will only result in further embarrassment for those parties and individuals who avoid telling the electorate where they stand." The move came after both the Catholic and Presbyterian churches wrote to all 108 MLAs urging them to reject the Sinn Fein motion. Last October a joint Green Party-Sinn Fein initiative insisting that same-sex couples "should have the same legal entitlement to the protections, responsibilities, rights, obligations and benefits afforded by the legal institution of marriage" was defeated by just five votes – 50 against to 45 in favour of the motion. The DUP voted en masse against the call, while other parties were split. Green Party leader Steven Agnew said the debate last year was "an important first step for the Assembly, not only on gay marriage but in debating an issue of specific interest to the lesbian, gay and bisexual community (which) in itself was significant". background The Assembly divided narrowly last October on a joint Sinn Fein-Green Party motion for marriage equality which was defeated by just five votes. The motion exposed internal divisions within the SDLP, Ulster Unionists and Alliance, with Sinn Fein and the DUP at loggerheads – the former voting in favour en masse and the latter entirely opposed. Belfast TelegraphShare The average phone call is about three minutes and 15 seconds long, and usually happens sometime in the afternoon. Talking on the phone is actually quickly becoming an antiquated act altogether, what with the Facebook Messaging and WhatsApping and Snapchatting and the simpler-yet texting. Why talk when you can text or tweet? But there is a very strange corner of the Internet that is still making use of the phone call: Call in the Night describes itself as “an experimental radio show and telephone network documenting the nighttime experience.” Essentially, you sign up to connect with random strangers for late-night chat sessions. By late night, I mean 2 a.m., 3 a.m. in the morning late (or rather, early) – a call that, without notice, interrupts your sleep … and records and can broadcast your entire conversation. What is Call In The Night? Call in the Night began as a class project in the Carnegie Mellon School of Art, created by Max Hawkins, a Computer Science and Art student. He says the idea behind the project was propelled by his interest in sleep and the fact that he had a hard time remembering his own dreams. Much like having a journal by your bedside table so you can quickly document your dream before it leaves your short-term memory, Call in the Night attempts to wake people mid-dream so they can be recorded talking about what was happening during their REM cycle. Call in the Night is part sleep experiment, part social network, all human interaction. “Though Call in the Night was originally exclusively about dreams, the conversations I had with my friends on an early prototype of the service made me realize the service could be useful for documenting other parts of the nighttime experience,” Hawkins tells me. “I see it as a distributed documentary radio project. The phone call interrupts whatever you were doing and connects you with another person. By talking with this other person you’re given space for reflection.” Call in the Night currently has over 3,000 subscribers with area codes representing every U.S. state and Canadian province. The service calls every subscriber roughly once a week. Eight percent of those called on a given night answer and are connected with a partner. Since its launch last November, Call in the Night has placed over 20,000 nighttime phone calls and records nearly 24 hours of audio content each week. The project made it to the front page of Reddit in March, where it generated over 2,000 new users in a day. “It’s been exciting to have such a large and diverse subscribership. You really never know who you’re going to be connected with,” Hawkins says. How Call in the Night functions is as simple as the concept: In the middle of the night several times a week, custom dialer software places a VOIP phone call to a randomly selected group of subscribers. If they answer, subscribers are connected to a voice response system and will hear a prompt, usually asking them to think about their night, the dream they were in the middle of having, or any related topic. Users are given around 30 seconds to think about this prompt while they are being connected to another caller who answered at the same time. Once the call is connected, the conversation gets rolling – and Call in the Night starts recording. According to Hawkins, all calls are recorded and sent to the Call in the Night server for analysis, where recordings are automatically split into short clips, machine transcribed, and sound-analyzed for emotional content. “We listen to a randomly-selected sample of the clips to discover interesting conversations that might be featured in the podcast. The rest of the clips are archived and can be accessed by keyword search.” Podcasts, currently still in development, will be based on a theme and feature clips from conversations relating to that theme. Hawkins says that now that the service has been running for a few months, he has enough source material to start pulling together shows (though there is a demo available). My very own Call in the Night “Really? You’re willing to interrupt your sleep to talk to a random person about your dreams? Isn’t that a tad creepy?,” was my husband’s response when I told him I was signing up for Call in the Night. Of course “Uuh, yes, it is creepy,” is what I realized – but so are most things about the Internet. Why not dive into one that actually connects two people, and encourages a conversation? Is it really any creepier than our location-blasting, selfie-obsessed social networking ways? Our fears. Our most memorable experiences. Online versus offline life. The conversation, which I thought (maybe even hoped) would be brief at first, ended up lasting an hour. One of the most important parts of the Call in the Night experience is that you have no clue when you’ll get your call – all the site says is after you sign up with your phone number, an automated call from the site will be placed sometime in the week, after 2 a.m. Eastern time (which is after 11 p.m. my time). My concerns in anticipation of the call were many: I pre-pitied the person who would get my call, for I figured I’d be a cranky biatch who’s so not in the mood to talk about dreams, or I’d feel too weird talking to them to reveal anything interesting. Or what if I turned out to just be boring and too groggy to carry a decent conversation? Whatever, I thought: The call will be short, and I will be curt. I was barely falling asleep when I received my first call at 3 a.m. my time. With a mix of excitement, fatigue, and dread, I waited to be connected to my Call in the Night partner. His name was Elias. He wasn’t asleep when he got his call. He’s from California. After all that was established (“I’m Jam, I’m from the West Coast, hey I’m from California, too!”) we immediately started the exercise. At first, we both had trouble thinking of something to talk about, since our prompt asked us to discuss our dreams and neither one of us had enough time for one to pop into our sleeping minds, but my reporter instincts immediately kicked into gear (I was not wasting valuable sleep time for nothing, after all) and I asked him how many times he’d used Call in the Night and what he thought about it. That’s when he told me he’s been on the list for about three months, but I was only his third call. Despite that, he thought the idea behind the project was intriguing, and that he’d connected with some interesting, cool people. I timidly told him he was my first Call in the Night partner (and it sort of makes me cringe now to remember I admitted this). In the absence of specific dreams to talk about, we started discussing them in general. Do you usually remember your dreams, or do they evade you the moment you wake up? Do you go back to sleep to continue a dream or change its ending? That sort of thing. It led to a short discussion of previous dreams we’d had that we can still remember. And it surprised me that something as basic as that could lead into other, more thought-provoking territory. Poetry, writing, and the curse of writer’s block. Previous travels. Fears. Our most memorable experiences. Online versus offline life. The conversation, which I thought (maybe even hoped) would be brief at first, ended up lasting an hour. While only Elias and I can access the entire conversation by logging into the site with our phone numbers, we have this snippet to share. Call in the Night: The most human social network yet? It’s actually fairly easy (maybe even easier) to spark a conversation with someone you don’t know well simply because everything you say is new to the stranger – it’s refreshing to be able to tell someone a story a friend or acquaintance may have heard a dozen times from you at parties and social gatherings. This probably relates to how it’s becoming easier and easier for us to engage with people online versus in real life; there’s something about artificial intimacy that can make the walls come down. My conversation with Elias had no “rules;” we pretty much kept going until we decided to call it a night, and the truth is once we got going it was sort of difficult to stop because whenever a conversation thread died, a new one easily emerged. Call in the Night is a strange, spontaneous, effective strategy to meeting and getting to know another person. It’s also sort of a personal challenge to step outside your comfort zone and have a real conversation; not a Facebook chat or a thread of back-and-forth tweets. You can’t pick your words or edit them … you just talk. I don’t think I’d mind my sleep being interrupted by a future Call in the Night call. The site even explains nighttime calls might even make you sleep better since human sleep is naturally polyphasic, but I think I will have to try the experiment one more time to be certain – my first call left me wide awake for a good hour or two afterward. Despite the lost sleep, the experience was an effective tool in sparking creativity – an ideal one, actually, if you’re willing to sacrifice some shut-eye for a brief moment of brilliance in the wee hours of the morning. I’m going to keep my number on Call in the Night’s database for a few more weeks, just to see if anything exciting happens. “There have already been countless fascinating connections on Call in the Night. People regularly have 1-2 hour long conversations on the service,” Hawkins says. “One of my favorite calls happened during college finals season. A student worried about writing a philosophy paper was connected with a professor of philosophy. He offered to help with the paper. They smoked a joint together over the phone instead.” The anecdote perfectly explains the forced intimacy and unpredictability of the service. Call in the Night is part sleep experiment, part social network, all human interaction. And that’s more than you can say for most of the social services we “communicate” on.Travis Day, Dogfight Producer Santa Monica, California… Home to year round sunshine, excellent restaurants along the walking promenade, and a 3-mile stretch of beautiful beach. We’ve seen none of these things for many weeks now as we’ve been locked in our office working hard on Dogfighting! In all seriousness though while it is tiring, it is also very invigorating, and this project drives everyone’s passion and the knowledge that the community is just as excited as we are pushes us to our best work. I have never been more awed by a team’s discipline and dedication. We work not because we’re forced to but instead because we love what we’re working on and want to really wow people with Chris’ reveal before PAX East. Alright, well at this point I am sure you’re thinking, “We get it, the teams is working hard… But what have you DONE?” Well fair enough, here we go! The HUD has moved forward by leaps and bounds. This has been one of our most collaborative pieces of work with other studios and it is really shaping up! Over the course of the past couple of months, we have been working hard to conceptualize and define the base functionality that will drive the HUD and peripheral user interfaces in many of the ships that you will be piloting in the Star Citizen universe. In any ship, you will be able to manage and interact with many different systems, such as weapons configuration management, power and energy management, shields management, radar configuration, navigation, comms, target tracking, preset configuration, and much more. All of these components need to be quickly accessible to you at any given point in time, especially during heated situations such as combat. Our goal in designing the cockpit UI was to present such complex components in a manner that is functionally intuitive, yet aesthetically consistent with the fiction in that you’re piloting a ship from the future. One of the biggest challenges in designing any sci-fi interface is striking the right balance between what looks / feels visually interesting and what is functionally efficient, both of which are equally important in driving the immersion as you’re piloting ships in Star Citizen. We feel that we have achieved a nice blending between the two in our design given some of the core concepts behind the UI. One of which for example, is the extensive use of actual 3D geometry within the UI to visually represent items and objects (such as targets, parts of your own ship, etc.), and the many various states they may have. We have also been doing extensive work developing a custom “holoshader” that gives these 3D objects a very “holographic” look, which will have them fit nicely into the overall design. We’ve been developing some really cool features for the UI in Star Citizen. We are looking forward to sharing with you in detail our vision behind the HUD and all of its various components soon, but there is still much work to be done before it’s considered in any final state. Multiplayer functionality has also been a large and bug filled undertaking this month. We’ve spent a great deal of time this month writing code to improve the systems we’d previously created and debugging issues with precision, latency, and bandwidth limitations. Now that we are testing with our newly crafted backend (CIGNet) we’re starting to work through the various systems to make sure that the experience remains playable with a variety of pings and available bandwidth. Our design team has also been hard at work continuing to hook up and balance many newly created items and continuing to add nuance to the ships. We’ve finished implementing and doing an early balance pass on ship items. Furthermore, we’ve completed hooking up the Scythe for perfectly balanced flight with all of its thrusters working in concert to bring its weapons to bear on enemies. During this process our Physics programmer was able to tweak and debug his hand crafted thruster analysis tool which greatly aids in placing and balancing thrusters for all future ships. We’ve also been upgrading the Hornet to PBR so it has a lot more realistic look and feel to it. During this process Chris Smith took it upon himself to make some interior upgrades to the cockpit with higher resolution pass adding a lot more intricate details to the interior of the cockpit. Intricate mechanical workings were done as well to make the canopy operate on a believable track system and modifying the seat for a believable ejection. Lastly with PBR came the integration of the weathering system that allows him to apply some very believable wear and tear looks to the models. He even took a pass of mocking up some different armor types for it. With all of these detailed changes plus the PBR conversion the Hornet is really looking quite stunning! We’ve also grown our team here a bit over the last month with an additional three new employees bringing our total headcount in this studio to 27. Joining us this month were Kami Talebi (Production Coordinator), Joanna Whitmarsh (Marketing Associate), and James Pugh (Assistant Community Manger) who’ve all hit the ground running quite well! It has been amazing to watch the team here grow from three people almost a year ago to our current size today and we all look forward to continuing to grow the best possible team in the future with which to build the BDSSE! Thanks for reading and if you have any questions about what you’ve seen in this report please do not hesitate to reach out to us on the ‘Ask a Developer’ threads in the forums. See you in the ‘verse!CORNUCOPIA, WIS: The USDA, today, announced to industry stakeholders that it would rein-in misleading language on organic packaging that all too often has been suspected of confusing consumers. Specifically, the agency addressed companies marketing food products that have the word “organic” or “organics” in their brand-name. “Unless a food product is certified organic it cannot display, overtly, the word ‘organic’ on the front panel of the product,” said Mark A. Kastel, Codirector at The Cornucopia Institute, an organic industry watchdog. Some companies, such as Newman’s Own Organics, have been selling products that do not qualify for the use of the word organic on the front panel and are getting away with misleading messaging to consumers because they have used the word organic in their trade name. In 2010 Cornucopia filed a formal legal complaint against Newman’s for selling such products as ginger cookies, using a lesser labeling category regulated by the USDA: Made with Organic Ingredients. The USDA dismissed this complaint without explanation. At that time staff from Cornucopia also briefed USDA Deputy Administrator, Miles McEvoy, who heads the National Organic Program (NOP) on the organization’s concerns, in this matter, and also briefed members of the National Organic Standards Board. “Nothing happens too swiftly in Washington but we want to sincerely express our appreciation to the leadership and staff at the National Organic Program,” added Kastel, who said that Cornucopia would be refiling their legal complaint against Newman’s Own Organics, which appears not to be operating within the new labeling instructions issued by the USDA today. As an example, when Cornucopia filed its original complaint Newman’s ginger cookies, and other products the company markets, had labels such as “made with organic wheat and sugar,” but many of the more expensive ingredients were not in fact organic. “When products qualify for the made with organic label, it means they have a minimum of 70% organic content,” stated Kastel. “Newman’s Own Organics ginger cookies didn’t even contain organic ginger when we did our initial investigation in 2010. That’s what I call misleading!” A small percentage of products under the Newman’s Own Organics name actually are certified organic. Most are manufactured with 70% organic ingredients and qualify for the “made with organic” labeling category. “Other brands of organic cookies that have to compete on store shelves with Newman’s, such as Country Choice, go to the effort and expense to procure organic ginger and all other available organic ingredients, and present a product of true integrity to the consuming public,” said Kastel. In an e-mail to the organic industry, the USDA’s National Organic Program explained the basis of their new approach, “The policy clarification is needed to provide fairness and equity in label use throughout the organic industry and to satisfy consumer expectations for organic products.” “We applaud the USDA for making this ruling, and instructions to organic certifiers, in tightening up the labeling requirements that will protect ethical industry participants and prevent consumers from being misled when they are cruising the grocery aisles,” Kastel added.From left: Tim Sloan / Reuters; Joe Raedle / Getty Senate majority leader Harry Reid, left, and minority leader Mitch McConnell We've been hearing a lot lately about the evils of the filibuster, particularly in the weeks since the Massachusetts Senate election in January deprived the Democrats of the 60th vote that it takes to block one. "The Republicans' indiscriminate use of the filibuster has made it all but impossible to conduct everyday business in the Senate. On an almost daily basis, the Republican minority just 41 Senators stops bills from even coming to the floor for debate and amendment," Democratic Senator Tom Harkin wrote recently in the Huffington Post. "In the 1950s, an average of one bill was filibustered in each two-year Congress. In the last Congress, 139 bills were filibustered. The Republican abuse of the filibuster is unprecedented, routine, and increasingly reckless." (See 10 embarrassing things that didn't stop Americans from getting elected.) So it is no surprise that there are calls from Harkin and others to reform the procedures of the Senate changing the rules to lower the number of votes it would take to invoke cloture and bring a filibuster to an end. That's not going to happen. Democrats are well aware that control of the Senate has changed hands six times in the past 30 years; knowing that they are likely to be in the minority again someday, Democrats themselves are loath to give up the power to gum up the works. (Watch TIME's video "The Filibuster and You: An Odd Todd Cartoon.") But there is an answer here. It's not fewer filibusters; it's more of them. And by that I mean real filibusters something we haven't seen for quite a while in the Senate. Anyone expecting the classic scene from Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, in which Jimmy Stewart talks until he collapses, should drop by the Senate Chamber during what passes for a filibuster these days. The place is usually all but empty. The only sound is the voice of a clerk droning through a slow roll call of the names of absent Senators. More often than not, even the filibusterer himself is nowhere to be seen. (See the top 10 unfortunate political one-liners.) It has been more than two decades since the last time we saw the majority actually make the minority put up or shut up on a filibuster. In 1988, while attempting to shut down a Republican filibuster of campaign finance reform legislation, then majority leader Robert Byrd even went so far as to invoke a power that hadn't been used since 1942: he dispatched the Senate sergeant-at-arms to arrest missing Senators and escort them to the floor. Oregon's Bob Packwood was carried onto the floor at 1:19 a.m., after a scuffle in which he attempted to jam his office door and ended up reinjuring a broken finger. Byrd didn't give up until a record-setting eighth cloture vote failed to end the debate. (See 10 GOP congressional contenders.) That we don't see these kinds of episodes nowadays has more to do with convenience than anything else. As congressional scholar Norman Ornstein once told me, "You have a different Senate now. Frankly, they're soft. If they had the backbone and the discipline to do it, it would work." To force a filibuster, the majority has to keep a quorum of 51 at the ready. That means telling its members: Sorry, guys, you won't be making it to that fundraiser tonight. And a real filibuster also uses up a lot of time, which can be a problem at the end of a session when there is a lot of must-pass legislation, like spending bills, needed to keep the government operating. (See the top 10 outrageous earmarks.) But early in the year which is where we are now forcing a real filibuster could be a useful exercise, one that makes a point far more effectively than all the whining we are hearing about Republican abuse of the rules. If what the majority is offering is a bill that the public really wants, there will be a price to pay for talking it to death. There will be a reason to actually try to work out the differences between the two sides. Even if the Democrats ultimately lose, the voters will at least understand what the fight was all about. And maybe, just maybe, the minority will think twice before they launch the next filibuster. (See the TIME/CNN series Broken Government.) As retiring Senator Evan Bayh wrote in an Op-Ed in this past Sunday's New York Times, "Those who obstruct the Senate should pay a price in public notoriety and physical exhaustion. That would lead to a significant decline in frivolous filibusters." Sadly, such clarity of vision about the institution seems to come only to Senators when they are on their way out the door. See the best pictures of 2009.Police in two cities are investigating two unprovoked attacks on gay men that occurred early Saturday, but so far neither assault is being treated as a hate crime. A couple in Columbus, Ohio said they were jumped by several men in two cars, and in Nashville, Tennessee, 24-year-old Francisco Montes said he was attacked from behind, after leaving a club in the early morning hours. Montes is married, but was walking alone, when he heard shouting, and homophobic slurs. “I didn’t even know where they were coming from until they shouted, ‘Faggot!’ behind me,” he told The Tennessean. Montes told the paper that he turned around, and saw was a fist coming at him. “They just attacked me.” He fell to the ground and blacked out after being pummeled. When he came to, he was at Vanderbilt Medical Center where a friend had rushed him, and in pain. Montes’s injuries required multiple stitches on top of his head; he said he also suffered a scratched cornea, a skull fracture, scrapes on his arms and knees and bruised ribs. “I still had my wallet so it’s not like they were trying to rob me,” Montes said. His roommate later helped him locate his smashed iPhone. Metro Police spokesperson Kristin Mumford told the paper police are investigating the incident as an assault, and she said if they arrest his attackers and conclude that it was a hate crime, then those charges will be added at that time. Prosecutors will determine the filing of hate crime charges in the Columbus attack, according to WBNS-TV. Like the Nashville incident, it began with shouts of antigay slurs, and occurred around the same time early Saturday. California transplants Bryson Beier and Mantej Sandhu were walking home via an alley just after 2 a.m. They moved to Columbus just a week and a half ago and say they chose their neighborhood specifically because they felt it would be welcoming. That feeling has evaporated. Sandhu said it started when they heard four or five men, who were walking to a car, yell slurs at them. “They just started saying like ‘faggot’ to us and stuff like that, and we were like what? And just kept walking. And they were like, ‘God hates fags,” said Sandhu. “Then all of the sudden a bottle gets thrown at us. And they were saying, ‘You’re going to hell,’ and all that stuff. We at that point stopped, turned around, we took a photo of the license plate.” That’s when Sandhu said a second car of four or five men pulled up, and they came under attack from as many as ten men. “They were like, ‘You trying to mess with my boy?’ And then all of the sudden they start, they punch me in the face, throw me on the ground. and next to me he was going through the same thing with the other five black guys,” said Sandhu. “Each took a turn- punch, kick. Punch, kick. They were like, ‘Yeah, yeah.’ Punch, kick. ‘You like that?'” “I thought I was going to die. I thought for sure this was the end,” said Beier. “I don’t know if it was like my own personal self-protection or what, but my vision went black and my brain just kind of shut down and I almost stopped feeling for a minute,” said Beier. The attack left Sandhu’s face swollen and streaked with blood. Beier suffered bruises and a fractured nose. Watch the report below from WBNS-TV about the attack on Beier and Sandhu. This Story Filed UnderWASHINGTON — Two Republican lawmakers questioned the Air Force's top civilian official on Wednesday about alleged improprieties in the way it acquires multimillion-dollar aircraft. Reps. Ted Budd and Walter Jones, both of North Carolina, said in a letter sent Wednesday to Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson that there may be a "serious, systemic problem" at an Air Force unit known as Big Safari. The congressmen said their investigations reveal a potentially improper relationship between Big Safari and L3, a major defense contractor headquartered in New York. The unit, formally known as the 645th Aeronautical Systems Group, is based at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. The Air Force and L3 did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the allegations in the letter. The lawmakers said they have found "significant revolving door activity" between the Air Force unit and L3, a term that typically refers to military and government workers being hired by a particular company. The congressmen cited information from two Air Force officers about how the unit steered a 2014 contract to L3 for the sale of aircraft to Yemen. The officers, both majors, said a better aircraft from a company called IOMAX was available for $15 million less, but the contract was awarded to L3 without competition. IOMAX is located in Mooresville, North Carolina, which is part of Budd's congressional district. One of the majors is still on active duty and the other is in the Air Force reserve. Neither officer is employed by IOMAX nor have they ever received compensation from the company, according to Budd's office. The two majors were assigned at the time to the 6th Special Operations Squadron, according to the letter, and had been deployed to Yemen as part of the U.S. mission to improve the Middle East's nation's internal defense. After exploring a number of options, they settled on the IOMAX Archangel, a combat attack aircraft also being used by the United Arab Emirates, the congressman said. × Fear of missing out? Fear no longer. Be the first to hear about breaking news, as it happens. You'll get alerts delivered directly to your inbox each time something noteworthy happens in the Military community. Thanks for signing up. By giving us your email, you are opting in to our Newsletter: Sign up for the Air Force Times Daily News Roundup Their decision, the letter from Budd and Jones said, was backed by senior special operations officials at the Pentagon. Big Safari was then assigned to purchase four Archangels combat attack aircraft for Yemen. "By early 2014, the contact had been awarded to without competition to L3, for a price of $15 million above IOMAX's quote," the letter said. "The planes were delivered months late, and were so poorly manufactured that the 6th SOS majors rejected the aircraft." They added that the information provided by the majors "suggests something is seriously wrong with the way Big Safari does business."In 2001 the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) allowed states to opt out of the requirement for reimbursement that a surgeon or anesthesiologist oversee the provision of anesthesia by certified registered nurse anesthetists. By 2005, fourteen states had exercised this option. An analysis of Medicare data for 1999–2005 finds no evidence that opting out of the oversight requirement resulted in increased inpatient deaths or complications. Based on our findings, we recommend that CMS allow certified registered nurse anesthetists in every state to work without the supervision of a surgeon or anesthesiologist. Surgical anesthesia in the United States is administered by both anesthesiologists and certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs). For almost 150 years, these nurses were the dominant providers of anesthesia services, but by 1986 the rapid influx of physicians into the specialty resulted in a greater number of anesthesiologists who practiced alone or in a team arrangement with nurse anesthetists. 1,2 Even so, 37,000 certified registered nurse anesthetists provide thirty million anesthetics annually in the United States and represent two-thirds of anesthetists in rural hospitals. 3 Background On The Issue Until recently, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) reimbursement rules for anesthesia providers prohibited payments to certified registered nurse anesthetists who administered anesthesia in the absence of physician supervision. This supervision could be provided by either an anesthesiologist or the surgeon, 4 although surgeons now largely defer to anesthetists at the operating table during the administration of anesthesia and immediately after surgery. In December 1997, CMS published a proposed rule to, in the words of the final version, “let State law determine which professionals would be permitted to administer anesthetics, and the level of supervision required for practitioners [seeing Medicare patients] in each category.” 5 The agency later reported basing its decision on a “lack of evidence to support…[the] requirement for [surgeon or anesthesiologist] supervision of Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists.” 6 It should be noted that except for the extra training that anesthesiologists receive in medical school and residency in specialties other than the direct provision of anesthesia, both certified registered nurse anesthetists and anesthesiologists undergo similar classroom and clinical training in anesthesia care. 7 Anesthesiologists opposed the proposed rule, arguing that they provide anesthesia care superior to that of certified registered nurse anesthetists, 2,8 even though adverse events related to anesthesia are rare regardless of the provider. 5,9–11 The final CMS rule of November 2001 maintained physician supervision of nurse anesthetists “unless the governor of a State, in consultation with the State’s Boards of Medicine & Nursing, exercises the option of exemption from this requirement” through a written request signed by the governor. 6 As of 1998, eighteen states permitted certified registered nurse anesthetists to practice independently of any physician, 12 although for reimbursement purposes, Medicare still required physician supervision at least by the surgeon if not by an anesthesiologist. 6 By 2005, fourteen governors in mostly rural states 13 had submitted written requests to Medicare and opted out of the supervised anesthesia requirement. Solo practice by certified registered nurse anesthetists is especially important
2003, on 14 April 2003, a pair of United States Navy McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornets attacked several L-29 and L-39 aircraft on the ground at an airfield near the city of Tikrit; these had been believed to have been modified to perform as delivery platforms for weapons.[41] Libya [ edit ] Libya acquired some 180 L-39ZOs around 1978 which served at Sabha and Okba Ben Nafi flying schools along with Yugoslav-made G-2 Galeb for advanced jet training and Italian-made SF.260s (for primary training).[42] The L-39s were deployed during the Chadian-Libyan conflict, mainly to Ouadi Doum air base. During the final Chadian offensive in March 1987, the Chadians captured Ouadi Doum along with several aircraft (11 L-39s included) and Soviet SAM systems and tanks. A Chadian report to the UN, reported the aforementioned capture on 11 L-39s and the destruction (or downing) of at least four of them.[43] In the midst of that conflict, on April 21, 1983, three LARAF Ilyushin Il-76TDs and one Lockheed C-130 Hercules landed at Manaus Airport, Brazil after one of the Il-76s developed technical problems while crossing the Atlantic Ocean. The aircraft were then searched by the Brazilian authorities: instead of medical supplies – as quoted in the transport documentation – the crate of the first of 17 L-39s bound for Nicaragua together with arms and parachutes, to support the country's war against US-backed Contras, were found. The cargo was impounded for some time before being returned to Libya, while the transports were permitted to return to their country.[44][45] During the 1990s and 2000s, Libya made multiple attempts to get components and services for its air force in spite of an embargo placed upon the country by United Nations Security Council Resolution 748; by 2001, only half of Libya's L-39s were serviceable as a consequence.[46] Russia [ edit ] Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the formation of the Russian Air Force in 1991, the newly formed service found itself with hundreds of L-39 aircraft, the majority of which were surplus to their training requirements. According to author Stephan Wilkinson, by 2005, Russia was seeking to potentially sell up to 800 of their L-39s, which were receiving only a basic level of maintenance once per month while their fate was being decided.[47] Starting in the early 1990s, the Russian Air Force has pursued the development of a domestically-built jet trainer, for which the Yakovlev Yak-130 was selected; the Yak-130 shall eventually replace the L-39 in Russian service within its operational roles.[48][49] Syria [ edit ] The Syrian Arab Air Force has operated a number of armed L-39ZA light attack variants.[50] Since the early stages of the Syrian civil war, the Syrian Air Force's L-39 aircraft have been routinely deployed in counter-insurgency operations against various rebel ground forces, a number of these aircraft have also been shot down by ground fire. They were first used operationally during the Battle of Aleppo, launching several strikes upon rebel-held positions.[51][52][53] It has been claimed the L-39 was the first fixed-wing aircraft to be employed against the rebels.[54] In February 2013, insurgents successfully captured a number of intact L-39s, along with their support equipment, after raiding and later taking over the Al-Jarrah airbase.[55][56] In late 2013, reports emerged of claims by Islamist fighters that they had successfully flown two of the captured L-39s.[57][58] In October 2014, the Syrian Government claimed that at least two rebel-held L-39s had been airworthy and had recently been destroyed by Syrian Air Force aircraft.[59] According to Reuters, by 2014 the L-39 had allegedly become one of the favoured platforms of the Syrian Air Force for performing ground attack missions due to its slower speed and higher agility over other aircraft in its inventory. In December 2015, following the securing of the Kweiris airbase by government forces, the resumption of ground-attack missions by L-39s in the vicinity of Aleppo commenced shortly thereafter.[54] On 26 December 2017, a Syrian L-39 was shot down near Hama airport.[60][61] Civilian use [ edit ] While newer versions are now replacing older L-39s in service, thousands remain in active service as trainers, and many are finding new homes with private warbird owners all over the world. It has been claimed that the L-39's desirability stems from the fact that it is "the only available second-generation jet trainer".[23] This trend is particularly evident in the United States, where their $200,000–$300,000 price puts them in range of moderately wealthy pilots looking for a fast, agile personal jet.[62] Their popularity led to a purely L-39 Jet class being introduced at the Reno Air Races in 2002, though it has since been expanded to include other, similar aircraft.[63][64][65] A civilian owned L-39 in Australia in 2011 In September 2012 there were 255 L-39s registered with the US Federal Aviation Administration and four registered with Transport Canada.[66][67] Several display teams use the L-39 such as the Patriots Jet Team (6 L-39s), the Breitling Jet Team (7 L-39s) and the Black Diamond Jet Team (5 L-39s).[68][69] There are also several L-39s that have been made available for private jet rides by various operators in Australia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Spain and the USA.[70][71][72] These L-39s are mostly in private hands, but some also belong to government agencies, such as those in Vyazma, Russia.[73][74] In March 2018 there were five L-39s on the civilian register in New Zealand. One registered as an L-39 [75] and four others registered as L-39C [76] Since 2004, the Defence & MRO Division of Aero Vodochody has performed a general maintenance, repair and modernisation program of civil-operated L-39s, as well as performing the demilitarisation of ex-military aircraft.[74] Services offered to civil operators include life-extension programs, support for civil registration/certification, training of ground/flight crew, logistics and analysis, customization, routine inspection, condition-based maintenance support, and providing general expertise/consultancy work.[74] Variants [ edit ] L-39X-01 – X-07 Five prototypes plus two static test airframes.[6] Aero L-39C Albatros, Cuban Revolutionary Air and Air Defense Force L-39M1 Ukrainian Air Force Operators [ edit ] A civil L-39C Albatros in Australia A Kyrgyz Air Force L-39 L-39C in civil use L-39 of the Royal Thai Air Force in 2013 Notable accidents and incidents [ edit ] Aircraft on display [ edit ] Czech Republic Lithuania United States Specifications (L-39C) [ edit ] Data from Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1988–89,[21] Aero Vodochody[3] General characteristics Performance Armament Up to 284 kg (626 lb) of stores on two external hardpoints See also [ edit ] Related development Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era References [ edit ] Citations [ edit ]To the Editor: Re “How to Help Working People” (editorial, “What’s at Stake” series, Dec. 5): Multibillion-dollar transportation providers masquerading as “technology companies” have expertly misclassified employees as independent contractors, and the results have been catastrophic for workers. Popular ride-hailing apps like Uber and Lyft completely control the work lives of the men and women who drive for them. These companies can unilaterally lower the rate of pay for drivers, “switch drivers off” without due process, and oversaturate the market by adding more and more drivers at any given time. Drivers lack health insurance, overtime pay, retirement benefits, unemployment insurance, workers’ compensation and the right to join a union to collectively bargain on their behalf. These drivers are exploited, and as these apps have increased in popularity, it’s become harder and harder for them to make ends meet. In New York, drivers are pushing back. More than 14,000 drivers have signed union cards to join the Amalgamated Transit Union.#feels #rando by Carolynn Calabrese November 3, 2015 at 11:00 am You know what they say: behind every ethereal, anthropomorphic maw of pure energy is a stronger ethereal, anthropomorphic maw of pure energy. Few can stand in perpetual isolation, like a lone willow overlooking the sea. This search for companionship spans the entire breadth of human history. Sadly, destiny rarely deigns that two beings can truly build a shared future, growing together in the earth until the time comes to wither and fall to dust. But regardless of practicality, humanity’s love for love burns eternal, steady and certain as the changing of seasons or the inevitability that at least one episode of Law and Order is currently running on a cable channel, no matter what time it is. The stars aligned with our SEO purposes, and thus, the admonitions below were pulled from the stars to guide you from a budding courtship to a shared tomb your restless souls can haunt together until the end of time. Search for these 7 omens before binding another to your side until you are both decomposing in the earth. 1 – Trust As your bond grows, you start to express your feelings through trivial sentimentality. You have retrieved your still-beating heart from beneath the roots of an aged elm tree and returned it to its original vulnerable position within your breast. Also, you start feeling like making things Facebook official. 2 – Safety Your chosen companion completed the traditional twelve-year journey through a hostile tundra as a test of bravery and worthiness and in return, you have trusted this individual to whisper your true name like a prayer at the first breath of spring and the last sigh of a harvest moon. 3 – The Future As you cast dried bones upon the earth, the stars above your head unite in a constellation of your beloved’s face, blinking in and out like a celestial blingee. 4 – Attraction Even though your feeble-minded beloved’s subconscious bends to your will through your slightest telepathic suggestions, you feel compelled to rise above using charismatic witchcraft to get them to throw out their goddamned avocados once they start to mold. 5 – Communication Your bond with your beloved is an open tome and your feelings and trepidations form the words upon the page. That said, when your beloved inquires about the exact date and cause of their inevitable death, you keep that shit to yourself. Sometimes the things we say are as important as the things we don’t. 6 – Friendship When invited to gatherings, your beloved makes an effort to appeal to your entire coven for benevolent protection, rather than making things awkward by hanging around your side for the entire ritualistic sacrifice. 7 – Parting When contemplating a time when you and your beloved no longer walk the path of life hand-in-hand, you may feel the depths of sorrow like the turning of a cold and waning moon. However, you also know that your heart will carry them always. The indentations formed by love and pain solidify within you, enriching your wisdom and power. Also, at your courtship’s end, you resist the urge to transfigure your former beloved’s hands into twin bananas that will eventually grow soft, ripe, and brown. May the celestial coven of Hecate, Flemmeth, Ultimecia, and 90s Computer Witch safeguard your bond for the length of your pathetic mortal existence (or until you sacrifice your beloved’s heart to grant you eternal life. Really, whichever comes first).GRANDE-SYNTHE, France (AP) - Authorities and aid workers are searching for several hundred migrants who disappeared after a fire ravaged their camp in northern France, a shocking blaze that exposed anew the challenges and tensions around Europe's migrants just 12 days before France's presidential election. Police cordoned off the largely destroyed camp in the Dunkirk suburb of Grande-Synthe on Tuesday and investigators inspected the site to try to determine the cause of the Monday night fire, which broke out following a fight between rival groups of migrants. Three mobile police units were deployed in the area to head off tensions prompted by the camp's demise, the government said in a statement. The interior and housing ministers headed to the scene in a sign of the government's concern about the issue. Ismael, a Kurd migrant, carries a guitar he salvaged from the burned remains of a migrant camp in the Dunkirk suburb of Grande-Synthe, northern France, Tuesday, April 11, 2017. Several hundred migrants have disappeared after they were evacuated from a camp in northern France that was ravaged by a shocking fire that left 10 injured, according to authorities and aid workers trying to ensure alternative shelter and calm tensions. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena) Most of the camp near the English Channel is now reduced to the charred remains of wooden shelters and sparse belongings of the migrants, who converged on northern France in hopes of reaching Britain as part of waves of recent migration to Europe. As many as 1,600 people were in the camp when the blaze broke out, according to Grande-Synthe Mayor Damien Careme and prefect Michel Lalande, the top government official for the region. Some 500 were taken to three local gymnasiums, including one set aside for children and families - but most of the other migrants remain unaccounted-for, the mayor and prefect told reporters Tuesday. Doctors Without Borders, which set up the site a year ago to replace filthy makeshift camps in the region, is holding meetings Tuesday to decide what to do next. Other aid groups are planning to distribute meals Tuesday to migrants in the gymnasiums and anywhere else they are found around town. The first priority is to find migrants dispersed by the blaze, said Corenne Torre, head of the humanitarian group in France. "We just don't know where they are," she told The Associated Press. She estimated that at least 600 migrants remain unaccounted-for. Some are believed to be hiding because they fear the authorities or because they fear rejoining a camp with rival gangs, she said. She said that 10 migrants are in local hospitals with light injuries following the fire. The prefect and mayor said authorities believe the fire was set intentionally and was linked to a fight earlier Monday between Kurdish and Afghan migrant groups involving up to 150 migrants. The camp will remain closed during the investigation, and local authorities will consider whether to open a new camp to replace it. It's a sensitive issue in France ahead of the two-round April 23-May 7 presidential election in which immigration is a key issue. Far-right candidate Marine Le Pen and conservative candidate Francois Fillon reiterated calls Tuesday for stricter border controls. The prefect took the opposite stance. "The issue today is to shelter those people who live outside at the moment, and to build a future for them," Lalande told reporters. France sheltered migrant populations in the past, he said, "so we are not going to stop the march of history. To the contrary, it is in the name of this history that we are going to build a future for these people." "I lost all my documents," said an Iraqi migrant who identified himself only as Albidani, standing outside the camp. "I just have only this paper that says I'm a refugee in France." "We are refugees here in France. We don't have any place.... We don't know what to do. We lost everything," Albidani said. ___ Charlton reported from Paris. Thomas Adamson in Paris contributed. A partially burned push chair abandonned by migrants is pictured in a camp in the Dunkirk suburb of Grande-Synthe, northern France, Tuesday, April 11, 2017. Several hundred migrants have disappeared after they were evacuated from a camp in northern France that was ravaged by a shocking fire that left 10 injured, according to authorities and aid workers trying to ensure alternative shelter and calm tensions. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena) Police officers patrol the burned remains of a migrant camp in the Dunkirk suburb of Grande-Synthe, northern France, Tuesday, April 11, 2017. Several hundred migrants have disappeared after they were evacuated from a camp in northern France that was ravaged by a shocking fire that left 10 injured, according to authorities and aid workers trying to ensure alternative shelter and calm tensions. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena) Burned remains of wooden shelters used by migrants are pictured in a migrant camp in the Dunkirk suburb of Grande-Synthe, northern France, Tuesday, April 11, 2017. Several hundred migrants have disappeared after they were evacuated from a camp in northern France that was ravaged by a shocking fire that left 10 injured, according to authorities and aid workers trying to ensure alternative shelter and calm tensions. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena) In this image made from video, blaze and smoke rise from a migrant camp near Dunkirk, France Monday, April 10, 2017. A huge blaze ravaged the migrant camp in northern France on Monday, destroying wooden shelters and forcing the evacuation of hundreds of migrants, hours after a clash involving up to 150 migrants, the prefecture of the region said. (AP Photo)Among the 103 patients included, 77 were randomized to and received HCQ, and 26 were randomized to and received placebo (3:1 ratio) (Figure 1 ). Ninety‐six patients (72 in the HCQ/HCQ group and 24 in the placebo/HCQ group) were included in the full analysis set. All 103 patients were included in the safety analysis set. The baseline characteristics of patients in the full analysis set are shown in Table 1. In total, 74.0% were female with a mean age of 42.7 years, and 58.3% had SLE (as defined by the 1997 American College of Rheumatology criteria for the classification of SLE) 25. The mean ± SD CLASI activity scores at baseline were 13.5 ± 8.0 and 13.6 ± 7.5 in the HCQ/HCQ and placebo/HCQ groups, respectively. The characteristics of the 2 groups did not differ significantly. Efficacy The CLASI activity scores over time in the placebo/HCQ group and the HCQ/HCQ group are shown in Figure 2. The primary end point, a reduction in the CLASI activity score, was achieved after 16 weeks of HCQ therapy (−4.6; 95% confidence interval [95% CI] −6.1, −3.1 [P < 0.0001, based on the LOCF]). A reduction in the CLASI score (−3.2; 95% CI −5.1, −1.3 [P = 0.002, based on the LOCF]) was also observed in the group that received placebo for 16 weeks. The group difference was −1.6 (95% CI −4.3, 1.1 [P = 0.197]). The CLASI activity score in the placebo/HCQ group decreased further after switching from the placebo to HCQ and reached the level of the HCQ/HCQ group at week 32. The CLASI activity score in both groups continued to decrease gradually after week 32. Smoking status and treatment with systemic steroids or immunosuppressive agents were not associated with the end point (data not shown). Figure 2 Open in figure viewerPowerPoint CLASI activity scores over time in the placebo/HCQ and HCQ/HCQ groups (observed cases). Values are the mean ± SE. See Figure 1 for definitions. The percentages of patients in each of the 5 central photo evaluation categories are shown in Figure 3A. At week 16, this evaluation showed greater improvement from baseline in the HCQ/HCQ group compared with that in the placebo/HCQ group. At week 16, the proportions of patients shown to be “improved and remarkably improved” were 59.4% in the HCQ/HCQ group and 30.4% in the placebo/HCQ group (P = 0.029). Figure 3 Open in figure viewerPowerPoint A, Percentages of patients in each central photo evaluation category (5 grades) at weeks 16, 32, and 52 (observed cases). B, Percentages of patients in each patient's global assessment category (7 grades) at weeks 16, 32, and 52 (observed cases). C, Change in the Skindex‐29 score from baseline to weeks 16, 32, and 52 (observed cases). Values are the mean ± SE. HCQ = hydroxychloroquine. The 7‐point PGA scale data are shown in Figure 3B. At week 16, the proportions of patients shown to be “improved and remarkably improved” were 21.4% in the HCQ/HCQ group and 13.0% in the placebo/HCQ group (P = 0.546). However, the proportions of patients who were “slightly improved, improved, and remarkably improved” reached 72.9% in the HCQ/HCQ group and 47.8% in the placebo/HCQ group (P = 0.041). Changes in the total Skindex‐29 score (a skin‐specific QoL measure) from baseline to weeks 16, 32, and 52 are shown in Figure 3C. Scores for all domains of the Skindex‐29 (emotions, symptoms, and functioning) and the overall score significantly improved from baseline to week 16 in the HCQ/HCQ group (for emotions, −10.2 [95% CI −14.3, −6.0] [P < 0.0001]; for symptoms, −6.9 [95% CI −11.2, −2.6] [P = 0.002]; for functioning, −5.5 [95% CI −9.0, −2.0] [P = 0.002]; and for overall score, −7.4 [95% CI −10.9, −4.0] [P < 0.0001]). In the placebo/HCQ group, scores for all domains of the Skindex‐29 decreased, although not to a statistically significant degree (for emotions, −5.8 [95% CI −14, 2.5] [P = 0.163]; for symptoms, −4.4 [95% CI −11.1, 2.4] [P = 0.195]; for functioning, −3.0 [95% CI −9.6, 3.6] [P = 0.354]; for overall score, −4.3 [95% CI −10.3, 1.7] [P = 0.150]; for differences between groups, P = 0.137, P = 0.583, P = 0.418, and P = 0.258, respectively). IGA, which is a major secondary end point based on CPE, PGA, and QoL, differed significantly in terms of the proportion of patients in the “improved” and remarkably improved" categories between the HCQ/HCQ group (51.4%) and the placebo/HCQ group (8.7%) at week 16 (P = 0.0002) (Figure 4). The proportion of patients in the “slightly improved,” “improved,” and “remarkably improved” categories reached 78.6% in the HCQ/HCQ group and 56.5% in the placebo/HCQ group (P = 0.057). Figure 4 Open in figure viewerPowerPoint Percentages of patients in each investigator's global assessment category (7 grades) at weeks 16, 32, and 52 (observed cases). HCQ = hydroxychloroquine. Regarding the efficacy end points for the assessment of patients with SLE (n = 56), the pain score decreased significantly from baseline to week 16 in the HCQ/HCQ group (−1.0 [95% CI −1.7, −0.3] [P = 0.005]), but increased in the placebo/HCQ group (0.3 [95% CI −1.1, 1.7] [P = 0.658]), demonstrating a significant difference between the 2 groups (−1.4 [95% CI −2.6, −0.1] [P = 0.033 by ANCOVA]). The decrease in the fatigue score from baseline to week 16 was significant in the HCQ/HCQ group (−1.1 [95% CI −1.9, −0.3] [P = 0.006]) but not in the placebo/HCQ group (−0.7 [95% CI −2.7, 1.3] [P = 0.452]). The group difference was −0.7 (95% CI −2.2, 0.8 [P = 0.367]). The PGA of SLE decreased significantly from baseline to week 16 (−0.7 [95% CI −1.3, −0.1] [P = 0.03]) in the HCQ/HCQ group (n = 42) but did not change in the placebo/HCQ group (n = 12) (0.0 [95% CI −1.8, 1.7] [P = 0.959]). The group difference was −0.9 (95% CI −2.2, 0.4 [P = 0.165]). RAPID‐3 scores decreased significantly from baseline to week 16 in the HCQ/HCQ group (−1.7 [95% CI −2.9, −0.4] [P = 0.009]) but increased in the placebo/HCQ group (0.2 [95% CI −2.7, 3.0] [P = 0.896]). The group difference was −2.1 (95% CI −4.6, 0.4 [P = 0.094]). The proportion of IGA of SLE in the “improved” and “remarkably improved” categories was 47.4% in the HCQ/HCQ group and 36.4% in the placebo/HCQ group at week 16 (P = 0.733). The proportion of those in the “slightly improved, improved, and remarkably improved” categories reached 68.4% in the HCQ/HCQ group and 54.5% in the placebo/HCQ group (P = 0.480). Among SLE patients with active musculoskeletal disease based on the BILAG grade (A–C in “musculoskeletal” system), 16 (42.1%) of those in the HCQ group (n = 38) improved by at least 1 grade, and 2 (5.3%) improved by at least 2 grades at week 16. In contrast, 4 patients (40.0%) in the placebo group (n = 10) improved by at least 1 grade, while none (0%) improved by 2 grades. Among SLE patients in the HCQ group who had active disease based on the BILAG grade (A–C in “constitutional” system) (n = 7), 4 (57.1%) improved by at least 1 grade and 1 (14.3%) improved by 2 grades at week 16. In contrast, among those in the placebo group (n = 2), 1 (50.0%) improved by at least 1 grade and none (0%) improved by 2 grades. Changes in the anti‐dsDNA antibody level (IU/ml) and complement C3 and C4 levels (mg/dl) from baseline to week 16 were −3.8 (95% CI −11.1, 3.5 [P = 0.299]), 4.2 (95% CI 0.3, 8.0 [P = 0.034]), and 1.3 (95% CI 0.2, 2.4 [P = 0.022]), respectively, in the HCQ/HCQ group (n = 40). Corresponding changes in the placebo/HCQ group (n = 11) were −1.9 (95% CI −6.8, 3.1 [P = 0.419]), −1.2 (95% CI −7.8, 5.4 [P = 0.699]), and −0.3 (95% CI −3.0, 2.4 [P = 0.827]), respectively. The dosage of prednisolone (mg/day or equivalent) decreased by −1.0 (95% CI −1.8, −0.3 [P = 0.007]) in the HCQ/HCQ group (n = 29) and by −0.8 (95% CI −1.8, 0.2 [P = 0.095]) in the placebo/HCQ group (n = 11) from baseline to week 52.Amtrak, aiming to give you a "new way to take the train," released an official app to the Play Store recently. The (logically named) Amtrak app allows passengers to plan their entire train excursion, from buying tickets (which can be displayed right on your device) to navigating to a nearby station, changing/upgrading seat selections, checking train schedules, and using an Amtrak Guest Rewards account. "Optimized for Android," the app carries a holo-ish interface with swiping tabs, proper navigation and scrolling, and all the visual flair you may expect from an app in line with Android's design guidelines. That being said, the app itself is also well-built and stable, and works just how potential train passengers would hope. If you're looking to take a trip with Amtrak any time soon, this app is definitely worth your time. Plus, it's free from the Play Store. Just hit the widget below. Thanks, Tony!Industrial Workers of the World (European Regional Administration) statement of solidarity with the Student Movement and student/university strikes in Chile (cf. attached PDF). Since last year, Chilean students have been marching to demand -- among other things -- free, public, and good quality education at all levels. Police repression has escalated exponentially, and the eyes of the world are now closely watching, and condemning, the police repression that has met the student protests. Police stations in Chile are filled with students from universities and secondary schools, a large number of them women, against whom gender violence is pervasively being used as a weapon to deter the most militant. Patricia Rada, Human Rights Lawyer in Chile said: “He held my breast tightly and above all he yelled at me to go home and look after the children”. This is a clear evidence of the focus and the type of violence that carabineros are using, she said. The spokesperson of the Students Assembly Coordination (ACES), Eloisa Gonzales announced that the meeting that was being organised by the student leadership in order to coordinate mobilisations for the coming weeks was forcefully suppressed and impeded by the police. Workers across Santiago have been out on the streets supporting the students and we, the Industrial Workers of the World (European Administration) stand in solidarity with Chile’s youth in their struggle. We will be organising solidarity demonstrations in the UK and elsewhere to let the Chilean government know: the world is watching. NOTES: 1. Sources: Alejandro Kirk Report, HispanTV (http://www.hispantv.com/) 2. Here a link to a subtitled video where the demands of the student movement are clearly laid out by Camila Hernandez, from the Communist Youth in Chile http://multimedia.telesurtv.net/media/telesur.video.web/telesur-web/#!en/video/estudiantes-chilenos-tomaron-edificios-publicos-en-santiago 3. This is the list of Universities mobilised in Chile who are joining the strike TODAY. There is also a large number of Secondary Schools on Strike Source: http://www.facebook.com/Infestu ON STRIKE: University of Chile: Faculties of Medicine, Urbanism, Arquitecture, Design, Geography. Arts centre University of Concepcion: General and Basic Education, Pedagogy in History and Geography, Biochemistry, Veterinary medicine. Social Sciences School Faculty (anthropology, sociology, psychology, social work, journalism) University Alberto Hurtado: Anthropology, Social work, Literature, Political Sciences, Industrial Relations University Santo Tomas (Santiago): Social Work University Andrés Bello (Viña del Mar): Social Work faculty University of Viña del mar: History Faculty University Tecnológica Metropolitana: all campuses on strike University Austral de Chile: History and Social Sciences, Anthropology and Pedagogy, Law Faculty University de Santiago de Chile: all faculties University Técnica Federico Santa María: José Miguel Carrera, and San Joaquín campus in full strike Universidad Católica Silva Henríquez: all faculties in full strike University Academia de Humanismo Cristiano Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso (PUCV) all faculties on strike University of Valparaíso: Parvularia Education, Social Work, Psicology faculties Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile: Arts College, Comunications, Civil Construction, History, Philosophy, Literature, Music, Párvulos Education, Pedagogy, Chemistry, Sociology, Theatre, Social Work University Central (La Serena): Sociology faculty University Diego Portales: Faculties of Sociology, Commercial Engineering, Design, Architecture, Visual Arts, Social Sciences Bachellor, Political Sciences, History, Journalism, Publicity, Creative Literature, Medicine, Pedagogy in Education, Basic, Parvularian Education, in Literature, History and Social Sciences, Civil and Industrial Engineering, IT and Telecommunications Engineering, Psychology, Management Engineering University Católica of Temuco: Differential Education University Playa Ancha: Education Sciences University Autónoma: all on strike OCCUPIED University of Chile: Theatre School, Central House University de La Frontera: Occupation by students from Humanities, Phisical Education, Social Work, Journalism, Sociology, Psychology, Sciences, Castellano, History, Law University Central (Santiago): Vicente Kovacevic 2 (VKII) buildingWriters from “The Comedy Central Roast of Rob Lowe” just revealed their jokes that Ann Coulter rejected for her time on the dais. Mike Lawrence and Earl Skakel penned some quips for the polarizing political pundit, but she elected to use her own material, the duo shared Monday night during a Facebook Live after-show. “Fun fact about that: We wrote her a lot of jokes. She does not understand humor or joy,” Lawrence said. “She turned them down and decided — most of what you saw was her own stuff.” Also Read: Jeff Ross Says Ann Coulter 'Was Awful' at Rob Lowe Roast: 'She Wouldn't Laugh' (Video) The guys then rolled a few of her actual attempts. They weren’t good or easy to watch. Lawrence described Coulter’s sense of humor as “the perfect trio of comedy: racism, homophobia and Mike Pence — you can’t go wrong there.” The two then broke out hand puppet Coultergeist, which Lawrence described as “different than the real Ann Coulter in the sense that it can’t physically smile, and the person fisting it is not being paid lots of money.” Also Read: Watch Jeff Ross Trash Ann Coulter by Channeling Prince (Video) Coultergeist then shared six jokes that writers presented to the non-puppet version, who decided they weren’t up to snuff. Read those below, and watch them performed by a puppet in Lawrence’s voice via the video above. Here’s three: “I have to say, Rob, it’s nice to finally not be the most hated person in the room.” Also Read: Ann Coulter Gets Burned at Rob Lowe's Comedy Central Roast “Peyton Manning is a model citizen and his forehead is a model for the wall that Trump’s going to put between the U.S. and Mexico.” “Ralph Macchio‘s first-ever credit was in the movie, ‘Up the Academy,’ playing a character called Chooch Bambalazi. Are you serious? Even Donald Trump thinks it’s too racist to call a wop Chooch Bambalazi.” And here’s three more: “That would be like if Jeff Ross‘ first credit was a character named Mosha Gefilte Fish Streisand Sixmillionberg. And before you ask, Jeff, I wouldn’t f— you with Hillary Clinton’s d—.” Also Read: Ann Coulter Will Roast Rob Lowe, Because Why Not “Rob Lowe is like America: He hasn’t been great since Reagan was president and unemployment is becoming more and more of a problem for him.” “Giving you a roast is the worst decision Comedy Central’s made since they replaced Jon Stewart with a South African child. That’s a Trevor Noah joke, the one immigrant I’m most excited to see deported. Am I white, people? Am I white?”Ladies and gentlemen whose first experience with a visual novel was Katawa Shoujo, please raise your right hands. Very good. Very good, ladies and gentlemen. Now, those of you who have never played it, please raise your left hand. No, m’Lady, watching a Let’s Play can’t possibly count as a playthrough. I beg your pardon? Why, yes, it’s completely different. But this is for another time, is it not? Well, then. To those who failed to raise either hand when prompted, be it because you were already a seasoned visual novel player when it
most days, pending bus and tour guide availability. Private tours can accommodate up to 32 guests per tour, and are subject to a tour fee (nonprofit rates are available). As a nonprofit organization with limited resources, we are unable to offer free private tours. We thank you for your support and your understanding as we try to provide as many private group tours as possible. If you have any questions, please contact Alice Weston at tours@atlbeltlinepartnership.org or 404-446-4404. To learn more about private tour options, and to inquire about availability, please complete the following form and our tour coordinator will reach out to you within one business day. Select to Complete Private Tour Request Form+- Contact Details Name of Group * Organizer Name * First Last Organizer Email * Organizer Phone Tour Bus Request Detaiils Please select two dates for tour request, we will need 45 days advance notice. Date - Option 1 * Date - Option 2 List Number of Participants on Tour (minimum 15 \| maximum 30): Please enter a number from 15 to 30. For nonprofit pricing, please upload your 501(c)(3) determination letter. Upload Letter (formats accepted pdf, doc,docx, jpeg): Comments or Questions: Terms of Agreement: - Agree to maximum capacity 30 passengers. - Alcohol is not permitted. - Payment is required a minimum of 30 days in advance of your tour to secure the bus availability. - Agree to maximum capacity 30 passengers. - Alcohol is not permitted. - Payment is required a minimum of 30 days in advance of your tour to secure the bus availability. I have read and accept the terms of agreement Check here if you accept these terms: Yes Frequently Asked Questions If your specific question is not addressed here, please contact Alice Weston, Tour Coordinator tours@atlbeltlinepartnership.org. Why is there a charge for tours?+- As awareness of the Atlanta BeltLine reaches a critical mass, the demand for funding for programs that address additional needs around the Atlanta BeltLine grows. To support the Atlanta BeltLine Partnership’s impact in other key areas, we are offering tours of the Atlanta Beltline for $25 per person. All the reservations are full. Is there a wait list?+- Unfortunately, we are not able to maintain a wait list for our bus tours, and we do realize our tours fill up fast. We do occasionally receive cancellations, and we release these seats as soon as they are available. You can check for available seats on the tour registration web site. Do you accept walk-ups on the morning of the tour?+- You are welcome to arrive early on the morning of a tour and try to walk on. If people who made a reservation do not arrive by 9:25 a.m., we will give these seats away on a first-come, first-served basis. I use a wheelchair/walker. Can I take the bus tour?+- We are able to accommodate one wheelchair on our bus tour. Please note you must inform us ahead of time so that the proper accommodations can be made. To reserve ADA accessible seat email us at tours@atlblp.org or call us at 404-446-4404. If you have reserved an ADA accessible seat please arrive at 9:00am to allow sufficient time to board the bus. Our Sponsors The Atlanta BeltLine Bus Tour would not be possible without our incredible sponsors!Does Troy Tulowitzki suffer without Carlos Gonzalez in the lineup? Several weeks ago, in the same way my last article on rookie first and second half splits was inspired, my attention was alerted when a podcast personality contrived that Troy Tulowitzki, before his most recent bout with the injury bug, had preformed poorly because Carlos Gonzalez had been out of the lineup. The pundit grabbed the lowest handing fruit he could find in an effort to create a narrative, and a dogmatic one at that, as to why the Colorado Rockies slugger had not lived up to his pre All-Star break numbers. ***** ***’s (I’d prefer the article to be more about the subject of Tulowitzki and Gonzalez than the podcast member) argument was that without Carlos Gonzalez in the lineup, pitchers could approach Tulowitzki without fear, give him less strikes, and that is why his hitting has declined. While this pundit surmised that Troy Tulowitzki’s performance declines when Carlos Gonzalez is out of the lineup, the numbers tell a much different story. Click here to read more by articles by Devin Jordan. While we will look at the more direct numbers in a moment, the idea that Tulowitzki plays worse without Gonzalez is essentially the idea of lineup protection at a micro level. There have been countless instances that have debunked the idea of lineup protection, and, to my knowledge, none that have proved its existence. The research looked at all games from 2010—Carlos Gonzalez’ first complete season—to today. The results paint a much lighter picture than the Guernica that *** ***** painted. In games where Tulo has played without Cargo, he has had a higher AVG, OBP, OPS, and BB%. One might think that Tulowitzki would continue his normal performance without Carlos Gonzalez in the lineup, but, as this information suggests, it is hard to imagine that Tulo plays better because Carlos Gonzalez is not in the lineup, which leads me to believe what one would normally think about out of the ordinary performances in a small amount of at bats. The utility of these results should be used for descriptive, and not predictive, purposes. Troy Tulowitzki has only had 479 plate appearances without Carlos Gonzalez, and that is far from a large enough sample size to be deemed reliable. But because of the recent remarks made by Tulowitzki, it seems like it will be more likely than not that sooner rather than later we will see a large enough of a sample size of Tulo in another uniform to see if this trend continues. While Tulo has played worse and is hurt as of late, we might expect that it is because he was unlikely to live up to the performance he had in the first half, and not because of Cargo’s presence or lack thereof in the lineup. Over the course of the first half of the season, Tulowitzki’s posted the 15th best OPS in a half of a season since 2010. Tulo’s latest play suggests a regression to the mean, and while we are powerless to know exactly why regression happens, some pundits proclaim to know the reason (i.e. Tulo plays worse without Carlos Gonzalez), when really their specious statement is noise with a coat of eloquent words painted upon it. When the next “expert” tells you that Tulo has preformed poorly, because “ he wants out of Colorado” or “he wants to be traded”, you’ll know to be more skeptical and not passively agree. If he gets healthy at some point this season, we should expect Tulowitzki to preform close to his projections in all areas for the rest of the year, and it will be with or without Carlos Gonzalez, not because of him. Devin Jordan is obsessed with statistical analysis, non-fiction literature, and electronic music. If you enjoyed reading him, follow him on Twitter @devinjjordan.Why Law & Order: SVU Has Pulled The Same Episode From The Schedule Three Times By Nick Venable Random Article Blend A TV network's schedule can be altered by a lot of things, from national disasters to crazy sports championships, and all manner of other causes. Last month, for instance, NBC delayed one episode of Law & Order: SVU for several weeks, and then pushed it back a second time, and now the network recently decided the third choice for an air date won't cut it, either, and the episode has now been pushed back to some unannounced date. The reason? Donald Trump won the U.S. Presidency. The episode, titled "Unstoppable," was originally meant to air on October 12, but got delayed for two weeks before receiving its seemingly final post-election airing on Wednesday, November 16. And now that America has chosen its arguably surprising next President, NBC is putting quite a bit of distance between the Trump-inspired episode and the business mogul's big night, which nobody will likely wonder about since the episode in question involved a political candidate accused of rape. In the episode, actor Gary Cole plays a POTUS hopeful who shares obvious similarities with Donald Trump, including massive wealth and a boorish attitude. The campaign trail, as you might have guessed, is thrown into an uproar when a woman accuses the character of rape. The first air date would have been just after the notorious Access Hollywood recording, in which Trump spoke of using his fame to make sexual advances on women, and just before the third and finale debate. The second back-pedaling for the episode came after numerous sexual assault allegations against Trump surfaced. Now that he's going to be our next leader, NBC likely doesn't want to stir the pot, so the network now won't air the episode until some point in 2017. According to Deadline, NBC is putting Blindspot together with a two-hour episode of Chicago P.D., and so we possibly won't be seeing any new episodes for quite a bit. There's no way they'll put this episode out in January so close to the inauguration, right? Fun fact: this isn't the first time in 2016 that Gary Cole has seen one of his TV shows affected by Donald Trump. Veep showrunner Dave Mandel said not too long ago that the HBO comedy made some changes following that Access Hollywood tape's release. Stay tuned to see when Law & Order: SVU will air "Unstoppable," or any of its other episodes. In the meantime, head to our fall schedule and our midseason schedule to see what's still coming to your televisions. Why Sophia Bush Left Chicago P.D. Blended From Around The Web Facebook Back to topShe’s in good company. Across the country, blog writing has become a basic requirement in everything from M.B.A. to literature courses. On its face, who could disagree with the transformation? Why not replace a staid writing exercise with a medium that gives the writer the immediacy of an audience, a feeling of relevancy, instant feedback from classmates or readers, and a practical connection to contemporary communications? Pointedly, why punish with a paper when a blog is, relatively, fun? Because, say defenders of rigorous writing, the brief, sometimes personally expressive blog post fails sorely to teach key aspects of thinking and writing. They argue that the old format was less about how Sherman got to the sea and more about how the writer organized the points, fashioned an argument, showed grasp of substance and proof of its origin. Its rigidity wasn’t punishment but pedagogy. Their reductio ad absurdum: why not just bypass the blog, too, and move right on to 140 characters about Shermn’s Mrch? “Writing term papers is a dying art, but those who do write them have a dramatic leg up in terms of critical thinking, argumentation and the sort of expression required not only in college, but in the job market,” says Douglas B. Reeves, a columnist for the American School Board Journal and founder of the Leadership and Learning Center, the school-consulting division of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. “It doesn’t mean there aren’t interesting blogs. But nobody would conflate interesting writing with premise, evidence, argument and conclusion.” The National Survey of Student Engagement found that in 2011, 82 percent of first-year college students and more than half of seniors weren’t asked to do a single paper of 20 pages or more, while the bulk of writing assignments were for papers of one to five pages. The term paper has been falling from favor for some time. A study in 2002 estimated that about 80 percent of high school students were not asked to write a history term paper of more than 15 pages. William H. Fitzhugh, the study’s author and founder of The Concord Review, a journal that publishes high school students’ research papers, says that, more broadly, educators shy away from rigorous academic writing, giving students the relative ease of writing short essays. He argues that part of the problem is that teachers are asking students to read less, which means less substance — whether historical, political or literary — to focus a term paper on. Photo “She’s right,” Mr. Fitzhugh says of Professor Davidson. “Writing is being murdered. But the solution isn’t blogs, the solution is more reading. We don’t pay taxes so kids can talk about themselves and their home lives.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story He proposes what he calls the “page a year” solution: in first grade, a one-page paper using one source; by fifth grade, five pages and five sources. The debate about academic writing has given rise to new terminology: “old literacy” refers to more traditional forms of discourse and training; “new literacy” stretches from the blog and tweet to multimedia presentation with PowerPoint and audio essay. “We’re at a crux right now of where we have to figure out as teachers what part of the old literacy is worth preserving,” says Andrea A. Lunsford, a professor of English at Stanford. “We’re trying to figure out how to preserve sustained, logical, carefully articulated arguments while engaging with the most exciting and promising new literacies.” Professor Lunsford has collected 16,000 writing samples from 189 Stanford students from 2001 to 2007, and is studying how their writing abilities and passions evolved as blogs and other multimedia tools crept into their lives and classrooms. She’s also solicited student feedback about their experiences. Her conclusion is that students feel much more impassioned by the new literacy. They love writing for an audience, engaging with it. They feel as if they’re actually producing something personally rewarding and valuable, whereas when they write a term paper, they feel as if they do so only to produce a grade. So Professor Lunsford is playing to student passions. Her writing class for second-year students, a requirement at Stanford, used to revolve around a paper constructed over the entire term. Now, the students start by writing a 15-page paper on a particular subject in the first few weeks. Once that’s done, they use the ideas in it to build blogs, Web sites, and PowerPoint and audio and oral presentations. The students often find their ideas much more crystallized after expressing them with new media, she says, and then, most startling, they plead to revise their essays. “What I’m asking myself is, ‘Will we need to keep the 15-page paper forever or move right to the new way?’ ” she says. “Stanford’s writing program won’t be making that change right away, since our students still seem to benefit from learning how to present their research findings in both traditional print and new media.” As Professor Lunsford illustrates, choosing to educate using either blogs or term papers is something of a false opposition. Teachers can use both. And blogs, a platform that seems to encourage rambling exercises in personal expression, can also be well crafted and meticulously researched. At the same time, the debate is not a false one: while some educators fear that informal communication styles are increasing duress on traditional training, others find the actual paper fundamentally anachronistic. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Take Professor Davidson, who anchors a more extreme position, as she has for many years, even before the advent of the blog. When teaching at Michigan State in the 1980s, she says, she infuriated some colleagues because she scrapped the traditional research paper — what she calls “researchese,” writing not relevant outside academe — and had her students learn to write cover letters and business letters, their life stories and essays about their chosen careers. “I was basically kicked out of the writing program for thinking that was more important than writing a five-paragraph essay,” she says. “I’m not against discipline. I’m not sure that writing a five-paragraph essay is discipline so much as standardization. It’s a formula, but good writing plays with formulas, and changes formulas.” Today, she tries to keep herself grounded in the experiences of a range of students by tutoring at a community college. Recently, one student she tutors was given an assignment with prescribed sentence length and rigid structure. “I urged him to follow all the rules,” she says. “If he’d done it my way, I don’t know he’d have passed the class.You're Good to Go! Get the latest news and videos for this game daily, no spam, no fuss. Slightly Mad Studios' next-generation racer, Project Cars, will launch on Friday, November 21 in the UK. The release date was announced via the British retail chain GAME on its Twitter feed, though international dates were not specified. By convention, it would suggest that Project Cars' release date across North America would fall on Tuesday, November 18, but publisher Namco Bandai has not confirmed this and was unavailable for comment at the time of going to press. Project Cars features highly detailed vehicles with a focus on racing simulation, much like the Forza Motorsport and Gran Turismo series. It will ship first on Xbox One and PlayStation 4, with the PC and Wii U versions delayed until an unspecified date in 2015. The PC version will also carry Oculus Rift support, making it one of the first racing games to support virtual reality.London, England — Investors are bloodied and confused, says Warren Buffett, much as though they were small birds that had strayed into a badminton game By the end of 2008, $30—$40 trillion had been lost, in stocks, housing and derivatives. Investors breathed a sigh of relief when December 31 finally came. But then came 2009! World markets have fallen 18% so far this year 2009 is on track to lose far more than even 2008, which was the worst year in stock market history. What has gone wrong? Today, we’re going to retrace our steps. In order to understand where we’re going, we have to spend a minute remembering where we’ve come from. First, the biggest bubble in history sprang a major leak in the summer of ’07. Then came the autumn of 2008, and it was losing air from every seam. The biggest bubble in history might be expected to lead to the biggest bust in history. And so it has Let it burn itself out, was our advice. Instead, the feds sounded the alarm, slid down the pole, and rushed to put the fire out. But the more money and credit they pumped on the flames, the worse the fire seemed to get. The Federal Reserve, under the leadership of Ben Bernanke, called out all the fire trucks and opened up all the hoses. Rates were cut to zero and the Fed expanded its balance sheet — increasing the amount of credit available to the banking system — by nearly $1 trillion. And the Federal government — under the leadership of George W. Bush — rushed out a tax rebate and then a rescue bill. Together, they cost a bit more than $1 trillion. None of this rescuing has done any good. Every bank and business that has gotten help has deteriorated, as near as we can tell. The feds let Lehman go bust and we were done with it. But they saved insurance giant, AIG. Now, AIG is in trouble again. And today’s paper tells us that the feds have stepped in this time to put in a further $30 billion and take a controlling stake in two of the stricken insurer’s largest divisions. Hey so now the feds are in the insurance business too. And here comes the new administration with another $825 billion bailout and the kind of budget that takes our breath away. If Mr. Obama gets his way, he will soak the rich and squeeze the military; everyone else will be showered with benefits. There’s a health care initiative, for example, that will cost more than $600 billion. And there’s even a plan to provide higher education for everyone. Republicans are gearing up for a fight. They owe many of their careers to military contractors and are looking forward to cushy jobs with defense businesses should the voters ever catch on and boot them out of office. They’ll fight to keep the U.S. spending money as if we were at war. The Republicans don’t appreciate it much either when people on their high-dollar-donor lists are hit with higher taxes. Democrats are readying for a dust-up too. They’ve dreamed of moments like this — it is as if the police and the alarm companies had all gone on strike at the same time. They’re planning to rob every bank in town — and expect to get thanked for it. It is not often that they can divvy up trillions in boondoggles and pretend it is in the national interest. With this worldwide financial meltdown you can get away with anything. People have come to believe things so absurd you’d think even a Democrat would laugh at them. Most think you can give money to failing companies and somehow they’ll be healthy businesses again. Some believe that you can print up paper money — and that it will be as good as the real thing. Almost all of them think spending money on anything, no matter how stupid, actually helps the economy. If it were only that easy! Obama says he’s preparing for a fight too. Which is fine with us; we like a good fight. Even one that is rigged. And this one surely is. Just look at a chart of government spending over the last 30 years. What you see is that there is nothing extraordinary about what Obama is doing. Every year, through Republican and Democratic administrations from Ronald Reagan to Barack Obama the Republicans and Democrats pretended to fight about how much money the government spent. And every year the trend continued: higher spending, higher deficits. It didn’t seem to matter who was president, or what was going on. Each year, spending rose and so did the real deficits. That too is a feature of the post-war consumer economy. And that, too, is probably coming to an end. After all this firefighting you might think that the blaze would be under control by now. Not at all. On Friday, the Dow lost a further 119 points. It’s clearly ready for a rally but there is none in sight — yet. Oil is at $44. Gold lost ground too it’s down to $942. We recall that last December, as stock prices were collapsing, Warren Buffett stepped up and put his money and his mouth in the same place. He was buying stocks, he said. But buying stocks proved a bad place for both his money and his mouth. Stocks continued falling. And so did the economy that is supposed to support them. Economic output in the United States is falling at a 6.5% rate — the fastest drop in 26 years. And now Buffett says the economy will be a shambles this year. His own company, Berkshire Hathaway, reported profits down 96% from the year before and is trading at only about half its peak. In other words, Berkshire shareholders have lost half their money. And here’s a good question for you, dear reader: If the smartest investor in the world can’t make money in this market, how do you expect to? If we were you, we wouldn’t even try. You see, this is not a recession and it’s not a buying opportunity. It’s a depression. And at this stage in a depression, the best thing to do is to sell stocks, not buy them. Because they have further to fall and because they could take a long, long time to recover. We’ve explained the difference between a recession and a depression before. But we’ll do it again. A recession is a pause in an otherwise healthy, growing economy. A depression is when the economy drops dead. And when it drops dead, the assets that people owned — stocks, bonds, houses, derivatives, debt — are called into question. What are they worth, now that the economy that created them no longer exists? That’s the big question. The U.S. economy has been expanding for the last 60 years — largely by increasing consumer spending and debt. Now, neither consumer spending nor debt is increasing. In the last 6 months, consumers have suddenly reversed their free-spending ways. Borrowers and lenders have repented too. But if it is no longer an economy that grows by increasing consumption and debt how does it grow at all? And what about all those businesses that are set up to provide products and services to the consumer economy? And what about all the debts and obligations that the consumer economy produced; what are they worth? That’s what everyone wants to know. So the markets have entered into a period of vigorous price discovery. Some things are still valuable, of course. A house, for example. But many things aren’t as valuable as they used to be. The house won’t be worth as much if people can’t borrow to buy it or if potential buyers can’t get a job. And the mortgage debt that the house carried which was recycled into a leveraged debt instrument is bound to be worth a lot less than people once thought. But it takes time to sort out the good assets from the bad ones. How much does the business owe? To whom? Who owes it money? Will the debtor be able to pay? And what about those strange pieces of paper — CDOs, MBOs, SIVs — in the company vault? What are they worth? For a while, people are so afraid of making the wrong move that markets freeze up. No one wants to lend when he doesn’t know if he’s going to get his money back. That’s called a credit crunch. And no one wants to buy when he has no idea what things are worth. That’s when markets go no bid. But eventually — unless the feds stop the process — things sort themselves out. Businesses go broke. Homeowners are defenestrated. Automobiles go back to the dealers’ lots. Prices sink to a level where people are able to buy. And the whole process starts over again. This can take a long, long time especially when government is trying to stop it. We must kill zombie banks or face a lost American decade, says James Baker, U.S. Treasury Secretary under Ronald Reagan and U.S. Secretary of State under George Bush I. Japan is still trying to adjust to the realities of its post-bubble world after the initial crash 19 years ago. It propped up banks instead of fixing them, he says. The banks were kept alive but not performing their function. Result: a lost decade. Maybe two. In the United States, in the ’30s, on the other hand, the zombie banks were allowed to die. More than 1,000 banks were buried. Still, the economy didn’t really recover until after WWII — some 2 decades after the crash of ’29. Maybe killing the zombie banks isn’t enough. Zombie companies must be allowed to fail, too. And zombie homeowners. And all the zombie investments made in the preceding bubble years. Of course, that is what is needed. A period of creative destruction. But in this period of discovery, we don’t know who’s a zombie and who’s not. Not yet. It will take time to find out. A new economic model must take shape. Then, the markets must tell us what things are still valuable and what they are worth. An example: a mall. Shopping malls were designed for an economy in which consumption increased at a more-or-less predictable rate. As consumption increased, mall owners could project how much retail space they could let out and what yield it would produce. Based on those figures, banks could lend against the value of the mall and investors could put their money to work building new malls. But that economy is missing and presumed dead. Consumption is no longer increasing, it’s declining. And the biggest consuming group — the baby boomers — seem to be changing their habits forever. From here on out, they are likely to be saving money for their retirements not spending. What is that mall worth now? What do the projections show? The commercial property loans used to build the mall were based on projections made years ago; what are those loans worth now? We’re all waiting to find out. A new economy needs to arise, step over the corpse of the dead one, and get moving. What kind of economy? We don’t know When will it happen? We don’t know that either. What companies will prosper which ones will fail? We wish we could tell you. In the meantime, all we have is guesses Bill Bonner [send him mail] is the author, with Addison Wiggin, of Financial Reckoning Day: Surviving the Soft Depression of The 21st Century and Empire of Debt: The Rise Of An Epic Financial Crisis and the co-author with Lila Rajiva of Mobs, Messiahs and Markets (Wiley, 2007). Bill Bonner Archives The Best of Bill BonnerTwice this month, the presumptive Republican nominee has seemed to act against his own political interests after tumultuous events -- the Orlando terror attack and the U.K.'s Brexit vote -- that should have offered him political openings. Trump's inconsistent and often self-congratulatory response to such crises misses opportunities to portray himself and his insurgent, populist campaign as delivering the right message for testing times. It's also luring Trump into a trap set by his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, who says he lacks the temperament and knowledge needed of a commander-in-chief. And it's left Trump behind -- sometimes badly -- in the polls Trump is joined by his family as he is sworn in as President on January 20. Trump is joined by his family as he is sworn in as President on January 20. Trump walks on stage with his family after he was declared the election winner on November 9. "Ours was not a campaign, but rather, an incredible and great movement," he told his supporters in New York. Trump walks on stage with his family after he was declared the election winner on November 9. "Ours was not a campaign, but rather, an incredible and great movement," he told his supporters in New York. Trump apologizes in a video, posted to his Twitter account in October, for vulgar and sexually aggressive remarks he made a decade ago regarding women. "I said it, I was wrong and I apologize," Trump said, referring to lewd comments he made during a previously unaired taping of "Access Hollywood." Multiple Republican leaders rescinded their endorsements of Trump after the footage was released. Trump faces Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in the first presidential debate, which took place in Hempstead, New York, in September. Trump delivers a speech at the Republican National Convention in July, accepting the party's nomination for President. "I have had a truly great life in business," he said. "But now, my sole and exclusive mission is to go to work for our country -- to go to work for you. It's time to deliver a victory for the American people." Trump delivers a speech at the Republican National Convention in July, accepting the party's nomination for President. "I have had a truly great life in business," he said. "But now, my sole and exclusive mission is to go to work for our country -- to go to work for you. It's time to deliver a victory for the American people." Trump speaks during a campaign event in Evansville, Indiana, on April 28. After Trump won the Indiana primary, his last two competitors dropped out of the GOP race. Trump speaks during a campaign event in Evansville, Indiana, on April 28. After Trump won the Indiana primary, his last two competitors dropped out of the GOP race. Trump -- flanked by U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio, left, and Ted Cruz -- speaks during a CNN debate in Miami on March 10. Trump dominated the GOP primaries and emerged as the presumptive nominee in May. Trump -- flanked by U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio, left, and Ted Cruz -- speaks during a CNN debate in Miami on March 10. Trump dominated the GOP primaries and emerged as the presumptive nominee in May. Trump speaks in Sarasota, Florida, after accepting the Statesman of the Year Award at the Sarasota GOP dinner in August 2012. It was shortly before the Republican National Convention in nearby Tampa. Trump speaks in Sarasota, Florida, after accepting the Statesman of the Year Award at the Sarasota GOP dinner in August 2012. It was shortly before the Republican National Convention in nearby Tampa. Trump poses with Miss Universe contestants in 2011. Trump had been executive producer of the Miss Universe, Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants since 1996. Trump poses with Miss Universe contestants in 2011. Trump had been executive producer of the Miss Universe, Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants since 1996. Trump appears on the set of "The Celebrity Apprentice" with two of his children -- Donald Jr. and Ivanka -- in 2009. Trump appears on the set of "The Celebrity Apprentice" with two of his children -- Donald Jr. and Ivanka -- in 2009. For "The Apprentice," Trump was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in January 2007. For "The Apprentice," Trump was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in January 2007. Trump wrestles with "Stone Cold" Steve Austin at WrestleMania in 2007. Trump has close ties with the WWE and its CEO, Vince McMahon. Trump wrestles with "Stone Cold" Steve Austin at WrestleMania in 2007. Trump has close ties with the WWE and its CEO, Vince McMahon. Trump attends the U.S. Open tennis tournament with his third wife, Melania Knauss-Trump, and their son, Barron, in 2006. Trump and Knauss married in 2005. Trump attends the U.S. Open tennis tournament with his third wife, Melania Knauss-Trump, and their son, Barron, in 2006. Trump and Knauss married in 2005. Trump attends a news conference in 2005 that announced the establishment of Trump University. From 2005 until it closed in 2010, Trump University had about 10,000 people sign up for a program that promised success in real estate. Three separate lawsuits -- two class-action suits filed in California and one filed by New York's attorney general -- argued that the program was mired in fraud and deception. Trump's camp rejected the suits' claims as "baseless." And Trump has charged that the New York case against him is politically motivated. A 12-inch talking Trump doll is on display at a toy store in New York in September 2004. A 12-inch talking Trump doll is on display at a toy store in New York in September 2004. An advertisement for the television show "The Apprentice" hangs at Trump Tower in 2004. The show launched in January of that year. In January 2008, the show returned as "Celebrity Apprentice." An advertisement for the television show "The Apprentice" hangs at Trump Tower in 2004. The show launched in January of that year. In January 2008, the show returned as "Celebrity Apprentice." Trump dips his second wife, Marla Maples, after the couple married in a private ceremony in New York in December 1993. The couple divorced in 1999 and had one daughter together, Tiffany. Trump dips his second wife, Marla Maples, after the couple married in a private ceremony in New York in December 1993. The couple divorced in 1999 and had one daughter together, Tiffany. Trump and singer Michael Jackson pose for a photo before traveling to visit Ryan White, a young child with AIDS, in 1990. Trump and singer Michael Jackson pose for a photo before traveling to visit Ryan White, a young child with AIDS, in 1990. Trump signs his second book, "Trump: Surviving at the Top," in 1990. Trump has published at least 16 other books, including "The Art of the Deal" and "The America We Deserve." Trump attends the opening of his new Atlantic City casino, the Taj Mahal, in 1989. Trump attends the opening of his new Atlantic City casino, the Taj Mahal, in 1989. Trump uses his personal helicopter to get around New York in 1987. Trump uses his personal helicopter to get around New York in 1987. Trump was married to Ivana Zelnicek Trump from 1977 to 1990, when they divorced. They had three children together: Donald Jr., Ivanka and Eric. Trump was married to Ivana Zelnicek Trump from 1977 to 1990, when they divorced. They had three children together: Donald Jr., Ivanka and Eric. Trump attends an event to mark the start of construction of the New York Convention Center in 1979. Trump attends an event to mark the start of construction of the New York Convention Center in 1979. Trump stands with Alfred Eisenpreis, New York's economic development administrator, in 1976 while they look at a sketch of a new 1,400-room renovation project of the Commodore Hotel. After graduating college in 1968, Trump worked with his father on developments in Queens and Brooklyn before purchasing or building multiple properties in New York and Atlantic City, New Jersey. Those properties included Trump Tower in New York and Trump Plaza and multiple casinos in Atlantic City. Trump stands with Alfred Eisenpreis, New York's economic development administrator, in 1976 while they look at a sketch of a new 1,400-room renovation project of the Commodore Hotel. After graduating college in 1968, Trump worked with his father on developments in Queens and Brooklyn before purchasing or building multiple properties in New York and Atlantic City, New Jersey. Those properties included Trump Tower in New York and Trump Plaza and multiple casinos in Atlantic City. Trump, center, wears a baseball uniform at the New York Military Academy in 1964. After he graduated from the boarding school, he went to college. He started at Fordham University before transferring and later graduating from the Wharton School, the University of Pennsylvania's business school. Trump, center, wears a baseball uniform at the New York Military Academy in 1964. After he graduated from the boarding school, he went to college. He started at Fordham University before transferring and later graduating from the Wharton School, the University of Pennsylvania's business school. Trump, center, stands at attention during his senior year at the New York Military Academy in 1964. Trump, center, stands at attention during his senior year at the New York Military Academy in 1964. Trump, left, in a family photo. He was the second-youngest of five children. Trump, left, in a family photo. He was the second-youngest of five children. Trump at age 4. He was born in 1946 to Fred and Mary Trump in New York City. His father was a real estate developer. Trump at age 4. He was born in 1946 to Fred and Mary Trump in New York City. His father was a real estate developer. President-elect Donald Trump has been in the spotlight for years. From developing
mar collectors what Mandel has done is to put the romance back into card collecting. Mandel’s maverick approach to the baseball card business is further illustrated in his decision not to advertise, ironic for someone whose college degree is in advertising. He prefers to let his business grow slowly by word of mouth. And then there is the Helmar policy of not making cards of just superstar players, as the big boys tend to do in many of their sets. “I make cards of guys most collectors have not even heard of,” says Mandel. “And we don’t skimp on the art used for those players either. When we make a card of Art Neft, for example, we put just as much time and effort into that card as we would a card of Ty Cobb.” As beautiful as all Helmar cards are, collectors without deep pockets probably pick one set to work on at a time. (Morgan, for instance, is focusing on two Helmar sets and ignoring the others.) This is easier said than done because there are so many attractive options, such as: “Hey Batter” set – sepia-toned die-cut cards, the tops of which fold over. 4-in-1 set – made up of cards with four different players on each card front T3 Cabinet set – 8-1/2-by-4-1/4 inches cards similar to Turkey Reds L3 Helmar leathers set – 4-by-9-inch cards constructed of 16 different pieces, including a “branded leather shield” made of genuine cow hide and featuring a imprinted unique player image on the bottom half of the card, a second player portrait hand cut and applied inside a cut-out area on the top half of the card and nine genuine multi-faceted crystals made by the Swarovski Kristall Co. set into the card around the portrait on the top half of the card. Whew! Other Helmar sets include Heroes of the Polo Grounds, Imperial Cabinets, E145 Helmar Cigar Ball Players, 1984 Detroit Tigers, Trolley Car Ads and H813-4 Boston Garter. Mandel is not getting rich making and selling his modern Helmar baseball cards, but he’s doing OK financially with them now. Money was never the point anyway. “I don’t let the sales potential affect the players we depict on the cards or the number of cards we issue,” he says. “I’m having fun doing things my way and sharing the fun I’m having with other people.” Some of his creations top $250 for a single card, usually for Hall of Famers such as Joe Jackson, Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb. Judging by the number of people who receive Mandel’s newsletter by e-mail, the universe of Helmar collectors is still relatively small. At this point only Helmar’s initial set, Famous Athletes, is checklisted in any of the Standard Catalogs. It’s almost as if what Mandel is doing is the best-kept secret in the hobby. However, since Mandel obviously knows and is committed to doing what gets true baseball card collectors excited, if the secret ever becomes wide spread … watch out. Mike Shannon is a freelance contributor to SCD. He can be reached at spitball5@hotmail.com. Related Posts:By Jon Savage The interview you are about to read transpired late on the evening of Thursday, July 22, 1993, arranged as part of Nirvana’s U.K. press campaign for the then soon-to-be released In Utero (DGC). In contrast to their almost total silence in the American media, Nirvana had five U.K. interviews and photo shoots slotted into their brief stay in New York, culminating with a showcase concert at Roseland on the evening of the 23rd. This would have been an unusually grueling schedule for even the most unflappable of groups. But then, hardly anything associated with Nirvana was usual. The affable, straight-ahead presence of Chris (now Krist) Novoselic and Dave Grohl notwithstanding, the atmosphere surrounding Nirvana at the time was strongly reminiscent of the feeling that accompanied the Sex Pistols in 1977. Here, too, was a group-the hottest group of the moment-who were about more than just music, and who were refusing to play the game. Judging from the hysteria that greeted their return after a year of silence, Nirvana acted as a kind of psychic lightning rod: a focus for everyone’s fears, hopes, loves and hates. Few knew where they were coming from, nobody knew what they would do. Much of this pressure rested on Kurt Cobain, who just to keep things interesting was at once charming, arrogant, vague and unpredictable. Getting him to sit down for the interview was hard. I managed to pin him down backstage after an extraordinary Melvin’s show we both attended. “Do I have to do this now?” he asked me. “Yes,” I replied simply and that was that. We subsequently adjourned to my room at the New York Palace hotel, where once he relaxed, Cobain was intelligent, cogent and as candid as he could be, given his situation. The interview seemed to provide Cobain with an oasis of calm in the middle of the madness. I warmed to him, and wanted to believe what he said. My ultimate feeling confirmed by the Roseland show the next night was that here was a person and a group poised on a knife edge between considerable, positive power and self destruction. Here is a record of that pivotal moment. GUITAR WORLD: Tell me about your background. KURT COBAIN: I was born in Aberdeen, Washington, in 1967, and I lived between Aberdeen and Montesano, which was 20 miles away. I moved back and forth between relatives’ houses throughout my whole childhood. GW: Did your parents split up when you were young? COBAIN: Yeah, when I was seven. GW: Do you remember anything about that? COBAIN: I remember feeling ashamed, for some reason. I was ashamed of my parents. I couldn’t face some of my friends at school anymore, because I desperately wanted to have the classic, you know, typical family. Mother, father. I wanted that security, so I resented my parents for quite a few years because of that. GW: Have you made up with them now? COBAIN: Well, I’ve always kept a relationship with my mom, because she’s always been the more affectionate one. But I hadn’t talked to my father for about 10 years until last year, when he sought me out backstage at a show we played in Seattle. I was happy to see him because I always wanted him to know that I didn’t hate him anymore. On the other hand, I didn’t want to encourage our relationship because I just didn’t have anything to say to him. My father is incapable of showing much affection, or even of carrying on a conversation. I didn’t want to have a relationship with him just because he’s my blood relative. It would bore me. So the last time that I saw him, I expressed that to him and made it really clear that I just didn’t want anything to do with him anymore. But it was a relief on both our parts, you know? Because for some years he felt that I really hated his guts. GW: You can’t duck it. COBAIN: That’s what I’ve done all my life, though. I’ve always quit jobs without telling the employer that I was quitting; I just wouldn’t show up one day. I was the same in high school-I quit with only two months to go. I’ve always copped out of things, so to face up to my father although he chose to seek me out-was a nice relief. GW: Have you written about this stuff at all? The lyrics on “Serve the Servants” sound autobiographical. COBAIN: Yeah. It’s the first time I’ve ever really dealt with parental issues. I’ve hardly ever written anything that obviously personal. GW: What was it like for you growing up? COBAIN: I was very isolated. I had a really good childhood, until the divorce. Then, all of a sudden, my whole world changed. I became antisocial. I started to understand the reality of my surroundings, which didn’t have a lot to offer. Aberdeen was such a small town, and I couldn’t find any friends that I was very fond of, or who were compatible with me, or liked to do the things that I liked. I liked to do artistic things and listen to music. GW: What did you listen to then? COBAIN: Whatever I could get a hold of. My aunts would give me Beatles records, so for the most part it was just the Beatles, and every once in a while, if I was lucky, I was able to buy a single. GW: Did you like the Beatles? COBAIN: Oh, yeah. My mother always tried to keep a little bit of British culture in our family. We’d drink tea all the time! I never really knew about my ancestors until this year, when I learned that the name Cobain was Irish. My parents had never bothered to find that stuff out. I found out by looking through phone books throughout America for names that were similar to mine. I couldn’t find any Cobains at all, so I started calling Coburns. I found this one lady in San Francisco who had been researching our family history for years. GW: So it was Coburn? COBAIN: Actually it was Cobain, but the Coburns screwed it up when they came over. They came from County Cork, which is a really weird coincidence, because when we toured Ireland, we played in Cork and the entire day I walked around in a daze. I’d never felt more spiritual in my life. It was the weirdest feeling and I have a friend who was with me who could testify to this I was almost in tears the whole day. Since that tour, which was about two years ago, I’ve had a sense that I was from Ireland. GW: Tell me about your high school experience. Were people unpleasant to you? COBAIN: I was a scapegoat, but not in the sense that people picked on me all the time. They didn’t pick on me or beat me up because I was already so withdrawn by that time. I was so antisocial that I was almost insane. I felt so different and so crazy that people just left me alone. I wouldn’t have been surprised if they had voted me Most Likely To Kill Everyone At A High School Dance. GW: Can you now understand how some people become so alienated that they become violent? COBAIN: Yeah, I can definitely see how a person’s mental state could deteriorate to the point where they would do that. I’ve gotten to the point where I’ve fantasized about it, but I’m sure I would opt to kill myself first. But still, I’ve always loved revenge movies about high school dances, stuff like Carrie. GW: When did you first hear punk rock? COBAIN: Probably `84. I keep trying to get this story right chronologically, and I just can’t. My first exposure to punk rock came when Creem started covering the Sex Pistols’ U.S. tour. I would read about them and just fantasize about how amazing it would be to hear their music and to be a part of it. But I was like 11 years old, and I couldn’t possibly have followed them on the tour. The thought of just going to Seattle which was only 200 miles away was impossible. My parents took me to Seattle probably three times in my life, from what I can remember, and those were on family trips. After that, I was always trying to find punk rock, but of course they didn’t have it in our record shop in Aberdeen. The first punk rock I was able to buy was probably Devo and Oingo Boingo and stuff like that; that stuff finally leaked into Aberdeen many years after the fact. Then, finally, in 1984 a friend of mine named Buzz Osborne [Melvins singer/guitarist] made me a couple of compilation tapes with Black Flag and Flipper, everything, all the most popular punk rock bands, and I was completely blown away. I’d finally found my calling. That very same day, I cut my hair short. I would lip sync to those tapes I played them every day and it was the greatest thing. I’d already been playing guitar by then for a couple of years, and I was trying to play my own style of punk rock, or what I imagined that it was. I knew it was fast and had a lot of distortion. Punk expressed the way I felt socially and politically. There were so many things going on at once. It expressed the anger that I felt the alienation. It also helped open my eyes to what I didn’t like about metal bands like Aerosmith and Led Zeppelin. While I really did enjoy, and still do enjoy, some of the melodies those bands have written, I suddenly realized I didn’t like their sexist attitudes the way that they just wrote about their dicks and having sex. That stuff bored me. GW: When did you start to think about sexism? Was it an outgrowth of your interest in punk? COBAIN: No, it was before that. I could never find any good male friends, so I ended up hanging out with the girls a lot, and I just felt that they weren’t being treated equally and they weren’t treated with respect. I hated the way Aberdeen treated women in general they were just totally oppressed. The words “bitch” and “cunt” were totally common, you’d hear them all the time. But it took me many years after the fact to realize those were the things that were bothering me. I was just starting to understand what was pissing me off so much, and in the last couple of years of high school, I found punk rock and it all came together. I finally understood that I wasn’t retarded, you know? GW: Did you ever have problems with people thinking you were gay? COBAIN: Yeah. Even I thought that I was gay. Although I never experimented with it, I thought that might be the solution to my problem. I had a gay friend, and that was the only time that I ever experienced real confrontation from people. Like I said, for so many years they were basically afraid of me, but when I started hanging out with this guy, Myer Loftin, who was known to be gay, they started giving me a lot of shit, trying to beat me up and stuff. Then my mother wouldn’t allow me to be friends with him anymore because she’s homophobic. GW: So did you stop? COBAIN: Yeah. It was real devastating because finally I’d found a male friend who I could actually talk to and be affectionate with, and I was told I couldn’t hang out with him anymore. Around that same time, I was putting all the pieces of the puzzle together. He played a big role in that. Source: Guitar World, July 1993 Like this: Like Loading...Another German talks up Gunners Grosskreutz wants to follow Mertesacker's footsteps After signing Per Mertesacker and being linked endlessly to Mario Gotze, Arsenal are now tipped to land another German – the 23-year old winger Kevin Grosskreutz. Grosskreutz, who is Gotze’s teammate at Borussia Dortmund, guided his current team to the Bundesliga title with eight goals and seven assists last season. Unlike Gotze, Grosskreutz has been a lot more open about discussing his ambitions of moving to the English top flight one day. “If I do ever leave Dortmund, I would like to go to the Premier League in England, and my favorite club there is Arsenal,” Grosskreutz told Daily Mail. Interestingly, after joining the Gunners, Mertesacker also immediately revealed that it was his life-long dream to play for Arsene Wenger’s side. On the other hand, Gotze is refusing to talk about the subject of a potential transfer from Dortmund, with his most recent statement on the issue assuring the defending German champions that he will honor is contract. “I am really happy here. That is all that counts. I have a contract here until 2014 and I am more than happy,” the midfield sensation told Sky Television over the weekend. He added: “I think you can see that (my happiness) too and that is why I am happy to be here. We have so many amazing players in our side who try to push themselves to the limits in every training session and every game.” All said and done, Gotze and Grosskreutz will be on the same page when Borussia Dortmund arrive at the Emirates to square off against Arsenal in their Champions League Group F clash on November 23. Reader Comments The below views are those of our readers and do not reflect the opinions of Premiership Talk or its employees.Many modern medicines are derived from plant products, with the active chemical components having been identified and made synthetically. But there are plenty of plants that have (or are thought to have) medicinal properties that haven't been turned into pharmaceuticals. That fact, along with a misguided sense that "natural" probably means "better," has helped turn herbal remedies and supplements into a multi-billion dollar business. Unlike the strict regulatory oversight faced by the pharmaceutical industry, however, herbal products are a bit of a Wild West. Those selling them are simply forbidden from making specific medical claims. In light of that, a group of Canadian researchers have now confirmed that the results are exactly what one might expect: mislabeled products, lots of filler, and plant material that can be allergenic or cause reactions that can threaten health. The researchers relied on a technique called DNA barcoding, which relies on finding genes that are highly conserved through evolution so that every organism has a copy that will be nearly identical. This technique enables the design of DNA primers that will allow the sequence to be amplified from just about any species out there. Sets of primers for plants, animals, fungi, etc. have all been designed. If a gene is completely identical, however, these primers would simply amplify the same sequence from every species. So researchers have identified genes that have highly conserved sequences that flank a region where variability is tolerated, which lets the primers work regardless of the species but ensures that they amplify something that's going to vary from species to species. This variable sequence is the barcode—when you find it, you can use it to look up the species. The challenge with herbal products is that last step: looking up the species. For that to be successful, someone has to have previously matched the sequence to a species. For most herbs, that's not likely to have been done. Even when a barcode is available in a public database, there's no guarantee that the plant was identified by someone who can recognize the often subtle differences between a species of plant and its close relatives. To deal with this issue, the authors worked with experts from a botanic garden, which helped them identify 100 species used in herbal products to barcode. They then went out and bought 44 different herbal products and compared them with their barcode database. The results did not look good for the producers. Of the dozen companies that produced what the authors tested, only two managed to make something that contained the herb that was promised and lacked fillers or other plant material. In three cases, the herbal products contained species that the authors were unable to identify. Sixty percent of the products contained plants that weren't listed on the product information, while in 10 percent of the samples, the only plant matter detected came from rice or wheat, meaning that the pills were simply filler. Filler might not seem like much of a problem, but the authors note that wheat allergies exist and could potentially cause problems for people who are trying to stay gluten-free. Most problematic, however, is the finding that manufacturers were substituting something else for the advertised herbal contents. "We found contamination in several products with plants that have known toxicity, side effects, and/or negatively interact with other herbs, supplements, or medications," the authors note. In one case, St. John's Wort was replaced by an herb that is touted as a laxative. In another, the promised herb was replaced by one that has "negative side effects such as swelling and numbness of the mouth, oral ulcers, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and flatulence." The authors don't name any names—presumably, they and/or the journal don't want to mix it up with the herbal industry based on a small and preliminary survey. But the authors are expanding their barcode library to include more herbal species, so there's a reasonable chance that they will be back for more. Even in its preliminary form, the study indicates that herbal products should be approached with extreme caution. Unfortunately, about the only legal risk these manufacturers are likely to face in the US is one based on their false advertising. Given the producers' economic clout and the general anti-regulatory mood in Washington, that situation is unlikely to change. In the absence of regulation, the best we can hope for is a public awareness campaign, and the extensive coverage received by the paper is effectively just that. BMC Medicine, 2013. DOI: 10.1186/1741-7015-11-222 (About DOIs).WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Many Americans are not financially prepared for retirement, with almost a third of working adults without savings or a pension, according to a Federal Reserve survey published on Wednesday. A pair of elderly couples view the ocean and waves along the beach in La Jolla, California March 8, 2012. REUTERS/Mike Blake The Fed’s 2014 Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking found that about 38 percent of the more than 5,800 respondents have either no intention to retire or plan to keep working for as long as possible. “Thirty-one percent of non-retirees have no retirement savings or pension, including nearly a quarter of those older than 45,” the Fed said. “Even among individuals who are saving, fewer than half of adults with self-directed retirement savings are mostly or very confident in their ability to make the right investment decisions when managing their retirement savings.” The survey, which was conducted in October and November last year on behalf of the Fed board, also found that among lower-income respondents, whose household income is less than $40,000 per year, 55 percent plan to keep working as long as possible or never plan to retire. It found a modest improvement in individuals’ perceptions of financial well-being compared to 2013, though their optimism about future financial prospects increased significantly. Sixty-five percent of respondents viewed their families to be either “doing okay” or “living comfortably” financially, a 3 percentage points increase from the 2013 survey. Twenty-nine percent expected their income to rise this year, up from 21 percent in the 2013 survey. Still, the finances of many families are shaky. Only 53 percent of respondents said they could cover a hypothetical emergency expense costing $400 without selling something or borrowing money. “Thirty-one percent of respondents report going without some form of medical care in the past year because they could not afford it,” the Fed said.Eco Marine Power has decided to move forward with the development of a solar module sail panel system for ships. Based in Fukuoka, Japan, this rather interesting looking system is being called the Aquarius Solar and Wind Marine Power System. The system works by attaching several rigid sail panels that are also solar modules to the deck of the ship. Using an advanced control and navigation system, the solar sails can move to collect greater sunlight or wind. The sails can be used in port for a recharge, and the company is designing them in such a manner that they can be stowed during extreme weather. For the moment, Eco Marine is designing their new solar sails to be installed in existing ships so that they can test the variety of vessels their product can be fitted to service. As well, the company is limiting the initial development of the Aquarius System to large carriers and oil tankers, but says the foundation of the technology could someday be used for smaller ships. Eco Marine Power is expecting the first testing of the prototype to start in early 2012, and is currently looking for shipping companies and shipyards around the world to partner with in order to conduct diverse testing under a variety of conditions. As we reported earlier this year, some in the shipping industry are looking to make some positive changes, though things like kites attached to large container ships leave us scratching our heads on the actual effectiveness of said ideas.Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre's son, Alexandre Coderre, has pleaded guilty to fraudulently purchasing nearly $16,700 in online services. Coderre's lawyer, Conrad Lord, said his client has attended therapy to deal with cyber addiction and added he has the support of both parents. In total, the 21-year-old pleaded guilty to five counts: four counts of fraud under $5,000 and one count of mischief. He attended his court appearance on Tuesday with his mother. Lied about identity theft Between 2015 and 2016, he paid for online services using a credit card. He later called the financial institution to report identity theft, saying he wasn't responsible for the purchases. According to his lawyer, the fraud — which totalled nearly $16,700 — was spent on "chat" services while he was living with his parents in the borough of Montreal North. "My client lost his way, he lost control," said Lord. "He was cyber-dependent." Lord said Coderre has been in therapy since April. He is attending university and works 20 hours per week at a supermarket. His lawyer said he will repay the amount of the fraud. Investigation triggered by mayor The investigation began when Denis Coderre contacted the head of Montreal Police, Philippe Pichet in January 2016, believing his son was a victim of fraud. When the investigators met with him, Alexandre Coderre continued to lie, leading to the charge of mischief. The case was eventually transferred to the Sûreté du Québec. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for Dec. 20.Puppies in the doctor’s back yard gave San Antonio police detective Walter Dennis a firm suspicion that the St. Bernards were more than just mere coincidence. After he knocked on the front door of Dr. Charles James Guilliam’s house, a woman with long, straight blond hair opened it. It was a cool Sunday afternoon, February 17, 1974, when Dennis introduced himself and the other suited gentleman standing with him on the porch of the Tuxford Street residence in northeast San Antonio. TIP JAR Options. Thank you for supporting Independent Journalism Bronze Tip $2.00 USD Silver Tip $3.00 USD Gold Tip $5.00 USD Platinum Tip $4.00 USD “…and this is detective John Dillmann from the New Orleans Police Department,” Dennis began. The lady shook their hands and identified herself as Dr. Guilliam’s wife, Katherine. “We are here to speak with your husband.” “I’m sorry, but he is out of town on business and can’t be reached by phone right now,” the twenty-something-year-old woman reacted. The detectives verified with her that Dr. Guilliam was a consulting psychologist currently working on a project in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area. “We are also attempting to locate a Mr. Claudius Giesick,” Dennis requested. “Do you know Claudius Giesick?” “Yes, I believe he is a business associate of my husband,” she responded. “How about Sam Corey,” the other detective asked. “Do you know a Sam Corey?” Katherine’s faced twitched. Dennis could hear the puppies barking outside and noticed she had difficulty focusing on the inquiry. She asked detective Dillmann to repeat the name. “You know–Sam Corey,” Detective Dennis replied for the New Orleans investigator. “The big, heavy man. He ran for Mayor of San Antonio and owns the Tokyo Massage Parlor here.” “Oh yes,” Katherine swiftly remembered. “Jim has gone to his parlor for a massage a few times.” When asked, she had no photos of her husband she could provide the detectives and asserted that her spouse would have to be the one to answer these questions about him. Dennis gave her his business card and asked her to have Dr. Guilliam call him as quickly as possible. “Look in the back yard,” Dennis whispered to Dillmann as they walked back to the police car. Dillmann said yes, he had noticed the puppies too when they started barking during their questioning of Katherine. As Dennis drove back to police headquarters, the two officers compared notes. Dennis had received a call from Giesick on Friday after telling the police operator he needed to speak to a detective. He told Dennis a strange account of how he had spent the last two years in virtual hiding because he was in extreme danger from a criminal named Zent. Giesick said that his bride, Patricia, had been killed by an oncoming car while they were enjoying their honeymoon in New Orleans the previous month. He wanted to let the detective know that the New Orleans police may be notifying them. Should New Orleans make any inquiries into this death, Giesick was requesting that the SAPD tell them he had to disappear because he was their police informer against this violent gangster, Zent. Dennis, suspicious of this bizarre request, went to a nearby office to run a computer check on Giesick’s background. When he discovered there was a warrant out for passing hot checks, Dennis instantly arrested him. Dennis then contacted New Orleans and reached Dillmann, who flew into San Antonio Sunday morning. By then, Giesick had been released. Someone posted a bail bond on his behalf. Dennis discovered that someone was Sam Corey. When Dennis picked up Dillmann at the International Airport Sunday morning, he had already arranged for a 10 a.m. meeting with Corey at the police station downtown. They took a formal statement in which the more than 300 pound Corey wrote that he “emphatically and positively” did not know Patricia. He did not know if Giesick has worked in any massage parlor. He claimed to hear of her death some days later from the bride’s mother who called him from New Jersey. Corey admitted he knew Giesick and had actually met him in Richardson, near Dallas, since the death. If Corey had known that Dillmann was working on this case for a couple of weeks, he may have been more truthful. The New Orleans detective, by this time, knew: –that pretty, strawberry blond 24-year-old Patricia Ann Albanowski had been employed in a massage parlor and had been heavily pursued by Giesick. –two different insurance agency investigators had concerns. Giesick purchased insurance policies totaling over $300,000 on the day of their wedding, prior to embarking on their honeymoon flight to New Orleans. –Patricia’s mother said that in a New Orleans hotel room, the night of her death, her daughter called very worried. Her new husband had left to take their rental car back for some kind of repairs. –Patricia told her mom that Giesick was a psychologist, but didn’t have an office. He often had to go undercover and disappear because he had helped the federal government arrest a major gold smuggling organization. The government was so concerned about his safety and reprisals from this smuggling gang, they had provided Giesick with a new identity. The name he said the Feds gave him was Charles James Guilliam. When the detectives called Patricia’s mother to confirm information, they learned more startling clues. Patricia, or Trish, as her family called her, commented that Giesick said he had been married twice before. His first wife, a former Miss Texas, was killed in a hit-and-run accident along with their only child. His second marriage ended in divorce. But what she revealed next alarmed both men to the core. On January 2, 1974, Claudius Giesick and Patricia Albanowski were married. Their pastor’s name? Sam Corey. Before they left for their New Orleans honeymoon trip on January 13, Giesick presented his wife with a wedding present: a St. Bernard puppy. The detectives soon uncovered information to prove Sam Corey, in a scheme to save on taxes and protect his massage parlors from police troubles, became an ordained minister with the Calvary Grace Christian Church of Faith. He filed a request with Bexar County to change the name of his business from Tokyo House of Massage to Tokyo House Massage Temple. They also learned that Corey had provided money to Giesick to deposit into his Harlandale State Bank account in San Antonio. The money was used to buy several insurance policies, pay some rent and a few bills after he had performed the marriage ceremony. As the investigation progressed, it was revealed that Corey was in New Orleans on the night Patricia was hit by a car. The rental car Corey used was checked for evidence which exposed and matched Patricia’s hair. In his formal confession, in order to cut a deal for a lighter sentence, Giesick implicated Corey as the driver of the car that killed Patricia on January 16, 1974. Giesick had asked his wife to go for a walk that foggy and chilling night. He wanted to show her a family of ducks near the romantic water at a bridge up the street from their hotel. On cue, he noted Corey was waiting nearby in the rental car. “I tripped her into the road, and he came by and hit her. It was him. He was driving the car and I did see him.” “I waited about four or five seconds to give him enough time to get started,” Giesick confirmed with no remorse. “I tripped her into the road, and he came by and hit her. It was him. He was driving the car and I did see him. Seconds later the police were there because a guy came by and called the police. Then Mr. Corey came by in the Monte Carlo, just drove by.” Giesick confessed that his new wife, at the moment of impact, was on the road “on her hands trying to get back up again, but she was facing up. As she was trying to get up, she had sandals on and she was slipping. She couldn’t get up…There was a double thud. It very distinctly hit her twice.” Several days later Giesick and Corey flew to Trenton, New Jersey for Patricia’s funeral. Corey “was wearing Catholic-priest clothes and was paid by the Albanowski family as a priest; he accepted several donations…for prayers for Patricia.” On February 22, Dennis and other San Antonio police arrested Giesick for bigamy. It was confirmed that Giesick had been married four times. A one year marriage ending in divorce, a California marriage annulled after three days, to his existing wife Katherine in 1969, and illegally to Patricia. Eventually Sam Corey was sentenced to death which was later reduced to life in prison. He died at Angola State Prison in Louisiana. Giesick received a 21 year prison sentence, but was released in 1986 at age 54. By 2000, he was sentenced to 16 months in federal prison for submitting false auto theft reports in an attempt to collect insurance funds. Years later, when asked what he remembered most about the case Dennis, a then retired detective had two answers. “Well, of course I remember the book by Dillmann and the 1987 TV movie, ‘Unholy Matrimony’ with Patrick Duffy of the Dallas television show starring in it,” Dennis offered. “But the most disturbing thing that sticks in my mind was going back to Giesick’s house on Tuxford to talk with his wife again during the investigation. This time I brought a patrolman with me that actually knew the couple for a few years, hoping she would trust him enough, maybe we could get better information from her.” The blond hair lady at the door with the St. Bernard puppies was Katherine Kiser Giesick, the real wife of Claudius Giesick, aka Jim Guilliam. They had been married since September 1969. She recognized the friend, the police officer with Dennis, immediately. During their conversation, the young policeman revealed that her husband had called him to ask if he would say they had been divorced for a couple of years. “She was puzzled by this, we could tell,” Dennis remarked. “It was obvious we hit a nerve and she acted like she was both hurt and confused.” “I will never forget the look on her face when we told her about Patricia (Albanowski)—her death and the insurance,” Dennis shook his head. “She started crying in disbelief.” “It was a life insurance policy he had recently, and unexpectedly, took out on her life and the family.” “We thought she was crying because of the news we just told her,” Dennis continued. “But she got up and went to a drawer in the kitchen area and brought back a file—a paper.” “It still brings me chills to think how evil Giesick and Corey were when I saw what the paper was,” Dennis revealed. “It was a life insurance policy he had recently, and unexpectedly, took out on her life and the family.” During the April 1975 trial, court evidence showed that when the FBI analyzed the pieces of human hair taken from underneath Corey’s New Orleans rental car and from the exhumed body of the bride, “all 15 characteristics were matched perfectly.” The District Attorney showed how Giesick, all through his adult life was a “con man who made his living off ripping off insurance” companies. “Claudius Giesick literally lied his way through life. He posed as a psychologist. Dr. Jim Gillium and even collected fees.” “Claudius Giesick told friends he had a plan by which he could hook Sam Corey on a murder charge in New Orleans.” Testimony and evidence also showed how he attempted to get two women to take out insurance policies on their husbands and have them murdered. Katherine and Claudius Giesick’s divorce was final on Oct. 19, 1976. They both remarried. He lived in Louisiana for a while, but moved back to San Antonio in 2006. At age 70, Giesick currently lives in a rundown one bedroom apartment just southwest of downtown San Antonio.Holders Serbia will take on two former winners of the UEFA European Under-19 Championship following the finals draw in Felcsut, Hungary. Having lifted the trophy for the first time in Lithuania last summer, Serbia earned a finals return by finishing top of Group 4 and will now take on Bulgaria in Group B, which also includes 2008 champions Germany and Ukraine, winners in 2009 – although neither side has featured in the finals since lifting the trophy. Hosts Hungary are in Group A, where they will be joined by Austria, Portugal and finals debutants Israel. The draw was conducted at the Puskás Akadémia Pancho Aréna, one of four venues for the July tournament, by the chairman of UEFA's Youth and Amateur Football Committee Jim Boyce and former Hungary coach Kálmán Mészöly – the tournament ambassador. The three group games will take place on 19, 22 and 25 July with the top two teams
. But this also means that there is a lack of trust between Hamas and the Sisi government. A powerbroker by definition either has the trust of both parties or can pressure the sides equally. Egypt at the moment can do neither,” Reibman said. Meanwhile, militant operations in the restive Sinai peninsula have also been a concern for Cairo. “While Israel and Egypt are not coordinating their operations, Cairo does see militancy in the Sinai as being aided and abetted by Hamas and its operatives,” Justin Dargin, a geopolitical analyst at Oxford University, told Al Arabiya News. Given the decades of failure of peacemaking efforts between the Israelis and Palestinians, there is not likely to be many states willing to put themselves forward as peace brokers. Qatar’s role as mediator The Egyptian leadership was unlikely to be fond of the idea of pro-Muslim Brotherhood Doha arriving in Cairo to broker a ceasefire but in all likelihood, it accepts that Hamas will not sign a Cairo-brokered deal without its endorsement. But Qatar, along with Iran and Turkey, are now seen as being part of the Islamist-leaning axis of power in the Middle East, held in stark contrast to the pro-Western axis of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates. “Being a backer of Hamas, Qatar would be a logical choice and Hamas would likely demand that it be involved in any ultimate ceasefire and further negotiations,” Dargin said, adding that the Arab League has been mostly ineffectual in trying to broker any solution, as has the U.N. “It is likely that along with Egypt, Qatar and the U.S. will be the major parties working to bring about some resolution to the current conflict,” Dargin added. In affirming its own diplomatic weight, the role of Qatar has also bared the fault-lines and hostilities that have spread across the Middle East in recent years. The Gulf state has differed with Egypt in regard to the political legitimacy of the Muslim Brotherhood, and, correspondingly, Hamas. Turkish intervention? As a backer of the Brotherhood and resolutely anti-Israeli, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has also expressed his want to act as an interlocutor between Hamas and Israel. But Turkey’s track record doesn’t bode well. “Turkey tried to broker a Syrian-Israeli peace as long ago as George W. Bush’s second term. It failed in that effort because the U.S. did not support the initiative and Israel did not want a peace agreement with Syria than involved surrendering the Golan Heights,” Joel Beinin, a U.S.-based professor of Middle East history, told Al Arabiya News. “Erdogan does not appear to have great diplomatic skills (neither does Sisi). Turkey can act in Iraq and perhaps even Iran. It has less capacity on Arab-Israeli matters.” And in a clear display of Turkey’s anger at Cairo, Erdogan criticized Sisi on Friday, calling him a “tyrant” because of Egypt’s position regarding the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip. He even accused the North African country of conniving with Israel to exclude Hamas from a peace deal. Iran and the Palestinian cause Meanwhile, Iran has always had an interest in the Palestinian cause, mostly since the Iranian revolution. In recent years, the Islamic Republic has also reportedly facilitated Hamas with the delivery of Fajr-5 missiles, which gave Gaza a newfound strategic advantage, as the Islamist group could strike Israeli cities, including Tel-Aviv, within 75km of the Strip. “It has assisted various Palestinian resistance groups for decades and is part of what is known as the ‘Rejectionist Front,’ composed of countries in the region that have a strong anti-Western and anti-Zionist orientation,” said Dargin. “However, seeing that Iran is currently attempting to forge a lasting solution to its uranium enrichment program, while having the crippling sanctions regime lifted, as well as assisting with the Assad war effort, it is unlikely that Iran would offer much more assistance than verbal support,” he added. Cairo back in the picture Amid reports that Egypt may tweak its truce deal to accommodate both Israel and Hamas’ terms, Cairo’s proposal may gain traction once more. Now, as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry flew into Tel Aviv from Cairo on Wednesday — despite U.S. warnings over airline safety after a Hamas rocket landed near Ben Gurion airport – some progress has been cited in the ceasefire talks with Cairo’s inclusion. But this could also indicate that Egypt has a limited capacity to play an independent role, only serving as a “transmission belt for terms already agreed upon by Israel and the United States,” noted Beinin. Aside from Hamas’ conditions demanding the lifting of the Israeli and Egyptian blockade on Gaza, the group also demands the release of several hundred Palestinians arrested by Israel last month during its search for three Jewish teenagers abducted in the occupied West Bank. “One thing Egypt can do is to provide political cover to either side when and if it decides to fold. For example, the Israelis might hold their offensive and justify it as a gesture of good faith towards Egypt, which has essentially facilitated the Israeli campaign since the start of the conflict,” said Reibman. But Dargin believes something may be done sooner by Egypt to save face. “Sisi will try to bring some accord as his prestige hinges on him being able to exercise some visible measure of influence in the region,” he said. [wpResize]Oregon loses NCAA Super Regionals to Kent State, 3-2 11 Gallery: Oregon loses NCAA Super Regionals to Kent State, 3-2 The Oregon Ducks won't be going to the NCAA College World Series. Their hopes ended when Kent State's Jimmy Rider hit a fly ball to left field that dropped in, scoring Derek Toadvine in the bottom of the ninth to give the Golden Flashes a 3-2 win in Game 3 of the Eugene Super Regional. But they came close. Oregon's Ryon Healy knocked in two runs in the top of the eighth inning and drew the Ducks into a 2-2 tie. Ducks closer Jimmie Sherfy came in to pitch with one out in the bottom of the eighth and struck out Kent State's Sawyer Polen and Alex Miklos. In the top of the ninth, Kent State's Brian Clark struck out Ryan Hambright, then got ground outs from Brett Hambright and Andrew Mendhall. Kent State scored a run on three hits in the bottom of the first inning to take a 1-0 lead against Oregon. Oregon starter Jeff Gold gave up one-out back-to-back hits to Jimmy Rider, who singled to center, and David Lyon, whose blast shot past an outstretched Aaron Payne at second base. After getting George Roberts to ground out, T.J. Sutton singled in Rider for the game's first run. The Golden Flashes scored one more run off Gold, after they loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the second. Sawyer Polen got the rally started with a single to left and eventually scored when Evan Campbell hit into a double play. Gold left the game after walking Rider, and was replaced by Brando Tessar, who got David Lyon to ground out to end the inning. Kent State had six hits by the end of the second inning. In the top of the third, the Ducks got something going when Kent State pitcher Tyler Skulina issued back-to-back walks to J.J. Altobelli and Aaron Payne, but the Ducks stranded the runners when Aaron Jones grounded into a double play. The Ducks stranded two more in the top of the sixth, when Aaron Payne and Aaron Jones were hit by pitches from Kent State's Tyler Skulina. Skulina then struck out Ryon Healy. Next up, Brett Thomas flied out deep to center field, and that was it for Skulina. Casey Wilson came in and got Kyle Garlick to fly out to right. .As noted, WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross recently welcomed 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin to The Ross Report podcast. Among other things, Austin talked about how long he would have wrestled if his career was not cut short by injuries, what he thinks of the injury bug that has ravaged WWE's main roster in recent months, and who he would have liked to have faced for one more match. According to Austin, he would have liked to have wrestled till he was 42 years old, had he not been forced to retire due to neck problems in 2003. "I never thought about moving on and I look back and think if 2003 was my last match, I guess I retired [at] about 38 [years old]. Man, you talk about leaving a lot on the table or leaving a lot in the ring, I, probably, Jim, would have liked to at least get to 42 and maybe 45. But I never really had an exit strategy, but that being said, had I remained completely healthy, had I maybe lived a little bit slower, and that wasn't really an issue, but just the fact [that] my neck was the bottom line, that happened, so I got out when I did. But it would have been nice to last until about 42 and then went from there." On the topic of WWE's ongoing injury woes, Austin said there is a direct correlation between the rampant injuries and how talents work in the ring nowadays. "Man, I think it's a direct correlation with how the talent works in the ring today." Austin continued, "the WWE guys, they're doing more high risk stuff, they're working at a faster pace, and it just lends itself to injury. And that's not me saying, 'hey, you're working wrong'. I'm just saying I believe the product is sped up so much that the guys and gals are just working at a very frenetic pace and without any offseason, it takes a toll on the body." When asked to do some fantasy booking, Austin said his dream opponent for one more match would be Brock Lesnar, given Lesnar's high profile and the fact that Lesnar is still in his prime. "Well, probably Brock right now, just because [of] where Brock's at. He's on [the] top of his game, he's in his prime, and CM Punk would still have been in his prime too, but he's out of the game. Obviously, he's doing great things with his MMA training [and] he was always in outstanding shape, but just because he's not in the [professional wrestling] scene anymore [he is not a fantasy booking option]." During the podcast, Austin claimed that he would have loved to have wrestled CM Punk. "I think me and CM Punk would have sold a lot of tickets together. And again, he gets it, I get it. It would be one entertaining program." Austin added, "he's smart. His psychology is great. He's easy in the ring, meaning his physicality, everything looks good [and] nothing hurts. Again, I would think me and him would be right on the same page psychologically and we'd be able to weave a hell of a tale. And also, depending on how you played this, whether he's heel and I'm baby [or] he's baby and I'm heel or it's just two guys out there, you see both guys whether it's him on the dark side, he [has] got a tremendous mean streak, as does 'Stone Cold'. On the fire side, he had tremendous fire, as did 'Stone Cold', so both guys are bringing everything to the table that you need. And also great storytellers and talkers, so all of the elements would be there." In addition to these topics, Austin discussed whether A.J. Styles will be a main event player in WWE, whether Goldberg should be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, and much more. To check out the rest of the show, click here. If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit The Ross Report with an H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription. Source: The Ross ReportHA NOI — Ha Noi will close down internet cafes located within 200 metres of schools as from August 30. The decision followed a Ministry of Information and Communications decision to stop licensing new online games, ban their advertisement and restrict the operating hours of internet cafes in an effort to cut down the abuse of online games by young people. "We can't let students play games all day and night at internet cafes near schools," said the director of the municipal Department of Information and Communications, Pham Quoc Ban, at a conference in Ha Noi on Wednesday. Shut by 11pm Ban said the city would require internet cafe owners to sign commitments to close their shops by 11pm and that those within 200 metres of schools would have to make a commitment by August 15 to move. An inspection team would also be set up to inspect the operating licences of all internet cafes. Internet service providers would be required to cut internet connections to cafes found in violation of the regulation. Many have raised concerns about the move. About half of Long Bien District's 94 licensed internet agents were located near schools or kindergartens, and most would be forced to close down within a very short time, said the deputy head of the culture and information unit of the district People's Committee, Nguyen Manh Hung. He suggested shop owners be given more time to relocate or switch to other types of services. Dang Minh Ha, the owner of an internet shop on Thuy Khue Street, near Chu Van An High School, said nothing would be improved if an internet cafe 210m from the school continued to operate while one 190m away could not. "It's unreasonable to apply such a regulation since children will still go and play games online no matter how far away the shop is," Ha said. It was the schools' fault if students were found off school grounds during school hours, she said. Psychologist Nguyen Duc Thac from the Ha Noi Association of Science in Psychology Education, saidit would be difficult to inspect thousands of internet cafes around the city. The key point was to tighten the control of online game providers and increase co-operation between schools and families in managing children's free time. Ban said the city would disseminate the regulation through mass media early next month and encourage internet cafe owners to halt operations as scheduled. The city would start inspections beginning August 16 and punish violators starting in September, he added. Figures from the municipal Department of Information and Communications suggest that Ha Noi is home to around 4,000 internet cafes. Over 70 online games are distributed in Viet Nam, with two-thirds listed as having violent content. — VNSChinese chip maker Rockchip’s RK3188 processor is one of the fastest ARM Cortex-A9 processors on the market. It’s a 1.6 GHz quad-core chip with Mali-400 graphics and it’s proven a popular choice with Chinese tablet and TV box makers over the past year or so. Rockchip is expected to release a faster RK3288 ARM Cortex-A12 chip with Mali T624 graphics soon. But the company also recently started shipping slower chips labeled as Rockchip RK3188T processors. If you’ve purchased a device with a RK3188 chip recently, you may already have the slower CPU. FreakTab forum administrator Neomode recently noted that the RK3188T is a quad-core chip with a top clock speed of 1.4 GHz, which makes it a bit slower than the company’s original RK3188 processor. It’s likely the new chip is sold to device makers at a slightly lower price. Unfortunately most retailers don’t make it clear whether a product features a RK3188 or RK3188T chip — and sometimes you may even find different units of the same tablet or TV box featuring different versions of the processor. Unfortunately most retailers don’t make it clear which processor you’re going to get when you purchase a new device — so if you bought a tablet thinking it had an RK3188 chip, you may already have one of the slower T models. One way to figure out which chip you have is to open the case and look at the label on the processor itself. But there’s also an app called CheckRK3188 which you can run on an Android device to determine which CPU you have without cracking open the case. While the RK3188T has a lower clock speed, it still performs reasonably well on benchmarks, but some users report some issues including screen flickers during video playback. You may be able to improve performance by installing a custom kernel or custom ROM and overclocking the CPU or making other changes. There are far more details available in the FreakTab forum thread. via AndroidPC.esThat the libertarian movement is full of dudes can probably be explained by a number of sociological factors, but there might be a deeper reason that libertarianism doesn’t have more women in the movement. Here I want to address one worry about libertarianism that I’ve heard from some of my feminist friends, the idea that feminism and libertarianism are structurally incompatible. I think that this worry succeeds to some extent, but that on balance libertarianism is still good for women. The thought is that libertarianism structurally builds in a kind of status quo bias that favors men. As a theory that objects to interference with peoples’ voluntary choices, it therefore objects to interference with the current system patriarchy or male privilege insofar as the current system is a result of voluntary choices. Feminism calls for an end to patriarchy and male privilege, so the two are incompatible. Consider the following feminist argument against libertarianism: P1: Libertarianism instructs states and individuals not to interfere with people’s free choices. P2: We currently live in a sexist culture where patterns of free choice continue to disadvantage women (e.g. employment discrimination, the gender wage gap and troubling patterns of socialization). C: Libertarianism instructs states and individuals not to interfere with the perpetuation of sexism. I think this argument is successful, so libertarians who are concerned with women’s interests (lets call ourselves libertarian feminists) are seemingly faced with a dilemma. Either: (a) States and individuals must interfere with sexist people’s free choices (e.g. states should violate freedom of contract and association to promote equal pay and fair employment procedures. Or, (b) States ought to respect people’s free choices and thereby tolerate sexism. What’s a BHL feminist to do? I think that feminists ought to favor (b) over (a) for several reasons. First, gender equality isn’t the only thing we ought to care about. While sexism is wrong, it’s more wrong to violate a person’s negative liberties (like freedom of association or contract) than to accept a society that fails to provide certain benefits (like equal pay) even if both negative liberties and equal treatment were required by fairness. Like John Tomasi, I believe economic liberties take priority over other public goals, so even though discrimination is wrong, limits on freedom of contract and association are more wrong. Second, libertarianism only affirms a sexist status quo insofar as limits on liberty are required to combat sexism. But limits on liberty are not required. There are plenty of other ways to further women’s interests without excessively violating liberties. Bleeding heart libertarianism doesn’t rule out public policies that help women with families succeed in the workforce, like affordable public childcare, subsidized family leave, elder care, or a universal basic income. But even if society did provide a generous social safety net, women’s voluntary choices could also perpetuate male-dominated corporate cultures, because women are more likely to favor part time work. Even bleeding-heartless libertarians can (and should!) discourage sexism, though no one should be forced to refrain from sexism. And of course libertarians should never tolerate any kind of violence against women or coercive sexual harassment. Third and most importantly, even though libertarianism does structurally tolerate institutional sexism in some ways, libertarianism isn’t necessarily bad for women on balance. As you may have guessed, I think that feminist libertarianism has a lot going for it, and I am wary of wary of any policy that limits citizen’s negative rights ‘for the sake’ of women, especially in light of the sexist history of wage regulation. Though fair employment legislation may advance women’s interests in the short-run, policy proposals that require companies to hire or promote women or give equal pay also strike me as sexist. These policies require public officials and employers to treat women differently in the market. In this April’s Reason, Veronique de Rugy reviews how the tax system, welfare reforms, maternity leave policy, workplace regulations, and the drug war all disproportionately disadvantage women’s economic prospects. Even feminists should get behind tax reform and deregulation. I also worry that any legal requirements that aim to correct for problems associated sexism will fail to treat the underlying systemic problems. For example, if a coercive policy corrects for the fact that women don’t negotiate for salary or ask for promotions, it may prevent women from learning to effectively advance their own interests in competitive environments. The labor market is changing to include more women, but troubling inequalities persist. Many government interventions, like mandatory maternity leave policies, which are seemingly ‘on behalf’ of women backfire to work against us. (PDF) But even if government intervention were the most effective way to shatter the glass ceiling; it would be much better for women if we could do it without state intervention and ensure economic equality for good. PS: For those who are interested in a philosophical puzzle related to this dilemma, Javier Hidalgo pointed out to me that Chandran Kukathas describes a similar dilemma for libertarians when he discusses whether libertarianism ought to tolerate intolerant cultures. (PDF)Randa Group Photo In early June 2011, a sizable group of KDE hackers met high up in the Swiss Alps. In Randa, four co-located meetings took place to further KDE technologies. One of these groups, Platform 11, had as its goal to take the KDE development platform to its next level. This group consisted of about 25 people who work on and around kdelibs, the build-system, distributions, and 3rd party developers, and was intended to represent needs and wishes as completely as possible, while trying to find better ways to organize the KDE development platform. The overall scheduling was done by Kevin Ottens, who used a Kanban wall to manage discussions, tasks, and results. The meeting started with small, focused groups that discussed current problems for a while, and then came up with several short suggestion notes for meetings. The suggestion notes were then clustered into topics to create an agenda for the meeting. In the following days, groups of up to 5 people dove into these topics one by one. Sometimes this would take two hours of discussion; sometimes it would be a two day class-by-class analysis of kdelibs and other modules to examine work and decide on what needs to be done. Each day the whole group would gather at least once to present the results of the previous day's sessions, to review the solutions the subgroups came up with, and to move on to the next topics. This way, a lot of ground was covered, and a lot of details were examined with input from all sides. These results and plans have since been discussed on various mailing lists such as kde-core-devel, refined and further followed up on. Platform to Frameworks One of the primary results of Platform 11 was gaining consensus on making KDE's development platform more modular, with each library (or technology within it) clearly defined in its purpose and how it can be deployed for use in a Qt or KDE application. The goals are to create a more maintainable set of libraries with higher quality, to make KDE libraries accessible to the current community of Qt developers, and to provide KDE with a set of libraries that are well-suited for use in mobile and consumer electronic devices. The end result is a shift from a "platform" to a set of integratable "frameworks". This is reflected in what will be the name for this next version of KDE's libraries and basic application runtime requirements: KDE Frameworks. All of the libraries and run-time requirements in KDE Frameworks are being placed into one of three categories: Functional Qt Addons, which provide a well defined purpose (e.g. configuration management) and carry no additional runtime dependencies other than Qt; , which provide a well defined purpose (e.g. configuration management) and carry no additional runtime dependencies other than Qt; Operating System Integration, Qt Addons that can have operating system-specific dependencies to provide their features (such as how a theoretical libktimezone would use ktimezoned on Linux but the native API on Microsoft Windows); and , Qt Addons that can have operating system-specific dependencies to provide their features (such as how a theoretical libktimezone would use ktimezoned on Linux but the native API on Microsoft Windows); and Solutions, which implement a full technology or stack, including a library and mandatory runtime dependencies. Each of these categories contains a hierarchy of dependencies to prevent internal dependency tangles. A preliminary plan of how this may look for some of the existing libraries can be found in this PDF. These rules will help guide development and make it easier for developers to use specific libraries in their Qt applications. The reduced dependency graph and the ability to rely on libraries being individually available with only their own dependencies should increase the appeal of the KDE libraries significantly to Qt developers. It will also make deploying KDE libraries across different platforms easier. To realize the goal of transforming KDE Platform into KDE Frameworks, the team at Platform 11 swept through every class and library in the kdesupport, kdelibs and kde-runtime modules, and did initial surveys of kdepimlibs and kdepim-runtime. Each item was identified and categorized as to where it fits within the Frameworks scheme. KDE Frameworks and Qt 5 With Qt 5 on the horizon, the sprint took place at exactly the right time. With an idea of the future of the KDE Development Frameworks, natural overlap in Qt can be reduced by merging certain parts into Qt. With Qt opening up its governance model, we are presented with a nice opportunity to take a more proactive role in the future of Qt. A team of KDE developers has naturally taken part in the recent Qt Contributors Summit, and presented some ideas from the sprint in Switzerland. First patches have already been merged into the Qt 5 source-tree, and more are yet to come. Timeline When KDE Platform 4.7.0 is released, a set of feature branches will be opened up in KDE's git for work to commence on KDE Frameworks. Initially work will proceed in the existing modules (e.g. kdesupport, kdelibs, kde-runtime, etc.), though it is expected that these will eventually break out into several modules with one module per library or solution. Means to build all of these new modules in one monolithic build, as is done with kdelibs today, will be provided to maintain the level of ease for those who wish to build the entire set of Frameworks rather than cherry pick through them. KDE will still also provide monolithic tarballs at release time as we have done in the past for those who would like to get larger chunks in one go. This was seen as critical to several of KDE's distribution partners in terms of their available people resources and the complexity of packaging a more modularized set of libraries. While work proceeds on KDE Frameworks, further releases of the KDE Workspaces and Applications 4.x will continue. These releases will target the existing KDE Platform 4.x, allowing for the Frameworks evolution to be undertaken without disrupting application development. Only when Frameworks moves into the stabilization phases will application developers be broadly invited to start targeting them. As with Qt 5, the intention is to keep source compatibility high so as to minimize disruptions in existing applications as well as the existing workspaces such as Plasma Desktop. No firm delivery date was decided on for KDE Frameworks. The goal of a release in a timely fashion with the first release of Qt 5 was entertained, but discussions were postponed until KDE Platform 4.7 is officially released and Frameworks development can begin in earnest. Not Just Technical While there was certainly a lot of highly technical content, there were also less technical moments that helped draw members of the community closer together. There was a visit to scenic Zermatt, a football (or soccer to the North Americans) game and a foosball tournament. One of the more memorable moments, however, had to be when David Faure grabbed an entirely different sort of keyboard and shared his skills as a jazz piano hacker with everyone. The team thanks Mario Fux, his family and the rest of the organization team for taking good care of us. Thank you also to the sponsors Swisscom, openSUSE and KDE e.V. (through the supporting membership programme) for financially supporting this meeting.A year ago, the Librarian of Congress — who has the authority to interpret the fine points of the much-derided Digital Millennium Copyright Act, inexplicably reversed his previous rulings regarding the rights of consumers to unlock wireless devices by making it illegal for people to unlock new phones and tablets without permission from their wireless provider. That change went into effect in January, and since then, everyone from consumers to lawmakers to the White House have declared it a huge mistake that needs to be rethought. Today, new FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler urged the wireless industry to put voluntary standards in place that would at least make it easier for consumers to know when they can unlock their devices. The big issue with locking and unlocking devices is that most people don’t pay face value for their phones, but instead get them as part of two-year contracts with their wireless providers, who subsidize the retail cost of the devices. Even people who sign up for one of the newer programs where you eventually pay full price for the phone are still under that carrier’s thumb until the device is paid off in full. Thus, the wireless industry has long held that you shouldn’t be able to unlock that phone and take it to another carrier without first checking with your current provider. But when that contract is up, or when you’ve paid your early termination fee, why should you need the carrier’s permission and assistance to unlock your device, something consumers had legally been able to do on their own since 2006? One of the arguments made by the wireless industry involves the (often unwanted) apps and other software placed on phones by the carrier. The wireless industry maintains that you don’t own that software even if you own the phone, but are merely using it per the terms of a licensing agreement (that you can’t turn down). So again, the industry — and now the Librarian of Congress — says you need the carrier’s permission to take that phone elsewhere. And while some lawmakers have pushed for new laws that would clarify this point and give consumers who own their phones outright the ability to do what they please with them, the FCC has been trying to work with CTIA — The Wireless Association for several months to come up with a voluntary standard that would at least make the process as painless as possible for consumers. After eight months of back-and-forth — during which FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski stepped down — newly installed FCC Chair Wheeler has decided it’s time for CTIA to agree to the voluntary standards or face new regulations. In a letter to CTIA CEO Steve Largent (yes, that Steve Largent), Wheeler breaks down what he sees as the five requirements for revised unlocking standards for the CTIA Consumer Code: 1. A clear, concise, and readily accessible policy on unlocking. 2. That wireless companies agree to unlock mobile wireless devices for customers, former customers, and legitimate owners when the applicable service contract, installment plant or ETF [early termination fee] has been fulfilled. 3. Wireless providers will take the proactive step of notifying customers when their devices are eligible for unlocking and/or automatically unlock devices when eligible, without an additional fee. 4. That carriers will either process unlocking requests or provide an explanation of denial within two business days. 5. Providers will unlock devices for military personnel upon deployment. Wheeler says that CTIA and FCC appear to be seeing eye-to-eye on all but one of these conditions. If you guessed #3, you’d be correct. Seems like the wireless industry doesn’t mind making the unlocking process easier, but it doesn’t want to tell you when your device can be unlocked. This is a particularly bad sticking point, writes Wheeler, who says that, “Absent the consumer’s right to be informed about unlocking eligibility, any voluntary program would be a hollow shell.” The letter throws down the deadline of the December holidays for CTIA to voluntarily make these changes or face the fun of being further regulated by the FCC. “Enough time has passed,” writes Wheeler, “and it is now time for the industry to act voluntarily.” George Slover, Senior Policy Counsel for Consumers Union expressed the organization’s optimistic view of the Chairman’s letter. “We are pleased that cell phone unlocking appears to be a top priority for the new Chairman and we welcome movement on the issue,” says Slover. “We have continually advocated that any solution to this consumer problem be comprehensive and apply to the broadest range of wireless devices. It is critical that consumers know that they have this right and how to take advantage of it. We look forward to seeing how industry responds to the Chairman’s push.” Here is a PDF of the letter, or you can read the full text below: Dear Steve, During my first week of the job, I continually emphasized the importance of competition and the FCC’s receptiveness to voluntary industry activities to promote competition. For eight months, the FCC staff has been working with CTIA on an amendment to your Consumer Code in which this industry would address consumers’ rights to unlock their mobile wireless devices once their contracts are fulfilled. The Commission has indicated that any such policy must contain five parts: (a) provide a clear, concise, and readily accessible policy on unlocking; (b) unlock mobile wireless devices for customers, former customers, and legitimate owners when the applicable service contract, installment plant or ETF [early termination fee] has been fulfilled; (c) affirmatively notify customers when their devices are eligible for unlocking and/or automatically unlock devices when eligible, without an additional fee; (d) process unlocking requests or provide an explanation of denial within two business days; and (e) unlock devices for military personnel upon deployment. It appears that CTIA and the FCC are in agreement on all but the third item regarding consumer notification. Absent the consumer’s right to be informed about unlocking eligibility, any voluntary program would be a hollow shell. We are anxious to work with you and your members to resolve this matter expeditiously. Enough time has passed, and it is now time for the industry to act voluntarily or for the FCC to regulate. Let’s set a goal of including the full unlocking rights policy in the CTIA Consumer Code before the December holiday season. We look forward to working with you on this policy as well as continuing to work together after its adoption to monitor its implementation. Sincerely, Tom Wheeler ChairmanWWE: Top 10 shocking moments of 2011 Shantha FOLLOW FEATURED WRITER Editor's Pick 8.01K // 23 Dec 2011, 22:06 IST SHARE Share Options × Facebook Twitter Flipboard Reddit Google+ Email As 2011 comes to an end, I decided to make a list of the most shocking moments in the WWE, this year. These moments would be etched in the annals of pro-wrestling history, not just because they were surreal, but because they were truly memorable. Some of the shocking events that almost made into the top 10 include: Edge’s sudden retirement John Morrison’s Spiderman act at Royal Rumble WWE Superstars walkout on Triple H R-Truth snaps and goes crazy on John Morrison Mark Henry becomes the World Heavyweight Champion Here are the top 10 shocking events of 2011 in WWE: 10. Booker T and Kevin Nash’s surprise return Royal Rumble 2011 It was the largest ever Royal Rumble in history and two legends of Pro-wrestling came back to the WWE. Both men went to TNA after successful careers in the WWE, and their return back evoked shock and awe amidst the WWE Universe. Booker T and Kevin Nash were the surprise entrants of Royal Rumble 2011 and deservedly got huge pops from the live crowd. Their return was the main talking point of Royal Rumble, taking the spotlight away from its winner – Alberto Del Rio. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=4QBM9LI2SJM 9. Triple H relieves Vince McMahon of his duties Advertisement Monday night raw 18/7/2011 Triple H’s return combined with the on-screen firing of Vince McMahon made this a moment of prime importance. This also paved the way for a gripping storyline in the following weeks, involving Triple H and his managerial skills, which included a short feud with CM Punk followed by a much lengthy one, also involving Kevin Nash. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=h7o2UQs0nTY 8. Daniel Bryan wins the World Heavyweight Championship TLC 2011 It has to be said that Daniel Bryan’s entry to cash in at TLC, was somewhat spoiled by the live crowd chanting ‘Daniel Bryan! Daniel Bryan!’, when Mark Henry was attacking the Big Show. However, when Daniel Bryan came out and cashed, but many including myself felt that he would be the first to lose after cashing in the Money in the bank briefcase. Fortunately, Daniel Bryan put all doubts to rest and went on to realise his dream of being the World Heavyweight Champion after a 12-year long journey, filled with trial and tribulations. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=TIipaDBh9dU 7. Christian’s first ever World Championship victory Extreme Rules 2011 I have to admit that I was one among those who considered that Christian would never win a World Championship in the WWE, eventhough he deserved one. My opinion was shattered when Christian did the unthinkable at Extreme Rules. After 17 long years, Christian finally won the world championship that he thoroughly deserved, courtesy of a victory over Alberto Del Rio in a ladders match at Extreme Rules. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmeyYm4Y5mE&feature=player_embedded 6. The Undertaker kicks out of Triple H’s tombstone Wrestlemania 27 The Undertaker’s undefeated streak at Wrestlemania was at stake when Triple H battled with him in a no holds barred match at Atlanta. Triple H was trying to accomplish something that his close friend Shawn Michaels had failed to do over two consecutive attempts – Beat the Undertaker at Wrestlemania. And boy oh boy, how close was he to accomplish that feat! When Triple H tombstoned the Undertaker, everyone was shocked and thought that the streak was coming to an end. Seconds later, the Undertaker kicked out of the three count, only to shock the crowd even more. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=u8ZsHFZn4ng 5. The return of the great one Monday night raw 14/2/2011 The manner in which The Rock left WWE seven years ago prompted many to think that he may never return back in future. He became a mainstream movie star which further fuelled doubts on the possibility of his return. And when he was introduced as the host of Wrestlemania 27, all hell broke loose. The Great One finally came back and electrified the millions worldwide. The rest
to be suspicious, you see something that makes you feel uncomfortable, then you call the authorities." The unidentified Albemarle woman said, "So many times things start out as a prank, can lead to some serious charges down the road, and they really have to be careful." The Albemarle County Fire Department isn't saying whether or not the two incidents are related. If you find something suspicious in your mailbox be sure not to touch it and call 911. Reported by Keith McGilvery See Bio / EmailRichard Michael Genelle (October 12, 1961 – December 30, 2008)[1] was an entrepreneur and actor best known for playing Ernie on the children's television series Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.[2] From 1993 until 1997, Genelle portrayed Ernie, the good-natured owner of the Angel Grove Youth Center, the most popular hang out spot for the teenagers of Angel Grove. He often hosted birthday parties, school activities, martial arts tournaments and community charity events. He also gave out free drinks and food as well as helping out his customers if they needed something. After four seasons, Ernie abruptly left the Youth Center to do emergency volunteer work in South America, passing ownership of the Youth Center to Jerome Stone. In real life, Genelle left the series to take steps to overcome his smoking problems and obesity, successfully losing over forty pounds. He also started Retail Logistics Solutions, Inc. in Cerritos, California, providing transportation services. Genelle died following a heart attack on December 30, 2008 at age forty-seven. His funeral service was held at Pierce Brothers Crestlawn Memorial Park in Riverside, California. His interment was in that cemetery. Filmography [ edit ] References [ edit ] ^ Obituary ^ Screen World 1998 John Willis, Barry Monush - 1999 Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie... Richard Genelle (Ernie)."Humans are built to be hypocritical, i.e., to give lip service and soft thought to high ideals, while mostly acting to achieve low practical personal ends. We manage this disconnect both by being stupid, and so not noticing our hypocrisy, and by being insincere, and so caring less when we notice. Now human characteristics vary quite a bit, and so some folks are both unusually smart and unusually conscientious about their ideals. More than most people, these folks notice their hypocrisy, and try to avoid it. And since far ideals tend toward incoherence and impracticality, this has led smart sincere folks to invent a wide range of “ideologies” to substitute for their jumbled intuitions, with matching actions that range far from the norm. The chance to show sincerity and smarts via our ideals makes it more important that one’s far ideals fit with a coherent and well-thought out ideology, than to be accurate relative to some external standard. So humans are relatively unconcerned to discover they have wildly divergent ideologies; they accept that they disagree. While a middle average opinion might be more accurate on average, it would less sparkle with the shine of clear clever sincere thought. In addition, divergence lets folks show loyalty to particular groups. This smart sincere syndrome less afflicted our distant ancestors because fuzzy far feelings rarely lead to clear inescapable conclusions. While far mode is good for creative thinking, it usually leaves plausible excuses for rejecting conclusions that one does not like. But the more recent invention of near-mode-based math/logical style analysis, applicable to far abstract problems, has made it easier for humans to notice and avoid inconsistencies. So today, the smart sincere syndrome especially afflicts many folks with high math ability. Now a modest dose of smart sincerity, limited by time, topic or temperament, is a good sign, as it indicates the positive qualities of intelligence and conscientiousness, qualities most any organization can put to good use. So everyone wants to seem ideological to some degree. And even a large dose of smart sincerity, if bundled with complements such as beauty, stamina, or charisma, can bring success as a “movement” or spiritual leader. But without such complements, an overdose of smart sincerity tends toward evolutionary failure, typically achieving less success relative to ability. Today, a common solution to this dilemma is libertarian axiomatics, a simple coherent ideology supporting most, but hardly all, ordinary practical actions. Another common solution is to embrace a particular successful person, profession, or institution as the key to achieving global ideals; full loyalty and support of such a thing may, if reciprocated, help one achieve standard measures of success. However, pity the simply smart sincere, who try make sense of their inherited incoherent impractical far ideals, via more coherent if idiosyncratic ideologies, that encourage unusual, and usually unadaptive, behavior. Stories told of their dramatic bids for ideal consistency may be their main legacy from this our dream-time era. Added 17Jan: Rob Wiblin says terrorists fit this pattern. GD Star Rating loading...Lena Dunham pretty much the quintessential “Marketplace Feminist,” with her lifestyle-marketing “Lenny Letter” which, in July, “talked about the importance of women in science — thanks to a check from General Electric” in a week-long brand placement deal. I’ve brought the term “marketplace feminism” (and its origin) up on my Twitter about a million times (and a few here on Medium), but I am repeating a point from Andi Zeisler’s fantastic criticism of the phenomenon, a book entitled “We Were Feminists Once.” What Zeisler calls “marketplace feminism,” one could also call “capitalist feminism,” “neoliberal feminism,” or even just “for-profit feminism,” This version of feminism applies a (ridiculous) free market analog to an ideology that is constantly called “cultural Marxism” by its detractors. It’s an extension of neoliberalism, something people constantly mistake as an insult for “being liberal” — which, as a term, “liberal” itself doesn’t really mean what people think it means (hint: “free markets” are not a feature of leftism). Neoliberalism (simplified and summed up) means “applying free market ideology to all situations, economic and social.” Do you know whom marketplace feminism targets first? Women of color. Women of color are more adversely affected than white women by every issue feminism takes on. For them, the wage gap is wider, the harassment is more frequent and more fervent, and the erasure is constant. For this reason, they are often the progenitors of much of what eventually gains acceptance as “feminism,” which then gets stripped-bare to contain the most attention-worthy aspects of to create the “marketable” version. To give an obvious-yet-astounding example: Flavia Dzodan, the woman of color who coined the phrase “my feminism will be intersectional or it will be bullshit” has seen nothing for it, despite widespread adoption. You’ve seen that co-opted and used on buttons, shirts, websites (big ones) and other for-profit shit. For more info on that, read this piece she wrote. Simplifying it to make it marketable reduces the value of the words, making it impossible to apply in a manner that doesn’t conjure a person or product. Dunham is valuable economically and spreading the buzzword version of feminism that fits on shirts and coffee mugs (while, clearly, not deeply considering the implications of things she says; racism isn’t compatible with any ideology of equality). As her popularity rises, so does the demand for meaningless products with regurgitated, oversimplified soundbyte versions of concepts that meant something when they were a complex, important observation or demand when they came out of the mouth of someone with considerably less — often a person of color. It’s just a matter of time until some “feminist” CEO writes the “Come On Guys, No One Is Perfect” op-ed somewhere. Writer and diversity consultant Mikki Kendal (homepage, PayPal) identified a likely (and egregious) angle many will take in Lena Dunham’s defense — possibly subconsciously. She observed, “for sitting next to Dunham at a ball, Beckham is about to be the subject of fifty-eleven thinkpieces on weight and attraction.” This will direct people who bring it up to frame it the same way Dunham has — as if some person of color she doesn’t know not paying attention to her is a real problem.The Rays and left-hander Dana Eveland agreed to a new minor league contract, as was first noted on the MiLB Roster Tracker Twitter account. (MLBTR has confirmed the move.) The 33-year-old was outrighted off the 40-man roster following the season but told MLB.com’s Bill Chastain shortly thereafter that he was likely to return to Tampa Bay on a new minor league pact. Eveland totaled 23 innings out of the Tampa Bay ’pen this season but was tagged for 23 runs on 32 hits and 19 walks in that time. He did manage 21 punchouts and a solid 47.4 percent ground-ball rate in that brief Major League stint as well. Furthermore, his minor league work was considerably more encouraging, as the veteran southpaw registered a pristine 0.30 ERA with 21 strikeouts against six walks in 29 2/3 innings of work. Eveland’s return will give the Rays a depth piece that has experience in parts of 11 MLB seasons dating back to 2005. In 446 1/3 innings in the Majors, Eveland has a 5.46 ERA with 308 strikeouts against 221 walks.But at a consultation meeting Monday in Ottawa, sources in the room said the nuclear power producers expressed reservations about the plan, and how it would be implemented. OTTAWA—Canada’s nuclear watchdog is proposing for the first time that people living near reactors be given a precautionary stock of radiation-fighting pills in case of an accident. The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission has been reviewing the country’s emergency preparedness and response regulations in the wake of the meltdown at Japan’s Fukushima reactor in 2011. The thyroid glands, especially in younger children, are the most susceptible to absorbing radiation that is ingested or inhaled. The pills are supposed to be taken immediately before or after a major radiation leak. Many countries have already adopted a system whereby residents near nuclear reactors are given iodine thyroid-blocking tablets to store in their homes. A 2013 focus group conducted for Ontario Power Generation said that among residents surveyed around the Darlington and Pickering nuclear plants, “ almost none had obtained free pills that have been advertised in regional communications or pamphlets.” Mass distribution has occurred in New Brunswick and in Quebec, but not in Ontario, where the major reactors are located. Pills are available to residents at local pharmacies and stockpiled at schools. The safety commission has been consulting with various groups, including environmentalists and nuclear licence holders, on its latest regulatory drafts. It is proposing the tablets be pre-distributed within the “plume” area of radiation — about 10 kilometres — for a selective portion of the population. In the Greater Toronto Area, that means about a quarter-million people. “With the recommendations in terms of KI (potassium iodide) pre-distribution, it will make emergency management even more effective than it is now,” said Patsy Thompson, a senior bureaucrat at the commission. “People need to feel that living close to a nuclear facility now does not put their health at risk.” Some energy producers have expressed concern about the concept of a mandatory pre-distribution, and have balked at the possibility of the pills being sent out to a wider area. Each extra kilometre into the Toronto area means tens of thousands more residents. A nuclear safety commission document summarizing the input it received lists Ontario Power Generation as wanting to change the draft to the words “the opportunity for pre-distribution … will be made.” Bruce Power is listed as recommending “providing KI pills only (for) on-site personnel and having a plan for procurement and distribution of KI pills for the primary zone and municipalities.” Ontario Power Generation and Bruce Power did not respond to an interview request on the subject. They were among four energy groups to pen a fresh letter to the commission on Friday, reiterating their concerns. Groups such as Greenpeace and the Canadian Environmental Law Association are supportive of the commission’s work — a somewhat rare occurrence. “This is a good step towards catching up with other countries, Canadians deserve protection on par with international best practices,” said Shawn-Patrick Stensil, a nuclear analyst with Greenpeace. “The way it’s written right now, it doesn’t meet international best practices, but it’s a good step towards that.” The groups emphasize that leaving it up to people to pick up pills on their own has obviously not worked, and in the aftermath and chaos of a nuclear accident and evacuation, people might not have the ability to get the pills in time. “Our response is that we’ve had 30-plus years of making the pills available … for people to pick up at pharmacies, and there’s very low awareness by people that they should do so and that it matters to their health,” said Theresa McClenaghan, executive director and counsel of the Canadian Environmental Law Association. “Instead, the messaging that people have had is that the plants are safe and there’s nothing to worry about.”What is the best race for your hauler? In the long run, it is not very significant, as any character can be trained to pilot any ship, given enough time. There are fans of each race that argue about the merits of their industrial designs, but in truth, you can be productive in just about any race's industrial ships. In general, if you intend to use a character just for occasional hauling runs, as an alt in your main account, your best choice is Amarr, as the Bestower offers the biggest Tech I industrial ship capacity and expandability. If your intention is to establish a dedicated hauling character in a separate account, then your best choice is most likely Gallente, as that faction offers several specialty industrial hulls that can be quite useful for different types of hauling. View this helpful guide on the strengths and weaknesses of various hauling craft, so you can make an informed choice about your hauling character's race: Hauling Essential hauling skills and equipment To get started as a hauler, the absolutely required skills you need are: Racial Industrial I Spaceship Command III You should plan to train additional levels of Industrial skill to unlock access to more advanced vessels of that type. Additional skills that are invaluable to a beginning hauler include: Cargo capacity expansion skills : Hull Upgrades II - needed for Expanded Cargohold II modules, to maximize your industrial's capacity. Mechanic III - needed for Expanded Cargohold II modules, and for Cargohold Optimization rigs. Jury Rigging III, Astronautics Rigging I - to fit Cargohold Optimization rigs. : Ship piloting skills : Warp Drive Operation: Helps with long warps. Each skill level reduces the capacitor need of initiating warp by 10%. Spaceship Command: Reduces align time. 2% improved ship agility for all ships per skill level. Evasive Maneuvering: Increases ship agility and acceleration. 5% improved ship agility for all ships per skill level. : Because you will most likely be filling most, if not all, of your low slots with cargohold expansion modules, you will need to develop sufficient skills to enable you to shield tank your hauler's ship. Essential shield tanking skills include: Shield Management IV: 5% extra shields per level Shield Upgrades: 5% reduction in shield upgrade powergrid needs per level; level IV allows use of T2 shield extenders Engineering II & Tactical Shield Manipulation IV: Allows use of Adaptive Invulnerability Field II. Optional: Shield Operation III or IV: 5% reduction in shield recharge time per level; level IV allows use of T2 shield boosters, though their value to a hauler is limited at best. A note about tanking your industrial: in truth, if someone decides to suicide gank you in high security space, there is probably very little you can do about it in your Tech I industrial ship. All that your tank will do is slow down or discourage a casual attacker. If a suicide ganker scans down your ship, and decides that your valuable cargo should be theirs, they will almost certainly kill you, and there is virtually nothing you can do about it. Don't expect CONCORD to save you! include: You will also need your hauler alt to exchange ISK and goods with your main character, and also to buy and sell items on the market. Therefore, you will need a modicum of trade and social skills : Social I and Contracting I - at a minimum, so you can execute contracts and speak to NPC agents Trade I - so you can set buy and sell orders : As you develop your hauler alt, you may want to invest in additional social and trade skills, so that you can speak to more agents and increase the number of orders, at lower costs. But the skills listed above are all you need to get started and to be a functional hauler. Your starting industrial ship should be optimized for hauling in high security space, with the following equipment and fitting: Low slots : Cargohold Expansion II modules - as many as you can fit. You may be tempted to also include a Damage Control module, so that you increase your resists and give you more time to escape an attack. In general, the trade-off of more tank for less cargo capacity is probably not worth it if you are trading in high-security space, to which most haulers will operate. To maximize your ISK, you need to be able to carry as much cargo as you can. : Cargohold Expansion II modules - as many as you can fit. You may be tempted to also include a Damage Control module, so that you increase your resists and give you more time to escape an attack. In general, the trade-off of more tank for less cargo capacity is probably not worth it if you are trading in high-security space, to which most haulers will operate. To maximize your ISK, you need to be able to carry as much cargo as you can. Mid slots : Shield tank modules - at a minimum, a passive tank consisting of as many shield extenders as you can fit. You may also want to increase your resists with an Adaptive Invulnerability Field module - fit one of these for every two or three extender modules. : Shield tank modules - at a minimum, a passive tank consisting of as many shield extenders as you can fit. You may also want to increase your resists with an Adaptive Invulnerability Field module - fit one of these for every two or three extender modules. High slots : Weapons are useless on an industrial. You may want to fit a tractor beam and salvager to help clean up wrecks or collect jetcans on mining operations, though that means training Survey III and Salvaging I skills. : Weapons are useless on an industrial. You may want to fit a tractor beam and salvager to help clean up wrecks or collect jetcans on mining operations, though that means training Survey III and Salvaging I skills. Rigs: Cargohold Optimization rigs - buy only the Tech I variety, as Tech II versions are expensive and not required for success. Fittings for hauling in low-sec and 0.0 space are different, which we'll cover briefly later. Hauling capital requirements Starting a new hauler alt character is relatively easy, but being able to do useful ISK-producing activities also requires a sufficient amount of starting capital. Required : About 600K-1.5 million ISK to purchase a suitable industrial ship. Note: you will get a free starter industrial ship if you complete the Industry introductory career track - To find this, press F12, select "Career Agents", then "Industry". : About. Note: you will get a starter industrial ship if you complete the Industry introductory career track - To find this, press F12, select "Career Agents", then "Industry". Required : About 5-15 million ISK for good Tech II ship fittings (cargohold expanders, shield extenders, etc.) - you can start with less expensive Tech I fittings to start, cutting this initial cost by more than half, and then upgrade as you can afford. Definitely use Tech I rigs - the Tech II rigs are hideously expensive and not worth the extra cost. : About (cargohold expanders, shield extenders, etc.) - you can start with less expensive Tech I fittings to start, cutting this initial cost by more than half, and then upgrade as you can afford. Definitely use Tech I rigs - the Tech II rigs are hideously expensive and not worth the extra cost. Required but not urgent: About 1.5 million ISK for essential skillbooks - though these can be purchased as you need them over time. but not urgent: About - though these can be purchased as you need them over time. Required : about 2 million or more ISK for buying goods for trade, if you want to become a speculative hauler, assuming that your initial hauls will be for common consumer or industry goods. : about, if you want to become a speculative hauler, assuming that your initial hauls will be for common consumer or industry goods. Optional: about 10 million ISK for courier contract collateral - almost all player-created courier contracts on the market require a collateral amount, which is refunded when you've delivered the package and completed the contract. The most lucrative courier contracts are also the most risky, and therefore require commensurate amounts of collateral, but 10 million ISK should be enough to start with fairly safe hi-sec courier runs. In short, you can start a successful hauler alt character with about 10-20 million ISK in capital. It is possible to start with less than this if you only intend to use your alt as a mining operation hauler or for NPC courier missions initially. But to maximize your ISK-earning potential, you should begin suitably funded to pursue the hauling activities that interest you most. How to conduct speculative hauling profitably The hauler's most valuable resource for finding profitable trade routes is the EVE-Central Market Aggregator site: http://eve-central.com/home/. EVE-Central is a continuously updated database of buying and selling prices in New Eden, which uses the EVE Online CREST API. site: http://eve-central.com/home/. EVE-Central is a continuously updated database of buying and selling prices in New Eden, which uses the EVE Online CREST API. Selecting and executing profitable hauls - This link describes a 12-step process that will enable any hauler to identify and execute the most profitable trades: Discover the Value of EVE-Central With a properly fitted industrial ship and a sufficient amount of capital, haulers can use this process to routinely generate as much as 3-5 million ISK per hour. - This link describes a 12-step process that will enable any hauler to identify and execute the most profitable trades: Discover the Value of EVE-Central With a properly fitted industrial ship and a sufficient amount of capital, haulers can use this process to routinely generate as much as 3-5 million ISK per hour. Avoiding the tax trap - the biggest danger with this method is the tax trap. Every sale incurs a 1.5% sales tax. As a result, haulers must be sure that their profits exceed 1.5% on every trade run, or they will lose money. You can improve this by training the Accounting skill. Accounting reduces the tax by 10% for each level of training, or 0.15% of the transaction value per level. The result is that if trained to level 5, your transaction tax will be 0.75%. (Note: Because the Accounting skillbook costs 5M ISK at NPC "school" stations, you need to trade 667M-3.3B ISK before you save the cost of the skillbook, depending on skill level. Thus, it is not recommended that you start training Accounting until your transactions are routinely in tens of millions of ISK or higher.) Hauling safely Suicide gankers in high-sec and pirates in low-sec love to attack and destroy haulers, if they believe that they can make quick riches by acquiring your cargo. There are some practical things that you can do as a hauler, however, to minimize these dangers. Never go AFK - Being "away from keyboard" is death. Don't be lazy. Even in high-sec. Watch your overview like a hawk. - Being "away from keyboard" is death. Don't be lazy. Even in high-sec. Watch your overview like a hawk. Never autopilot - Never use autopilot to fly your ship, even in high-sec. When navigating to stargates, use the jump command instead, so your ship jumps as soon as you arrive. Be paranoid. There are gankers everywhere. Using the autopilot feature in the in-game map (the F10 key) is good practice for planning your routes - especially if you have the "Prefer Safer" option selected (F10, then Autopilot tab, then Settings tab). BUT never use autopilot to fly your ship. - Never use autopilot to fly your ship, even in high-sec. When navigating to stargates, use the jump command instead, so your ship jumps as soon as you arrive. Be paranoid. There are gankers everywhere. Using the autopilot feature in the in-game map (the F10 key) is good practice for planning your routes - especially if you have the "Prefer Safer" option selected (F10, then Autopilot tab, then Settings tab). never use autopilot to fly your ship. Understand your enemy - Most pilots that conduct suicide ganks are not doing it to be mean. They are doing it to make ISK. Understand the mind of your adversary, and you go a long way to defeat them. An excellent recording of how the mind of a suicide ganker works can be found here: class recording of "The Dark Side of EVE" Note: insurance is not paid on CONCORDed ships. This does not make you immune to ganking, however. If you are hauling cargo worth billions of ISK, you are definitely a prime ganking target. And remember, some people gank just for fun - even if you are carrying nothing. - Most pilots that conduct suicide ganks are not doing it to be mean. They are doing it to make ISK. Understand the mind of your adversary, and you go a long way to defeat them. An excellent recording of how the mind of a suicide ganker works can be found here: class recording of "The Dark Side of EVE" Fit a tank on your indy - Casual gankers are looking for easy targets. Don't be one. - Casual gankers are looking for easy targets. Don't be one. Use scouts - If you are carrying high-value cargo, consider using a fast frigate, shuttle, or covert ops scout to reconnoiter at least one system ahead. If you find high DPS battlecruisers or battleships lurking around a gate or in a system, consider taking a different route, or docking up to complete your hauling run on another day. - If you are carrying high-value cargo, consider using a fast frigate, shuttle, or covert ops scout to reconnoiter at least one system ahead. If you find high DPS battlecruisers or battleships lurking around a gate or in a system, consider taking a different route, or docking up to complete your hauling run on another day. Be aligned - If you are hauling for other players, such as on a mining op, always align your ship with a celestial. Keep that celestial on your overview control panel, and be ready to hit the warp button. - If you are hauling for other players, such as on a mining op, always align your ship with a celestial. Keep that celestial on your overview control panel, and be ready to hit the warp button. Insure your ship - Insurance is your friend. It softens the blow after an "accident". Keep your insurance policy up to date, always. It's worth the investment. - Insurance is your friend. It softens the blow after an "accident". Keep your insurance policy up to date, always. It's worth the investment. Here are some additional tips for how to survive as a hauler: http://k162space.wordpress.com/2010/02/28/hauling-how-not-to-die/ Hauling in Low-Sec and 0.0 Beware of hauling in 0.0 and low-sec - hauling in 0.0 or even low-sec space (0.1-0.4 security status) is always risky. If you want to minimize potential losses, then stay in high security space for your trade runs in Tech I industrial ships, even if this means taking the long way around. Set your autopilot settings to safer routes. Know where the common piracy havens are located: Known pirate systems - hauling in 0.0 or even low-sec space (0.1-0.4 security status) is always risky. If you want to minimize potential losses, then stay in high security space for your trade runs in Tech I industrial ships, even if this means taking the long way around. Set your autopilot settings to safer routes. Know where the common piracy havens are located: Known pirate systems If, however, you find the thrill of hauling jobs in nullsec and low-sec too alluring to resist, then follow some simple fitting guidelines to minimize your risk: Put at least three Warp Core Stabilizers in your low slots to protect against being scrammed or warp disrupted. Note, however, that WCS modules will not protect you against Heavy Interdictors in null sec, as they can tackle anything if used properly. A strong shield tank is always required in any hauler, no matter where you are going. Fit an Invulnerability Field or two to increase shield resistances, and Shield Extenders to maximize shield hit points. Fit a Prototype Cloaking Device in a high slot, as it can give you the option of hiding in space if you escape an attack and then need to lay low for a while: http://www.eve-wiki.net/index.php?title=Cloaking_device If you are hauling in null sec, fit a Microwarpdrive (MWD), so you can "burn out" of bubbles. Rigs to consider when modifying your industrial for hauling in low-sec or 0.0: Low Friction Nozzle Joints I reduce align time by 11.7%: http://www.eve-wiki.net/index.php?title=Low_Friction_Nozzle_Joints. Agility is everything when trying to warp away from danger. You might also consider fitting a Core Defense Field Extender to improve the strength of shields by 15%. However, you do so at the expense of increasing your signature radius 10%, which makes you easier to target lock. Fit one of these only if you feel you truly need the extra shield hit points. Low and null sec hauling tactics Defeating gate camps : If you jump through a gate into low sec or null sec, and you find a camp of enemies surrounding you, do not panic: you have 60 seconds of cloaked protection. Use this time to examine the fleet size and composition. After assessing the situation, engage "warp to zero" to your target station, then quickly activate your defensive mods. If you have fit for fast alignment, you should be able to warp away before anyone can get a target lock on you. Even if they do manage to target you, your Warp Core Stabilizers will give you some protection from being scrammed or disrupted. And if they fire on you, you should have enough of a shield tank to take at least one volley of damage. Burning out of bubbles : If you are hauling in 0.0, you can get caught in warp disruption bubbles. If you are caught in a bubble, double click in a direction that is the shortest distance out of the bubble, and which is not on a line between you and any enemy tackler. Then immediately start your MWD and then your cloak. Once out of the bubble, warp to a celestial @ 50-100km (ideally a non-standard distance) or to a safe spot. Enemies won't be able to target you before you cloak, but they may have time to de-cloak you before you are out of the bubble. Therefore, you need as much speed as possible from that one MWD cycle, before the cloak turns it off. Docking up quickly : As you arrive at your station, engage your propulsion module, and then spam the dock command until you safely in station. After docking, check the Guests tab in station to see who is in there with you. Use Show Info on anyone there, to see if they have negative security status. These people are your biggest threats when you undock. Undocking in low-sec and 0.0 : Leaving stations is the riskiest part of low-sec hauling. When you undock, you have 30 secs of invulnerability to targeting and attack so long as you do not align, or activate any modules. Use that time to make a quick assessment. If you don't like what you are seeing, then press Ctrl-Space to stop your ship, and then dock up. If you decide to continue, warp to zero to your gate or safe spot, and engage defensive mods. Your only real vulnerability is if a bad guy bumps you far enough away from station that you cannot dock. Use bookmarks - if you can use a cloaky ship, use it to create bookmarks at warp range (over 150km) in front of station exits, providing you with an instant undock. It's also good to create safe spots in systems that you intend to revisit, so you have a comfortable places to hide if necessary. Beware of pipes - successive low-sec or null-sec systems with only two gates are known as "pipes", and they can be very dangerous, as they are often camped. Study the star map before you make your hauling runs, so you are aware of these danger spots. And if you can scout them in advance with a cloaky covert ops ship, and make some bookmarks in safe spots there, that will give you some additional options when traveling through them. Pick a good time to haul - to minimize your risk, haul when the pirates are asleep, typically between 06:00 and 11:00 EVE time. You can see the times of the lowest numbers of players logged in here: http://www.eve-offline.net/?server=tranquility Advanced hauling topics Carrying sensitive or high-value cargo A courier contract box alone will not protect your goods from being cargo scanned! If you put your goods in a secure container, and then make a courier contract with that container, then the items in the container will be "double wrapped", and protected from cargo scans Once upon a time, anything put into a "Corporation Hold" on an Orca was immune to cargo scans, and if the Orca was destroyed, anything in the "Corporation Hold" would not drop, thus making the Orca a popular ship for hauling. As of the Retribution update, this is no longer true. "Corporation Holds" have been replaced with "Fleet Holds", which are scannable, and will drop loot if destroyed. Cargo bays on Blockade Runners, however, are un-scannable. This sounds like good news, except that it now makes all blockade runners a tempting target for gankers willing to try their luck. This means that when you fly a Blockade Runner, you should fit and activate a covert ops cloak whenever possible, even if your cargo hold is empty. In Empire space, carrying illegal goods (indicated with a skull-and-crossbones on the item icon) can get you in trouble with customs agents Customs ships randomly scan ships going through gates, or sometimes at stations - the higher the security rating of the system, the higher the chance of being scanned If a customs ship suspects that you are carrying illegal items, they will send you a pop-up message, asking if you are carrying illegal goods If you say "yes", they will confiscate your illegal items, fine you, and you will take a substantial faction-standing loss If you say "no", then you should attempt to quickly jump through and escape, as they may attack your ship Cloaks and fast-fitted ships make you more difficult to be intercepted, and traveling in systems with lower security ratings reduces the chances of being scanned, but only in null security space (0.0) can you transport illegal goods without fear of customs agents. Courier contracts - contracts to haul goods are available from other players. You can access these by selecting the Contracts button on your NeoCom, clicking the "Available Contracts" tab, then select "Entire Region" in the View field, and "Courier" in the Contract Type field, then click on the "Get Contracts" button. Some general rules for the wise courier contractor: Beware of 0.0 and low-sec - have a map, and avoid contracts that start, end or go through dangerous areas, unless you are properly fitted for the additional risk. Beware of pirates - avoid courier contracts that start, end or go through known piracy areas: Commonly known pirate systems If the contract looks too good to be true, it's too good to be true - beware of contracts that pay an absurd reward for very little or no collateral, as they may be an attempt to lure you into a gank Be sure to have the "Exclude Unreachable" option selected when looking for courier contracts. You can select this by clicking in the area with "found X contracts". A set of options will appear. Make sure "Exclude Unreachable" is selected. This will make sure that you do not see contracts that start or end in a player-owned station to which you do not have access. - contracts to haul goods are available from other players. Courier missions - Many people run lower-level courier missions to increase their standings with NPC corps quickly. The standing increase for successful courier missions is lower than security missions, but you can run them faster. Level 4 courier contracts can be a safe and secure way to generate some fast ISK and loyalty points. Though not nearly as profitable as other activities in EVE Online, courier missions are relatively low risk and require few skills to execute successfully. This link describes how to make money effectively as a Level 4 courier mission runner: Making Money with Hauling - Level 4 Cargo Missions Advanced hauling ships : Hauling Specialized Industrial Ships Training the Gallente Industrial skill unlocks several specialty hauling ships, each with a dedicated cargo bay: Epithal, planetary commodities bay, useful for hauling goods from Planetary Interaction Kryos, mineral bay, useful for taking refined minerals from station to market, or from market for manufacturing. Miasmos, ore bay, fantastic for supporting mining crews. Training the Minmatar Industrial skill unlocks the Hoarder, which has a large dedicated bay for hauling ammunition and charges. Covert Ops Frigates: don
be. ROSE: In Iraq does the combination of the Iraqi forces, the Shia militia and whatever help they're getting from Iran, is that enough on the ground to do the job and push into Mosul, with the help of American air support or coalition air support? BRENNAN: I think there's going to be a deliberate effort on the part of the Iraqis along with their partners, whether it be with coalition partners or Iranian Shia partners, to move into those areas that ISIL has overrun. And so I think what needs to be done is a very careful, strategic approach so that they don't go into battle unprepared and unready in order to prevail. I think it's important, both from a military battlefield perspective as well as from a psychological and symbolic perspective that you need to have those victories and successes against ISIL. As I said, they're not invincible. What you need to be able to bring to bear are the capabilities that in fact will be decisive. ROSE: It has also been said that you can never eliminate them, eradicate them, or even seriously diminish their power unless you're prepared to do something about ISIL in Syria. BRENNAN: And there is a combined effort. There are—we're working with the government right now in Baghdad. And we're trying to have them make sure that they do the right thing, not just on the military battlefield, but also in terms of the political reforms so that they can get most of the Sunni community involved in this fight against ISIL. In Syria, though, we have a government that is problematic. And one of the reasons why there has been this great attraction to the region are these foreign fighters. And it's the policy of this administration that Assad is really not part of Syria's future as we see it. And so we need to... ROSE: But do we need now for Assad to be in power temporarily unless there's a negotiated settlement because we need them as an opposition to ISIL as well? BRENNAN: Yes. The crisis in Syria, which it is both from a humanitarian standpoint and just from a countrywide standpoint, is not going to be resolved on the battlefield, in my mind. I think we need to be able to continue to support those elements within Syria that are dedicated to moving Assad and his ilk out. But there has to be some type of political pathway to the future. ROSE: And do you think Russia wants to be a part of that? BRENNAN: I think Russia is looking at the problems that have been created by the situation in Syria. There are a lot of Russian nationals that have traveled down from Chechnya, Dagestan, and other areas. And the Russians are concerned about the flow of foreign fighters both to theater as well as back. And so I think they realized that Assad is problematic. None of us, Russia, the United States, coalition, and regional states, wants to see a collapse of the government and political institutions in Damascus. What we do want is for there to be a future of Damascus that is going to bring into power a representative government that is going to try to address the grievances that exist throughout the country. It is a multi-confessional country that really deserves a government that is going to try to represent the people that are there. ROSE: You fear from a collapse of an Assad government those two might replace them? BRENNAN: I think that's a legitimate concern from the standpoint of what we don't want to do is to allow those extremist elements that in some parts of Syria are ascendant right now. We have ISIL. We have Jabhat al-Nusra, the al-Qaeda element within Syria... ROSE: Khorasan. BRENNAN: And the last thing we want to do is to allow them to march into Damascus. That's why it's important to bolster those forces within the Syrian opposition that are not extremists. ROSE: Do you worry about Iran and Iraq in terms of what happens if in fact the Iranians would like to have a stronger presence in Iraq? BRENNAN: Well, the Iranians have a clearer interest because they share a border with Iraq. They share quite a bloody history with Iraq as well. There are the Shia co-religionists from Iran inside of Iraq. So, we recognize that Iran has legitimate interests there. What we need to do is to make sure that it is not going to be the type of Iranian manipulation of the internal political situation inside of Iraq that is not going to allow the Iraqi people to live in a country that has more of a sense of and semblance stability than they have right now. ROSE: You need coordination on the ground by using the Iraqis as a middle person? BRENNAN: With the Iranians? ROSE: Yes. BRENNAN: Well, I think there are—there's an alignment of some interests between ourselves and Iran clearly in terms of what ISIL has done there. And so we work closely with the Iraqi government. The Iranians work closely with the Iraqi government as well. And so some of these efforts I think through the Iraqi interlocutors are ones that again are trying to advance our common objectives against ISIL. ROSE: Speaking of Iranians and negotiations that are taking place about their nuclear capability, what is it for you an essential requirement in terms of an agreement? For example, I'm thinking of the kinds of inspection—I'm thinking of the kind of notice you would need. I'm thinking of those kinds of issues. BRENNAN: Well, clearly there are aspects of Iran's nuclear program that need to be addressed and that will give we, the United States, as well as countries in the region and international partners, comfort that they're not on the march to a nuclear weapons capability. And that involves enrichment capability and what the limits are going to be in terms of what type of enrichment they're going to be able to retain. Also cutting off other pathways to a nuclear weapon. Trying to make sure that you are going to have the opportunity to inspect facilities with a verification regime so that there's not going to be this break out. And these are the arrangements. And it's a multidimensional package of things that the (inaudible) negotiations right now are looking at. And I must say in my experience in the government, looking out over the last six years or so as this march toward these negotiations hasprogressed, there has been a very intense, deliberate, careful effort to try to understand all of the different dimensions of the Iranian nuclear program, as well as to address all of the areas of consideration and concern. This is not something that is being done in any haphazard way. And I must say that looking at what the United States government is doing with our partners and how this has proceeded, I think this has been the most careful and deliberate experience that I've seen as far as negotiations to come out with a result that is going to help the prospects of peace in the region and also to prevent further nuclear proliferation. ROSE: In other—you're comfortable with an agreement that they're working on now. BRENNAN: I am comfortable that the parties to the (inaudible) negotiation on the U.S. side are going to have minimum requirements here that we're not going to reduce. That we have to have that confidence and comfort with the arrangements. Again, not just what Iran has agreed to, but allowing us over the course of the agreement to have confidence that the terms of the agreement are being upheld. ROSE: Turning to Ukraine, what is your sense of what Putin is up to? And did he get involved and in over his head, as some have suggested, and all of a sudden and is in fact looking for a way out? Or do you believe that this is part of a larger idea of expanding Russian influence? BRENNAN: Well, I think Russia and Putin clearly have strategic ambitions as far as the area along the western border of Russia as far as exerting Russian influence in countries there and concerned about checking what I think they perceived as a Western and NATO influence in the area. So I think Putin has gotten himself into a point where there is, I think, international consensus about not allowing Russia to continue to march in this direction. Thankfully over the last several weeks, we've had a reduction in the amount of violence that is there. But I would look to Mr. Putin to say how he actually is going to get himself out of this predicament where the Russian economy is, I think, facing some serious challenges as a result of sanctions and how the international community and Western nations, I think, are united in pursuing this. ROSE: Is it in our interest to help him find a way out? BRENNAN: Well, I think it's always in our interest to find a diplomatic and peaceful way out of these problems. And I do think it's incumbent, certainly on the United States as the leader of the Western and free world, to help to shape this. But the countries in that area that have very serious concerns about other types of Russian activities in that region need to have a very strong voice. And so we see that our partners, you know, the Germans and others, are taking a leading role as well. We need to continue this. ROSE: Someone in the administration once said to me they worried most of all, they lost sleep most of all over the possibility of some Russian making a mistake and a kind of loose nuke idea. Is that something that causes you to lose sleep? BRENNAN: I think in any situation where you have—there's almost a game of brinksmanship that's going on as far as the various chess moves, it has the potential forsome type of escalatory cycle that was not the intention of either side. And when there's a lot of violence that is going on, there can be some devastating attack or development that will provoke a reaction and then just a quick series of reactions to that. And so whether we're talking about a place like Ukrainian or we're talking about, you know, the situation between North and South Korea, that spark, particularly if the tinder is dry, it has the potential. And that's why I think it's very important for there to be constant attention to these issues that, even though they might be simmering, and it may seem like the situation in Ukraine is simmering right now, this is the time to try to, you know, keep those tensions at bay. ROSE: How do you do that? BRENNAN: Very active diplomacy. And sometimes you need to bring to bear the various tools of power, the United States has a lot available to it, and sometimes there are pressures as far as sanctions and other types of international activities. But I think on these issues, the United States recognizes rightly that there are not unilateral solutions and even pathways here. It's very important for us to be able to work with our partners and to gain a type of international and multilateral consensus. ROSE: And do we conclude our—do we include in our partners China? BRENNAN: Absolutely. China plays a very important role on the world stage, increasingly so. Obviously, their economic power is critically important to a lot of, you know, countries in the world. We have regular interaction with the Chinese. We are trying to make sure that as we engage with the Chinese in East Asian issues we're also cognizant of the fact that the Chinese are playing more of a role in various parts of the world. They have strong commercial business interests, but also I think the Chinese recognize that there are also some, you know, geostrategic and political obligations as they continue to move forward in the march. ROSE: And what are their ambitions? BRENNAN: I think they see that China's size, capability and power gives it a place on the world stage that will be different than what it was 10 or 15 years ago. And that's why I think they are looking at the various superpower relationships and trying to define them in a way that are going to advantage Chinese interests in the coming decade or two. Xi Jinping is pursuing, I think, a very, you know, careful, strategic approach as far as how to expand China's influence on a number of areas. ROSE: And consolidating power and increasing his military. BRENNAN: Yes. And keep the Chinese economic engine going. It's been, you know, decreased a bit. The costs of, you know, world development, but also he needs to be able to fuel his domestic engine of growth as well. ROSE: In your forum, you talked about sovereign security in his speech, in his talk, you talk about sovereign security. And you think about China in terms of cyber espionage, even, some suggest, the government acting on behalf of corporations. What's the threat from China on the cybersecurity arena? BRENNAN: Well, if you look at nation states across the world, engagement in that digital domain, in cyber, there's so much information and activity that is going on out there, and so some countries will believe that any activity in the digital domain is OK if you're going to advance your business and commercial interests. And I think this is where the norms and standards of behavior in that digital environment are critically important. And there have been a number of discussions that we have had with the Chinese and others about what we think is inappropriate activity in that realm. But it's not just a question of some of these large nation states and our adversaries in certain areas. There is just a lot of capability that's developing, particularly in private sector companies around the world, so that any country can tap into the capabilities that might exist in these companies and utilize it for their purposes, whether it be for national security, political, commercial, business or whatever. ROSE: How do you measure the tension between China and Japan today? BRENNAN: Well, I think when you're looking at Asia, there is, you know, one issue out there, which is North Korea... ROSE: Right. BRENNAN:...that is a problem and for the countries' threat region. You know, China, South Korea, Japan and other states, with the unknown actions of a Kim Jong-un as far as where he's going to go next, I think this is worrisome. Now, there are issues that certainly divide South Koreans, the Chinese, the Japanese. What we would like to be able to see is the greater dialogue between those countries. ROSE: And we're committed to their defense, South Korea and Japan. BRENNAN: Oh, I think there are alliances and relationships and treaties that sort of underscore just how important our relationships are with a number of those countries. ROSE: Talking about the reform and all the levels of reform that you initiated—when you went to the CIA, I understood you're saying that we'd like to see the CIA do less paramilitary kinds of things. Was that true? And do you still believe that? BRENNAN: The CIA, over the course of its history, has played a very important role on so many different areas and one area has been in the covert action field. ROSE: Right. BRENNAN: And most every president since we stood up back in 68 years ago or so has utilized the CIA's covert action authorities. A lot of times, that covert action authority requires some paramilitary capability. I believe that the CIA needs to retain that paramilitary capability so that should the chief executive and the president decide that we need to be able to apply it in order to protect and advance our national security interests, the CIA needs to be prepared to do that. What my concern is, that the CIA has a lot of responsibilities worldwide, I want to make sure we're able to address those different responsibilities capably, across the board and not swing too wildly one way or another. When I look back over the last 15 years, since 9/11 with the situation in Iraq and Afghanistan and the counterterrorism efforts, we have had to utilize a number of those paramilitary skills and capabilities working with our partners in order to address these threats that we face. And thankfully, the CIA had that capability and the experience. So it's not as though I'm trying to diminish it. What I'm trying to do is make sure—and this is part of the motivation behind some of the reforms—is to fulfill our responsibilities across all of those areas that we have globally. ROSE: Before I turn it over to this audience, talk to me a bit about the CIA and its analytical function and how you see the challenge of the next 15 years and how you have to change and adjust to that challenge. BRENNAN: The world is becoming more and more challenging. Nation states are under increasing challenge and threat. More and more, we see individuals in different quarters of the world who are identifying with sub-national groups and organizations. And so just the authority of nation states and governments, I think, is being looked at in a different way than it did just 20 years ago. And so this is one of the things that we really have to be able to understand and anticipate and work with foreign governments, because if you're going to have basically a dissolution of the nation state structure that we've had for centuries, it's really going to be even a more chaotic world. On the analysis, we have to not only help to inform policymakers about those trends and developments worldwide, but analysis for CIA has taken on many more dimensions than it did when I first joined the agency in 1980. At that time, CIA's analytic work was really exclusively limited to the finished, all-source analytic products that we give to the president and others. Now, analysis drives so much of our activity, whether we're talking about collection, whether we're talking about different types of operational activities or covert action. That analytic insight, taking full advantage of the intelligence that we get through various means as well as taking advantage of the increasingly rich, open-source environment in social media, so that we're better able to inform our activities as well as better inform our policymakers. So analysis is becoming more and more of a driver of so many different elements of CIA's mission. ROSE: OK. Questions? Yes. QUESTION: George Schwab, National Committee on American Foreign Policy. Thank you very much for a very informative session. Given the fact that a terrorist is often considered by many to be a freedom fighter, how would you distinguish a terrorist action from a criminal action? BRENNAN: Well, quite frankly, I think frequently and most often they fall into both categories, because if somebody's carrying out an act of violence, and usually terrorism and international terrorism is carried out by a sub-national actor or even a nation state for political purposes and directing that violence against a noncombatant, that constitutes terrorism according to most classical definitions. But if you're carrying out that act of violence, at least in most countries of the world, that would be a criminal activity. So sometimes people make, I think, this false dichotomy between a criminal act and a terrorist act; they are both. And I think what we need to do is to uncover whatever types of terrorist activity is going on, because of, you know, the need to protect our people, but also for the upholding of the rule of law. And this is one of the things that we work very closely with our partners, that even if a terrorist is not carrying out an attack in their country, their use of the country, whether or not it's their financial institutions or their borders or safe havens, this is something that should be in fact illegal and uncovered, uprooted, and criminalized. ROSE: Back here. Chris? I'll try to get to as many people as possible. QUESTION: Thank you. Chris Isham with CBS. Could you explain a little bit about the ideological dimension of the war on terrorism. You mentioned ideology fuels many of the organizations we see today. But this administration continues to be very reluctant to identify Islamic extremism as that fuel. I wonder, do you think that's a good idea to continue to resist that? BRENNAN: Well, quite frankly, I'm amused at, you know, the debate that goes on about, boy, you know, unless you call it by what it is you don't know what you're fighting. And let's make it very clear that the people who carry out acts of terrorism, whether it be al-Qaeda or the Islamic State of Iraq in the Levant, are doing it because they believe that it is consistent with what their view of Islam is. It is totally inconsistent with what the overwhelming majority of Muslims throughout the world. And so by ascribing it as, you know, Muslim terrorism or Islamic extremism, I think it really does give them the type of Islamic legitimacy that they are so desperately seeking, but which they don't deserve at all. They are terrorists, they're criminals, many of them are psychopathic thugs, murderers, who use a religious concept and masquerade and mask themselves in that religious construct—and I do think it does injustice to the tenets of religion when we attach a religious moniker to them. The Muslims I know and people I have worked with throughout the Middle East throughout most of my career find it just disgraceful that these individuals present themselves as Muslims. So I think we have to be very careful also in the characterization, because the words that we use can have resonance. And so if things that we talk about publicly, you know, this is, you know, Islamic extremist, a lot of these individuals are proud of being referred to as Islamic extremists. We don't want to give them, again, any type of religious legitimacy because what they do has no basis in any upstanding religion. ROSE: Yes, right there. QUESTION: Hi. Dina Temple-Raston with National Public Radio. I wonder if you can clarify the conflicting assessments that we're seeing regarding ISIL. We hear in some cases that they're on the rise, that there are a thousand foreign fighters joining them every month. We also hear about divisions within ISIL and foreign fighters, for example, fighting with or having divisions with people who are local fighters. Can you give us a better assessment of what's going on with ISIS? BRENNAN: Well, I might say all of the above because it's neither black nor white here. I do believe that you still have a significant number of individuals who are traveling to Iraq or Syria trying to join up forces with ISIL as well as attaching themselves to different franchises around the world. At the same time, though, I think the great image of ISIL in terms of its being able to prevail and be successful inside of Iraq and Syria is being pierced because we see that they are having setbacks, we see that there is some dissension in the ranks, we see that a lot of the requirements that are attendant to having control of territory and having the responsibility to run it administratively is not really the strong suit of some of these thugs who are joining this bandwagon. So I do think we're seeing right now some very significant indicators that ISIL's engine is suffering. That doesn't mean that it is out of steam, it means that it is going through, I think, a phase of its development and, hopefully, of its ultimate demise that is, I think, consistent with some of the experiences of other groups. ROSE: What would you measure success? How would you measure success against ISIL? BRENNAN: First of all, I think that success has to be preventing their further encroachment in Syria and Iraq as well as trying to work with our partner services to identify those elements that are cropping up in other places. But those are some milestones. And I think success is going to take time, it's going to take, you know, years in order to further diminish and discredit, not just their capabilities, but also their attractiveness and appeal. And we need to expose just how murderous and psychopathic these individuals are. ROSE: I'm watching—yes, the one—yes, there. I promise to get to the back as well. Yes? QUESTION: Thank you. Paula DiPerna, NTR Foundation. This is probably an unpopular suggestion, but is it feasible or how feasible would it be to do a little selective Internet disruption in the areas concerned, a la a blockade, digital blockade, and then an international fund to indemnify business loss? BRENNAN: OK. First of all, as we all know, the worldwide web, the Internet, is a very large enterprise. And trying to stop things from coming out, there are political issues, there are legal issues here in the United States as far as freedom of speech is concerned. But even given that consideration, doing it technically and preventing some things from surfacing is really quite challenging. And we see that a number of these organizations have been able to immediately post what they're doing in Twitter. And the ability to stop some things from getting out is really quite challenging. As far as, you know, indemnification of various companies on some of these issues, there has been unfortunately a very, very long, multi-year effort on the part of the Congress to try to pass some cybersecurity legislation that addressed some of these issues. There has been passage in the Senate. I think it's overdue. We need to update our legal structures as well as our policy structures to deal with the cyber threats we face. ROSE: Yes. Here, sir, and then... QUESTION: Thank you. Director, my name is Roland Paul, I'm a lawyer, I've been in the U.S. government a couple of times. Concerning the Iranian nuclear situation, I understand from the press there may be about 10,000 enrichment centrifuges that are active. Are most of these in hardened sites that it would take extraordinary munitions to destroy? BRENNAN: Well, I'm not going to get into some specific details about sort of the Iranian nuclear program. But what's being taken into account right now in these negotiations are, what are the sites where enrichment could take place, and what are the processes and procedures that are going to give us some confidence that there's not going to be this type of either production or capability that is going to be outside of any type of inspection regime? I think we need that verification. It's critically important. ROSE: Is it fair to say you worry most about a cover site that you don't know about now? BRENNAN: I think we would always worry about something we don't know about now. (LAUGHTER) ROSE: Yes? QUESTION: My name is Lucy Komisar, I'm a journalist. How significant is the use by terrorists, terrorist groups of the international offshore bank and shell company system, which is also, as we know, used by international criminal groups as well as tax evaders and all kinds of bad guys? And if it is significant, is this now the time to try to bring some transparency to the system by saying that nontransparent system banks and other institutions cannot have access to the American financial system? BRENNAN: There are a variety of reasons why there needs to be, I think, greater transparency in some of the international financial activities that go on, terrorism being one of them. Terrorists have been particularly enterprising and creative in terms of how they take advantage of the opportunities that are out there. I must say that the U.S. Department of the Treasury as well as other institutions of the U.S. government have been very, very effective and successful working, again, with international partners to try to uncover and uproot this. But it's not just for tourism purposes, it's for organized crime, narco cartels, and others. But absolutely, we need to do more. ROSE: OK, here. No, behind you, and then you. QUESTION: Nick Platt, Asia Society. The rapportage on your reform program has suggested that you plan to integrate the analytical and operational side of the CIA to an extent that's never been done before. Having dealt with both from a distance over the years, I'm curious as to how you're going to do that and what your plan is. BRENNAN: We have integrated a lot of the operational and analytic elements over the course of the past 20 years, more and more so. We have a counterterrorism center that is tremendously capable because we've been able to bring to bear operational capabilities, analytic, technological, and others. We do it overseas a lot. We have individuals, analysts and operators and others, who are working cheek-to-jowl on these issues. In the war zone, it's tremendously effective as far as being able to make sure that we have the experts who can work with the operators and others. I believe that it's important for us to be able to migrate that model into other areas, so we don't just wait for a war to develop or a crisis to develop or dealing with terrorism challenges. I think we have the ability to bring that expertise, that capability, in a way that preserves the independence, objectivity and integrity of analysis, because CIA really is the central point within the U.S. intelligence community to provide that objective all-source analysis. And it's been my experience, and I headed up the analytic effort in CTC about 20 years ago, that you can maintain an objectivity as well as you can empower the other elements of the CIA's mission to bringing to bear that analytic capability. ROSE: I promised to get to the back, so someone on the aisle there, whoever can get closest to a mike. QUESTION: James Sitrick, Baker & McKenzie. You spent a considerable amount of your opening remarks talking about the importance of liaison relationships. Charlie alluded to this in one of his references to you, on the adage—the old adage has it that the enemy of your enemy is your friend. Are we in any way quietly, diplomatically, indirectly, liaisoning with Mr. Soleimani and his group and his people in Iraq? BRENNAN: I am not engaging with Mr. Qasem Soleimani, who is the head of the Quds Force of Iran. So no, I am not. I am engaged, though, with a lot of different partners, some of close, allied countries as well as some that would be considered adversaries, engaged with the Russians on issues related to terrorism. We did a great job working with the Russians on Sochi. They were very supportive on Boston Marathon. We're also looking at the threat that ISIL poses both to the United States as well as to Russia. So I try to take advantage of all the different partners that are out there, because there is a strong alignment on some issues—on proliferation as well as on terrorism and others as well. ROSE: Yes, sir, here and then here. QUESTION: John Whitencase (ph). This is a somewhat related question. How disruptive was our withdrawal from Iraq on our intelligence capabilities in Iraq and the greater Middle East, especially unilateral HUMINT capabilities? BRENNAN: Well, I think you're referring to the drawdown of U.S. military forces there at the end of 2012. And a lot of times people think that when U.S. military leaves intelligence leaves as well. A lot of times that's when the intelligence mission really has to kick in to, you know, a higher gear because we have to offset some of those losses. But we rely heavily in a lot of parts of the world, to include in Afghanistan, for a military footprint that allows us to nest within a security structure. So it's challenging, but CIA doesn't get to, you know, design all of our presence overseas. We have to take advantage of whatever opportunities we have and working in places where there's not an official U.S. presence. ROSE: Here? And go back to the back as well. QUESTION: Hi. Megyn Kelly with Fox News. Can you speak a little bit about the importance of actually capturing terrorists? Are we still doing that? And where are we keeping them and how are we interrogating them now in today's day and age under this president? BRENNAN: Well, I think it's critically important that terrorists be captured. And a lot of times they are captured here or arrested here in the United States and the Bureau and others do a great job of it. What we need to be able to do is to work with our partners, again, to identify individuals and to have them captured. And so there are places throughout the world where CIA has worked with other intelligence services and has been able to bring people into custody and engage in the debriefings of these individuals either through our liaison partners and sometimes there are joint debriefings that take place as well. So although there are not a lot of, you know, public pieces on Fox News about somebody that might be picked up in different parts of the world, this is a... QUESTION: (OFF MIKE) We'd like there to be. BRENNAN: Yeah, I know they'd like there to be. But there are a lot of examples where we're getting some very good insights into what terrorist organizations are planning and plotting. And a lot of times, we rely on the partner services in order to have the understanding about what's going on in that country so they can illicit better information. ROSE: Yes, here, and then I'll go to the back there. You're all raising your hand, so I can't distinguish between you from this angle. QUESTION: I'm going to try to stand up. Sarah Leah Whitson, Human Rights Watch. Two days ago, ABC News ran some video and images of psychopathic murderers, thugs in the Iraqi security forces, carrying out beheadings, executions of children, executions of civilians. Human Rights Watch has documented Iraqi militias carrying out ISIS-like atrocities, executions of hundreds of captives and so forth. And some of the allies in the anti-ISIS coalition are themselves carrying out ISIS-like atrocities, like beheadings in Saudi Arabia, violent attacks on journalists in Saudi Arabia—how do you think Iraqi Sunni civilians should distinguish between the good guys and the bad guys in this circumstance? BRENNAN: It's tough sorting out good guys and bad guys in a lot of these areas, it is. And human rights abuses, whether they take place on the part of ISIL or of militias or individuals who are working as part of formal security services, needs to be exposed, needs to be stopped. And in an area like Iraq and Syria, there has been some horrific, horrific human rights abuses. And this is something that I think we need to be able to address. And when we see it, we do bring it to the attention of authorities. And when we see it, we do bring it to the attention of authorities. And we will not work with entities that are engaged in such activities. ROSE: Here? Yes, sir, somebody right here. Yes, right there, and back to the back next. QUESTION: Donald Gregg, former CIA. What does all this do to the daily presentation of intelligence to the White House? How is the PDB doing and is it different from what it was 20 years ago? BRENNAN: The PDB is doing very well. ROSE: This is the president's daily briefing? BRENNAN: President's daily brief that has been in place for many, many decades. I was the president's daily briefer back in the Clinton administration and had the great honor and privilege to bring to the president and the vice president every day the intelligence jewels and the insights. The director of national intelligence by statute now is the president's primary intelligence adviser, so he is the one that will go to the Oval Office and present the president's daily brief as well as any additional information. CIA basically provides most of the input into that PDB. We have responsibilities for that PDB that continue to endure. And it is a very, very impactful product. ROSE: So what's the difference in briefing Bill Clinton and Barack Obama? Who asks the better questions? (LAUGHTER) BRENNAN: Oh, boy. They're two of the most impressive individuals that I have had the opportunity to engage with. ROSE: Having said that... (LAUGHTER) BRENNAN: Well, because they have a tremendous ability to absorb information, digest it, but then also correlate it. And I remember sometimes briefing President Clinton on something that I had briefed him two or three months previously, and I'd be briefing him something new and he'd be able to bring it back up and I had since forgotten it. And the same thing with President Obama. They both have rapacious appetites for information and there's an intellectual curiosity there. ROSE: President Obama specifically, have you seen an evolution in how he views national security? You were in the White House when he came into the White House and you're now at CIA. Has there been an evolution in how he assesses the threat to the United States, the tools that he wants to use, his willingness to use the employment of force? BRENNAN: Well, I certainly think that there has been a natural evolution. Any president who comes into office doesn't really have a good appreciation of what they're going to encounter during their term. And over the past six years, the president has, I think, faced more of the strategic and significant national security challenges than, you know, a lot of predecessors. So I think he has gone to school. He understands the complexity. He also understands the interdependence of a number of these issues as well as the importance and the imperative of working with a lot of our partners. The United States doesn't have the unilateral ability to shape the course of world events; it does not. It has to be working with a lot of our partners. And so I think the president's looking at, whether it be terrorism or Ukraine or North Korea or cyber issues, I think he recognizes just how complex the world is. And what he has told me and CIA and the intelligence community is that we need to continue to evolve ourselves so that we're better prepared to deal with the challenges that are ahead of us and not just, you know, be dealing with the challenges of the 20th century. ROSE: OK. One more here. Yes, sir, right there in the middle. Yes, sir? QUESTION: Bruce Gelb, Council of American Ambassadors. Mr. Brennan, this is one of the most interesting in the 25 years that I've been listening here in this room. Your grasp of what's going on is amazing. However... (LAUGHTER) BRENNAN: I was waiting for that. QUESTION: I have a question, and that is, do you really not believe that there is in the Muslim community a worldwide caliphate group that has been operating from the standpoint of the Muslim Brotherhood and beyond that for years, that in your view really does not exist and has nothing to do with Muslim terrorism? BRENNAN: I think within the Muslim community over the course of decades, centuries, if not millennia-plus, there are elements that have a very extremist, radical and, I think, warped perspective about what the role of their religion is and how it has to dominate, whether it be society, culture, politics, whatever. And I think the same is true in a lot of other religions and cultures and societies. And I think those radicals and extremists find expression at different times throughout our history, and sometimes in a very bloody fashion. But I would be very reluctant and cautious to try to interpret that then as something that is inherent to a religion or cultural society. I think sometimes individuals develop these perspectives and warped
up 12 floors. We ran into some serious budget issues during our construction and ended up doing as much as we could on a shoestring, which resulted in the restaurant having lots of DIY touches. Materials like reclaimed wood, second-hand Southern antiques, meticulously sourced artifacts and tubular filament bulbs (which were not widely used in restaurants at the time), helped create an aesthetic that projected authentic warmth and comfort while simultaneously offering something new and forward-looking in design. Our opening team was eager and enthusiastic even if somewhat lacking in experience—I’m especially talking about myself. I had no prior personal or family experience in the restaurant business aside from my first summer job making pizzas at Domino’s when I was 16. I was fortunate to meet four people, however, who had major rolls in the development of Hill Country: John Shaw (Operating Partner and COO for nine years), Elizabeth Karmel (Hill Country’s first Executive Chef), Robbie Richter (opening pitmaster) and Garrett Singer (our architect and designer). We spent months writing training manuals, procuring product, designing logos and uniforms, trying recipes in test kitchens and backyards, and sweating hundreds of other details large and small. When it got around to recruiting, we hired mostly for personality and a cultural fit. John Shaw, who led operations, brought to our homey barbecue spot some of the finer points of hospitality that he had picked up from his career dating back nearly twenty years. Our goal was to provide a level of hospitality that “felt like a warm hug” to every guest who came through our doors. Hill Country proved to be a pretty big hit out of the gate. Although we were prone to gross inconsistencies and often sold out of some of our most popular items, on the whole we were putting out a solid product in those early days. Early blog reviews were mostly favorable with some scattered raves. A “$25 and Under” review in the New York Times that appeared a couple weeks after we opened noted that “no other barbecue place that has opened in New York in recent years has gotten it so right, right out of the gate.” The buzz was building, and it reached a crescendo in mid-July when the Wall Street Journal included Hill Country in its list of the “Top 10 Barbecue Restaurants in the United States.” That was a tremendous stamp of approval and, looking back, a major turning point for the brand we were building. Ten years later we have served nearly 1.5 million pounds of brisket, 700 thousand pounds of pork ribs, 100 thousand pounds of mac & cheese and burned through approximately 400 thousand cords of post oak at our flagship restaurant. We have hosted hundreds of weddings and rehearsal dinners, countless celebrities, politicians and athletes, and produced performances by dozens of Grammy Award-winning acts. We have garnered two coveted stars from the New York Times and been featured regularly on the Food Network, the Cooking Chanel and several nationally televised shows. We have expanded our brand into Washington, D.C. and Brooklyn, launched a fried chicken concept, produced four American Roots showcases at SXSW in Austin, opened concessions at Madison Square Garden, the U.S. Open at the USTA Center, Lincoln Center and the National Building Museum, and cooked at food festivals countrywide. The Hill Country brand has stretched far beyond our borders and far beyond my dreams. Time marches forward, and much has changed in a decade. For starters, there is a lot more quality barbecue out there today than when we got started. Texas has undergone a barbecue renaissance, and New York has turned into a bona fide barbecue town in its own right with new spots opening regularly that continue to raise the bar and offer new twists on the cuisine. Additionally, our sleepy, off-the-beaten path neighborhood that existed between east Chelsea and north Flatiron has transformed into 24/7 culinary behemoth that can compete with the likes of any in the country for restaurant preeminence. From a business perspective, the sword cuts both ways. While there are many more workers and residents in the neighborhood than there were ten years ago, the competition has become much fiercer as well. The challenge to evolve (we now offer a pulled pork sandwich as well as a pepper jelly-glazed baby back rib special) and improve (we upgraded our brisket specs from Choice to Certified Angus Beef a couple years ago) is ever-present. It is hard to believe that a decade has gone by since we first opened the doors on West 26th Street. Over the years, we have veered off in certain directions and taken risks to grow the business in others, but we have consistently tried to improve our core offering and stay true to ourselves. While many of the faces have changed and some of the furniture has been rearranged, Hill Country in 2017 is much the same restaurant that it was in 2007. We still serve the same craveable brisket, mac & cheese, and cornbread as we did back then. One of my favorite musicians, Bob Schneider, proclaimed to the crowd after a blistering bluegrass set in Austin I attended several years ago, “Easier than it looks—harder than you'll ever know!” The same could be said of the restaurant business. To survive and thrive in Manhattan for a decade is an improbable feat. To think about all of the blood, sweat, and tears, and all the joyous moments in between, I am grateful beyond words for the opportunity to have served so many guests far and wide, to have served our community proudly, and to have served alongside so many talented, dedicated, and hard-working people on the Hill Country team. This 10th Anniversary is a momentous milestone, and I eagerly look forward to what the next ten years have in store. Marc Glosserman is the founder of New York’s Hill Country Barbecue Market.Josh Charles has been doing something of a victory lap following his shocking departure from The Good Wife last month. A few weeks ago he went on Olbermann as Dan Rydell, his Sports Night alter-ego. If you’re looking for more Aaron Sorkin fun, in tonight’s episode of Inside Amy Schumer he joins Schumer for “The Foodroom,” a parody of Newsroom creator Aaron Sorkin, and we have the exclusive clip: As Willa Paskin noted in her review of Season 2, “Inside Amy Schumer has become the most consistently feminist show on television, a sketch comedy series in which nearly every bit is devoted in some capacity to gender politics.” So it’s not surprising that this sketch nails Sorkin not just for his usual manufactured crises and sped-up dialogue, but for his approach to gender: Schumer knows that, in the work of Aaron Sorkin, “A woman’s life is worth nothing unless she’s making a great man greater.”LOS ANGELES -- Dan Henderson knows that at this stage of the game, he's going to be asked before every fight how much longer he wants to get hit in the face for a living. He's 43, after all, and will turn 44 on August 24. He's also one of the very few fighters remaining from the pre-Unified Rules, one-night-tourney era who is still competing in relevant fights. Henderson will fight Daniel Cormier in the co-main event of UFC 173 on Saturday in Las Vegas, in which the winner could very well get a shot at the light heavyweight title currently held by Jon Jones. So how long does Hendo want to go? He's not committing to a timetable. But he explained to reporters at a downtown media luncheon on Monday that he wants to be done at a younger age then his fellow wrestler-turned-MMA champion from the early days, Randy Couture. "I don't want to be in there quite as long as Randy was," Henderson said. Couture, the five-time UFC champion, was Henderson's age, 43, when he came out of retirement to defeat Tim Sylvia for the heavyweight title at UFC 68. Couture retired for good at age 47 after a knockout loss to Lyoto Machida at UFC 129 in 2011.(Image: Getty) Speaking on Triple M’s The Rush Hour, James Brayshaw has categorically slammed the North Melbourne situation as proposed by Craig Hutchison. On Channel 9’s Footy Classified, Hutchy suggested that the Kangaroos should permanently move their base to Tasmania for financial stability. But the former North Melbourne chairman said it was complete rubbish. Here is the original chat from last night: “You know I love Hutchy,” JB started. “I genuinely think there’s genius attached to that man (in the business world). I love what he’s done. “But in the football space, Hutchy’s never had an original thought in his life. “That has come straight from the AFL - and what I would like to say to the AFL is this; if you want to genuinely do something about Tassie, stop Hawthorn going behind your back and signing a deal with the government every 5 years! “That’s the first problem - stop looking anywhere else and stop Hawthorn from doing their own deal. “But secondly, if they had put this to us in 2007 - back when they were trying to relocate the club to the Gold Coast - they might have got a favourable hearing. “The problem they’ve got 10 years later is that the club’s flying. “They’ve doubled revenue, doubled memberships… It would be counter-productive for North to play anymore games in Tassie than it does now. He acknowledged that crowd numbers were down, but still believes that North Melbourne are one of the best-run clubs in the AFL. JB finished with a passionate statement. “I have spoken to the incumbent president, Ben Buckley, who has told me there is no way North Melbourne are moving anywhere,” Brayshaw said. “He and I still can’t believe this garbage still gets brought up.” Listen to the chat here:Breaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings. Dec. 1, 2017, 3:36 AM GMT / Updated Dec. 1, 2017, 12:25 PM GMT By Alex Johnson Half of you will love this, and half of you will hate it: An international team of scientists says its research strongly suggests that dogs are smarter than cats. A paper accepted this week for publication in the journal Frontiers in Neuroanatomy reports that dogs' brains have more than twice as many cortical neurons — the cells linked to thinking, planning and complex behavior — than cats' brains do. A pug dog at the annual Crufts dog show in Birmingham, England, in March 2011. Oli Scarff / Getty Images The team, working at universities and zoos around the world, counted the number of cortical neurons in eight carnivorans, a large class of mammals that have teeth and claws that allow them to eat other animals. (That's different from carnivores, the much larger class of all meat-eating animals, including bears, raccoons and seals.) They found that dogs have about 530 million cortical neurons, while cats have about 250 million. "I believe the absolute number of neurons an animal has, especially in the cerebral cortex, determines the richness of their internal mental state and their ability to predict what is about to happen in their environment based on past experience," said Suzana Herculano-Houzel, an associate professor of psychology and biological sciences at Vanderbilt University, who developed the method the team used to count neurons. The research explains why, but first, here's another picture of an adorable dog to help it go down easier: A dog seen dressed as Moana during the Haute Dog Howl'oween Parade on in Long Beach, California, on Oct. 29. Chelsea Guglielmino / Getty Images file The research accounted for physical brain size, assessing the number of cortical neurons against the size of the brain they can cram into. And it turns out that dogs have more sheer brainpower even than carnivorans with much larger actual brains — including African lions and brown bears. Why? The paper puts it this way: "Large carnivorans appear to be particularly vulnerable to metabolic constraints that impose a trade-off between body size and number of cortical neurons." In other words: Once a species grows beyond a certain size, the energy needed to hunt meat roughly equals the energy the species is able to consume. And because the brain uses more energy than any other organ, there's not enough leftover energy for it to continue developing, evolutionarily speaking. (The sweet spot appears to have been found by raccoons, which have about the same number of cortical neurons as a dog, but in a brain only the size of a cat's, according to the research.) "Dogs have the biological capability of doing much more complex and flexible things with their lives than cats can." "Meat eating is largely considered a problem-solver in terms of energy, but, in retrospect, it is clear that carnivory must impose a delicate balance between how much brain and body a species can afford," Herculano-Houzel said. Think about it. When was the last time you saw a seeing-eye cat or a cat trained to sniff out bombs? "I'm 100 percent a dog person," Herculano-Houzel said. "But with that disclaimer, our findings mean to me that dogs have the biological capability of doing much more complex and flexible things with their lives than cats can. "At the least, we now have some biology that people can factor into their discussions about who's smarter, cats or dogs."In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry is midway through both his training as a wizard and his coming of age. He wants to get away from the malicious Dursleys and go to the Quidditch World Cup with Hermione, Ron, and the Weasleys. He wants to dream about his crush, Cho Chang (and maybe do more than dream). And now that he's gotten the hang of things at Hogwarts—he hopes—he just wants to be a normal fourteen-year-old wizard... Read More ». But even by his standards, Harry's year is anything but normal. First Dumbledore announces the revival of a grand competition that hasn't taken place for one hundred years: the Triwizard Tournament, where a Hogwarts champion will compete against rivals from two other schools of magic in three highly dangerous tasks. Then someone frames Harry to participate in the tournament—which really means someone wants him dead. Harry is guided through the competition by Professor Alastor Moody, this year's Defenst Against the Dark Arts teacher, but he must also contend with a nasty reporter named Rita Skeeter, who digs up some highly unflattering secrets about Hagrid; a terrible fight with Ron, who is deeply jealous of Harry's fame; Hermione's newfound activism on behalf of house-elves; and the terrifying prospect of asking a date to the Yule Ball. Worst of all, Lord Voldemort may finally have gathered the materials necessary for his rejuvenation... and he has a faithful servant at Hogwarts waiting only for a sign. No, nothing is every normal for Harry Potter. And in his case, different can be deadly. Close »Reading Time: 1 minute Why to Use Wait: Most of the web apps are using AJAX techniques, This makes page element is loaded to browser may load at different time intervals.Using waits, we can solve this issue as Wait provides the time interval and some conditions to locate element. Hence we can avoid the ElementNotVisibleException exception. Selenium Webdriver provides two types of waits: 1.Implicit 2.Explicit. Explicit Waits:- An explicit wait makes WebDriver to wait for a certain condition to occur before proceeding further with executions. There convenience methods provided that help you write code that will wait only as long as required. Using WebDriverWait in combination with ExpectedCondition is one way this can be accomplished. from selenium import webdriver from selenium.webdriver.common.by import By from selenium.webdriver.support.ui import WebDriverWait from selenium.webdriver.support import expected_conditions as EC driver = webdriver.Firefox() driver.get("<a href="http://demoaut.com/")">http://demoaut.com/")</a> try: userElement = WebDriverWait(driver, 10).until(EC.presence_of_element_located((By.NAME, "userName"))) passElement = WebDriverWait(driver, 10).until(EC.presence_of_element_located((By.NAME, "password"))) submitElement = WebDriverWait(driver, 10).until(EC.presence_of_element_located((By.NAME, "login"))) # login userElement.send_keys("testName") passElement.send_keys("testPass") submitElement.click() finally: driver.quit() 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 from selenium import webdriver from selenium. webdriver. common. by import By from selenium. webdriver. support. ui import WebDriverWait from selenium. webdriver. support import expected_conditions as EC driver = webdriver. Firefox ( ) driver. get ( "<a href=" http : //demoaut.com/")">http://demoaut.com/")</a> try : userElement = WebDriverWait ( driver, 10 ). until ( EC. presence_of_element_located ( ( By. NAME, "userName" ) ) ) passElement = WebDriverWait ( driver, 10 ). until ( EC. presence_of_element_located ( ( By. NAME, "password" ) ) ) submitElement = WebDriverWait ( driver, 10 ). until ( EC. presence_of_element_located ( ( By. NAME, "login" ) ) ) # login userElement. send_keys ( "testName" ) passElement. send_keys ( "testPass" ) submitElement. click ( ) finally : driver. quit ( ) Below is the Expected Conditions that are used when automating web browsers. -title_is -title_contains -presence_of_element_located -visibility_of_element_located -visibility_of -presence_of_all_elements_located -text_to_be_present_in_element -text_to_be_present_in_element_value -frame_to_be_available_and_switch_to_it -invisibility_of_element_located etc. Implicit Waits:- Its used to tell WebDriver to search the DOM for a certain amount of time to find an element or elements if they are not immediately available. In the next blog, We will see the Page Object and other important topics in Python. Source Code Here.On a fabled hilltop in Kildare town, in a churchyard that has seen its great cathedral rise from ruin many times in its 1500 year history, sit two stone structures, the yin and yang of Irish architectural symbolism, or possibly the yoni and lingam. The restored foundation of St. Brigid’s Fire Temple recalls the most significant woman of Early Christian Ireland, or perhaps her pagan namesake. It still serves today as a pilgrimage destination for spiritual women from the ranks of Christians and neo-pagan alike. The adjacent—and better known—Kildare Round Tower was in the 19th century believed by some to also be an example of a pagan temple: its tall, ramrod-straight form, with its original conical cap, revealing its ancient use in homage of what one 1834 reviewer termed “a certain particular division of the [male] anatomy, which the refinement of modern civilization has excluded from decent language.3 In the virtual-reality environment above you can click on the hotspot on the stairway to enter the round tower. Once in the doorway, look up to note the Romanesque carvings. Then enter the tower and click on the hotspot on the ladder to ascend to the observation platform at its summit. There you can then look out onto the panoramic bird’s eye view of Kildare. The other hotspot in the graveyard will lead you to the reconstructed foundation of St. Brigid’s Fire Temple; additional hotspots there will take you inside the structure and allow a close-up view of some items left by her pilgrims. Kildare’s Cathedral Church of St. Brigid today is largely the result of a 19th-century restoration of the Norman structure of 1230. In legend, the hill on which it sits was in prehistory the site of a pagan temple to the Celtic goddess Brigid (see below). There was a Christian church here from the end of the fifth century, a simple thatched-roof structure, built under an oak tree, and named by St. Brigid Cill Dara, the Church of the Oak, from which derives the modern name of the county and city of Kildare. This church evolved to an early medieval stone structure with a defensive as well as a religious function. It was attacked and devastated some 16 times between the years 835 and 998. It was a ruin when Ralph of Bristol became the bishop in 1223. He finished its reconstruction in its present gothic style by 1230, but the building was again partially in ruin by 1500 and abandoned by 1649 (see the Dawson and Seymour prints below). Completely restored in 1896, it currently serves a small local parish of the Church of Ireland and houses a small museum, closed to tourists during the winter months.4 The Round Tower Think of Ireland, and you’re likely to conjure first a shamrock, then perhaps a harp. Or a Guinness. But close behind the list of symbols that are forever Irish would be the iconic but enigmatic round tower, with its doorway positioned high off the ground. These old structures, though always located within ecclesiastical sites, have nevertheless been the topic of generations of speculation divorcing them from any Christian connection. Even today, newly minted theories about the purpose of the round towers are still coming out of the stonework. It should not be surprising that such imposing structures, with no contemporary records of their construction,5 should be seen as a mirror on which some in each generation can see reflected their own mythic ideals. To many of the 19th-century antiquarians, “a Round Tower of two or even three thousand years’ standing was twice as satisfying as one of a mere eight hundred years…” 6 Archaeologists today largely agree that the Irish round towers were constructed as monumental belfries and perhaps places of temporary refuge or for storage of valuables. The Irish term always used to describe them is cloig-theach, or bell-house. They may date from as early as the sixth century, with their construction continuing through the 13th century.7 The contemporary reviews of Henry O’Brien’s book (see quotation at the top of this page), which proclaimed the towers to be built a thousand years before Christ, constructed primarily as sites for phallus worship, were very harsh. O’Brien gained his notoriety largely because his bizarre theories could not be mentioned in polite society. As Joep Leerssen put it: “O’Brien’s name was made famous by becoming the subject of scandal and ridicule; his theory was given exemplary status by being so memorably unmentionable in polite society…” 8 Most reviews of O’Brien’s work were so scathing that they likely contributed to his insanity and death at the age of 27 in 1835. Quite aside from the speculation of this tragic 19th-century antiquarian, some of the Irish round towers have been the focus of more traditional indigenous folklore. In a common tale, the tower at Cloyne (Co. Cork) was “built in one night by St. Colman to safeguard his relics.” 9 At Aghagower (Co. Mayo) the legend has it that after the tower’s cap and bell were blown a half mile away by a bolt of lightning, the old people could still hear the bell “giving tongue” from beneath the bog where it landed.10 Another tower where the bell was magically thrown into a nearby lake was at Kilmacduagh in Co. Galway (see photo in gallery). One legend is that all Ireland’s round towers were constructed by a single builder known as the Gobán Saor. These tales may have evolved from the mythological exploits of Goibniu, the smith of the Tuatha Dé Danann. Whatever the source of these tales, the similar construction of all the round towers points to the likelihood of roving teams of builders, moving with their architect from site to site.11 In the tourism literature the Irish round towers are reputed to have served primarily as a type of fort where monks might retreat with all their treasures when an attack from the plundering Vikings was imminent. Although some towers may have served as temporary places of refuge, it is unlikely that they were built solely for such a purpose. The wooden doors and floors of these tall chimney-like structures would have presented inviting targets for the flaming arrows of the Vikings. Indeed, some towers show evidence of fire damage around the entrances, and there are accounts of people being burned to death in the towers.12 Furthermore, some of the round towers were constructed within the areas of Viking townships, an unlikely place to construct a refuge from the Danes.13 Prior to the arrival of the Normans in 1167, the round towers may have been the only noteworthy buildings constructed of stone in Ireland, at a time that the first church structures were made of wood.14 They may have been constructed with round sides simply because using stone rubble to construct a rounded building was relatively easy; it was more costly to transport and dress the stone blocks needed for a building with corners.15 The doorways in these towers, which could be six meters, or almost 20 feet from the ground, were positioned above a lower story entirely filled with rock rubble for stability. There may have originally been some 120 round towers in Ireland. Most of the 65 now remaining are in a ruined state, with less than 20 in good condition. Only one retains its original conical cap, at Clondalkin, near Dublin. Kildare can boast five round towers, the most of any county in Ireland.16Missouri Lieutenant Governor Peter Kinder: Did Governor Jay Nixon Refuse to Deploy the National Guard Because of Pressure from Obama and Holder? Speculation. What isn't speculation is that the National Guard was at the town, but did not move in to restore order until this morning, after dozens of businesses had already been looted and/or burned to the ground. What isn't speculation is that the National Guard was at the town, but did not move in to restore order until this morning, after dozens of businesses had already been looted and/or burned to the ground. "What the vast majority of Missourians are asking this morning is, 'We see the National Guard rolling in this morning, � where were they last night?' The law-abiding citizens, and businesses owners, and taxpayers of Ferguson and the St. Louis region have the right to ask this governor to answer some questions," Kinder charged in a Fox News interview.... "Why were they not in there at the first sign of an overturned police car, or a smashed police car window, with a show of force that would have stopped this? And here�s my question that the governor must answer: Is the reason that the National Guard was not in there because the Obama administration and the Holder Justice Department leaned on you to keep them out? I cannot imagine any other reason," Kinder said. Ferguson's mayor did request that the Guard be deployed -- and he was ignored. Ferguson's mayor did request that the Guard be deployed -- and he was ignored. Nice Deb makes a good point -- Nice Deb makes a good point -- stop referring to violence and arson as "protests." But that's their favorite trick, isn't it? But that's their favorite trick, isn't it? Posted by: Ace at 01:56 PM MuNuvians MeeNuvians Polls! Polls! Polls! Frequently Asked Questions The (Almost) Complete Paul Anka Integrity Kick Top Top Tens Greatest Hitjobs News/ChatBest Answer: Get to know them better. This is not a task only to be accomplished through dating. The more you get to know him or her, the more you can tell if you like them as a friend or something else. Just talk and do fun activities with the person. Stop and consider why you like the person. There are many physically attractive and smart people out there. But if you see something beyond that really catches your attention, you've marked this person as unique and probably like them. Why else would they stand out from so many? Consider how many times you think about the person. If you find yourself thinking about this person several times a day, and they are happy thoughts that possibly make your heart beat faster, then you probably like them. Think how often you laugh at their jokes etc. When you like someone, you will find yourself laughing at things even if they aren't that funny. This is a natural attempt to make them feel appreciated. If the one conversation between you and the person is stuck in you head and you cant stop telling people about it. this means it was important to you, and you probably like the person. Consider how much you try to be near them. If you've planned your walking speed to catch a glimpse of them as many times of the day as possible, there is a good reason for that. Think about how you feel if you touch him or her, by accident or on purpose. If you're still thinking about brushing shoulders several hours ago in school, then that is a special thought and you probably like them. If you feel you're ready for a relationship, and are confident enough for a positive response, then just go ahead and ask them out. If you're unsure of their feelings for you, there are several wikihows on how to tell if someone likes you. Source(s): Jacob · 1 decade ago0 Sequels are hard. On the one hand, it’s flattering to know that audiences want more of your characters, more of the world you created in the first movie. But on the other hand, it’s a big commitment to make a sequel, and then you’re walking the tightrope balance of making it new/different enough while also not alienating those that sparked to the original movie in the first place. Such is the issue facing Edgar Wright when fans ask for a follow-up to Shaun of the Dead or Hot Fuzz. It’s the latter that would seem the most apt of any of Wright’s films for a sequel, and in a recent chat with MovieWeb (via The Playlist) the filmmaker agreed, going so far as to say he and co-writer/star Simon Pegg have even discussed Hot Fuzz 2 ideas. But that doesn’t mean they’re ready to actually make the sequel: “I’ve definitely had some ideas and me and Simon have even talked about it at points, but it’s that thing of, do I want to spend three years of my life doing that? Or do I wanna, if I have the opportunity to tell a new story, would I do that? If somebody said to me, if Baby Driver 2, if that kind of came up, it would be like, ‘I have ideas.’ I would never say never, and you’re not wrong to say that that’s the one that you could do further installments.’” Wright went on to address the story issues that crafting a Hot Fuzz 2 poses given that Hot Fuzz concludes with Danny and Angel in peak (facist) form, and stressed that at this point in his career, he’d rather spend his time on original stories: “It’s funny. I think the thing with sequels is that I’ve always been looking for what’s next? And the thing with any movie is, it’s going to take up at least two years of your life. Maybe three. So, when you’ve got youth on your side, and I’m already in my forties now, it’s like, I guess I would rather be telling new stories than revisiting old ones…Hot Fuzz I think is the only one of the Cornetto trilogy that you could do a follow-up. The tricky thing with a lot of sequels, and especially comedy sequels, is once characters have finished an arc. You know, in Hot Fuzz Danny Butterman especially, Nicholas Angel becomes less of an automaton and becomes more human and Nick Frost’s character becomes less of a simpleton and more of a badass. So then the thing is like, when that’s your starting point for the next one, where do you go from there?” I get that fans would want to see more of Danny and Angel (who wouldn’t?), but I actually think in crafting the Cornetto Trilogy Wright, Pegg, and Nick Frost found the best possible way to create “sequels” following the smashing success of Shaun. All three films share cast, writer/director, and are connected thematically, but at the end of the day they’re different characters and stories, told in new, unique visual ways. Plus, if we’re talking a sequel to a Cornetto movie, who doesn’t want to see Pegg roaming a post-apocalyptic wasteland with a gang of blanks in The World’s End 2? Wright’s reasoning here is sound and refreshing. It’s not like he hasn’t been offered major IP in the past—he was reportedly approached for Star Trek Beyond when Roberto Orci left the director’s chair—but it’s really nice to see a unique filmmaking voice such as his focused on telling original stories. Plenty of people can make an interesting Star Trek movie, but only Edgar Wright could’ve made The World’s End or the upcoming Baby Driver. So hats off to him, and here’s to whatever’s next."Flying fox" redirects here. For other bats known as flying fox, see Acerodon. For other uses, see Flying Fox (disambiguation) Genus of large bats Pteropus (suborder Yinpterochiroptera) is a genus of bats which are among the largest in the world. They are commonly known as fruit bats or flying foxes, among other colloquial names. They live in the tropics and subtropics of Asia (including the Indian subcontinent), Australia, East Africa, and some oceanic islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.[3] There are at least 60 extant species in the genus.[4] Flying foxes eat fruit and other plant matter, and occasionally consume insects as well. They locate resources with their keen sense of smell. Most, but not all, are nocturnal. They navigate with keen eyesight, as they cannot echolocate. They have long life spans and low reproductive outputs, with females of most species producing only one offspring per year. Their slow life history makes their populations vulnerable to threats such as overhunting, culling, and natural disasters. Six flying fox species have been made extinct in modern times by overhunting. Flying foxes are often persecuted for their real or perceived role in damaging crops. They are ecologically beneficial by assisting in the regeneration of forests via seed dispersal. They benefit ecosystems and human interests by pollinating plants. Flying foxes are relevant to humans as a source of disease, as they are the reservoirs of rare but fatal disease agents including Australian bat lyssavirus, which causes rabies, and Hendra virus; seven known human deaths have resulted from these two diseases. Nipah virus is also transmitted by flying foxes—it affects more people, with over 100 attributed fatalities. They have cultural significance to indigenous people, with appearances in traditional art, folklore, and weaponry. Their fur and teeth were used as currency in the past. Some cultures still use their teeth as currency today. Taxonomy and etymology [ edit ] The genus name Pteropus was coined by French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1762.[5] Prior to 1998, genus authority was sometimes given to German naturalist Johann Christian Polycarp Erxleben.[6] Although the Brisson publication (1762) predated the Erxleben publication (1777), thus giving him preference under the Principle of Priority, some authors gave preference to Erxleben as genus authority because Brisson's publication did not consistently use binomial nomenclature.[7] In 1998, the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) decided that Brisson's 1762 publication was a "rejected work" for nomenclatural purposes. Despite rejecting the majority of the publication, the ICZN decided to conserve a dozen generic names from the work and retain Brisson as authority, including Pteropus.[2] The type species of the genus is the Mauritian flying fox, Pteropus niger (described as Vespertilio vampyrus niger by Robert Kerr in 1792).[8] The decision to designate P. niger as the type species was made by the ICZN through their plenary powers over biological nomenclature.[7] "Pteropus" comes from Ancient Greek "pterón" meaning "wing" and "poús" meaning "foot." The phrase "flying fox" has been used to refer to Pteropus bats since at least 1759.[9] Description [ edit ] External characteristics [ edit ] Flying fox in flight Flying foxes species vary in body weight, ranging from 120–1,600 g (0.26–3.53 lb). Across all species, males are usually larger than females.[10] The large flying fox has the longest forearm length and reported wingspan of any species,[3] but some species exceed it in weight. Its wingspan is up to 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in), and it can weigh up to 1.1 kg (2.4 lb).[11] The Indian and great flying foxes are heavier, at 1.6 kg (3.5 lb) and 1.45 kg (3.2 lb), respectively.[3][12] Outside this genus, the giant golden-crowned flying fox (genus Acerodon) is the only bat with similar dimensions.[3] Most flying fox species are considerably smaller and generally weigh less than 600 g (21 oz).[13] Smaller species such as the masked, Temminck's, Guam, and dwarf flying foxes all weigh less than 170 g (6.0 oz).[13] The pelage is long and silky with a dense underfur.[3] In many species, individuals have a "mantle" of contrasting fur color on the back of their head, the shoulders, and the upper back.[14] They lack tails. As the common name "flying fox" suggests, their heads resemble that of a small fox because of their small ears and large eyes. Females have one pair of mammae located in the chest region. Their ears are long and pointed at the tip and lack tragi. The outer margin of each ear forming an unbroken ring.[3][14] The toes have sharp, curved claws. While microbats only have a claw on each thumb of their forelimbs, flying foxes additionally have a claw on each index finger.[3] Skull and dentition [ edit ] A flying fox skull is composed of 24 bones. The snout is made of 7, the cranium of 16, and the mandible is a single bone. It has a large and bulbous braincase. Like all mammals, flying foxes have three middle ear ossicles which assist in transmitting sound to the brain. Flying fox skulls continue to develop after they are born. Compared to adults, young flying foxes have very short snouts; as they reach maturity, the maxilla elongates, gaining
at once. The one girl she had trusted more than any other, the one who she had felt could be the one she spent the rest of her life with, the one who Velvet had given up her independence to had betrayed her. Heart broken, Velvet grabbed a new piece of paper, tears streaming down her face, and wrote another note. Leaving it on Coco's bedside, the bunny girl grabbed Team RWBY's assignments, along with her own backpack, and left the room. Racing down the hallway, the downpour of salty tears still raining from her eyes, Velvet placed the envelope on Team RWBY's doorstep before running outside of the dormitories, heading towards Beacon's borders. Finally reaching them, Velvet sat behind a bush, and sobbed quietly to herself, before the rage and anger took her over, and forced her to flee, leaving Beacon behind. Meanwhile, in Team RWBY's dorm, Blake was just waking up to check their assignments, letting the two babies sleep and refusing to even try and wake Yang up. Opening the door, Velvet noticed that the manilla envelope that they received each day was slightly different, with water droplets across its surface. Opening the envelope, Blake was greeted to a letter in Velvet's handwriting instead of the crude copy and pasted words of their Mistress. Dear Team RWBY, My Mistress is gone today, and has told me to provide you with your assignments. Because I believe she will be back later today, I can't just not give you an assignment, though I wish I could. So, instead, I am going to give you a gift assignment. I remember how much you enjoyed the role reversal from yesterday, so I want to have you all do that again, but for the entire day! Enclosed in this envelope are two bladder control loss pills (they were already here, so I had to keep them in to prevent Mistress from getting suspicious) that should last through the day. Blake and Yang, you are to take these. In case mistress comes back, I'm not going to let this assignment look like a cake walk, so I have to put down a few ground rules: Yang and Blake, you may not change yourselves. Only Ruby and Weiss may do so. You must do something to expose yourselves, Yang and Blake. Whatever that is, however, is entirely up to you. The only caveat is that it has to be a different way than what Weiss and Ruby did. Weiss and Ruby, you must not wet or mess your panties. And no, you cannot wear diapers today. I want you to experience true role reversal ;) Blake and Yang must wear short skirts to ensure maximum potential of exposure (don't worry too much, I've sat in front of you guys for the past few days. It isn't super noticeable) Blake grinned the more she read, as she was more than happy to participate in this little assignment of Velvet's. The previous day's role reversal was incredibly enjoyable for her, despite Weiss's peeing in her hair. Now she had an entire day to be pampered?! She could hardly contain herself, so much so that her eccentric movements awoke Weiss. Lightly coughing to alert the Faunus to her presence, the Heiress waved Blake over, taking the letter and reading it to herself. "It doesn't begin until Yang wakes up. So here, let me change you" smiled Blake, pushing Weiss back down onto her bed, removing Weiss's soggy diaper from her waist. However, instead of the snugness she felt from her diapers, Weiss felt the itchiness of cotton panties constricting her nether regions. Laying in these panties, Weiss was reminded just why she liked diaper so much more. Taking her new role as caretaker to its logical conclusion, Weiss sat up in her bed and pushed Blake down, to the Faunus's surprise, but not enough so that she would resist. "It doesn't HAVE to begin, but it will begin before Yang wakes up" replied Weiss smugly, pulling out a fresh, white diaper for the girl. Blake, deciding to let Weiss take over, went limp, leaving her body in the Heiress's hands. Pulling down Blake's pajama pants, Weiss saw a small purple thong, just barely covering the hairy pussy beneath. Giggling, Weiss moved her finger up and down the Faunus's thong, teasing her gently. Moving on, Weiss removed Blake's thong, revealing a very engorged pussy below. Lifting Blake's legs, the ice queen placed the padded white material under her rear, snuggly securing the diaper around Blake. "Is my kitty all snug? Is she? Yes she is" cooed Weiss, tickling Blake's revealed tummy, causing the kitten Faunus to start to laugh, waking Ruby. Looking up to the smallest of the team, Weiss handed her the letter, to which Ruby giggled slightly to see that once more, she would be the older sister. Running into the bathroom, Ruby changed herself, grabbed a new diaper, and brought it back, her panties in the other hand. Despite her usual fear of waking up Yang, Ruby's excitement got the better of her as she ran over to Yang's bed side, poking her multiple times. However, as the surface she poked grew hotter and hotter, Ruby realized what she had done and sprinted back to her bed, hiding under the covers. As Yang groaned aloud, Weiss and Blake watched as the blonde's blanket turned from a standard red to a singed black. Looking up, eyes flared red, Yang lumbered out of bed, walking slowly to the fridge. Once there, she opened it harshly, slamming the door against the wall, and grabbed a Blue Cow, chugging the entire can in seconds. Looking back, Yang's eyes, now a light lilac, wandered over to Weiss. "What?" she said groggily, "Why did you wake me?" Weiss's heart stopped, she was being blamed for this?! "I... I didn…" stuttered Weiss, only to be interrupted by Ruby. "I... um... actually... woke you up, Yang... you see, Velvet sent us our assignments, and I just was so excited and just...oh, just read this" said Ruby jumpily, handing Yang the piece of paper. Reading over the assignment, Yang groaned, not as happy about the situation as Blake was. Sure, she didn't mind the pampering, and she enjoyed seeing Ruby act so enthusiastically, but the diapers were something she dreaded. Changing them? No problem whatsoever, she was going to have to learn to deal with that anyway when she had her own kids, but using them? Ugh, she shivered just thinking about it. But at this point, after days of enduring wet diaper after wet diaper, she could at least handle it for a day, and try to act chipper, even if she dreaded it on the inside. Stepping over to her little sister's bunk, Yang jumped up, laying herself down on Ruby's bed. Ruby giggled in anticipation, throwing Yang's pajama pants across the room as she sped her way to the good part. Ripping the yellow g-string in front of her, Ruby revealed Yang's pussy, naked and ready to be diapered. Ruby then quickly placed Yang's legs into the air as she pushed the diaper under the blonde fireball. Securing the diaper around her, Ruby puffed a small amount of baby powder onto Yang's pussy, just for good measure, and strapped her in. Looking down at her diapered sister, Ruby squealed in joy, reaching down her own onesie to grab her pacifier, which she placed in Yang's mouth. Sucking lightly, Yang tried to humor Ruby the best she could. Blake, meanwhile, was in the full swing of things, sucking on her pacifier like a good girl while Weiss made her a bottle. Rolling around in Weiss's bed, Blake felt the warm padding against her tush comforting, and actually quite enjoyable to be in. Weiss, meanwhile, was constantly having to scratch her pussy, as the damn thing seemed to be continuously itchy when in panties, as it had grown used to the soft comfort of the diaper. Hearing their microwave go off, Weiss opened it, grabbing the hot bottle gently, making sure to test the temperature upon herself before presenting it to her kitten. Walking back to Blake, Weiss could see her little diaper girl smiling in glee, anticipating her breakfast. Placing the nipple of the bottle in Blake's mouth, Weiss began to stroke the Faunus's ears playfully, looking down at her little baby. "You really have gotten into the spirit of things, haven't ya?" sighed Weiss happily. Removing the nipple from her mouth, Blake looked up to her caretaker happily. "If we have to do this, I may as well try to have some fun" she replied, sticking her tongue out before returning to her breakfast. As the girl happily sucked on the bottle, her eyes wandered to the blur that ran across the corner of her eye, revealing Ruby running to Yang's bunk, where she grabbed a white dust crystal, broke it, and let the dust rain down upon her. Almost immediately, Ruby's breasts grew before her very eyes, to the girl's delight, as she sprinted back up to her bed. Up on the bunk, Ruby was removing her bra, revealing her engorged breasts to her older sister, who was surprised to see how big her sister had gotten in the last few seconds. Pulling the blonde to her chest, Ruby placed her sister upon her nipple, who began to suck lovingly, freeing Ruby's tits of their newly created milk. Looking down, Ruby watched in glee as her sister hungrily drank from her breasts. Feeling her sister's tongue flick against her nipple, Ruby released a low moan of lust. Looking up, Yang gave a sly smile before biting down on Ruby's nipple, causing Ruby to howl in response. Yang simply laughed, returned to her regular sucking, and cuddled up closer to Ruby. Ruby simply placed her hand on the girl's head, stroking her hair gently. After many minutes of feeding their babies breakfast, Ruby and Weiss got their little ones dressed, making sure to make them as exposing as possible, per Velvet's orders. Tying the pacifiers around Yang and Blake's necks, the two girls grabbed the bladder control loss pills and had the two babies ingest them, to their reluctance. While Blake enjoyed being babied, having an actual lack of control over her bladder was troublesome and definitely stirred anxiety in her heart. Walking behind Blake and Yang as they waddled down the hall, Ruby and Weiss exchanged glances of happiness, something they rarely got to do in these past few days. Sitting down in the classroom, Yang immediately noticed how short her skirt was, looking down and seeing her diaper poke out from every angle. If anyone sat on the row next to them, they would see Blake and Yang for sure! Meanwhile, Blake was rocking back and forth on her padded rear, enjoying the warm and secure feeling the diaper provided. She also noticed herself feeling more carefree, much less worried about being caught than ever before. It was somewhat troublesome in Blake's mind, as she couldn't think of a reason that her anxiety would lessen. Sighing in acceptance, Blake sat herself hard upon her padded ass, keeping herself still and collected as the lecture started. "Okay, class" began Professor Peach, "today, we shall be learning the anatomy Cloudberries, the all-natural cotton candy". As a few pity laughs flew out from the room, Blake looked over to Yang, noticing a small trickling sound. Poking Yang's shoulder, Blake pointed down, to which Yang looked down in horror. "Aw fuck!" she exclaimed under her breath, "already?!" Feeling the dampened diaper against her skin, Yang tried to readjust into a comfortable position, the crinkling of the diaper starting to grow. Dust dammit, she whined mentally, can't readjust without increasing my chances of getting caught. Dealing with the uncomfortable rubbing of the plastic against her ass, Yang sat herself deeper into her diaper to muffle the sounds it made. Ruby, sitting next to the pouting Yang, noticed the girl slump down into her seat, and placed her arm around the girl, stroking her hair gently while mouthing that it was okay. Later in the class, while carefully listening to the lecture, Blake felt that her diaper was unusually damp, and looked down to see a slight yellow tint on her nappy. Sighing in disappointment, Blake was less than happy to see herself succumb to her bodily functions. However, unlike Yang, Blake used the diaper as a reason to get better, and prove that she could hold it. Yang was contempt with wallowing in self-pity, but Blake of all people had learned years ago that that never works. Weiss, meanwhile, was fighting her own demons, as her weak bladder tried to fight the inevitable outpouring of pee. Eyes watering, Weiss was praying she could hold it long enough, or at least get to the restroom. Raising her hand, Weiss waited for minutes, hoping Professor Peach would eventually notice. "Yes, Ms. Schnee?" called Professor Peach to the now squirming Heiress. "May I please use the restroom?" responded Weiss politely, wiggling back and forth on her seat. "As soon as I'm done with this lecture, yes. It should be just a minute or so more" replied the Professor, "Now, when it comes to the ovaries of the Cloudberry…" Weiss could feel her body starting to give up, losing its power of control. She was holding it the best she could, but could feel a few drops leak onto her panties. The Heiress began to lose her vision as the tears in her eyes tripled, leaving her eyesight swimming. She didn't think she could hold it this long, but she sure as hell wasn't going to raise her hand again and cause a disturbance. Bouncing up and down on her seat, Weiss did her best to distract herself from the issue at hand, to minimal results. She felt she had maybe thirty seconds before she couldn't hold it any longer and wet her panties. However, it would appear that dust granted her mercy, as just as she was about to explode, Professor Peach looked up to the ice queen. "Okay, Ms. Schnee, I am done. You may go" she said, feeling bad for the desperate girl. "Thank you" Weiss called as she sprinted out the door to the bathroom. Casting speed glyphs below her feet, Weiss flew through the hallways, reaching the bathroom in seconds and racing inside. Plopping herself onto a toilet seat, Weiss almost tore her panties in half as she pushed them off of her nether regions. Finally free, Weiss released her dam, the sound of the stream echoing throughout the entire bathroom. She felt as though she was in the same room as the Great Atlas Falls, as the sounds that pulsed around the bathroom seemed to mimic them so well. With this release, however, came a feeling of calm and pride. For the first time in a month, Weiss was able to make it to the toilet before wetting herself! Proving that she capable of potty training once more gave Weiss a glowing feeling of joy, something she felt would make the rest of the day much better. Wiping her pussy and pulling her panties back up, Weiss stood up from the toilet, went to wash her hands, and walked slowly back to the classroom. Sitting down in her seat, Weiss looked over at Blake, smiled, and pulled out her scroll to send a message to the Faunus girl: Does my Blake-y need me to change her diap-y? Blake pulled out her scroll, read the message, and turned her head to Weiss, shaking her head shyly and mouthing no mommy. "Oh am I mommy now?" Weiss giggled under her breath. "Just playing the part" retorted Blake, sticking her tongue out at the snow princess playfully. As Weiss and Blake played mommy and baby, Yang and Ruby were much more restrained. Yang was still pouting from her wetting, yet she was slowly coming around to dealing with it. Ruby, meanwhile, was resisting the urge to childishly doodle on her notes, trying to prove she was a capable caretaker. But the class was just so boring that Ruby found herself trying to stay awake through any motion possible, from twirling her pencil to tapping her finger against the cold desk. Back with Blake and Weiss, the two girls were actively participating in class, their spirits higher than ever in the last week. "Does anyone know who first wrote of Cloudberry anatomy?" asked Professor Peach, to which Blake raised her hand. "Sir Pubert Addams?" responded the Faunus. "Yes, that's right! Sir Pubert Addams first wrote of the Cloudberry's anatomy in..." continued the Professor, while Blake looked over to Weiss happily and high-fived her caretaker. The two couldn't have been happier, it almost felt like they had no pressure on them at all. Yang, meanwhile, pondered how it was that Blake could be happy in this situation. Sitting there for the rest of class wondering that question, Yang was more than happy to hear the bell ring, walking with her wet diaper back to the dorm, where Ruby pulled her aside and changed her lovingly. "Hey, Yang? May I ask you a question?" asked Ruby as she pulled the wet diaper from beneath the blonde. "Always" replied Yang, trying her best to imitate a smile, given her mood. "Why are you upset? I thought you would like if you didn't have any responsibilities and I just took care of you! You seemed to yesterday!" exclaimed Ruby, the passion in her voice driving a spike through the icy shell that had accumulated around Yang's heart during the previous class. "Maybe for a lunch break or so, but for an entire day?! I feel...I feel like I've lost too much control...I want to be in control, because when I'm out of control...bad things happen...that's when my mother left...that's when you're mom died...when I didn't have control...I know something like that won't happen here, but...it's just hard to get used to not being in control" spoke the Blonde softly, her face split by tears now streaming down her face. Ruby, silver eyes beginning to accumulate tears, hugged her sister, bringing her mouth up to the blonde's ear. "I know it's hard, but if you love me...then you'll trust me not to let anything bad happen to you? I don't want you having to worry about things when you're in a diaper? I want it to be a safe space for you. When you're in a diaper, you aren't Yang Xiao Long, okay? You're Baby Yang, the baby who has no control over her surroundings, but doesn't care, because she knows that Mommy Ruby will take care of her. Do you understand?" whispered Ruby lovingly, her hands pulling Yang into a tighter embrace. "Okay... I'll try... " she replied, kissing her sister's cheek and laying back down to allow Ruby to change her. For the rest of the day, Yang made it her goal to not care about anything or be worried about anything, and to dedicate herself to relaxing. I guess people won't be able to tell the difference she giggled, realizing that this version of herself was the party girl she always portrayed herself as to begin with. Now in a new diaper, Yang stood up, smiling, and hugged Ruby again, thanking her for everything she had done. Meanwhile, Blake was being changed by Weiss, the two giggling and joking with one another. Now changed, the four girls went to their next class, again sitting in the back. Blake, remembering she had to reveal herself sometime during the day, poked Weiss to get her attention. "Hey, Weiss, you told Pyrrha about your fetish, right?" requested Blake, smiling innocently. "Yes" replied Weiss, "Why?" "Because I came up with an idea of how to reveal myself today" said Blake between quiet, under her breath giggles, "I'm gonna ask Pyrrha to change me!" "Wait, Really?!" said Weiss, eyes wide, "Are you sure that's a good idea?" "Sure" returned Blake, "I mean, what's the worst that can happen?" "She thinks you're so weird she never talks to you again" retorted Weiss sternly. "I doubt it. She knows about your fetish and the blackmailing incident. She knows about Ruby's fetish. She also said she knew someone else who had that fetish! I'll just try it later" spoke Blake naively, her face showing no shame. Weiss nodded, realizing that of all the people willing to go that far for Blake, it would be Pyrrha. "Ladies!" called out Professor Oobleck, "Is there something you wish to tell the class?" "Oh" replied the two girls in tandem, "No! Sorry!" "That's what I thought. Now, class, onwards with the life of Percival The Ocelot Heart!" continued Oobleck, moving onwards with his lecture. Meanwhile, Blake felt her ass get suddenly wet, and looked down, almost with fake surprise, realizing she was wet once more. Yang, on the other hand, was about to have her new look on today tested. Feeling her ass pucker, Yang felt a large mass eject from her bottom into her diaper. Normally, Yang would be terrified, but she wanted to at least try and be a carefree baby like Blake. Poking Weiss, the girl turned to Yang, who pointed down to her diaper while wafting in front of her nose. Weiss, immediately understanding what the blonde meant, cast her wind glyph, expelling any negative smells far away from them. Giving Weiss a thumbs up and mouthing a thank you, Yang returned to the lecture, sitting in her mess as it continued to flow out of her asshole. Guess my seat just got a little more padded, she thought nonchalantly. Along as she didn't think too hard about what she just did, she could endure it. She started to even forget what it was, something she openly accepted, making it easier for her to sit still. With her face slightly blushed, Yang mouthed a thank you to Ruby for what she did earlier. The longer Yang sat in this carefree state, the more she understood why Ruby and Weiss, and now possibly Blake, enjoyed wearing diapers. They were quite comfortable, and they were pretty damn efficient. No need to go to the bathroom, no missing notes from class and having to borrow Blake's later, no more holding everything in, even to the point of pain. She smiled, crinkling in the diaper, despite the mess, back and forth on her seat. Ruby, seeing her sister happily rocking back and forth, felt incredibly proud of her for accepting this new status quo, as well as herself for doing so well as a caretaker. This same mutual pride was felt by Weiss towards Blake and herself, though she was already used to seeing Blake accept her role. Playfully swatting at Blake's backside, Weiss giggled in childish delight. Her sister was always too prudish to really play with her when they were kids, so having a "younger sister" of sorts that she could care for and have fun with brought out a side of Weiss she never really got to experience. Like her baby-side, Weiss loved living as this side of her psyche, albeit less so than the previously mentioned baby-side. Looking over at Pyrrha, Blake wondered exactly how she was going to ask the champion fighter to change her. It would be awkward as hell no matter what, but she hoped she could at least minimize it. Pulling out her scroll, Blake texted Pyrrha to meet her in the bathroom, to which Pyrrha agreed and raised her hand to use the restroom. After a minute of Pyrrha being absent, Blake raised her hand to go, leaving the classroom to go to the bathroom. Once inside, Blake looked over at Pyrrha, her cat ears on point and face flushed red. "Hi Blake! What did you want to talk about?" smiled Pyrrha, waving at the Faunus. "So, you know that blackmail that Weiss and Ruby told you about? I'm involved as well. Basically, our blackmailer said I had to expose myself to someone, but in a way no one else has. So I'm going to have to ask a really awkward question, but it has to be done. Are you ready?" questioned the Faunus, to which the fighter nodded, "Okay, could you change me?" She had no better way of saying it, but after just blurting it out like that, she felt that any way she could have done it would have been better. Pyrrha's eyes were as wide as saucers, but they quickly returned to normal and the girl maintained her calm. "You are my friend, so of course!" she replied happily, laying Blake down on the cold floor. Ripping the diaper off of Blake, Pyrrha grabbed the bottle of powder from the Faunus's bag, puffing it out onto Blake's pussy. Placing a fresh diaper on the girl, Pyrrha gave Blake a thumbs up, to which the Faunus jumped up and hugged Pyrrha in gratitude. "Thank you so much, Pyrrha! You have no idea how worried I was!" exclaimed Blake, ears twitching in bliss. "No problem, this isn't the first one I've had to change. Nor…er...someone else I know has the same fetish" replied Pyrrha, face now red with embarrassment for revealing the secret. "Wait, Nora has this?! Does she know about Ruby and Weiss? I don't actually wear them normally, this is for the challenge" shouted Blake in surprise. "No, not really. It's just been a Team JNPR thing. Maybe I'll tell her about them sometime?" replied Pyrrha. "Yeah, I bet the three of them could have a killer play date" laughed Blake, standing up and walking back to the classroom. Pyrrha too stood up, walking alongside Blake. "I bet so" laughed Pyrrha meekly, "But please don't tell her I gave away her secret, she would be crushed". "Hey, her secret is safe with me, as is yours" winked Blake, "Oh! And Yang may ask for the same thing later, just so you know. She also has to expose herself". "I'll keep my eye out" laughed Pyrrha, opening the door to the classroom for Blake. Once inside, the two girls walked in, sitting down with their respective teams. When Blake sat down, Weiss looked towards the girl, her eyes almost begging Blake to tell her the details of her encounter. Blake's only response was a thumbs-up, to which Weiss felt a wave of relief overtake her, happy that her kitten was okay. Again pulling out her scroll, Blake sent a new message, this time to Yang: Just exposed myself. If you have to do it today, take my advice, have Pyrrha change you. She'll be fine with it. Yang, reading the message, opened her scroll and responded with a message of her own: K, but I'm messy right now. Not going to make Pyrrha endure that xD. Blake looked over to Yang and nodded, acknowledging that it would be best if Ruby cleaned Yang up before she requested Pyrrha's help. By the end of class, both Yang and Blake were giggling, texting each other silly pictures of them in their diapers, but making sure to delete them immediately after seeing them. The two girls noticed how much more childish they had become, and they honestly couldn't be happier. Sure, this wasn't something they wanted to experience for the rest of their lives like Weiss or Ruby, but for a single day, this was pretty good. Hearing the bell ring around them, the two girls smiled giddily to get changed and fed. Weiss and Ruby, meanwhile, were walking slowly and caringly behind their babies, making small talk with one another. "I know, Ruby, I miss them too" said the Heiress somberly. "We'll get them back tomorrow" replied Ruby with a small amount of hope lingering in her voice. "I know...I just...I feel kind of jealous seeing Blake and Yang enjoy them. I wish I had that childhood happiness again…" lamented Weiss. "It's been three hours since we lost them, not three years" giggled Ruby. "It feels like three years" said Weiss under her breath, but when Blake looked back to see if Weiss was okay, the ice queen changed her tune and smiled and waved back. Stepping into their dorm, the four girls split into their respective groups, Ruby laying Yang down upon her bunk, removing her diaper, and carefully wiping her down. Her body now cool from the wet wipe, Yang shivered lightly, to which Ruby puffed some baby powder onto her pussy. Grabbing a new diaper, Ruby placed it upon her sister's rear, pulling the warm material securely around Yang. Patting the front of the diaper, Ruby told her sister to sit up, who hugged Ruby lovingly. Ruby kissed her sister's cheek, this event no doubt bringing them closer. On the other side of the room, Weiss was holding Blake lovingly, who was taking a little cat nap in her arms, pacifier bouncing up and down as Blake sucked it. Swaddling Blake in a blanket, Weiss left her little baby on her bed, running to go make her lunch. Meanwhile, in the Team CFVY dorm, Coco opened the door, body still wet with saliva and pussy juice and hickeys on her neck. The girl moved into the room, collapsing on her bed, hoping to get some rest after the orgy of sex she just had to partake in. Whoever her mistress was had a sexual appetite that not even Coco could handle. Coco turned her head to the side table, seeing a white sheet of paper laying on top of it. She grabbed it and began to read. Dear Mistress Coco, Unfortunately, I have a family emergency I must attend to. I saw that you had to leave early today, so I wasn't able to tell you when it came up. I'm sorry. I'll be back in two days. I gave Team RWBY their assignments for today, as you would have asked me to do. I love you, Velvet Scarlatina A single tear shed from Coco's eye as she finished the letter. She hated whenever Velvet was away from her. When the two were together, Coco was trying her best to be dominant over Velvet, so she never really got enough chances to remind the rabbit girl how much she loved her. But she knew that when Velvet returned, everything would be going back to normal: Coco's mistress will have moved on, Team RWBY's blackmail will be over, and the two of them can continue their master/slave play in peace. Returning to the center of her bed, the fashionable girl threw off her clothes, leaving only her bra and panties, wrapped herself in her blanket, and went to sleep. Back in the Team RWBY dorm, Weiss was preparing a little bowl of tuna for Blake, while Ruby was making hot dogs for Yang. "Wuby! I'm hungwy!" cried Yang in a babyish tone, making Ruby giggle. "Just a few more minutes, Yang-y sweetie" she replied back, to which Yang smiled and continued to sit in bed, reading her scroll as her diaper wiggled back and forth on her waist. Meanwhile, Blake's nose sensed the tuna Weiss was preparing, instantly awakening the Faunus. Her cat ears pointing to the sky, the girl attempted to free herself from the swaddle she was in. Confound it, she thought, I need that tuna! Struggling at her restraints, she pressed harder to free herself, but made little to no noise, as the pacifier covered her mouth. Then, as if on queue, Weiss approached the girl, tuna bowl in one hand, a sippy cup of juice in the other. Sitting the Faunus girl up, Weiss freed her from her swaddle prison, to which the girl tried to grab the bowl of tuna, only for Weiss to pull it away from her. "No no no, Blake-y. Babies can't feed themselves. Let me feed you" Weiss cooed, to which Blake pouted for a second before accepting it. Diving a spoon into the tuna, Weiss pulled out a spoonful and fed it to the Faunus, whose ears twitched happily to the fishy food. As Blake munched happily, Weiss watched her lovingly, enjoying the feeling of being the older one for a change. Grabbing the sippy cup, Weiss pulled Blake close, holding her head with one hand, pressing the tip of the cup to Blake's lips with the other. Taking a sip from it, Blake happily sucked upon the sippy cup, draining it of the liquid. With this, Weiss placed the cup down and got another spoonful of tuna for Blake, who she fed it to lovingly. Back with Ruby, the girl was slicing up the hot dogs into little pieces, placing them on a little plate, and brought them to Yang, who was lying on her back in bed. Sitting up, the blonde hungrily tried to grab at the hot dog plate, to which Ruby held it tightly. "No! Bad Yang. Babies need someone to feed them" Ruby teased, to which Yang pouted in response. Ruby took her fork, grabbed a piece of the hot dog, and placed it at the entrance to Yang's mouth, who opened and allowed the intrusion. Stroking the blonde's hair, Ruby kissed her on the forehead as she ate. Chewing happily, Yang relaxed at finally being fed, the fire in her eyes calming to a low smolder, like the ashes left over from a campfire. Blake, meanwhile, mewed and purred as she ate, her inner kitten calmed into a state of submissive calm. Back with Yang, she felt her diaper moisten, looked down, and saw that she was in fact wet. Deciding this would be the best time to reveal herself, Yang sat up from Ruby, walking out the door in just a shirt and diaper, knocking on the door of Team JNPR's door. All the snuggling and comfort Ruby had provided seemed to blind Yang from danger, although it didn't seem too dangerous to the blonde. Fortunately for her, Pyrrha answered the door. "Oh hey Yang, what do yo-" she said, interrupted by a gasp as she looked down to the wet diaper Yang was wearing. "Um...Blake said you could help…" spoke Yang somewhat shyly, yet nonchalantly. Remembering what her and Blake discussed, Pyrrha recollected her calm and smiled at the blonde. "Absolutely! Come in!" called Pyrrha, bringing Yang out of her daze as she realized that the rest of Team JNPR would see her. Instinctually, Yang's hands flew to her diaper, trying to cover it on her left and right. "Oh...um...well…" she responded embarrassingly, cheeks flushed red. "Oh, how silly of me!" Pyrrha laughed, "don't be worried about being seen! Nora wears them too!" With that bombshell, Pyrrha opened the door, revealing Nora lying on her bed, diaper entirely exposed. "Hi Yang!" exclaimed Nora cheerily, "Oh my gosh! I didn't know you wore diapers too! We can totally be diaper buddies!" "This is only a temporary thing for her" explained Pyrrha, "someone is blackmailing them, and this is what they're forcing. But Ruby and Weiss can be your diaper buddies, they're actually into it". Nora squealed in joy, glad to finally know others shared her strange interest beyond just being a submissive like Pyrrha. Pulling Yang into the bathroom, Pyrrha pulled a diaper from the cabinets, changing Yang quickly and efficiently. "So…" Yang said, trying to ignite small talk, "where are Jaune and Ren?" "Jaune is out for his sister's wedding. While Ren is off meditating by the pond in the Emerald Forest" replied Pyrrha nonchalantly, pulling the tapes around Yang. "Oh, okay…" returned the blonde awkwardly. For the next five or so seconds, the silence in the room was so terrible and so thick, it could be cut in half by Crescent Rose. Tap Yang lightly, Pyrrha signaled she was finished and the blonde jumped up, hugging Pyrrha and walking out of the bathroom. "Hey, do you wanna stay over here for the rest of the lunch break? We can paint our nails, or try on clothes, or talk about cute boys!" squealed Nora in a bubbly tone that only Nora could pull off. "No thanks" replied Yang with a small smile, "I gotta get back to my own team. Thanks so much, Pyrrha!" "Oh, it's no problem at all!" retorted Pyrrha chipperly. Hugging the blonde once more, Pyrrha opened the door, allowing Yang to walk back out into the hallway, where she knocked against her own dorm door, had it opened by a very curious Ruby, and was pulled in. "Hey, what happened?!" blurted out Ruby, the anticipation getting the better of her. "It went well" began Yang, "it turns out Nora also wears diapers. And she knows that you and princess wear them. At least, now she does". Normally, Weiss would be furious that another person knew her secret, but given the fact that this person also wore them, they must be able to keep it a secret, or at least understand why Weiss would want to keep it a secret. Sighing nonchalantly, she returned to cuddling Blake who, following her mass eating of tuna, had given herself a tummy ache. With their lunch now completed, the team set out for their next class, which so happened to be training. Pairing off, Yang and Blake decided to continue their sparring from their last training class, while Weiss and Ruby worked on their teamwork together. Squaring off, Yang threw herself at Blake, the propulsion from her gauntlets pushing her at unstoppable speeds. Barreling into Blake, the blonde crashed with the Faunus to the floor, where she tried grabbing the girl by the throat. Back flipping into the air, Blake kicked Yang forward onto the ground, her face hitting the padding with a loud thud. The fire in her eyes ignited, Yang rose from this "face down, ass up" position, only to be knocked back down as Blake landed on top of her. As Blake tried to hold her down, Yang shot her gauntlets down on the ground, pushing her upwards and Blake towards the ceiling. Jumping from on top of the girl, Blake ejected from the situation, standing a few feet away to catch her breath. Still raising with her gauntlets and unaware that Blake no longer graced her back, Yang hit the ceiling hard, her back slamming against the padded roof. Falling back down to the ground, Yang felt her chin smash into the floor. Meanwhile, Blake stood off to the side, taking deep breaths and clutching her stomach, the tuna from earlier returning with a vengeance. As her insides gurgled, Blake felt her wind knocked from her as Yang punched her in the stomach, bringing Blake
is just so much potential to this minigame. Clouding the skies The last few revealed veteran rewards have, in my mind, been kinda lackluster. But no more! In 2.51, the two year veteran reward will be introduced – Cloud Strife’s costume from the (pretty decent) Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children-film (no Aki Ross costume, Square?). The two year anniversary of Final Fantasy XIV is still some ways off, but you’ll get it straight away if your bought game time exceeds two years. So if you really, really want this costume as soon as possible, buy six months of game time six months before that anniversary and you’re set – if you’ve been playing since launch, that is. With three weeks left until patch 2.51, you have ample time to dig out Final Fantasy VIII and start getting your Triple Triad-skills up to snuff. Personally I’ll just focus on getting that damn patch 2.5 storyline out of the way so that I can, with good conscience, pause everything and not leave the Gold Saucer for a few weeks. See you there! Related: ColumnConfused student listens to teacher (Shutterstock) Republicans lawmakers in Wisconsin have proposed a rule change that would allow high school dropouts to be licensed to teach in public schools, which critics have slammed as “breathtaking in its stupidity.” The Journal Sentinel reported that the measure proposed by Republican state Rep. Mary Czaja was slipped into a 1:30 a.m. Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee vote last week with other K-12 budget items. According to a statement from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, the new rule would require DPI to “license anyone with a bachelor’s degree in any subject to teach English, social studies, mathematics, and science.” And DPI would be required to “issue a teaching permit for individuals who have not earned a bachelor’s degree, or potentially a high school diploma, to teach in any subject area, excluding the core subjects of mathematics, English, science, and social studies.” Czaja said that the new requirements were necessary to give rural school districts more leeway when hiring staff. But Wisconsin Rural Schools Alliance Jerry Fiene told the Journal Sentinel that the change “totally destroys any licensure requirements that we have in Wisconsin.” State Superintendent Tony Evers explained to Wisconsin Public Television that the policy would drop the state’s teacher standards to the lowest in the country. “It essentially takes the licensing system out of the state’s hands and puts it in 424 school districts’ hands,” Evers noted. “If you’re a buddy of the superintendent or the principal, you go in and say, ‘Gosh, I want to teach here,’ he or she says yes, you’ve got a license.” In its press release, DPI also pointed out that the state would be banned from placing any additional requirements on school staff, including background checks and fingerprinting. “It’s breathtaking in its stupidity,” Evers told Wisconsin Radio Network. Click here to listen to more of Evers’ remarks. (h/t: Blogging Blue)It’s finally here. The first full trailer for the eleventh series of the cult BBC sci-fi sitcom Red Dwarf. I haven’t read the set reports available online so I won’t be totally adept at Series XI yet, but I’ll try my darnedest. Watch the trailer here! We open on what I hope is a model shot. It’s the small rouge one herself Red Dwarf in orbit over a very cloudy red-ish planet. It fades to a shot of the ship in the same place, but we’re lower down to the planet’s surface and there appear to be three suns in the background? A rather foggy room, with a few standard issue chairs in the foreground and a bright light shining through the mist. A dark and moody corridor. I have heard from fans that were in the audience praise of the lighting department. This corridor looks fab, especially the glowing red (eyes??) at the far side. “I’m picking up lifesigns in corridor Beta 12” Rimmer directs the Dwarfers down a smoke filled corridor. Note all three are triumphing the return of the glorious weapons, the Bazookoids! Some very nasty looking spaceships gather. There’s three I can spot and a couple of planets dotted about. Have the crew pissed off another battle fleet? Ooh doesn’t he look nasty. A big cheerful grin on such a grumpy sod. I reckon that’s a bed in the extreme foreground and judging by the medical scans on the computer to the right this is an operation theatre of some sort. And I suppose that’s what those claws on his right hand are used for. And the giant hoover on his left… A door slams shut. Judging by the lighting and warning tape on the foot of the door this isn’t the Dwarf. Quite possibly the ship with those dark eerie corridor. Incidentally, this beginning part is edited and cropped like a horror movie. We’re obviously intended to think Dr Choppy above is chasing the crew in his ship. “That’s where we are!” Lister shouts back to Rimmer. Is he talking into his sleeve? I wasn’t aware Red Dwarf had moved into sci-fi cliche wrist communicators. Come to think of it… What did they use to talk to Rimmer on missions in previous series? Was it the Psi Scanner? “Then you should be able to see them! Get out of there RUN!” The set he’s on appears to be very similar to that of Series 6/7 Starbug only bathed in blue light. So either this is Starbug or they’re forgetting ship continuity for the millionth time. A silhouette of Dr Choppy as he wanders into yet more smoke. We’re going properly horror film cliche here. He appears to have brought half the BBQ set with him. The Dwarfers turn, bracing their Bazookoids and looking around for these ‘lifeforms’ Rimmer is talking about. It’s the source of those glowing red lights mentioned earlier. And it was pointed out on Twitter that he looks quite a lot like an alien seen in Doctor Who’s 2013 episode ‘The Rings of Akhaten’. Same design departments? The boys turn, Bazookoids at the ready. We cut to something splashing into water. Bit of an odd one but this looks like an Auton orb from 1970’s Doctor Who story: Spearhead from Space… “Not that way! The other way! Move!” Some very fast editing, as the crew try to workout who might be chasing them… “Wait wait wait. Could these lifesigns, by any chance, be us?!” “Ah… Yes” And there breaks the horror movie element of the trailer. A laugh from the audience. Very nice to see Dave subverting expectations and mixing up the trailer. The old faithful theme music starts playing, as Starbug flies away from some sort of ocean planet. Note the shockwave and weird black smudge creeping over the planet’s surface. You can also note the ‘Dave’ logo fade in on the bottom right. A fly-by of the new Red Dwarf model. This seems to be the same shot used in the teasers on Dave, which show the word ‘Dave’ written on the name badge. This model looks incredible, back to it’s giant squat form. I never quite liked the elongated version from Series VIII. Red-eye fires a shot. There’s lots of red lighting enveloping this ship too. He’s surrounded by pipes and all manner of maintenance gubbins. The shot lands on a pipe near Lister. His Bazookoid primed. “Ooooowww” Cat yelps in joy. He’s also surrounded by pipes and such. There also appears to be a woman in blue with an afro-style haircut walking away… Is Cat finally going to get his end away? Starbug crashes into a desert planet. You know they make it out of that stuff cute little dolls are made of? That’s why it always survives crashes. Smegging hell a bendy-bus wouldn’t need a three point turn to get out of those nostrils. A… space vibrator? The sped up footage makes it seem like the ship (vibrator) itself is exploding. But slowing the frames down it’s clear the explosion comes from behind it and blasts it off course. Kryten is shot by several darts. The suit is looking much better than the poster Dave released where he looked like an overgrown inflatable toy. Rimmer is doing a very Rimmer thing and using him as a shield, but in a change of heart he’s holding a Bazookoid and appears ready to fire… Rimmer is teleported away from the flight deck. Let’s get out of here before they bring him back! Lots of dials and switches behind Rimmer’s chair give the cockpit the look of a submarine. Starbug flies through an exploding factory. The boys have a knack for escaping in the nick of time. Lister and Cat are hit in the back and are thrown forwards. Lister appears to be holding a wad of folded envelopes? “Do you know what the difference is between you and me?” The bunks are looking very orange? Note Rimmer’s still got his collection of newspaper clippings of people with the same name to boost his ego. And is that the revision timetable from his astro-nav exams? “I can’t store hand luggage in my nostrils” The nostril jokes are back! Lister’s bunk is a similar shade of orange, and decorated with relics from the show’s past. The picture with Jim Bexley-Speed, the London Jet Juniors poster. And Lister is holding an ice cream. Some stuff falls down onto the Dwarfers. All four are here so it doesn’t look like the same scenes from the ‘horror film’ corridor earlier. They’re all holding Bazookoids and Lister has the Psi Scan. Red Dwarf Series 11, exclusively on Dave starting 22nd of Smegtember. Follow me @MattBobRossICP atomic emission spectrometer. Inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES), also referred to as inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES), is an analytical technique used for the detection of chemical elements. It is a type of emission spectroscopy that uses the inductively coupled plasma to produce excited atoms and ions that emit electromagnetic radiation at wavelengths characteristic of a particular element. It is a flame technique with a flame temperature in a range from 6000 to 10,000 K. The intensity of this emission is indicative of the concentration of the element within the sample. Mechanism [ edit ] ICP Plasma "torch". The ICP-AES is composed of two parts: the ICP and the optical spectrometer. The ICP torch consists of 3 concentric quartz glass tubes.[1] The output or "work" coil of the radio frequency (RF) generator surrounds part of this quartz torch. Argon gas is typically used to create the plasma. When the torch is turned on, an intense electromagnetic field is created within the coil by the high power radio frequency signal flowing in the coil. This RF signal is created by the RF generator which is, effectively, a high power radio transmitter driving the "work coil" the same way a typical radio transmitter drives a transmitting antenna. Typical instruments run at either 27 or 40 MHz.[2] The argon gas flowing through the torch is ignited with a Tesla unit that creates a brief discharge arc through the argon flow to initiate the ionization process. Once the plasma is "ignited", the Tesla unit is turned off. The argon gas is ionized in the intense electromagnetic field and flows in a particular rotationally symmetrical pattern towards the magnetic field of the RF coil. A stable, high temperature plasma of about 7000 K is then generated as the result of the inelastic collisions created between the neutral argon atoms and the charged particles.[3] A peristaltic pump delivers an aqueous or organic sample into an analytical nebulizer where it is changed into mist and introduced directly inside the plasma flame. The sample immediately collides with the electrons and charged ions in the plasma and is itself broken down into charged ions. The various molecules break up into their respective atoms which then lose electrons and recombine repeatedly in the plasma, giving off radiation at the characteristic wavelengths of the elements involved. In some designs, a shear gas, typically nitrogen or dry compressed air is used to 'cut' the plasma at a specific spot. One or two transfer lenses are then used to focus the emitted light on a diffraction grating where it is separated into its component wavelengths in the optical spectrometer. In other designs, the plasma impinges directly upon an optical interface which consists of an orifice from which a constant flow of argon emerges, deflecting the plasma and providing cooling while allowing the emitted light from the plasma to enter the optical chamber. Still other designs use optical fibers to convey some of the light to separate optical chambers. Within the optical chamber(s), after the light is separated into its different wavelengths (colours), the light intensity is measured with a photomultiplier tube or tubes physically positioned to "view" the specific wavelength(s) for each element line involved, or, in more modern units, the separated colors fall upon an array of semiconductor photodetectors such as charge coupled devices (CCDs). In units using these detector arrays, the intensities of all wavelengths (within the system's range) can be measured simultaneously, allowing the instrument to analyze for every element to which the unit is sensitive all at once. Thus, samples can be analyzed very quickly. The intensity of each line is then compared to previously measured intensities of known concentrations of the elements, and their concentrations are then computed by interpolation along the calibration lines. In addition, special software generally corrects for interferences caused by the presence of different elements within a given sample matrix. Applications [ edit ] Examples of the application of ICP-AES include the determination of metals in wine,[4] arsenic in food,[5] and trace elements bound to proteins.[6] ICP-OES is widely used in minerals processing to provide the data on grades of various streams, for the construction of mass balances. In 2008, the technique was used at Liverpool University to demonstrate that a Chi Rho amulet found in Shepton Mallet and previously believed to be among the earliest evidence of Christianity in England,[7] only dated to the nineteenth century.[8][9][10] ICP-AES is often used for analysis of trace elements in soil, and it is for that reason it is often used in forensics to ascertain the origin of soil samples found at crime scenes or on victims etc. Taking one sample from a control and determining the metal composition and taking the sample obtained from evidence and determine that metal composition allows a comparison to be made. While soil evidence may not stand alone in court it certainly strengthens other evidence. It is also fast becoming the analytical method of choice for the determination of nutrient levels in agricultural soils. This information is then used to calculate the amount of fertiliser required to maximise crop yield and quality. ICP-AES is used for motor oil analysis. Analyzing used motor oil reveals a great deal about how the engine is operating. Parts that wear in the engine will deposit traces in the oil which can be detected with ICP-AES. ICP-AES analysis can help to determine whether parts are failing. In addition, ICP-AES can determine what amount of certain oil additives remain and therefore indicate how much service life the oil has remaining. Oil analysis is often used by fleet manager or automotive enthusiasts who have an interest in finding out as much about their engine's operation as possible. ICP-AES is also used during the production of motor oils (and other lubricating oils) for quality control and compliance with production and industry specifications. See also [ edit ]Stolen Trailer Has Nicolas Cage On A Mission To Save His Daughter By Kelly West Random Article Blend Stolen, which arrives in theaters next month. The trailer for the film gives us a look at what Cage's character Will Montgomery is up against as he's tasked with trying to rescue his daughter from the clutches of his old partner. As you'll see in the trailer below, Cage's character is introduced fresh out of prison and looking to patch things up with his estranged daughter. A former thief, he's also looking to turn over a new leaf, but that plan goes down the toilet when his old partner - who believes Will stashed the $10 million they stole eight years ago - kidnaps his daughter Allison and demands payment in exchange for her life. I'll admit, I didn't even recognize Josh Lucas as Vincent in the above trailer at first, but sure enough, he's the cab driving former partner who has kidnaps Will's daughter. It must be the hair. Also featured in the trailer is Malin Akerman, who plays Will's friend Riley. I can't help but see shades of films like Taken and Ransom in Stolen, with the focus on a father taking active (and dangerous) measures to rescue his kid. And as Stolen teams Cage with West once again, Con Air obviously comes to mind. Simon West's 1997 action film also starred Cage as a man who was (practically) just out of prison and looking to reconnect with his family and is forced back into a dangerous situation.. The image of Cage clutching a stuffed animal in Stolen's trailer seems like a nod to that. ("Put the bunny back in the box.") Stolen arrives in theaters September 14, 2012. Nicolas Cage is back in action this fall, starring in Simon West's thriller, which arrives in theaters next month. The trailer for the film gives us a look at what Cage's character Will Montgomery is up against as he's tasked with trying to rescue his daughter from the clutches of his old partner.As you'll see in the trailer below, Cage's character is introduced fresh out of prison and looking to patch things up with his estranged daughter. A former thief, he's also looking to turn over a new leaf, but that plan goes down the toilet when his old partner - who believes Will stashed the $10 million they stole eight years ago - kidnaps his daughter Allison and demands payment in exchange for her life.I'll admit, I didn't even recognize Josh Lucas as Vincent in the above trailer at first, but sure enough, he's the cab driving former partner who has kidnaps Will's daughter. It must be the hair. Also featured in the trailer is Malin Akerman, who plays Will's friend Riley.I can't help but see shades of films likeandin, with the focus on a father taking active (and dangerous) measures to rescue his kid. And asteams Cage with West once again,obviously comes to mind. Simon West's 1997 action film also starred Cage as a man who was (practically) just out of prison and looking to reconnect with his family and is forced back into a dangerous situation.. The image of Cage clutching a stuffed animal in's trailer seems like a nod to that. ("Put the bunny back in the box.")arrives in theaters September 14, 2012. Blended From Around The Web Facebook Back to topThe scenes you see here are unprecedented.An estimated 200 Africans most of them Nigerian gathered in front of a Guangzhou police station on Wednesday.They blocked traffic. They shouted in the streets. It is believed to be the first protest by foreign nationals in China, in a country where demonstrations are rare.What triggered the protest is the bloody injuries two Nigerian men suffered while attempting to evade police visa checks.The two men were at the Tangqi Foreign Trade Clothes Plaza when plain clothes officers showed up to check visas on Wednesday.The men attempted to flee, and the man you see here was seriously injured attempting to jump from the second floor of this building.As of last night, he remained hospitalized and his situation was serious.Inexplicably, the protestors decided to take him to Guangquanjie police station instead of hospital. It was only later that an ambulance was called.The man's brother told a South China Morning Post reporter on Thursday: "I do believe he would have been better if he had been sent to the hospital earlier."The issue of visas is source of frustration for Africans living in Guangzhou, many of whom are involved in the textile trade.As the government prepares for the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, visa extensions have been difficult to come by.An estimated 20,000 Africans are living in Guangzhou, and a lack of proper documentation means more confrontations with police could be in the offing.[/*][/list]GNU bug report logs - #24639 26.0.50; Terminal paste doesn't work right in term char mode Previous Next Reported by: Philipp <p.stephani2 <at> gmail.com> Date: Fri, 7 Oct 2016 18:04:01 UTC Severity: normal Found in version 26.0.50 Done: Philipp Stephani <p.stephani2 <at> gmail.com> Bug is archived. No further changes may be made. To add a comment to this bug, you must first unarchive it, by sending a message to control AT debbugs.gnu.org, with unarchive 24639 in the body. You can then email your comments to 24639 AT debbugs.gnu.org in the normal way. Toggle the display of automated, internal messages from the tracker. Report forwarded to bug-gnu-emacs <at> gnu.org : bug#24639 ; Package emacs. (Fri, 07 Oct 2016 18:04:01 GMT) to; Package. (Fri, 07 Oct 2016 18:04:01 GMT) Full text and rfc822 format available. Acknowledgement sent to Philipp <p.stephani2 <at> gmail.com> : New bug report received and forwarded. Copy sent to bug-gnu-emacs <at> gnu.org. (Fri, 07 Oct 2016 18:04:01 GMT) toNew bug report received and forwarded. Copy sent to. (Fri, 07 Oct 2016 18:04:01 GMT) Full text and rfc822 format available. Message #5 received at submit <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox): From: Philipp <p.stephani2 <at> gmail.com> To: bug-gnu-emacs <at> gnu.org Subject: 26.0.50; Terminal paste doesn't work right in term char mode Date: Fri, 07 Oct 2016 20:02:45 +0200 In a GNOME Terminal window, run emacs -nw -Q -f term RET to start the terminal. Make sure it's in char mode. Select some text in another X window. Go back to the Emacs term buffer, press middle click, then press RET. Expected behavior: Selected text gets inserted and interpreted as shell command. Actual behavior in Emacs 24.3: Expected behavior. Actual behavior in Emacs built from master branch: Selected text gets inserted, but not interpreted as shell command (i.e. nothing happens after pressing RET). This appears to be a regression, possibly caused by bracketed-paste-mode. In GNU Emacs 26.0.50.1 (x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu, GTK+ Version 3.10.8) of 2016-10-07 built on localhost Repository revision: d48369db9c97b6f2accf702e5bbe0bda11cb92a1 Windowing system distributor 'The X.Org Foundation', version 11.0.11702000 System Description: Ubuntu 14.04 LTS Recent messages: For information about GNU Emacs and the GNU system, type C-h C-a. Configured features: XPM JPEG TIFF GIF PNG SOUND GSETTINGS NOTIFY GNUTLS FREETYPE XFT ZLIB TOOLKIT_SCROLL_BARS GTK3 X11 Important settings: value of $LANG: en_US.UTF-8 locale-coding-system: utf-8-unix Major mode: Lisp Interaction Minor modes in effect: tooltip-mode: t global-eldoc-mode: t electric-indent-mode: t mouse-wheel-mode: t tool-bar-mode: t menu-bar-mode: t file-name-shadow-mode: t global-font-lock-mode: t font-lock-mode: t blink-cursor-mode: t auto-composition-mode: t auto-encryption-mode: t auto-compression-mode: t line-number-mode: t transient-mark-mode: t Load-path shadows: None found. Features: (shadow sort mail-extr emacsbug message subr-x puny seq byte-opt gv bytecomp byte-compile cl-extra help-mode cconv cl-loaddefs pcase cl-lib dired dired-loaddefs format-spec rfc822 mml easymenu mml-sec password-cache epa derived epg epg-config gnus-util rmail rmail-loaddefs mm-decode mm-bodies mm-encode mail-parse rfc2231 mailabbrev gmm-utils mailheader sendmail rfc2047 rfc2045 ietf-drums mm-util mail-prsvr mail-utils time-date mule-util tooltip eldoc electric uniquify ediff-hook vc-hooks lisp-float-type mwheel term/x-win x-win term/common-win x-dnd tool-bar dnd fontset image regexp-opt fringe tabulated-list newcomment elisp-mode lisp-mode prog-mode register page menu-bar rfn-eshadow timer select scroll-bar mouse jit-lock font-lock syntax facemenu font-core term/tty-colors frame cl-generic cham georgian utf-8-lang misc-lang vietnamese tibetan thai tai-viet lao korean japanese eucjp-ms cp51932 hebrew greek romanian slovak czech european ethiopic indian cyrillic chinese charscript case-table epa-hook jka-cmpr-hook help simple abbrev obarray minibuffer cl-preloaded nadvice loaddefs button faces cus-face macroexp files text-properties overlay sha1 md5 base64 format env code-pages mule custom widget hashtable-print-readable backquote inotify dynamic-setting system-font-setting font-render-setting move-toolbar gtk x-toolkit x multi-tty make-network-process emacs) Memory information: ((conses 16 97221 7197) (symbols 48 20242 0) (miscs 40 330 118) (strings 32 17818 3448) (string-bytes 1 578527) (vectors 16 13700) (vector-slots 8 448602 7351) (floats 8 181 64) (intervals 56 190 0) (buffers 976 11) (heap 1024 48904 1169)) Information forwarded to bug-gnu-emacs <at> gnu.org : bug#24639 ; Package emacs. (Fri, 07 Oct 2016 19:06:02 GMT) to; Package. (Fri, 07 Oct 2016 19:06:02 GMT) Full text and rfc822 format available. Message #8 received at 24639 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox): From: Eli Zaretskii <eliz <at> gnu.org> To: Philipp <p.stephani2 <at> gmail.com> Cc: 24639 <at> debbugs.gnu.org Subject: Re: bug#24639: 26.0.50; Terminal paste doesn't work right in term char mode Date: Fri, 07 Oct 2016 22:05:35 +0300 > From: Philipp <p.stephani2 <at> gmail.com> > Date: Fri, 07 Oct 2016 20:02:45 +0200 > > emacs -nw -Q -f term > > RET to start the terminal. Make sure it's in char mode. Select > some text in another X window. Go back to the Emacs term buffer, press > middle click, then press RET. > Expected behavior: Selected text gets inserted and interpreted as shell > command. > Actual behavior in Emacs 24.3: Expected behavior. > Actual behavior in Emacs built from master branch: Selected text gets > inserted, but not interpreted as shell command (i.e. nothing happens > after pressing RET). > > This appears to be a regression, possibly caused by > bracketed-paste-mode. Does it help to disable the bracketed-paste-mode in term.el? Information forwarded to bug-gnu-emacs <at> gnu.org : bug#24639 ; Package emacs. (Fri, 07 Oct 2016 19:20:02 GMT) to; Package. (Fri, 07 Oct 2016 19:20:02 GMT) Full text and rfc822 format available. Message #11 received at 24639 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox): From: Philipp Stephani <p.stephani2 <at> gmail.com> To: Eli Zaretskii <eliz <at> gnu.org> Cc: 24639 <at> debbugs.gnu.org Subject: Re: bug#24639: 26.0.50; Terminal paste doesn't work right in term char mode Date: Fri, 07 Oct 2016 19:19:28 +0000 Eli Zaretskii <eliz <at> gnu.org> schrieb am Fr., 7. Okt. 2016 um 21:05 Uhr: > > From: Philipp <p.stephani2 <at> gmail.com> > > Date: Fri, 07 Oct 2016 20:02:45 +0200 > > > > emacs -nw -Q -f term > > > > RET to start the terminal. Make sure it's in char mode. Select > > some text in another X window. Go back to the Emacs term buffer, press > > middle click, then press RET. > > Expected behavior: Selected text gets inserted and interpreted as shell > > command. > > Actual behavior in Emacs 24.3: Expected behavior. > > Actual behavior in Emacs built from master branch: Selected text gets > > inserted, but not interpreted as shell command (i.e. nothing happens > > after pressing RET). > > > > This appears to be a regression, possibly caused by > > bracketed-paste-mode. > > Does it help to disable the bracketed-paste-mode in term.el? > Yes, uncommenting (xterm--init-bracketed-paste-mode) in term/xterm.el fixes the issue. Maybe M-x term should temporarily bracketed paste mode when in char mode. Information forwarded to bug-gnu-emacs <at> gnu.org : bug#24639 ; Package emacs. (Fri, 07 Oct 2016 19:26:02 GMT) to; Package. (Fri, 07 Oct 2016 19:26:02 GMT) Full text and rfc822 format available. Message #14 received at 24639 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox): From: Eli Zaretskii <eliz <at> gnu.org> To: Philipp Stephani <p.stephani2 <at> gmail.com> Cc: 24639 <at> debbugs.gnu.org Subject: Re: bug#24639: 26.0.50; Terminal paste doesn't work right in term char mode Date: Fri, 07 Oct 2016 22:25:00 +0300 > From: Philipp Stephani <p.stephani2 <at> gmail.com> > Date: Fri, 07 Oct 2016 19:19:28 +0000 > Cc: 24639 <at> debbugs.gnu.org > > Maybe M-x term should temporarily bracketed paste mode when in char > mode. That's what I was trying to suggest. Does this have downsides? Information forwarded to bug-gnu-emacs <at> gnu.org : bug#24639 ; Package emacs. (Fri, 07 Oct 2016 20:21:02 GMT) to; Package. (Fri, 07 Oct 2016 20:21:02 GMT) Full text and rfc822 format available. Message #17 received at 24639 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox): From: Philipp Stephani <p.stephani2 <at> gmail.com> To: Eli Zaretskii <eliz <at> gnu.org> Cc: 24639 <at> debbugs.gnu.org Subject: Re: bug#24639: 26.0.50; Terminal paste doesn't work right in term char mode Date: Fri, 07 Oct 2016 20:19:47 +0000 Eli Zaretskii <eliz <at> gnu.org> schrieb am Fr., 7. Okt. 2016 um 21:25 Uhr: > > From: Philipp Stephani <p.stephani2 <at> gmail.com> > > Date: Fri, 07 Oct 2016 19:19:28 +0000 > > Cc: 24639 <at> debbugs.gnu.org > > > > Maybe M-x term should temporarily bracketed paste mode when in char > > mode. > > That's what I was trying to suggest. Does this have downsides? > I wouldn't expect any. Bracketed paste mode is a bit faster, but running a bit slower is better than not working at all. Information forwarded to bug-gnu-emacs <at> gnu.org : bug#24639 ; Package emacs. (Sat, 08 Oct 2016 05:28:01 GMT) to; Package. (Sat, 08 Oct 2016 05:28:01 GMT) Full text and rfc822 format available. Message #20 received at 24639 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox): From: Eli Zaretskii <eliz <at> gnu.org> To: Philipp Stephani <p.stephani2 <at> gmail.com> Cc: 24639 <at> debbugs.gnu.org Subject: Re: bug#24639: 26.0.50; Terminal paste doesn't work right in term char mode Date: Sat, 08 Oct 2016 08:27:19 +0300 > From: Philipp Stephani <p.stephani2 <at> gmail.com> > Date: Fri, 07 Oct 2016 20:19:47 +0000 > Cc: 24639 <at> debbugs.gnu.org > > > Maybe M-x term should temporarily bracketed paste mode when in char > > mode. > > That's what I was trying to suggest. Does this have downsides? > > I wouldn't expect any. Bracketed paste mode is a bit faster, but running a bit slower is better than not working > at all. Then please push such a change to the emacs-25 branch. Thanks. Information forwarded to bug-gnu-emacs <at> gnu.org : bug#24639 ; Package emacs. (Sun, 09 Oct 2016 20:50:02 GMT) to; Package. (Sun, 09 Oct 2016 20:50:02 GMT) Full text and rfc822 format available. Message #23 received at 24639 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox): From: Philipp Stephani <p.stephani2 <at> gmail.com> To: Eli Zaretskii <eliz <at> gnu.org> Cc: 24639 <at> debbugs.gnu.org Subject: Re: bug#24639: 26.0.50; Terminal paste doesn't work right in term char mode Date: Sun, 09 Oct 2016 20:48:59 +0000 Eli Zaretskii <eliz <at> gnu.org> schrieb am Sa., 8. Okt. 2016 um 07:27 Uhr: > > From: Philipp Stephani <p.stephani2 <at> gmail.com> > > > Date: Fri, 07 Oct 2016 20:19:47 +0000 > > > Cc: 24639 <at> debbugs.gnu.org > > > > > > > Maybe M-x term should temporarily bracketed paste mode when in char > > > > mode. > > > > > > That's what I was trying to suggest. Does this have downsides? > > > > > > I wouldn't expect any. Bracketed paste mode is a bit faster, but running > a bit slower is better than not working > > > at all. > > > > Then please push such a change to the emacs-25 branch. > > > Unfortunately it's not that simple: Bracketed paste more should only be disabled when a term buffer is active on an xterm and in char mode. So this will probably require an addition to window-configuration-change-hook or similar. Information forwarded to bug-gnu-emacs <at> gnu.org : bug#24639 ; Package emacs. (Mon, 10 Oct 2016 05:57:01 GMT) to; Package. (Mon, 10 Oct 2016 05:57:01 GMT) Full text and rfc822 format available. Message #26 received at 24639 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox): From: Eli Zaretskii <eliz <at> gnu.org> To: Philipp Stephani <p.stephani2 <at> gmail.com> Cc: 24639 <at> debbugs.gnu.org Subject: Re: bug#24639: 26.0.50; Terminal paste doesn't work right in term char mode Date: Mon, 10 Oct 2016 08:56:16 +0300 > From: Philipp Stephani <p.stephani2 <at> gmail.com> > Date: Sun, 09 Oct 2016 20:48:59 +0000 > Cc: 24639 <at> debbugs.gnu.org > > > > Maybe M-x term should temporarily bracketed paste mode when in char > > > mode. > > > > That's what I was trying to suggest. Does this have downsides? > > > > I wouldn't expect any. Bracketed paste mode is a bit faster, but running a bit slower is better than not > working > > at all. > > Then please push such a change to the emacs-25 branch. > > Unfortunately it's not that simple: Bracketed paste more should only be disabled when a term buffer is active > on an xterm and in char mode. So this will probably require an addition to window-configuration-change-hook > or similar. Sorry, I don't understand the reasons for the complication. The "in char mode" part was already on the table when we discussed this previously. Presumably, there's a function in term-mode which switches to and from char mode, and that function should turn bracketed paste mode on or off, accordingly. Is that right? For the "term buffer is active" part, do you mean re-enable the bracket
’s precisely what he did against Colon. So much of the talk in the lead-up was how hard it can be to put the Royals hitters away. Escobar kept himself going just long enough to benefit from a defensive mistake. Contact. Something happened. The best thing to do on that pitch is just not swing. Given a swing, however, the best thing to do on that pitch is knock it away foul so you might get something better. This is how Escobar did a bad thing and a good thing at the same time. And in the end, the numbers show that Alcides Escobar’s plate appearances were a net positive for the Royals. Escobar himself wasn’t all that good. The biggest plays were just mistakes by the Mets. But that’s just one of the things that can happen when you don’t strike out very much — you gain additional opportunities for good breaks. Sometimes it’s a non-factor, sometimes it’s a small factor, and sometimes it’s a huge factor. You could say this is just one of the ways that Alcides Escobar can beat you. He can put the bat on the ball and put you in position to beat yourself.CLOSE Israeli police barred some Palestinians from Jerusalem's Old City in response to fatal stabbing attacks. The latest spike in violence comes at a time when many Palestinians no longer believe statehood through negotiations with Israel is possible. AP Israeli border policemen aim to fire tear gas during a confrontation with Palestinians after Friday prays outside the Old City in Jerusalem Friday, Oct. 2, 2015. (Photo: Mahmoud Illean, AP) Israeli police took the unprecedented step Sunday of barring Palestinian residents of Jerusalem from entering the Old City after two stabbing attacks on Israelis by Palestinians. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, returning to Israel Sunday afternoon from the USA, vowed a "harsh offensive on Palestinian Islamic terror" and convened an emergency meeting of top security officials. The two-day closure was intended to protect visitors arriving to celebrate the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, Israeli police said. Palestinians who live, work and study within the Old City, plus Israelis and tourists will be allowed in. "This is a drastic measure that’s being taken in order to make sure there are no further attacks during the Jewish festival, where you can see thousands of people visiting the Old City,” Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said, according to the Associated Press. A Palestinian teenager who stabbed and wounded a 15-year-old Israeli early Sunday was shot dead, Israeli police said. It came after a Palestinian teenager fatally stabbed two Israelis and wounded two more, including a toddler, on Saturday. He was shot dead by police. In the second attack, the teenager attacked an off-duty Israeli soldier, his wife and their young daughter on Saturday night, Israeli police said. Hearing the woman’s screams, Rabbi Nehemia Lavi, 41, who lives in the Muslim quarter of the Old City, ran to confront the assailant, The Washington Post reported. Lavi and the soldier, Aharon Benita, 22, were fatally stabbed. Benita’s wife was seriously wounded. The couple’s 2-year-old daughter was injured. Thousands attended Lavi’s funeral in Jerusalem on Sunday. Tensions have been rising in the region in recent weeks, mainly a round the religious site known to Jews as Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary, home to the Al-Aqsa Mosque. The outer wall of the temple compound is the Jewish holy site known as the Western Wall. The unrest has spread to the West Bank, where Israeli troops on Sunday shot and wounded at least 26 Palestinians during an arrest raid in the Jenin refugee camp, a Palestinian hospital director said, according to the AP. Two Palestinians were arrested suspected of "terror activity," the news agency said. Police units, border police at entrance to market area in old city.Security measures continuing in Arab neighborhoods pic.twitter.com/wHA87C9PSe — Micky Rosenfeld (@MickyRosenfeld) October 4, 2015 Access to the Temple Mount or Noble Sanctuary for Muslim worshipers was restricted to men over 50 years old, because of recent attacks, and there was no age limit for women, the Jerusalem Post reported. There are about 300,000 Palestinians living in Jerusalem — about a third of the city's population. Speaking Sunday to Army Radio, Minister of Intelligence Israel Katz said: "We will toughen our measures against the Palestinians. There could be a need for another Operation Defensive Shield," the Jerusalem Post reported. The 2002 Operation Defensive Shield saw Israeli security forces seize most of the buildings in the compound of Yasser Arafat, then chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization, and enforce curfews. Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/1LbfE4eThe Americans do not only spy on governments, authorities and private individuals across the world with the help of their secret services; they also understand how to push forward the global interests of their companies with full force. An impressive example of this is the agriculture giant Monsanto, the leading manufacturer of genetically modified seeds in the world. A glimpse into the world of Monsanto shows that companies which delivered the pesticide ‘Agent Orange’ to the US military in the Vietnam war had close connections with the central power in Washington, with tough people from the field of the US secret services and with private security companies. Source: Süddeutsche Zeitung By MARIANNE FALCK, HANS LEYENDECKER AND SILVIA LIEBRICH Translated by New Europe Translations for Sustainable Pulse (Original in German) “Imagine the internet as a weapon” In the global fight against genetic engineering, the US group draws on dubious methods, strange helpers – and the power of Washington. Critics of the group feel they are being spied upon. The US group Monsanto is a giant in the agriculture business: and number one in the controversial field of plant genetic engineering. For its opponents, many of whom live in Europe, Monsanto is a sinister enemy. Time and again mysterious things happen, which make the enemy seem yet more sinister. In the previous month, the European environmental organisation ‘Friends of the Earth’ and the German Environmental and Nature Protection Association (BUND) wanted to present a study on the pesticide glyphosate in the human body. Weed killers containing glyphosate are the big seller for Monsanto. The company aims for more than two billion dollars turnover for the Roundup product alone. ‘Roundup herbicide’ has a “long history of safe use in more than 100 countries”, Monsanto emphasises. As viruses attack their computers, the eco-activists ask themselves: “could we be seeing ghosts?” However, there are studies which show that the product may damage plants and animals and the latest study shows that many large city inhabitants now have the field poison in their bodies, without knowing it. Exactly what the spray can trigger in an organism is, as with so many things in this field, disputed. Two days before the study across 18 countries was set to be published, a virus disabled the computer of the main organiser, Adrian Bepp. There was a threat that press conferences in Vienna, Brussels and Berlin would be cancelled. “We panicked”, remembers Heike Moldenhauer from BUND. The environmental activists were under extreme time pressure. Moldenhauer and her colleagues have widely speculated about the motives and identity of the mysterious attacker. The genetic engineering expert at BUND believes the unknown virus suppliers wanted in particular to “generate confusion”. Nothing is worse for a study than a cancelled press conference: “we did ask ourselves at the time if we were seeing ghosts”, said Moldenhauer. There is no evidence that Monsanto was the ghost or had anything to do with the virus. The company does not do things like that. It takes pride in operating “responsibly”: “Today, it is very easy to make and spread all kinds of allegations,” Monsanto claims. They say that “over and over there are also dubious and popular allegations spread, which disparage our work and products and are in no way based on science.” Critics of the group see things differently. This is due to the wide network Monsanto has developed across the world. There are ties with the US secret services, the US military, with very hard operating private security companies and of course, with the US government. A conspicuously large number of Monsanto critics report regular attacks by professional hackers. The secret services and military also like to employ hackers and programmers. These specialise in developing Trojans and viruses in order to penetrate foreign computer networks. Whistle-blower Edward Snowden has indicated the connection between intelligence services actions and economic drive. However, this sinister connection has been overshadowed by other monstrosities. Some powerful Monsanto supporters know a lot about how to carry out a cyber war. “Imagine the internet as a weapon, sitting on the table. Either you use it or your opponent does, but somebody’s going to get killed” said Jay Byrne, the former head of public relations at Monsanto, back in 2001. Companies regularly fight with dubious methods to uphold what they see as their right: but friend or foe, him or me – that is fighting talk and in a war, you need allies. Preferably professionals. Such as those from the secret service milieu, for example. Monsanto contacts are known to the notorious former secret service agent Joseph Cofer Black, who helped formulate the law of the jungle in the fight against terrorists and other enemies. He is a specialist on dirty work, a total hardliner. He worked for the CIA for almost three decades, among other things as the head of anti-terroism. He later became vice president of the private security company Blackwater, which sent tens of thousands of soldiers to Iraq and Afghanistan under US government orders. Investigations show how closely connected the management and the central government in Washington are, as well as with diplomatic representatives of the USA across the world. In many instances, Monsanto has operationally powerful assistants. Former Monsanto employees occupy high offices in the USA in government authorities and ministries, industrial associations and in universities; sometimes in almost symbiotic relationships. According to information from the American Anti-Lobby-Organisation, Open Secrets Org, in the past year, 16 Monsanto lobbyists have taken up sometimes high ranking posts in the US administration and even in regulatory authorities. For the company, it is all about new markets and feeding a rapidly growing world population. Genetic engineering and patents on plants play a big role here. Over 90 % of corn and soya in the USA is genetically modified. In some parts of the rest of the world the percentage is also growing constantly. Only the European markets are at a standstill. Several EU countries have many reservations about the Monsanto future, which clearly displeases the US government administration. In 2009, the German CSU politician, Ilse Aigner, Federal Minister for Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection, also banned the corn type MON810 from German fields. When she travelled to the USA shortly afterwards, she was approached by her US colleague, Tom Vilsack about Monsanto. The democrat was once governor in the agricultural state of Iowa and distinguished himself early on as a supporter of genetic engineering. The genetic engineering industry elected him as ‘governor of the year’ in 2001. Unfortunately, there is no recording of the discussion between Vislack and Aigner. It was said to be controversial. A representative for the Federal Government described the tone: there were “huge efforts to force a change in direction of the German government regarding genetic policy.” The source preferred not to mention details the type of “huge efforts” and the attempt “to force” something. That is not appropriate between friends and partners. Thanks to Snowden and Wikileaks, the world has a new idea of how these friends and partners operate where power and money are concerned. The whistle-blowing platform published embassy dispatches two years ago, which also included details about Monsanto and genetic engineering. For example, in 2007, the former US ambassador in Paris, Craig Stapleton, suggested the US government should create a penalties list for EU states which wanted to forbid the cultivation of genetically engineered plants from American companies. The wording of the secret dispatch: “Country team Paris recommends that we calibrate a target retaliation list that causes some pain across the EU.” Pain, retaliation: not exactly the language of diplomacy. Monsanto led the fight to allow the famous genetically engineered corn plant MON810 in Europe with lots of lobbying – the group completely lost the fight. It was even beaten out of the prestigious French and German markets. An alliance of politicians, farmers and clergy rejected genetic engineering in the fields and the consumers do not want it on their plates. But the battle is not over. The USA is hoping that negotiations started this week for a free-trade agreement between the USA and the EU will also open the markets for genetic engineering. Lobbying for your own company is a civic duty in the USA. Even the important of the 16 US intelligence services have always understood their work as being a support for American economic interests on the world markets. They spy on not only governments, authorities and citizens in other countries under the name of the fight against terror, they also support American economic interests, in their own special way. A few examples? Monsanto denies the accusations and emphasises that it operates “responsibly” More than two decades ago, when Japan was not yet a major economic power, the study ‘Japan 2000’ appeared in the USA, created by the employees of the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). Japan, the study read, was planning a kind of world takeover with a ‘reckless trade policy’. The USA would be the losers, stated the study. The national security of the USA was at threat, it continued and the CIA gave the call to war. America’s economy must be protected from the European’s “dirty tricks”, explained former head of the CIA James Woolsey. This, he maintained, is why the “continental European friends” were spied upon. A clean America. The whistle-blower Snowden was once in Switzerland for the CIA and during this time, he reported on which tricks the company was said to have tried in order to win over a Swiss banker to spy on account data. The EU allowed the American services to take a close look at its citizens’ financial business. Allegedly, this was to dry up money sources for terror. The method and purpose are highly dubious. In Switzerland, the scene of many earlier espionage novels now plays one of these episodes that make Monsanto especially mysterious and enigmatic: In January 2008, the former CIA agent Cofer Black travelled to Zurich and met Kevin Wilson, at the time Monsanto’s safety officer for global issues. About what did the two men talk? Probably the usual: Opponents, business, mortal enemies. The investigative journalist Jeremy Scahill, who wrote the reference work about Blackwater, the company specializing in mercenaries, wrote in the American weekly The Nation in 2010 about the reported strange meeting in Zurich. He had received leaked documents once again. These show: Monsanto wanted to put up a fight. Against activists who destroyed the fields. Against critics, who influenced the mood against the genetic modification company. Cofer Black is the right man for all seasons: “We’ll take off the kid gloves”, he declared after the 11 September terrorist attacks, and tasked his CIA agents in Afghanistan to take out Osama bin Laden: “Get him, I want his head in a box.” However, he also understands a lot about the other secret service business, which operates with publicly available sources. When he meets with the Monsanto safety officer Wilson, Cofer Black is still the Vice (President) at Blackwater, who has the Pentagon, the State Department, the CIA and, of course private companies as customers. However, there was a lot of anxiety in January 2008, because the mercenaries of the security company had shot 17 civilians in Iraq and some Blackwater employees had drawn attention by bribing Iraqi government employees. It just so happened that Cofer Black was at the same time head of the security company Total Intelligence Solutions (TIS), which was a subsidiary of Blackwater, not saddled with the same devastating reputation, however staffed with some excellent and versatile experts. According to their own statements, Monsanto was conducting business with TIS at the time and not with Blackwater. It is without doubt that Monsanto received reports from TIS about the activities of critics. The activities in question were those that would have presented a risk for the company, its employees or its operating business. The information collected ranged from terrorist attacks in Asia to the scanning of websites and blogs. Monsanto emphasizes that TIS only used publicly accessible material when preventing said risk. This matched Black’s modus operandus. No shady dealings. There used to be rumors that Monsanto wanted to take over TIS to mitigate their risk – and there are new rumors these days that the group allegedly is considering a takeover of the company Academi that emerged after a few transformations from the former Blackwater Company. Is anything correct about these rumors? “As a rule we are not disclosing details about our relations with service providers, unless that information is already available to the public,” is the only commentary from Monsanto. Every company has its own history, and the history of Monsanto includes a substance, which the turned the company into a demon not only not only for the aging 1968ers: Monsanto was one of the leading manufacturers of the pesticide Agent Orange, which was used until January 1971 by the US military in the Vietnam War. Forests were defoliated by constant chemical bombardment to make the enemy visible. Arable land was poisoned, so that the Vietcong had nothing to eat. In the sprayed areas, the teratogenic effects increased more than ten times. Children were born without noses, without eyes, with hydrocephalus, with facial clefts and the US military stated that the Monsanto agent was as harmless as aspirin. Is everything allowed in war? Especially in the new fangled cyber war? It is already obvious that somebody makes life difficult for Monsanto critics and an invisible hand ends careers. However, who is this somebody? The targets of these attacks are scientists, such as the Australian Judy Carman. Among other things, she has made a name for herself with studies of genetically modified plants. Her publications were questioned by the same professors which also attacked the the studies of other Monsanto critics. It does not stop at skirmishes in the scientific community. Hackers regularly target various web pages where Carman publishes her studies and the sites are also systematically observed, at least that is the impression Carman has. Evaluations of IP log files show that not only Monsanto visits the pages regularly, but also various organizations of the U.S. government, including the military. These include the Navy Network Information Center, the Federal Aviation Administration and the United States Army Intelligence Center, an institution of the US Army, which trains soldiers with information gathering. Monsanto’s interest in the studies is understandable, even for Carman. “But I do not understand why the U.S. government and the military are having me observed,” she says. The organization GM Watch, known to be critical of gene technology, also experiences strange events. Editor Claire Robinson reports continued hacker attacks on the homepage since 2007. “Every time we increase the page security just a bit, the opposite side increases their tenacity and following are new, worse attacks”, she says. She also cannot believe the coincidences that occur. When the French scientist Gilles Eric Seralini published a controversial study on the health risks of genetically modified maize and glyphosate in 2012, the web site of GM Watch was hacked and blocked. The same repeats when the opinion of the European food inspectorate (EFSA) is added to the site. The timing was skilfully selected in both cases. The attacks took place exactly when the editors wanted to publish their opinion. It has not yet been determined who is behind the attacks. Monsanto itself, as stated, emphasizes that the company operates “responsibly”. The fact is, however, that much is at stake for the group. It is about an upcoming bill. Especially about the current negotiations on the free trade agreement. Particularly sensitive is the subject of the agricultural and food industry. The Americans want to open the European markets for previously prohibited products. In addition to genetically engineered plants controversial feed additives and hormone-treated beef are subject of the negotiations. The negotiations will probably extend over several years. The Americans want to use the Free Trade Agreement to open the European GMO Market. The negotiations will be detailed. Toughness will rule the day. US President Barack Obama has therefore appointed Islam Siddiqui as chief negotiator for agriculture. He has worked for many years for the US ministry of agriculture as an expert. However, hardly anyone in Europe knows: From 2001 to 2008, he represented CropLife America as a registered lobbyist. CropLife America is an important industry association in the United States, representing the interests of pesticide and gene technology manufacturers – including of course Monsanto. “Actually, the EU cannot accept such a chief negotiator because of bias”, says Manfred Hausling, who represents the Green Party in the EU parliament. Eigentlich (In fact). The word Eigentlich (in fact) meant in the Middle High German according to the relevant dictionaries “indentured”, which is not a bad description of the current situation, in particular as the European and German politicians have surprisingly much understanding for the US services who regularly spy on them.EXCLUSIVE: Chelsea design special scouting app for Abramovich's iPad... Find out why Schurrle, not Falcao, made the cut Roman Abramovich is keeping track of Chelsea's next superstar signings on a specially adapted personalised iPad. Sportsmail can reveal Chelsea's owner has become infatuated with the device and is constantly monitoring progress reports around the world. It means Abramovich can keep track of scouting across the world from his enormous boat Eclipse or whenever he is in the air on his Boeing 737 jet. Appy days: Roman Abramovich is rarely seen in public but takes a deep interest in Chelsea's running Dream: Abramovich lifted the Champions League trophy after Chelsea beat Bayern Munich in 2012 The system is constantly updated in a database at Stamford Bridge and Abramovich is one of only a select number of people who can access the system. Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho believes the scouting system is the most advanced in world football - better than previous clubs Real Madrid, Porto and Inter Milan. Thousands of players are constantly under assessment by the club's network of scouts all over the world. Chelsea will only consider a player if scouts score them 90 per cent or more in various areas of their game. It's the reason Radamel Falcao was overlooked by Chelsea when his'movement outside box' fell short of the magical 90 per cent minimum. But Andre Schurrle was deemed to be a good signing by the Bridge hierarchy. Padding up: Jose Mourinho has been using the iPad in his Chelsea training sessionsTwo days after acquiring the No. 2 pick in April's draft, Mike Shanahan's Redskins were docked $36 million in cap space. (AP) Just about 24 hours before the start of the NFL's free-agency period, the Cowboys and Redskins suddenly find themselves in much more trying salary cap situations. Both teams were punished by the league Monday for front-loading contracts during the 2010 uncapped year -- something the league cautioned teams against doing. As a result of failing to heed those warnings, the Redskins were docked $36 million and the Cowboys $10 million. Every other team in the league except the Raiders and Saints (presumably as a far-less severe punishment for similar missteps) will receive $1.6 million more money to spend under the 2012 cap. Washington and Dallas can choose how to split the money over the 2012 and 2013 seasons. This is a huge penalty for both teams, but it may be especially painful for the Redskins, who sent their fan base's excitement level soaring over the weekend by finalizing a trade for the No. 2 overall pick in April's draft. By all indications, they'll use that pick on electrifying quarterback Robert Griffin III, who figures to be handed the reins to the franchise almost immediately. The Redskins dealt their 2012, 2013 and 2014 first-round picks plus an additional second-round pick in 2012 to St. Louis for that No. 2 slot. That's a huge price tag under any circumstances, but Washington pulled the trigger on the deal with upwards of $30 million in projected cap space for 2012 -- money everyone expected the Redskins to use to upgrade at several positions, including wide receiver. Monday's smackdown from the NFL could put all that in jeopardy. The Cowboys, meanwhile, were already walking the salary-cap tightrope, standing a projected $5 million or so under the 2012 cap number of $120.6 million. How much this impacts the two NFC East rivals this season as opposed to next depends on how they decide to take this hit. Dallas could take the 50/50 tact and accept a $5 million loss this offseason and next, and basically be right at the 2012 cap number. Washington has enough space to fit most or all of its whopping $36 million reparation under its allotted cap space this season. Still, this will be a substantial hurdle for both organizations in the coming weeks, and likely limits what each team will be able to do in free agency. The biggest free agent who could be impacted by Monday's news is Vincent Jackson, the star San Diego wide receiver who's about to hit the market. Washington, given its anticipated cap space and potential selection of Griffin, had been considered a serious suitor for Jackson. While the $36 million cap penalty doesn't necessarily take the Redskins out of the running for Jackson's services, it definitely helps open the door for other receiver-needy teams like Chicago and Tampa Bay. It also keeps alive the possibility that Jackson could wind up back in San Diego. This all has to be pretty hard to swallow for the Cowboys and Redskins, if only because of the timing: The teams were likely aware this was coming (Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio speculated the Redskins pushed for a quick resolution to the draft-pick swap with St. Louis so the Rams wouldn't raise the price on a desperate Washington post-punishment), but it does not leave them a lot of time to regroup. This also appears to be more of a "gentlemen's agreement" breach than an actual rule-breaking scenario. As mentioned, teams were free to spend whatever they chose on their rosters during the uncapped 2012 season. However, the NFL and its owners apparently agreed to avoid the type of front-loading Dallas and Washington utilized, to avoid using the uncapped year as a way to dump salaries. Basically, part of why Washington looked to have so much cap room heading into this free-agent period is because it paid out huge chunks of money in 2011, then lowered a host of player salaries through 2012 and beyond.THE global investment bank Goldman Sachs has claimed mining asteroids for precious metals is a "realistic" goal. It has released a report exploring the possibility of using an "asteroid-grabbing spacecraft" to extract platinum from space rocks. Getty Images 1 Space rocks could contain vast amounts of valuable metals "While the psychological barrier to mining asteroids is high, the actual financial and technological barriers are far lower," the report said, according to Business Insider. "Prospecting probes can likely be built for tens of millions of dollars each and Caltech has suggested an asteroid-grabbing spacecraft could cost $2.6bn." The bank added: "Space mining could be more realistic than perceived." It is believed an asteroid the size of a football field could be worth up to £40 billion. However, bringing that much platinum back to Earth is likely to crash the precious metal market - and probably the rest of the economy with it. Earlier this year, NASA said it was planning a mission to an asteroid so valuable it could cause the world's economy to collapse. MOST READ IN TECH AND SCIENCE LEAF YOURSELF ALONE Scientists discover flower that rubs itself during self-pollination TAKING THE PIZZ Domino's fans think Dom pizza tracker doesn't actually track deliveries CLIMATE CLEANUP Hope for 'climate rewind' as scientists 'turn carbon dioxide into COAL' Pictured ICE AND FIRE Nasa reveals giant green DRAGON in Iceland's sky that came from hole in Sun BACK IN THE SADDLE Red Dead Online gets HUGE update - here's why you should jump back in Revealed THIS SUCKS! The dodgy Android apps secretly'slurping' your battery life and mobile data It is called 16 Psyche and is a massive hunk of the iron and nickel. The mysterious "metal world" was formed during the turbulent birth of our solar system. It is valued at £8,072 quadrillion ($10,000 quadrillion), according to Lindy Elkins-Tanton, the lead scientist on the NASA mission.US army whistleblower Bradley Manning was found not guilty of aiding the enemy, but found guilty on 20 other counts on Tuesday, meaning he could still face up to 136 years in prison. Sentencing proceedings began on Wednesday and may last up to a month. READ full story on Manning verdict Watch RT’s gallery from Manning support rally Friday, August 16 10:19 GMT: Judge Colonel Denise Lind, the military judge who will decide how much prison time Manning will serve, said Friday that his actions were “wanton and reckless.” Lind found Manning guilty last month of 20 criminal counts, including espionage and theft, and will begin deliberating his sentence on Monday. He could face up to 90 years behind bars for leaking 700,000 US diplomatic cables as well as battlefield reports and graphic helicopter footage. “Manning’s conduct was of a heedless nature that made it actually and imminently dangerous to others,” Lind said. “His conduct was both wanton and reckless.” Wednesday, July 31 19:00 GMT: Prosecutors have been arguing that Manning’s classified leaks have changed the way that the US military allows its intelligence analysts to access data. Major Ashden Fein, said on Wednesday that Manning's leaks “have impacted the entire system.” The first witness, Carr, claimed that allowing its young analysts to have access to classified information was “hugely important” to the US military. 16:20 GMT: Former United States Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs, Philip J. Crowley, has spoken out over Manning's impending sentence. PJ Crowley just told MSNBC they “never should have charged Bradley Manning with aiding the enemy” and said a 20 yr sentence is long enough. — Andrew Blake (@apblake) July 31, 2013 15:00 GMT: Brigadier General Robert Carr has been taking stand, establishing qualification as an expert. 14:10 GMT: Manning is now being referred to as "the defendant" rather than "the accused" by the judge. 14:00 GMT: It has been established that Manning will get 1,274 days off his final sentence for pre-trial confinement. This includes 1,162 days of pre-trial detention and 112 days sentencing credit for unlawful pretrial punishment after being forced to suffer treatment in Quantico deemed "cruel and inhuman" by a UN torture chief. 13:00 GMT: The Bradley Manning Support Network's Nathan Fuller has published a screenshot of the Government witness list for the pre-sentencing phase. Many names are censored, suggesting they are witnesses who haven't yet testified. those marked with a star are classified. Military always redacts witnesses who haven't testified yet. Those who have are unredacted. #Manning -- pic.twitter.com/xhPVA936BO — Nathan Fuller (@nathanLfuller) July 31, 2013 12:00 GMT: Journalists are arriving at Fort Meade for the sentencing phase of the trial. 11:15 GMT: Expressions of support for Manning continued well into last night. "What would you do?" #Manning illuminates building in NW DC. pic.twitter.com/aJSAutcZow — Andrew Blake (@apblake) July 31, 2013 10:45 GMT: The Russian Foreign Ministry’s Commissioner for Human Rights, Democracy and Supremacy of Law Konstantin Dolgov has condemned the the US for “applying double standards” regarding Manning. Dolgov pointed out that Washington incessantly blasts Russia over human rights, but when the interests of US authorities are affected, they “act toughly, resolutely, often without paying attention to the observance of human rights,” He expressed hope that the US would observe human rights standards in the Manning case, as well as in other cases. 05:25 GMT: General Counsel at the National Whistleblowing Center David Colapinto believes that Manning’s verdict will make it more difficult for whistleblowers to reveal information to the public, especially with government agencies on the lookout for leakers. “There has been a chilling effect in the US on whistleblowers as a result of the government’s overreaction to this case,” Colapinto told RT. 05:20 GMT: Harsh treatment of Manning does not necessarily mean that other whistleblowers will be afraid to come forward, argued WikiLeaks spokesman Kristinn Hrafnsson. “We have seen that despite the way that Bradley Manning was treated, being tortured in prison, in isolation, in solitary confinement for almost a year – it hasn’t stopped whistleblowers. There are still brave people out there, who act on their conscience and with public interest in mind and have blown the whistle. That’s not going to stop,” Hrafnsson told RT. 05:15 GMT: Political analyst Mark Mason argues that Bradley Manning’s conviction makes it likely that the US will prosecute WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. “This is really all about the attack on journalism, WikiLeaks and Julian Assange, he is the one they want to catch,” Mason told RT. 04:00 GMT: A crowd of around 100 people assembled to take part in a rally at Dupont Circle, which then marched on the White House. Life-size puppet versions of both Manning himself and the Statue of Liberty were visible. "In this day and age, in our society, telling the truth is illegal, and the actual war crimes that Bradley exposed apparently are not, and I just think that's reprehensible," Barry Knight, a protester, told Washington-based radio station WTOP. 00:27 GMT: American Civil Liberties Union has issued a statement expressing its relief that Manning was acquitted of aiding the enemy, adding that the government was seemingly “seeking to intimidate” the future whistleblowers with that charge. “The ACLU has long held the view that leaks to the press in the public interest should not be prosecuted under the Espionage Act," said Ben Wizner, director of the ACLU's Speech, Privacy and Technology Project. "Since he already pleaded guilty to charges of leaking information – which carry significant punishment – it seems clear that the government was seeking to intimidate anyone who might consider revealing valuable information in the future.” Tuesday, July 30 20:40 GMT: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange issued a statement in response to today’s verdict. Assange believes that Manning’s conviction on 19 counts “for supplying the press with information,” and five counts on espionage, represent judicial overreach. “This is the first ever espionage conviction against a whistleblower. It is a dangerous precedent and an example of national security extremism. It is a short sighted judgment that can not be tolerated and must be reversed. It can never be that conveying true information to the public is ’espionage’." "The only ’victim’ was the US government’s wounded pride, but the abuse of this fine young man was never the way to restore it," adds Assange. In his statement Assange points to what he believes are improprieties during the court martial, including the judge allowing government prosecutors to “substantially alter the charges after both the defense and the prosecution had rested their cases,” which has caused wide consternation among Manning’s supporters. Assange also calls out president Obama’s 2008 campaign platform, which included praise for whistleblowers and justification for their protection, as outlined in a website called Change.gov which the Sunlight foundation this week discovered has recently been removed from the web. 19:50 GMT: Reporters Without Borders has said that the verdict "threatens the future of investigative journalism." Glenn Greenwald, the journalist responsible for publishing former NSA contractor Edward Snowden's leaks, has urged journalists to sit up and take notice of the ruling's implications. What's weird about lack of Manning media coverage isn't just that it's newsworthy but prosecution theories affect all journalists & sources — Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) July 30, 2013 19:35 GMT: The full verdict has been published online by the Press Freedom Foundation. 19:20 GMT: The Bradley Manning support Network's Nathan Fuller believes the employment of the outdated Espionage Act against Manning is ridiculous. Sorry, but 'aiding the enemy' acquittal is red herring for dangers to Manning personally and America generally. Espionage Act is outrageous. — Nathan Fuller (@nathanLfuller) July 30, 2013 The Center for Constitutional Rights voiced frustration at the act as well, releasing a statement labeling it “a discredited relic of the WWI era, created as a tool to suppress political dissent and antiwar activism." 18:40 GMT: Kristinn Hrafnsson, WikiLeaks spokesman, told RT that he was "pleased" that the "ludicrous" charge of aiding the enemy was thrown out (it "would’ve meant, basically, that proper journalism was treason" he claimed) but had harsh words for the presiding judge, Denise Lind. "When you think about how this trial has been carried out by Judge Lind, one isn’t filled with any optimism. Last week, the judge allowed the prosecution to change some of the charges on the last day of the trial. The trial has been partly closed off to journalists. Journalists have been intimidated." 18:32 GMT: Independent journalist Xeni Jardin reports that military spokespeople say that Manning would be likely to serve his term at Fort Leavenworth, a low-level Army correctional facility in Kansas. Manning is so far credited with serving 112 days of his term. 18:25 GMT: Hacking collective Anonymous have responded with a typically strident statement. Guilty on 19/21 charges,aiding the enemy charge dropped,facing 136 years in prison. For what? Telling the world the truth? #ThankYouBradley — Anonymous (@AnonyOps) July 30, 2013 18:10 GMT: Manning's family has issued a statement. "While we are obviously disappointed in today’s verdicts, we are happy that Judge Lind agreed with us that Brad never intended to help America’s enemies in any way. Brad loves his country and was proud to wear its uniform." 18:05 GMT:"This is a historic verdict," Elizabeth Goitein, a security specialist at New York University's Brennan Center for Justice, told Reuters. "Manning is one of very few people ever charged under the Espionage Act prosecutions for leaks to the media... Despite the lack of any evidence that he intended any harm to the United States, Manning faces decades in prison. That's a very scary precedent," 17:55 GMT: Here is a breakdown of the charges Manning was found guilty of. Other than aiding the enemy, Manning was cleared of espionage in connection with the video of the Garani Air Strike - in which scored of Afghan civilians died. While the video appears to have been in Manning's possession, it has never been made public. 17:45 GMT: Human rights advocacy group Amnesty International has sharply criticized the verdict.
. One simply needs reach into the psyche of more troubled nations. Let us begin, Round 2! Baba Yaga Overview: Baba Yaga, purloiner of children, devourer of men, the iron toothed witch that stalked the forests of pre Czarist Russia with the brutality of a slavic nightmare and the absurdity of a Monty Python animated short. Generations of careless children and foolish men wandered into the demonic crones clutches, driven into the woods by the promise of delicious pine sap and a reprieve from long depressing stories that go nowhere. No riddle, secret name, or act of kindness would stay her predation, her only game was hunger….and to play was to die. I should mention that she lived in an ambulatory hut with giant chicken legs. Also, she occasionally flew around the forest in a huge mortar and pestle. Well, she flew around in the mortar, I assume she used the pestle to sort of paddle about. It’s hard to say. The natural question: Why would you acquire a Flying Mortar and Pestle when you already own a walking Chicken Hut? After hours examining the issue I have surmised the following: No matter how carefully you sneak about, it is difficult to keep a low profile when tracking victims in 20′ tall poultry/condo hybrid. Constant risk of Hop-ons and Live Ins Finding parking is a bitch, and if you cede to the temptation of using a valet you run the risk of unprofessional joy riders crashing your chicken hut, potentially freeing the children locked in the larder for fattening. Country of origin: Russia Is she scary: Childhood confession time: When I was five years old my mother worked as a nurse in the palliative care ward of an old folks home. In a traumatically under-thought holiday gesture they decided it would be nice to have the staff children join the dying, disease ravaged, octogenarians for a delightful Christmas party in the multipurpose room. I spent the evening cowering beneath the chip table, a dozen gnarled and bony hands reaching for my pliable cheeks, watching the movie version of “Annie” with one eye and the huge swaying neck goiter of a sedated Italian women with the other. All of this is to say I find even regular old people deeply unsettling. Were I a Russian peasant child and my parents told me that the Iron toothed, magic, cannibalistic version of sick grandma was stalking the forest in a Croneburg-esque chicken hut: I would bury myself in the root cellar and pray the winters cold give me a clean death. So this one might actually be too effective. What does this say about Russia: The Russian are as grim as they are unsubtle. Unsatisfied with the blasé terror of a child eating witch they kept adding spangle and flair until the myth groaned under the weight like an oligarch’s thrice plated golden bathtub. Gilding the chicken footed lily, as it were. The dark heart is there for sure, but the nation could use a strong editor and pleasant day out at the beach. What is the lesson: The hut, while implausible, is at least practical. If you are a cannibalistic serial killer having a mobile base of operations actually makes a lot of sense. But I have so many questions about the mortar and pestle. -Did she find it randomly in the woods, already made? -Did she trade the top half of her giant chicken for it? – If she did make it from scratch was she planning on making a flying boat and part way through thought “Fuck it, why should I pay for a new boat when I already have a giant mortal and pestle for grinding up children. It’s basically the same thing and makes a much stronger statement.” I am consumed by the unspoken back-story of this young, kitsch fan, Baba Yaga. When did things go so terribly wrong? *** The Cherubim The Wulver The Sphinx The Alp The Minotaur Baba Yaga The Selkie Bigfoot BansheeGUACHOCHI the town of Guachochi is located in the Municipality of Guachochi (in the State of Chihuahua). There are 14513 inhabitants. Guachochi is 2398 meters above sea level. In the town there are 6938 men and 7575 women. The ratio women per men is 1.092, and the fecundity rate is 2.29 children per woman. People from outside the State of Chihuahua account for 2.61% of the total population. 3.65% of the inhabitants are illiterate (3.24% of the men, and 4.01% of the women). The average school enrolment ratio is 8.78 (8.66 within the men, and 8.88 within the women). 31.52% of the population is indigenous, and 16.62% of the inhabitants speak one of the indigenous languages. 0.06% of the population speaks one of the indigineous languages, but not Spanish.38.63% of the inhabitants (more than 12 years) are economically active (49.97% of the men, and 28.25% of the women).Inthere are 4363 dwellings. 95.21% of the dwellings have electricity, 92.87% have piped water, 98.11% have toilet or restroom, 69.31% have a radio receiver, 90.73% a television, 73.27% a fridge, 55.39% a washing-machine, 60.62% a car or a van, 28.13% a personal computer, 24.26% a landline telephone, 70.68% mobile phone, and 14.68% Internet access. One of best-known people in Guachochi is the long-distance runner María Lorena Ramírez Hernández, who won the UltraTrail Cerro Rojo in April 2017, a 50 kilometer long-distance race held in Puebla, Mexico. But she did it with sandals, dressed in a skirt, and without having prepared herself with formal training. She ran for 7 hours without shoes or any kind of expensive sports equipment, without gels or energy sweets (only a small bottle of water), without modern glasses, and beating more than 500 high-performance athletes from different countries. And so she climbed the podium, with her skirt and sandals, known as 'huaraches' in Mexico. Maria Lorena Ramirez Hernandez is part of the Tarahumara ethnic group, which has lived in the Sierra Madre Occidental, in the Mexican State of Chihuahua, for centuries. Interestingly, the Tarahumaras call themselves 'rarámuris', which means 'runners on foot' in their language. In fact, Maria Lorena Ramirez Hernandez barely speaks Spanish and her language is Tarahumara. According to several testimonies, Tarahumara men and women are capable of running more than 200 kilometers. Lookup on this link for data of the population pyramid of Guachochi >>> Click here to see more towns in the Municipality of Guachochi (statistics, photos, maps, restaurants, hotels,...) <<< Where is Guachochi? Location map of Guachochi: Please use the top left controls to zoom in (+) or out (-). They are satellite images centered in Guachochi, which is marked with the symbol You can access more information about maps of Guachochi in this link. You can also visualize satellite photos of Guachochi with a higher resolution. >>> Click here to see more towns in the State of Chihuahua (statistics, photos, maps, restaurants, hotels,...) <<< What is Guachochi like? Enjoy the photos of Guachochi on this link Schools in Guachochi Hotels & Accommodation in Guachochi Local food places, eat out, restaurants in Guachochi Bars, night clubs and cafes in Guachochi Help us to improve the information about Guachochi and to spread it over the Internet:For decades "The Simpsons" has been a staple of American television. Episode after episode, viewers have watched as the show's patriarch, Homer Simpson, encountered new and sometimes baffling political and social issues and subsequently learned and grew because of them and, as a result, many watching the show learned and grew too. In a recent HuffPost Live segment, David Mirkin, an executive producer for "The Simpsons," opened up about the show's legendary gay episode and the audience's ability to connect with Homer. In the episode, Homer worries that the influence of a new openly gay family friend will have a negative influence on his son, Bart. In order to reinforce his son's heterosexuality, he takes him hunting. "Because there's so much humor and because it's a cartoon, people are more accepting [of the subjects]. It seems less dire -- it seems less intense. And so it sneaks up on you, which is the greatest way to change minds and make people realize things. And they're connected to Homer so in going through his experience of learning and having that personal connection with someone is the greatest change." Check out the clip above or head here to watch the segment in whole. Also on HuffPost:Mitt Romney heads into Super Tuesday with a five-state winning streak under his belt, after cruising to victory in the Washington state caucuses Saturday night. The contest was a blip when compared against the 10-state battle approaching this Tuesday, when 419 delegates are up for grabs. The candidates for days have been campaigning hard in Super Tuesday states like Ohio in hopes of using the high-stakes electoral event to chart a course to the nomination. Still, the Washington race offered the last chance for momentum ahead of that showdown. With the former Massachusetts governor carrying the state by a double-digit margin, the performance helps him reassert frontrunner status following a string of defeats to Rick Santorum last month. Romney said he was "heartened" by Saturday's results. "The voters of Washington have sent a signal that they do not want a Washington insider in the White House," Romney said in a statement. "They want a conservative businessman who understands the private sector and knows how to get the federal government out of the way so that the economy can once again grow vigorously." More On This... With 100 percent of precincts reporting in Washington, Romney was the clear winner with 38 percent. Ron Paul, with 25 percent, edged out Rick Santorum, who had 24 percent, in the tight battle for second place. Newt Gingrich was a distant fourth with 11 percent. The Washington caucuses, usually a sleepy and sparsely attended party affair, were both elevated and overshadowed by the Super Tuesday battle. Only Paul, who poured campaign resources into the state in search of his first win, was actually in Washington on Saturday. The rest of the candidates spent the day in Ohio, considered Tuesday's biggest prize. Still, Washington's position on the calendar, wedged between the contest in Romney's home of Michigan and Super Tuesday, gave it rare sway in the GOP presidential primary season. All the candidates campaigned there at least once. The state offers a total haul of 43 delegates. Though delegates will not be allocated directly out of Saturday's nonbinding straw poll, the contest still gives the winner bragging rights going into Tuesday. Romney's victory follows wins in Michigan and Arizona this past Tuesday, Wyoming this past Thursday and before that in the low-key Maine caucuses. Looking ahead to Ohio, Romney got a boost there Saturday when the influential Cleveland Plain Dealer endorsed the former Massachusetts governor. Romney also has been ripping Santorum for a paperwork problem that left his campaign ineligible for 18 of Ohio's 66 delegates. "Delegates is what it's all about," Romney said. Santorum, though, said he's "not worried" about such organizational issues. "It's David and Goliath. I get that," he told Fox News. "And you know what? I know who wins in the end." Santorum, later at a campaign stop in Ohio, cautioned the GOP against nominating "the moderate" to lead the party into November. "Moderates do not have the best chance of winning," Santorum claimed. Though Romney has the momentum, it won't be a walk for the delegate frontrunner this coming week. Gingrich has made delegate-heavy Georgia, which he used to represent in Congress, his firewall state, and recent polls continue to show the former House speaker leading the pack there. Santorum continues to lead in Ohio polling, though Romney is catching up. Those two states are the biggest delegate prizes on Tuesday. Ohio has the added bonus of being a crucial swing state in the general election with a reputation as the mother of all bellwethers. Paul, at his post-caucus rally, also assured supporters that his campaign is excelling at the grueling work of attaining delegates over the long run -- though so far he trails in delegates. "The good news is we're doing very, very well in getting delegates," Paul said. As for his support, Paul said: "The enthusiasm for the cause of liberty continues to grow exponentially." Gingrich, meanwhile, has started to join Paul in appealing to the frustration among voters with the war in Afghanistan, as protests over the accidental burning of the Koran at a U.S. base coincide with attacks by Afghans which so far have claimed the lives of six U.S. troops. On Friday, Gingrich uncharacteristically declared "there are limits to American power." "It's time to face the facts. The period where the United States went out and tried to change a civilization which is rejecting that change is over," Gingrich said. The statement elicited cheers from the audience, though Gingrich stressed that he wasn't talking about "isolationism" -- something the candidates accuse Paul of advocating. Ahead of the Washington contest, Romney led in the overall delegate count with 173. Santorum had 87, followed by Gingrich with 33. Paul had 20. It takes 1,144 delegates to clinch the nomination."Good artists borrow, great artists steal!" -- Pablo Picasso said it. So did T.S. Eliot. And, more recently, Steve Jobs. Let's face it: If something makes sense and succeeds, it gets imitated. Though Windows 8 and Linux distributions differ greatly from each other in design, ideology and -- last but not least -- their primary audience, they're all built on the same basic principles of OS design so there's bound to be some overlap. And while Microsoft has long been accused of stealing from the open source community, according to some Linux fans, it's getting to the point where Microsoft simply appropriates good Linux features. [ FREE DOWNLOAD: Windows 8 Deep Dive Report \| Windows 8: The 10 biggest problems so far ] I've been following the Windows 8 development very closely and noticed some hefty backlash on some of the features of Windows 8. This was especially true in some Linux/Windows forums and the Building 8 blog, where Sinofsky and friends write extensively about the new upcoming Windows iteration. All this fingerpointing made me curious about where some of the best new-to-Windows features in Windows 8 really came from and how Microsoft put its own spin on them (or not). 1. File copy dialogue In an effort to create more transparency, Microsoft implemented an improved copy, move, rename and delete dialog that doesn't just show the progress of each operation, but also a throughput graph and the ability to actually pause individual copy operations. Oh, did that cause a firestorm in the open source community! Pretty much the same dialogue has been part of Linux's Dolphin and Nautilus file managers -- the file transfer dialogue also lets users pause operations and view multiple copy jobs in one window. We've even got the gimmicky bandwidth graph that appears once the user hits "More details". The Microsoft twist: When there's a problem with a file operation, Windows 8 doesn't just stop the entire process but keeps these problems in the error queue. However, it's quite obvious that Microsoft took a good, hard look at the open source world here. What neither Linux nor Windows 8 have is a queue feature. Of course, you could manually pause and resume individual copy operations, but that's not helping you on a massive copy job. Users of both Windows (see the comments on this post) and Linux have been waiting for this for quite a while. 2. ISO mounting In Windows 8, Microsoft finally introduces mount ISO files. Once mounted, a new drive letter appears in Windows Explorer that represents the virtual CD/DVD ROM. And while it's a nice addition that lets users finally get rid of annoying third-party tools such as Daemon Tools, Power ISO or Virtual CloneDrive, both Linux and Mac have had this ability for quite a while. The Microsoft twist: No Linux distro does ISO mounting as easily as Windows 8, as it requires some command line trickery (or, again, third-party tools). Thanks to all commenters for chipping in: Of course, easy ISO mounting is part of various Linux distributions – both via the GUI and command line. 3. Windows To Go Windows To Go allows (enterprise) users to create a bootable Windows 8 environment on a USB 2.0/3.0 flash drive. It even supports unplugging the drive, which causes the OS to freeze momentarily until you plug the Windows To Go stick back in. Awesome. The Microsoft twist: Obviously, such "live environments" have been around for quite a while in the Linux world, but their performance was never quite up to par with a natively running OS. Since Microsoft optimized their NTFS file system for such a scenario, Windows 8 runs fluently even on USB 2.0. Upon testing Windows To Go, I found that both boot and overall speed were far superior to any Linux live distribution I have ever tested.Researchers at Stanford University have developed a technique to transfer power wirelessly at a few feet and in motion. Source: Stanford University/YouTube Wireless charging can be great convenience, cutting out the need to carry cords and plugs around all day in case your phone's battery dies. Today, though, it requires a phone be stationary and in contact with a charging pad. Wireless charging at a distance could make life easier not just for people with smartphones, and for drones and electric vehicles, but also for patients with electronic medical implants. Researchers at Stanford have now developed a highly efficient technique that enables wireless power transfer at a few feet and in motion. The work builds on "magnetic resonance coupling" in which electricity passes through an oscillating magnetic field created by a pair of transmitting and receiving coils. The best result can be achieved if each coil is at a fixed distance and positioned at an optimal angle. However, as the Stanford researchers detail in a new paper on nature.com, their new "robust" wireless power transfer system enables a steady charge at variable distances of up to few feet and, impressively, doesn't require manual tuning as the distance and angles between the two change. The technique was developed by Stanford electrical engineer researchers Sid Assawaworrarit, Xiaofang Yu and Shanhui Fan. While it has the potential to bring major improvements to electric vehicles, as Ars Technica notes, there are a number of limitations. The researchers have only demonstrated it working at a charge sufficient to keep a tiny LED lit, and the demonstration system is not a practical size. The demo video shows a barbell-like contraption with two large disc-shaped cardboard boxes with a transmitter and receiver inside each. The LED attached to the receiver stays lit as the receiver slides further away from the transmitter and starts to fade after 75cm/29.5 inches. The power transfer stops fully at about a meter away. To bypass tuning obstacles, the researchers switched the transmitter's radio-frequency source for a voltage amplifier and feedback resistor, according to Stanford. "Adding the amplifier allows power to be very efficiently transferred across most of the three-foot range and despite the changing orientation of the receiving coil," explained Assawaworrarit. "This eliminates the need for automatic and continuous tuning of any aspect of the circuits." More on innovationNew Delhi: The environment ministry has cleared the diversion of over 150 hectares of forest in the Krishna wildlife sanctuary in Andhra Pradesh for setting up a missile testing facility, overriding concerns that it could threaten endangered Olive Ridley turtles and several bird species. It is the third time in two years that a defence project has claimed space meant for wildlife. The go-ahead to the project, overseen by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), was given by environment ministry’s forest advisory committee (FAC) at a meeting on 16 March. Minutes of the meeting were accessed by Mint. FAC appraises projects that involve mining, construction of highways and other infrastructure that entail diversion of forest land. It approves or rejects proposals; the environment ministry has the final say, but typically the ministry doesn’t veto decisions taken by the panel. DRDO has proposed setting up the missile testing facility because a previous one, built in Odisha around 20 years ago, had restrictions clamped on it after Dhamra port came up close to it in 2011. The FAC’s approval comes despite objections by Andhra Pradesh forest officials, who pointed out that the area sought for the project is part of the last surviving mangrove forests in the Krishna estuary which support unique flora and fauna, many of which are vulnerable species. Wildlife found in the area include the Olive Ridley turtle (endangered), fishing cat (endangered), otter (vulnerable) and a variety of fish species. “The area also reports a variety of avifauna, both resident as well as migratory birds such as spot-billed pelicans (near threatened), egrets, gulls, cormorants (endangered), open billed storks, painted storks (near threatened), bee eaters, and plovers," said K.S. Reddy, additional principal chief conservator of forest (central region), in a site visit report. According to the minutes of the FAC meeting reviewed by Mint, a road proposed to be built as part of the project would be constructed on a raised platform so that tidal action and wildlife movement is not restricted. The forest panel also said DRDO should follow conditions set by the chief wildlife warden (CWLW) of Andhra Pradesh. In a report, Andhra Pradesh’s CWLW said in case the project gets forest clearance, DRDO should make sure tests at the facility are restricted to the day, stop during the Olive Ridley turtle nesting season (January-May) and that lighting is wildlife-friendly. Forest officials have expressed concern that noise and the use of lighting after the test facility is constructed would affect the nesting activity of the turtles. It is the third instance in two years of a forest area being diverted for a defence project. In September 2015, FAC approved the expansion of an air force base at Naliya in Kutch, Gujarat, one of the few places in the country where the Great Indian Bustard, of which there are less than 100, is found. In 2014, the environment ministry approved the construction of a radar station at Narcondam Island in the Bay of Bengal; the area is home to the Narcondam hornbill. The entire population of the species, less than 350, lives on the volcanic island. Environmentalists are upset. “The situation is really critical and we have nowhere to go because even the Supreme Court has said tigers are important, but not at the cost of progress," said ornithologist Bikram Grewal. Prerna Bindra, a conservationist and a former member of the standing committee of the National Board of Wildife, said national security was indeed crucial and a priority. “Very rarely are defence projects held up. However, ecological integrity is important, too, especially when we are talking of the last refuges—deemed protected areas—of critically endangered species, some of which are endemic to India," Bindra said. “And it’s not just about wildlife, we are sacrificing forests and mangroves, which are crucial to our water security, are our carbon sinks."Private information stored online by British computer users could be scrutinised by American law enforcement agencies under a wide-ranging new right-to-snoop being pursued by the US government. Federal authorities in the US are using the courts to try to force American-owned technology companies to disclose emails and other data held in the "Cloud" - the vast network of servers where data is stored for customers. The claim would require companies such as Microsoft, Apple and Google to open up all their electronic records to agencies - such as the CIA, the NSA and the FBI – even if it is stored in Europe rather than on US soil. A New York court this month ordered Microsoft to hand over to US prosecutors the emails of a European customer stored on its servers in Ireland, as part of a drugs trafficking investigation. Loretta Preska, the judge, ruled that the technology giant must comply with the US warrant because the company is American, even though it could be breaking Irish and EU law if it did so. Microsoft is fighting the order, with the latest stage in its appeal due to begin in December. The company, which is supported by other tech giants, has indicated it will take its battle to the Supreme Court if it loses. If the US government wins the case, data stored by British customers in the "Cloud" would be open to inspection by American investigators. It would also affect details held about people in this country even if they never use the internet, as companies and even government departments use the services of American-owned companies to hold information in the "Cloud". The insecure nature of "Cloud" storage has already been highlighted by the disclosure of intimate pictures of more than 100 Hollywood actors, such as Jennifer Lawrence, and other celebrities after they were stolen by hackers from Apple's iCloud service. John Hemming, the MP for Birmingham Yardley and an information technology expert, has now raised fears about the implications for the security of parliamentary data. The electronic mailboxes of MPs and peers, which had previously been held on an in-house parliamentary system, were switched in July to Microsoft servers based in Ireland and the Netherlands. Mr Hemming told the Telegraph that warrants could be granted at the US Foreign Intelligence Surveillance (FISA) court, which sits in private, and MPs would not even know that their emails were being monitored. "Why should the American security services be able to access to our MPs emails, when even the British security services cannot?" he asked. "It is a great mistake for Parliament not to manage its own servers. This is an alarming vulnerability. MPs and their constituents should be aware that their communications are not secure." Professor Ian Walden, of the Centre for Commercial Law Studies at Queen Mary University London, said the legal action presented a huge privacy risk for British companies and British individuals. "There remains a concern that if data is held on a US company's equipment – wherever in the world it might be – it is accessible to the American legal process," said Prof Walden. "Many UK citizens use US services from Apple's iCloud, to Gmail, Hotmail and Yahoo, and much of our data has historically been held in the US. "This case is making the argument that the US authorities should be able to come and get the data even if it's not physically located in the United States." Prof Walden predicted Microsoft was likely to lose the case, with massive implications for internet users in Europe as well as for businesses. "If the federal government is victorious it will raise the threat that if you come to the attention of the US authorities wither directly or indirectly your information may be accessible if it's stored with American providers. There's also the concerns about industrial espionage that have always been there." Prof Walden said businesses would now have to carefully consider how they store data in the Cloud, particularly when using US-owned providers. There would have to be more attention given to the security of Cloud-based data, particularly in relation to how businesses encrypt records before they are saved to off-site servers. "Cloud servers are very compelling in terms of flexibility and they also make an attractive business case. But the security of these services is something that will now have to borne in mind even more." Gus Hosein, of the campaign group Privacy International, said the case proved that the US Government had a "voracious appetite for other people's data". It could affect the whole range of information stored online – not just personal emails but financial information and even health records, he said. "The US Government is saying that it has jurisdiction around the world and it can get access to your data wherever you are," said Mr Hosein. "That is why this court case is such a worrying development because the scope for spying on people's personal business is vast."0 Police-shooting suspect's mother calls shooting an accident Jacksonville sheriff's officers spent all day at UF Health praying for the recovery of their wounded brother. State Attorney Angela Corey also arrived at the hospital Wednesday morning. Action News Jax's Larry Spruill spoke to Amy Wyss, the mother of 19-year-old Kevin Rojas, on Wednesday, outside the hospital. Rojas is suspected of shooting an undercover JSO detective. Wyss wouldn’t go on camera, but she confirmed his name and a photo of him. Wyss said her son has been going through a lot and the shooting was an accident. “Our officer (was) struck at least three times, one time in his hand, one time in the head and one time in the upper body,” said JSO Chief Tom Hackney. The news of an eight-year undercover officer being shot shocked the entire JSO community Wednesday morning. Several police officers stood outside the UF Health emergency room, hoping and praying. “Several of the responding officers who heard this undercover detective get on the radio and put out the frightening sounds 'I have been shot,'” said Hackney. Those are the words Hackney said no officer or family members of an officer want to hear. “His family and he needs the prayers, he's still alive. He's in critical-but-stable condition,” said Hackney. Corey and several military officers showed their support as well. Rojas’ mother tells Action News Jax, her son is on medication and she’s sorry the officer was shot. “It seems that this morning immediately before this traffic stop, the suspect and his live-in girlfriend got involved in some domestic argument and he made threats to harm himself this morning and harm her,” said Hackney. Wyss said she didn’t know about the domestic situation between her son and his girlfriend. Police will interview him and then charge him with attempted murder of a police officer and two counts of aggravated assault against two officers. © 2019 Cox Media Group.NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio held a news conference at Bellevue Hospital Tuesday regarding the release of New York's Ebola patient Craig Spencer. The doctor has been declared free of Ebola, which means there are no known cases of the virus in U.S. anymore. (YouTube/NYC Mayor's Office) The doctor who contracted Ebola in West Africa before returning to New York City has been declared free of the virus, hospital officials announced Monday. This news means that 41 days after the first Ebola diagnosis in the United States, there are no known cases of the virus in the country. Craig Spencer, 33, who had been treating Ebola patients in Guinea, was diagnosed with Ebola on Oct. 23. Bellevue Hospital Center in New York City, where Spencer was being treated, confirmed in a statement Monday that he “has been declared free of the virus.” Spencer will be discharged on Tuesday, according to the hospital. [UPDATE: He was released Tuesday morning, an occasion marked with lots of hugs.] Spencer’s diagnosis created concerns in New York, as the news of his illness was followed by the revelation that he visited a popular restaurant and coffee shop, rode multiple subway lines and went to a bowling alley and bar in Brooklyn. As city officials preached caution and calm, “disease detectives” fanned out to visit the places Spencer had gone and visit the people with whom he had interacted. After returning to New York, Spencer had been self-monitoring and taking his temperature. He reported a fever of 100.3 degrees on Oct. 23, two days after he began feeling sluggish, and was taken to the hospital and isolated. He was the fourth person diagnosed with Ebola in the United States and the only one of this group to contract the disease after treating patients overseas. (Other people responding to the epidemic in West Africa have been diagnosed and brought back to the country for treatment.) His diagnosis also sparked a panic among authorities, as the governors of New York and New Jersey hurriedly announced that they would quarantine any medical workers returning from West Africa, a highly-criticized move that went against the advice of public-health officials. This drama spilled up the East Coast, as a nurse who had treated patients in West Africa (and had no symptoms of Ebola) was quarantined in New Jersey and had a prolonged confrontation with authorities in Maine over her treatment. The first person diagnosed in this country, Thomas Duncan, was a Liberian man who contracted it before flying to Texas in September; two nurses who treated Duncan were infected during his hospitalization. Duncan died eight days after he was diagnosed, becoming the only person to die from Ebola in the United States, while the Texas nurses who contracted Ebola were both treated and declared safe. The news that Spencer was cleared came three days after the last person being monitored for Ebola in Texas was also cleared, ending the Ebola saga there. More than 350 people were being actively monitored by the New York City health department for Ebola as of last week, the department said in a statement. Most of these people had traveled to New York City from Liberia, Guinea or the Sierra Leone, but that number also included Bellevue staff members treating Spencer and lab workers who took his blood. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said Monday that people should be reassured by the fact that tried-and-true approaches, such as contact-tracing and active monitoring, have helped to prevent broader transmission of the disease in the United States. “In fact, it has worked,” he said, noting that contacts of patients in Dallas have all been cleared and that people who interacted with Spencer so far appear healthy. “That doesn’t mean we are not going to see another case; it’s possible we will,” he said. “[But] I think we are pretty well prepared.” 1 of 84 Full Screen Autoplay Close Nov. 1, 2014 Oct. 31, 2014 Oct. 30, 2014 Oct. 29, 2014 Oct. 28, 2014 Oct. 26, 2014 Oct. 25, 2014 Oct. 24, 2014 Oct. 20, 2014 Oct. 18, 2014 Oct. 17, 2014 Oct. 16, 2014 Oct. 15, 2014 Oct. 13, 2014 Monday Oct. 12, 2014 Sunday Oct. 11, 2014 Saturday Skip Ad × Ebola in the United States View Photos A surgeon working in Sierra Leone has been diagnosed with Ebola and was flown to the United States for treatment. Caption A surgeon working in Sierra Leone has been diagnosed with Ebola and was flown to the United States for treatment. In this April 2014 photo provided by the United Methodist News Service shows Dr. Martin Salia, who tested positive for Ebola, at the United Methodist Church's Kissy Hospital outside Freetown, Sierra Leone. Salia was flown to the Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, Neb. for treatment. Mike Dubose/AP Buy Photo Wait 1 second to continue. Amy Ellis Nutt and Brady Dennis contributed to this report. [This post has been updated. Last update: 6:55 p.m.]Sol Bamba has been named as the club’s captain for the 2015/16 season. The defender, who signed a permanent deal to join from Palermo earlier this summer, has already worn the armband throughout United’s pre-season campaign. Bamba also led the team out on several occasions during his successful loan spell here last term. Head coach Uwe Rosler said: “It’s natural to Sol. “He’s been in England and he understands the English culture and mentality of the Championship. "He’s also been in Italy and speaks several languages and can bridge the gap. He can unify the dressing room. That’s very important. “It’s a long season and in the Championship you need mentality and morale. Not just over four weeks, but over 10 months in good times and bad times. “He’s a very important person to achieve that.”Kenya Land and Freedom Uprising Map of Kenya The Land and Freedom Uprising (also known as the Mau Mau Revolt, Mau Mau Rebellion and the Kenya Emergency) was a military conflict that took place in Kenya[B] between 1952 and 1960. It involved a Kikuyu and the British Colonial Army, auxiliaries and anti-KLFA Afrikans.[4][5] The conflict set the stage for Kenyan independence in December 1963.[6] It created a rift between the European colonial community in Kenya and the Home Office in London,[7] but also resulted in violent divisions within the Kikuyu community.[3][8] Etymology The origin of the term Mau Mau is uncertain. According to some members of Mau Mau, they never referred to themselves as such, instead preferring the military title Kenya Land and Freedom Army (KLFA).[9] Some publications, such as Fred Majdalany's State of Emergency: The Full Story of Mau Mau, claim that it was an anagram of Uma Uma (which means "get out get out") and was a military codeword based on a secret language-game Kikuyu boys used to play at the time of their circumcision. Majdalany goes on to state that the British simply used the name as a label for the Kikuyu ethnic community without assigning any specific definition.[10] As the movement progressed, a Swahili acronym was adopted: "Mzungu Aende Ulaya, Mwafrika Apate Uhuru" meaning "Let the European go back to Europe (Abroad), Let the African regain Independence".[11] J.M. Kariuki, a member of Mau Mau who was detained during the conflict, postulates that the British preferred to use the term Mau Mau instead of KLFA in an attempt to deny the Mau Mau rebellion international legitimacy.[12] Kariuki also wrote that the term Mau Mau was adopted by the rebellion in order to counter what they regarded as colonial propaganda.[11] Origins of the KLFA uprising The Uprising occurred as a result of long simmering racial, political, and economic tensions. Economic deprivation of the Kikuyu For as long as Europeans attempted to assert authority over East Afrika, and as long as European settlers occupied vast tracts of fertile ancestral lands, Afrikans in the area resented their presence. Most of the land appropriated was in the central high
using a Tupolev Tu-22M3 bomber instead.[326] However, Russian reconnaissance battalions and regiments were also deployed during the war. Deputy chief of the General staff of Russia, General Anatoly Nogovitsyn, said that in the conflict new weapons were not tried out.[328] The RIA Novosti editorial also said that Russian Su-25 ground-attack jets did not have radar vision and ground-target coordinate computing. They also did not have long-range surface-to-air missiles that could be fired beyond the air-defence zones of an adversary.[326] Opposition-affiliated Russian analyst Konstantin Makienko observed the substandard conduct of the Russian Air Force: "It is totally unbelievable that the Russian Air Force was unable to establish air superiority almost to the end of the five-day war, despite the fact that the enemy had no fighter aviation."[168] According to Russian expert Anton Lavrov, on 8 August, Russian and South Ossetian troops deployed in South Ossetia were unaware that Russian aviation was involved in the war. Russian troops and South Ossetians often assessed Russian aircraft as enemy and shot at them before precise identification took place. On 8 August, the air force performed 63 flights in support of Russian ground troops. A total of six Russian warplanes were lost during the war: one Su-25SM, two Su-25BMs, two Su-24Ms and one Tu-22M3; friendly fire was the cause of the downing of three planes. Lavrov denies that the downed Tu-22M was used for reconnaissance. The communication between the North Caucasus Military District commander and the air force was poor and their roles in commanding were unclear. Colonel-General Aleksandr Zelin, commander-in-chief of the Air Force, did not set foot in the command post, instead running Air-force operations on a mobile phone from his workroom without any help from his air-defence aides. The air force was blamed of rendering no assistance to land campaign.[319] Swedish analysts Carolina Vendil Pallin and Fredrik Westerlund said that although the Russian Black Sea Fleet did not meet significant resistance, it proved effective at implementing elaborate operations.[333] Mechanised infantry opened a new front in Abkhazia, which contributed to the rapidity of Russia's winning.[319] Heritage Foundation researchers said in their assessment of the preparation of Russian general-staff that the manoeuvres were planned and implemented effectively, with a crucial confusion being engineered by the Russians.[312] A Reuters analyst described Russia's army as "strong but flawed"; the war demonstrated that Russia's "armed forces have emerged from years of neglect as a formidable fighting force, but revealed important deficiencies." He stated that Russia fell short of its role of a first-rate military power due to these faults.[334] Unlike the Second Chechen War, Russia's force in Georgia was composed primarily of professional soldiers instead of conscripts.[335] Reuters journalists in Georgia stated that they detected the Russian forces to be well-outfitted and orderly forces. CAST director Ruslan Pukhov said that "the victory over the Georgian army... should become for Russia not a cause for euphoria and excessive joy, but serve to speed up military transformations."[334] Roger McDermott wrote that slight dissimilarity in criticism by civilian and official references after the conflict was "an orchestrated effort by the government to'sell' reform to the military and garner support among the populace."[319] However, the Russian Army's transformation into a professional army was not deemed as fruitful. In September 2008, General Vladimir Boldyrev acknowledged that many of the professional soldiers did not have better training than the conscripts. Most of the land combat warfare was conducted by Russian Airborne Troops and special troops. Due to the failure of the Russian Air Force to penetrate Georgian air defence, airborne troops could not be airlifted behind Georgian lines. A surprise attack on a land-forces commander, in which only five of thirty vehicles in his convoy made it, demonstrated information-gathering negligence. Many Russian land units reportedly had a scarce ammo supply.[324] Equipment losses and cost Georgia After the ceasefire agreement Stratfor states that Russia "has largely destroyed Georgia's war-fighting capability".[336] After the ceasefire was signed on 12 August, in Georgia proper, Russian troops attempted to seize and destroy Georgian armament, a process termed by the Moscow Defence Brief as the "demilitarization of the Georgian Armed Forces".[7] Most losses of armaments were sustained after the ceasefire. About 20 armoured fighting vehicles, including tanks, were destroyed in the fighting. Before the conflict, Georgia possessed 230–240 tanks in total.[339] At the time of the conflict, Georgia operated 191 T-72 tanks, of which 75 were deployed into South Ossetia. Georgia lost at least 10 T-72 tanks destroyed in and near Tskhinvali. After the end of hostilities, the Russian military seized a total of 65 Georgian tanks. About 20 of those were subsequently destroyed. The Georgian army possessed 154 IFVs, 16 reconnaissance vehicles, 66 APCs and 86 multi-purpose tracked armoured vehicles before the conflict. Less than 10 armoured vehicles were destroyed in combat. Two BMP-2s were destroyed in combat and two were captured. At least 20 BMPs were captured after the hostilities, including several BMP-1s that were upgraded to BMP-1U. Georgia lost two Otokar Cobra armoured vehicles. Dozens of automobiles and lorries were also lost. Two DANA self-propelled howitzers of the Georgian army were destroyed in combat and two DANAs were captured in and near Gori. Further 20 artillery pieces, including 120 mm mortars, were left behind. Six 2S7 Pions were captured after the hostilities. Two Buk-M1s launch vehicles and their transport loaders, as well as up to five OSA-AKM SAMs were also captured. The Russian military seized 1,728 firearms at the Senaki Second Infantry Brigade base.[346] The Georgian Navy lost one boat at sea according to Russia. In Poti, four boats were submerged. Nine rigid-hull inflatables were captured.[348] The Air Force sustained limited damage as only three transport planes and four helicopters were confirmed lost. The Georgian air force ceased all sorties after 8 August. Instead all fighter and training aircraft, including the Su-25s, were tucked away. Russian bombers impaired the airstrips in Georgia. A Russian air attack on Marneuli Air Force Base destroyed three AN-2 aircraft. Russian airborne forces set fire to two Mi-24 helicopters and one Mi-14 on 11 August.[349] Georgian Defence Minister Davit Kezerashvili said that Georgia lost materiel worth $250 million.[5] According to Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili, his country saved 95 percent of its armed forces.[5] In 2009, Russian Army Chief of General Staff Nikolai Makarov stated that Georgia was rearming, although the armament was not directly provided by the United States. According to Makarov, the Georgian Armed Forces had exceeded their pre-war strength by 2009.[350] Russia and South Ossetia Russia admitted that three of its Su-25 strike aircraft and one Tu-22 long-range bomber were lost. Georgia at that time claimed it had downed no less than 21 Russian aircraft.[318] Moscow Defence Brief provided a higher estimate for air force losses, saying that Russian Air Force total losses during the war were one Tu-22M3 long-range bomber, one Su-24M Fencer fighter-bomber, one Su-24MR Fencer E reconnaissance plane and four Su-25 attack planes.[7] Anton Lavrov listed one Su-25SM, two Su-25BM, two Su-24M and one Tu-22M3 lost. Two helicopters, a Mi-8MTKO and a Mi-24, were wrecked in an accident after the hostilities. While there are no official figures, Russian ground equipment losses in the war are estimated to be three tanks, at least 20 armoured and 32 non-armoured vehicles lost in combat. Several more vehicles were impaired in accidents. During one engagement, Georgian forces destroyed 25 out of 30 vehicles of a Russian military unit commanded by General Anatoly Khrulyov. The Russian military had no losses in the artillery, air defence and naval forces. According to Nezavisimaya Gazeta, the five-day war cost Russia an estimated 12.5 billion rubles, a daily cost of 2.5 billion rubles.[353] South Ossetian forces lost two BMP-2s. See also Notes References Books and Reports Further reading Georgia Russia International Media DocumentariesPresident Donald Trump said he has seen new poll numbers that make clear if the presidential election were held now "I would win by a lot more than I did on November 8." "And I think we're doing a great job," Trump said. Trump's brash claims, which contradict recent public polls that show his already low approval ratings are falling even lower, came during an exclusive interview with NBC News at the White House. "We had a group in the other day with poll numbers that were so good," Trump said in a clip that aired on the "TODAY" show Friday. "That were so good, so strong, that if the election were held today, I would win by a lot more than I did on November 8," Trump told NBC's Lester Holt. Trump did not identify the "group" that had those poll numbers. When Holt asked if he missed campaigning in front of adoring crowds, Trump admitted, "I liked it." But, he added, referring to being president, "I like this even more." "I love the health care," Trump said of his efforts to replace Obamacare. "I love the process. I love the management of it. I love the governing of it." "And I think we're doing a great job." Trump won the presidency after receiving 304 votes in the Electoral College to 227 for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. However, in the popular vote nationally, Clinton received 2.86 million more votes than Republican Trump. On Thursday, the new Quinnipiac University Poll found that just 36 percent of the public approves of Trump's performance as president, with 58 percent disapproving. The poll last month found that Trump had a 40 percent approval rating. Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll, told TheHill.com, "There is no way to spin or sugarcoat these sagging numbers." "[These] are red flags that the administration simply can't brush away," Malloy said. The Gallup polling company in late April said Trump "averaged 41 percent job approval during his first quarter as president, 14 percentage points lower than any other president in Gallup's polling history," which dates to 1953. "No president before Trump had an initial approval rating below 50 percent," Gallup said on April 20. "His poor debut followed his subpar ratings on other measures during the presidential campaign and his presidential transition."Queen has announced plans for their first full-fledged North American tour in nearly a decade, which will feature singer Adam Lambert performing alongside founding members Brian May and Roger Taylor. Kicking off June 19th in Chicago, the jaunt stretches through most of July, including dates in both the U.S. and Canada. Check out the full docket below. Tickets go on sale beginning Friday, March 14th. This morning, Lambert, May, and Taylor appeared on Good Morning America to announce the tour. Watch video of their appearance, along with footage of them performing at last year’s iHeartRadio Festival after the docket. Queen with Adam Lambert 2014 Tour Dates: 06/19 – Chicago, IL @ United Center 06/21 – Winnipeg, MB @ MTS Centre 06/23 – Saskatoon, SK @ Credit Union Centre 06/24 – Edmonton, AB @ Rexall Place 06/26 – Calgary, AB @ Scotiabank Saddledome 06/28 – Vancouver, BC @ Pepsi Live at Rogers Arena 07/01 – San Jose, CA @ SAP Center 07/03 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Forum 07/05 – Las Vegas, NV @ The Joint 07/06 – Las Vegas, NV @ The Joint 07/09 – Houston, TX @ Toyota Center 07/10 – Dallas, TX @ American Airlines Center 07/12 – Detroit, MI @ The Palace of Auburn Hills 07/13 – Toronto, ON @ Air Canada Centre 07/14 – Montreal, QC 2 Bell Centre 07/16 – Philadelphia, PA @ Wells Fargo Center 07/17 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden 07/19 – Uncasville, CT @ Mohegan Sun Arena 07/20 – Columbia, MD @ Merriweather Post PavilionFirst Nations leaders both hopeful and dismissive after Harper’s appointment of aboriginal MP. 1 of 1 2 of 1 The appointment of aboriginal MP Leona Aglukkaq as Canada’s environment minister lends Native activist Art Sterritt cautious optimism. “She knows how important the environment is to First Nations and Inuit,” the Gitxsan man said about the Inuk politician from Nunavut. “She grew up with that,” he added in a phone interview with the Georgia Straight shortly after Prime Minister Stephen Harper unveiled a new cabinet on Monday (July 15). “She’s grounded on the land the same as we are.” Sterritt is the executive director of the Coastal First Nations, an alliance of indigenous communities opposed to Enbridge Inc.’s Northern Gateway plan. The Enbridge venture is one of two proposed projects—the other by energy giant Kinder Morgan—that would dramatically increase the volume of oil conveyed from Alberta to B.C. through pipelines crossing many aboriginal territories. Sterritt noted that he’s quite familiar with Aglukkaq’s career, which includes having served as an MLA in the Nunavut legislative assembly. She was first elected as a Conservative MP in 2008. “Certainly, she is supportive of development, but it’s always been done with respect for the Inuit,” he said. “The relationship that the Inuit have with industry and others has been one that has been developed over a long time. I think she would recognize that that same kind of relationship-building would have to occur in British Columbia before being able to push any of these oil projects through here.” Sterritt added that Aglukkaq’s appointment may well be a “huge signal” that the Conservative government recognizes the importance of First Nations in the dialogue around oil and the environment. However, its track record suggests otherwise. “They have gutted environmental laws, gutted the Fisheries Act, and all kinds of things in their single-minded approach to pushing oil through,” he said. Sterritt was referring to bills C-38 and C-45, which Conservatives introduced in Parliament last year under the guise of implementing the federal budget. Aglukkaq voted in favour of the two omnibus bills that overhauled several of the country’s environmental laws. “That’s where the caution is,” he said. “It may be that they’re trying to paint themselves to be more friendly to the environment, when in fact those policies are not changing. If the new minister were to roll back some of those changes, that would certainly set the table for some serious conversation.” Last June, a joint review panel mandated by the Ministry of the Environment and the National Energy Board concluded hearings about Enbridge’s Northern Gateway proposal. Its report to the federal government is expected to be made public on December 31 this year. On May 23, Kinder Morgan filed documents with the National Energy Board describing its plan to triple the capacity of its Trans Mountain pipeline. The company intends to deliver up to 890,000 barrels of oil per day from Strathcona County near Edmonton to Burnaby. Noting that opposition to Canada’s determination to expand tar-sands development continues to grow, Grand Chief Stewart Phillip wonders what Ottawa is really up to in tapping Aglukkaq for the environment portfolio. “The Harper government is throwing her under the bus,” Phillip told the Straight in a phone interview from Watson Lake in Yukon. The president of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs was on his second day on the road to Whitehorse to attend the annual meeting of the Assembly of First Nations when the cabinet reshuffle was announced. “I believe we’re rapidly approaching a watershed moment in the history of this country with respect to the Harper government’s very thuggish and aggressive efforts to ram…large-scale resource developments through,” he said. If Aglukkaq’s designation as environment minister was meant to blunt Native opposition, it won’t work, according to Phillip. “What we would demand is that she respects the growing voices of opposition, and begins to seriously consider all of the studies and the science and the safety issues that clearly indicate that government and industry are going down the wrong path,” he said. The long drive from Fort St. John with his wife, Joan, has reinforced some of the things that the indigenous leader doesn’t want to be lost to the environmental perils posed by an oil rush. “We’ve seen some incredible landscapes,” Phillip said. “Throughout the last couple of days, we’ve seen caribou, moose, buffalo, mountain sheep, bears, pristine rivers and streams. That’s what’s at stake here.”Those into starting a business must have come across terms like primary research and secondary research, but may be oblivious to its purposes. Simply putting, the primary research is all about carrying out specific activities to get answer to certain questions or issues related to the trade, and can include methodologies such as interviews, surveys, questionnaires for small groups or individuals. But, secondary research utilizes previously researched information, the ones already recorded or publicly available for relevant intentions. Aarkstore Enterprise is an internet space where companies and people can benefit from expert analysis on industries, and professional reports that include every kind of techniques to boost establishments and startups. Here are the ways, tools and best practices to both primary and secondary research. How to Conduct Effective Primary Research? For any business, information on needed industry segments, customer preferences, geographic areas etc. is important. Primary research is the best point to start with in meeting the assessment criteria via tailored means to build a company. If there are not enough resources to conduct the analysis alone, then contact Aarkstore Enterprise, which offers a series of primary research materials. Questionnaires and Surveys: To clarify trade goals, the questions created have to target the customer’s interest for a product/service, consumer behavior, competitors, market trends & requirements etc. Once questionnaires are prepared, a survey can be done through web-based platforms like Social Media channels, email, enquiry forms, polls etc. Smartphones and mobile devices are a modern way to engage interested parties to the questionnaires. Face-to-Face Interviews: An organization can learn about industry activities and its potential customers by gathering information from one-on-one interviews. For e.g. meeting up with experienced individuals of the business, who have knowledge on certain segments, fulfilling target goals, and help answer queries on competitors, market practices, customers etc. The research can be done on target profile and people as well in a close or open set interview sessions. Focus Group Studies: To obtain valuable feedback on a service or product, focus group studies work wonders. The tests include a particular set of participants who would be asked questions, observed, or applied to experiments in reaching a conclusion. For e.g. a firm wishes to test its new brand of cookies for consumers review. Thus, it calls upon people to give feedback about the product on its taste, packaging, brand recall etc. This way, the company can receive direct responses of the consumers, and use the results to hone their product. How to Perform Smart Secondary Research? Along with attaining first-hand information, reliable secondary research sources are also a good way of collecting information for achieving business requirements. The firm involved must prepare a budget, duration of the research, and affirm the sources from where the materials would be referred. Market research report reseller firms such as Aarkstore Enterprise are one of the ways to attain useful details about particular industry type, company, market segment, or gain deep insight into customer behaviors, and get forecasts for a certain trade spanning global ventures. Internal Sources: The already recorded information in a company’s database is incremental for the purpose of future reference. Such details are made available to understand the firm’s growth, developments, capacity, current statistics etc. For e.g. balance-sheet documents, inventory records, profit & loss statements analyze present and past financial conditions along with facility for making forecasts. Sales figures such as invoice copies and marketing records can be evaluated to judge the effectiveness of tactics used, and how the company can benefit from continuing or changing its promotional activity methods. External Sources: There are several entities from outside of a company’s environment, which collect data. When using external sources, one must be careful to understand the viability of such platforms. News publications such as journal and magazines are best, as it is easier to know what general public thinks about the firm or how the consumers are reacting to product/service. Statistics from trade associations, their findings, and reports can be utilized for specific trade purposes. Market and industry data such as existing surveys, recordings, turnaround figures, and competitors’ analysis etc. can assist strategizing techniques. Other sources include annual reports, directories, share of market, and rankings list.By Jeff Jenkins in News \| December 05, 2013 at 4:22PM MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Sources confirmed to MetroNews late Thursday afternoon that E. Gordon Gee will be named interim president at West Virginia University Friday. The WVU Board of Governors made its choice in a closed door meeting Thursday but chose not to release the name until the state Higher Education Policy Commission approves the action at a meeting set for Friday morning. There’s been considerable speculation pointing toward Gee, who most recently was the president of Ohio State University. He served as WVU’s president from 1981 to 1985. Before that, Gee was dean of the WVU College of Law. BOG Chairman Jim Dailey II said after Thursday’s meeting he was very pleased with the results. “We are absolutely thrilled with our selection to lead the state’s flagship, land-grant university during an important time in our history,” Dailey said in a prepared statement. “This individual is uniquely qualified to move WVU forward and continue the momentum we are enjoying. We are anxious for our new president to arrive in the new year, and hope that folks will get a chance to say `hello and welcome’ very soon.” The BOG also agreed on a search process for the permanent president. (Read proposed search procedure here.) Dailey said there’s been a lot accomplished in the few weeks since current WVU President Jim Clements was introduced as the next president at Clemson University. “I can’t express how happy I am with the spirited conversation, certainly thoughtful process, that we’ve gone through during these last four meetings,” Dailey said. “I really applaud each and every board member.” State code requires personnel moves like the naming of an interim university president get final approval from the HEPC. The meeting is set for 9 a.m. Friday. The BOG hopes to choose a permanent president on or about June 5, 2014. It hopes to have on-campus visits with the finalists the last week of April. The search committee will be chosen by the first week of January and the position will be nationally advertised by mid-January.Deal with it, Boehner. Deal with it, Boehner. Ted Cruz If it wasn't clear Saturday, when House SpeakerJohn Boehner was passing a continuing resolution that was guaranteed to be rejected by the Senate and by President Obama, that Boehner could pass a simple funding bill, it is now. Rep. Raul Labrador admitted as much Sunday on Meet the Press: there are "enough votes in the Republican party who are willing" to pass a spending resolution that doesn't do anything to Obamacare. One of those votes spoke up Sunday: @jonathanweisman Rep. Charlie Dent, R-Pa: "I’m prepared to vote for a clean res tomorrow. It’s time to govern. I don’t intend to support a fool’s errand." The Senate is not going to accept the poisoned pill House bill that passed Saturday when they reconvene Monday. So far it's not clear what path Majority Leader Harry Reid will take, but the last thing he—and the Democratic majority—will do is to accept anything in it. They will pass a clean bill back to the House, and that's when the majority of Boehner's caucus, and Boehner himself, have a decision to make: take the clean vote they know than can win, or shut down the government and take on all the political fallout. Join Daily Kos and the DCCC and tell John Boehner: It’s time to cut the Tea Party loose and work with Democrats to keep the government funded and avoid a disastrous default. If there were any doubts remaining:Odds are, you never take a moment to say thank you to Jupiter—but it’s not too late to start. The fact is, if the fifth planet from the sun weren’t here, there’s at least a fair chance that the third one (that would be Earth) wouldn’t be either. Jupiter is not only the biggest planet in the solar system, it’s also the one with the most powerful gravity. For billions of years, it has thus stood as a sort of guardian over the smaller planets of the inner solar system, pulling in and gobbling up comets and asteroids as they fly by. Certainly, it hasn’t caught all of them—the moon didn’t get those craters by accident—but it’s gotten plenty, and that matters. You know that asteroid that killed the dinosaurs? Imagine if Earth got clobbered like that all the time. That’s just one of the things that makes Jupiter a world that deserves our attention. And it’s about to get a lot of it, when NASA’s Juno spacecraft, which left Earth on Aug. 5, 2011, arrives at Jupiter at 11:35 p.m. EST on July 4, beginning what is planned to be a nearly 20-month mission. (TIME will carry the arrival live.) Juno’s final approach to the planet is actually already underway, having started on June 30, when the ship powered up its instruments and positioned itself for a 35-minute engine burn on Independence Day evening—a bit of fireworks that will be a lot more complicated than the ones that will be taking place all over the U.S. at the very same moment. The maneuver will slow the ship by 1,212 mph (1,950 k/h) from its current speed of over 16,000 mph (25,800 k/h), just enough to settle it into orbit around Jupiter. The Brief Newsletter Sign up to receive the top stories you need to know right now. View Sample Sign Up Now The spacecraft will inscribe what is known as a polar orbit, circling the planet not more or less horizontally as most satellites do, but north to south, pole to pole. That will allow it to survey the entirety of Jupiter as it rotates slowly beneath. Juno’s first few orbits will be high-altitude ones, each taking 53.5 days to complete. But another engine burn will lower it to as close as just 2,600 mi. (4,200 km) above the Jovian cloud-tops, making for a zippier 14-day trip around the planet. There will be a lot to study from that close-up perch. Jupiter is often thought of as a sort of failed star, with a hydrogen-helium mix similar to that of the sun but without the mass to get its stellar fires lit. Still, its radiation field is so powerful that it is the only planet in the solar system that actually emits more energy into space than it absorbs from the sun. Jupiter is a place too where liquid helium falls through the clouds like rain; where hydrogen is subjected to such pressures that it behaves like an electricity-conducting metal; where the temperatures are just 152º F (67º C) on the surface but 62,000º F (34,000º C) below the clouds. All that and more will be studied by a suite of nine instruments that will investigate Jupiter’s gravity, radiation field, atmospheric chemistry, aurorae, magnetism and other vital signs. The spacecraft will also capture—and send home—an album’s worth of dazzling images. When the last bit of data has been streamed to Earth, in February 2018, and the 37th of Juno’s allotted orbits is done, it will light its engine just once more, this time to send it on a suicide plunge into the boiling atmosphere of the planet. It will have given its life for a good reason. Jupiter is parent to 62 known moons, four of which—Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto—are large enough to have been discovered by the comparatively primitive telescope of Galileo Galilei in 1610. Europa in particular holds fascination for astronomers because it is thought to have a realistic chance of harboring life, thanks to a comparatively warm, globe-girdling ocean beneath a rind of ice. Spacecraft sent from Earth can harbor terrestrial microorganisms, which could lead to biological contamination if Juno were left to die in orbit and it wandered into a collision with Europa. Two of the other so-called Galilean moons—Callisto and Ganymede—are also considered candidates for buried oceans, and also deserving of protection. So tantalizing is the potential of Jupiter’s moons that Juno is carrying a plaque etched with the words of—and in the hand of—Galileo himself, as he recorded the discovery of the moons in his notebook. At the time, he knew of only three of them and wrote, in part, “…it is evident that around Jupiter there are three moving stars invisible till this time to everyone.” Those “stars” are visible now. And the planet they orbit will soon be far more visible still. Galileo’s work, begun more than four centuries ago, goes on this summer. Write to Jeffrey Kluger at jeffrey.kluger@time.com.It is the second biggest country in the world, yet sometimes it seems almost invisible. Often ignored by its powerful neighbour, regarded with only distant affection by the two European countries from which its settlers came, and taken for granted by many nations who should be more grateful than they are for its help and mediation in the past, Canada ploughs a lonely furrow. Now it is heading toward an election that will determine whether it will continue along the predictable rightward course set by Stephen Harper as prime minister over the past decade or whether it can recover some of the verve and originality that once marked its politics, not least under Pierre Trudeau, whose son Justin is one of the contenders. Under Mr Harper, Canada has not only moved to the right in almost every area of policy but has entered an era of highly calibrated, money-driven negative campaigning at odds with the courtesy that is one of the most attractive of Canadian qualities. So the result matters, obviously for Canada itself, but also for a world that has long been missing the special role it used to play on the international scene. Money, its uses and its abuses, runs like a thread through Mr Harper’s time in power. At the very beginning, a scandal over the diversion of government funds under the then Liberal government helped him into office in 2006. Ironically, it then turned out that his Conservative party had itself been breaking electoral laws on spending during that campaign. Forming another minority government after the 2008 election, he began dismantling Canada’s system of political party subsidies, a policy that benefits the Conservatives, who have the largest base of wealthy donors, and puts other parties, particularly the Liberals, at a financial disadvantage. Canada election 2015: a guide to the parties, polls and electoral system Read more A strategy aimed at spending his opponents into the ground seems to be once again behind his launching of the campaign for the next general election well ahead of it being formally called this week. Much of the money goes on mean-spirited negative campaigning of the kind that saw off the Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff in the 2011 election with gibes about his years away from Canada. Now it is zeroing in on the youth and good looks of Justin Trudeau, the new Liberal leader, suggesting he is too wet behind the ears to be prime minister. Money came to Mr Harper’s rescue in a different way during the international fiscal crisis, because Canada’s prudent and well-regulated banking system and its stable housing market insulated it from the worst effects. None of this was Mr Harper’s doing – his own instincts are antiregulatory – but he got some of the credit. Money, in the shape of profits from tar sands, also influenced the notorious decision to withdraw from the Kyoto protocol, and Canada’s pledges ahead of the next international environmental conference in Paris are the weakest of any major industrial country. In spite of what Thomas Mulcair, leader of the New Democratic party, calls this “rip it and ship it” philosophy, Canada’s economy has faltered in recent years, and Canada is near, or perhaps already in, recession. The fall in oil prices is partly to blame, but his critics say that Mr Harper’s emphasis on a balanced budget at a time when the economy needs stimulus, not constraint, as well as giving tax breaks to the better-off, has made things worse. Domestically Mr Harper has tried to move Canada away from its social democratic tradition, reducing government spending and services, privatising government agencies, cutting public health. He has gagged government scientists and civil servants, is bringing in new internal security laws, and made Canada a less open society. Internationally he has made the Canada that begged to differ (with Britain on Suez, on Vietnam with America, for example) and the Canada that was a pillar of peacekeeping and the United Nations a distant memory. And his particularly passionate identification with Israel has lost Canada the “honest broker” status that it arguably enjoyed in the Middle East in the past. The political contest in Canada this time is particularly difficult to predict since the three big parties each have about 30% in popular support. Any of the three could end up in government, alone or in coalition. But we may be permitted to hope there is now a chance that something of the old Canada, committed to moderation and multiculturalism at home and to multilateralism and cooperation abroad, will re-emerge from the fray.One Nation leader asks Duncan Lewis if refugee children were being radicalised in Australia Asio head tells Pauline Hanson there is 'no evidence' of link between refugees and terrorism Australia’s intelligence chief says there is no link between refugees and terrorism in Australia. Asio head Duncan Lewis was questioned on the issue by One Nation leader Pauline Hanson at a parliamentary committee on Thursday night. “I have absolutely no evidence to suggest there is a connection between refugees and terrorism,” Lewis said. Alice Workman (@workmanalice) ASIO boss tells Pauline Hanson there's no evidence to suggest a connection between Middle Eastern refugees and terrorism #estimates pic.twitter.com/QdxaNqYiNF Asked whether refugee children were being radicalised in Australia, he said: “I see no evidence of it here.” Lewis told Senator Hanson Asio did not make its enquiries or assessments on the basis of anyone’s religion. Pauline Hanson's Muslim ban 'what terrorists want', says Turnbull Read more “We are not interested in religion – we are interested in whether an individual is exhibiting or expressing violence.” Asked whether women wearing burqas presented a security threat, he said: “We have no security reason to be concerned about the wearing of a burqa other than the requirement for individuals to identify themselves to authorities.” He said not all thwarted terrorism plots had involved Islamist extremists – one recent investigation uncovered a right-wing extremist planning an attack. Hanson campaigned at the last election on banning Muslim refugees and shutting down mosques.Coachella Survival Guide \| 4.3.14 How to make it three days in the desert at one of America’s premier music festivals It’s a yearly rite of passage for the young and the old. A spring awakening for the few and the proud; anyone who’s spent any time in Indio during a weekend in April understands its beauty and what it means to experience Coachella. If you’re a veteran like us; planning for next week’s adventure started a year ago. If you’re a first timer, you’re in the right place, because we’ll fill you in on what you need to know. Anything can happen out on the polo fields and the weather at the festival is pretty unpredictable. It’s usually sunny and beautiful, but in the last few years we’ve seen rain, high winds, dust storms, and high temps (over 100°F) and some effin’ cold nights. Shade is your best friend - find it! You’re out in the desert and the only trees for miles are palms, not a lot of heavy foliage if you ask us. Bring a pop-tent or shade structure to your campsite: tapestries, sheets, or towels usually do the trick helping you block the sun while you’re trying to relax. Bring enough food for breakfast and easy snacks since that tends to be when you’re at camp. Keep it simple and do most of your heavy lifting for lunch/dinner on the festival grounds. As far as what to wear let the weather determine your outfit but make sure you bring at least some of this stuff: All in all if you think you need it, you probably do so bring it anyway, here’s some other stuff we’ve found useful over the years: 2. BE FRESH Don’t overdo it on the extra-curriculars or alcohol (hint, hint). Festivals are marathons, not sprints. No one wants to play babysitter or take care of you because you got too turnt up to keep the party going for four days…chill a little brah and let the good times happen my friends. You’ll regret missing your favorite act because you were too fucked up or hungover to get to the stage. Water, Agua, H2O - Dehydration in dry climates sneaks up on you. They have water stations surrounding the festival grounds, check your map before you head out and make sure you have cash on you at all times just incase you get thirsty, water’s two dollars the last time we checked. Partake in something we call the “Hard Chill” or “Disco Nap”- In order to do this you’ll have to come to grips that you’re never going to see everyone you want to see, it’s physically impossible. So relax get over it, take a seat, a deep breath, grab a beer or something else, a bite to eat maybe…chiiiiiillllll and let the music hit you. Before you know it the next band or DJ you’ll want to see will be on stage and you’ll have the energy to get back in the party. 3. BE COOL Stick together! Festivals are way more fun when you’re with friends, new or old. Be friendly! People at Coachella are typically outgoing, so don’t be scared to strike up conversations with strangers. Feel free to yell out “
file ~/Library/Application Support/Krita/ (merge if prompted) Krita Cloud Brushes I Usage and Previews The thumbnail on the left is the icon of the brush as you’ll find it in your pop up palette, the strip on the right offers a preview of the brush stroke. All previews have been painted with a single brush stroke, just varying the pressure. puggioni-clouds13 puggioni-clouds14 puggioni-clouds15 puggioni-clouds16 puggioni-clouds17 puggioni-clouds18 puggioni-clouds19 puggioni-clouds20 puggioni-clouds21 puggioni-clouds22 puggioni-clouds23 puggioni-clouds24 Licence: All brushes are released under Creative Commons 4.0, CC BY-SA to Paolo Puggioni, www.paolopuggioni.com This license lets you remix, tweak, and build upon your work even for commercial purposes, as long as you credit the creator and license your new creations under the identical terms. by Paolo PuggioniIf you never had a chance to play the delightful Flash-based MMO game Glitch—soon to be rescued from the pit of dead games thanks to Creative Commons assets—I'll let its new tenders explain: Once upon a time...11 giants accidentally created a beautiful little world. This world was equal parts beautiful, silly, strange and sometimes even sad. It was filled with tiny little creatures called Glitchen, who looked after the giant's creations, milking butterflies, petting piggies and talking to bubble trees, among many other things. But one day the giants awoke from their slumber, and the world seemed to disappear. But did it really? We think not. Project Eleven is plumbing the depths of the Giant's memories, trying to find a tiny glimmer of the world that once was, and set those little Glitchen back on their paths. Glitch launched to the public in late 2011 after about two years of private play, but its parent company Tiny Speck quickly backpeddled the game into a long-term beta status until it was finally shut down altogether in December 2012, leaving sad Glitchens everywhere (it was played by more than 150,000 people) hoping that someone, somewhere might someday rescue the game and help the worlds and their little inhabitants live again. Late last year, that dream came closer to possibility when all of the game's beautiful art and a portion of its source code were released under a CC0 license, the Creative Commons version of putting it all in the public domain. Enter Project Eleven, a group of former players who took on the task of bringing it back. The key is that not all of the code was released. Project Eleven notes that they assume what's missing is what became #Slack, the new project of the former Tiny Speck team. They are, however collaborating with the old team using that new product, and hope to improve on the old version of Glitch by reducing dependence of Flash and writing new code using node.js. When it was still playable, I used Glitch in talks as a way of describing the concepts of community and collaboration in gaming as representative of those concepts in open source communities. You could certainly play the game alone, but you would never be able to get as far as you could if you worked with other players, much like developing open source software. Recently on their Facebook page, Eleven posted a new glimpse of the game with some faces from the old: And that's all it takes for any old Glitchen to be ready to start bubble harvesting and smelting all over again. Project Eleven is looking for help in Javascript, node.js, and Rethink DB. They'll also eventually need help wtih Flash Builder and Action Script 3. If you'd like to pitch in, email slack@elevengiants.com.For the amount of time that he's been in the spotlight, Keanu Reeves has managed to retain a remarkable amount of privacy. Charming but evasive in interviews, unwilling to court the paparazzi's flashbulbs for the sake of extended publicity, the "Speed" star has maintained an almost Sphinx-like aura of mystery. Also read: Exclusive: Keanu Reeves in Financing Talks for His Directorial Debut But despite Reeves' best efforts to remain enigmatic, a few details about the actor have managed to slip out. As the actor prepares to turn 47 on Friday, let's look at a few little-known facts. 5) He's Extremely Generous Rather than wring every dime he could out of the popular "Matrix" movie series, Reeves signed away his back-end deal for the two sequels to the films' special-effects and costume-design teams -- an act of benevolence that cost him many millions. Also read: ABC Attacked by 'DWTS' Fans Over Chaz Bono Casting And it's far from the only time he's taken a financial hit in the name of his art -- Reeves lowered his salary by a few million dollars for 1997's "The Devil's Advocate" so that producers could afford to bring Al Pacino on board as well. "Money is the last thing I think about," Reeves has said. "I could live on what I have already made for the next few centuries." 4) He's a Coke Man Before "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure" -- before even "River's Edge" -- Reeves built up his acting resume with a Coca-Cola commercial. Reeves, then 16, played a bicycle racer whose winning spirit is bolstered by the sugary, carbonated beverage. Watch him take the pause that refreshes in the video. 3) He's Ambidextrous Though left-handed, Reeves played bass with his bands Dogstar and Becky in a right-handed manner. Despite this seeming advantage, neither band made much of an impression in the music world. Also read: 'Hangover 2' Stunt Double Sues Warner Over Alleged Brain Damage 2) He's Picky "The Gift" notwithstanding, Reeves is actually pretty choosy about the roles he takes. He turned down the role of Pvt. Chris Taylor in 1986's "Platoon" (a part that eventually went to Charlie Sheen) because he wasn't happy about the movie's violence. He also passed on the role of Racer X in 2008's "Speed Racer," and famously -- most would say wisely -- declined to participate in "Speed 2: Cruise Control," the sequel to his hit "Speed." Also read: Cher Defends Chaz Bono on 'DWTS'; Calls Critics 'Bigots' 1) He Just Might Have the Coolest Name Ever Named after his uncle, Henry Keanu Reeves, the actor's first name roughly translates to "cool mountain breeze" in Hawaiian. No wonder the guy's so laid-back. Find showtimes and tickets near you >> Learn how to get free popcorn at the movies >>There is only one ethically defensible choice for Greece: default now. Before you flame me with emails about the "responsibilities of debtors," please read the entire entry. Let's look at credit (offered by lenders) and debt (sold to borrowers) from the point of view of predation. Would you borrow $1 billion if it was offered to you at zero interest, with no collateral required? I would, without hesitation, and I would buy various assets which offered a reasonable return above zero with the "free money," because the lender has no recourse if my investments fail to return the capital. Who would be dumb enough to make such a loan? The Federal Reserve, of course, and they do so only to their special buddies, the "too big to fail" banks as a way of diverting the national income to recapitalize the banks without directly transferring taxpayer funds. What does it take for a transaction to become predatory? 1. The lender (if they had sufficient leverage) could change the terms after the fact, for example, demanding more collateral. This would be predatory because the terms of the loan were "too good to be true" and were designed to fail--i.e. a lead-in to a carefully planned predation. 2. The borrower misrepresented his financial circumstance, i.e. committed fraud, which is a type of predation on unwary lenders. But there is a quantitative difference between the borrower seeking to defraud an unwary lender and a lender planning a predatory loan: 1. The lender is in effect marketing the debt. If a potential borrower declines a loan, life goes on. If a lender doesn't sell loans, it dies. Therefore the incentives to push "too good to be true" or otherwise misrepresented loans are asymmetrically on the lender side. 2. The lender is an institution that is built upon risk management and risk appraisal. The borrower is not, and thus the skills of assessing (and thus of pawning off) risk are asymmetrically on the lender side. There is an unsavory analogy to lenders offering under-collateralized, low-interest loans with "gotchas" built into the terms: Pushing these types of loans at interest rates which do not reflect prudent risk management is akin to offering an inexperienced young maiden a large sugary drink that is heavily spiked with a tasteless alcohol, with predatory designs. So when the maiden wakes up groggily the next morning sans clothing in a strange bed, is it really fair to say, tsk, tsk, she should have known better? Doesn't this ethical symmetry miss the reality that the risks of predation were masked and asymmetrical by design? The banks that lent vast sums to Greece were in essence offering "too good to be true" loans at rates of interest that did not reflect prudent risk management. Anyone who glanced at Greece's history of defaults might have wondered if Greek rates should have been almost as low as those in Germany. Was the "collateral" any sounder than that offered in the many previous instances of default? We're left with only two possible conclusions: 1. The big banks which lent stupendous sums of money to Greece at low rates of interest were hapless incompetents when it came to risk assessment and management, or 2. The loans were predatory from the start. #1 is patently absurd, and so we are left with #2: the banks designed and offered these loans with predatory intent. Now the banks are offering their political lackeys a menu of predation to choose from: 1. Deliver the wealth of the Greek nation directly to the banks via transfer of national assets 2. Deliver the wealth of the nation over time via "austerity" programs that in essence divert the surplus national income to the predatory banks 3. Increase taxes on the "core" Euroland nations' taxpayers to fund a "bailout" of Greece that is in essence a direct transfer of those taxpayers' wealth to the big predatory banks; the "bailout" is just a pass-through to the banks. If you think this through, there is only one ethical thing for the maiden to do: toss the spiked sugary drink in the face of the predator and deliver a swift, hard kick between his legs "where it counts." Greece should respond to this planned predation with complete and total default: not a "haircut" or "extended terms," a complete and total refusal to pay any of the debt. We are constantly warned that the resulting collapse of the "too big to fail" banks would trigger a global implosion. That is false; life would go on after the predators declared bankruptcy and were liquidated. What the predators fear most is an awareness that any disruption in normal life would be brief and relatively painless compared to the vast suffering imposed to render them their pound of flesh. The banks are in effect imposing Droit du seigneur--"lords rights"-- on Europe. Someone needs to take the predators down, and it might as well be Greece. I have covered this before in regards to Ireland: Ireland, Please Do the World a Favor and Default (November 29, 2010). Readers forum: DailyJava.net. Order Survival+: Structuring Prosperity for Yourself and the Nation (free bits) (Mobi ebook) (Kindle) or Survival+ The Primer (Kindle) or Weblogs & New Media: Marketing in Crisis (free bits) (Kindle) or from your local bookseller. Of Two Minds Kindle edition: Of Two Minds blog-Kindle "This guy is THE leading visionary on reality. He routinely discusses things which no one else has talked about, yet, turn out to be quite relevant months later." --Walt Howard, commenting about CHS on another blog. Thank you, Preston I. ($5/mo), for your extremely generous subscription to this site -- I apologize for the screwup, and am greatly honored by your support and readership. Thank you, John D. ($25), for your superbly generous contribution to this site-- I am greatly honored by your support and readership. Subscribers ($5/mo) and contributors of $50 or more this year will receive a weekly email of exclusive (though not necessarily coherent) musings and amusings, and an offer of a small token of my appreciation: a signed copy of a novel or Survival+ (either work admirably as doorstops). At readers' request, there is also a $10/month option. The "unsubscribe" link is for when you find the usual drivel here insufferable.Nike has unveiled its long-awaited sneaker with self-tying "adaptive" laces. It's called the HyperAdapt 1.0, and Nike CEO Mark Parker introduced it at the Nike Innovation 2016 event in New York City this week. How does a sneaker tie itself? Duh! "When you step in, your heel will hit a sensor and the system will automatically tighten. Then there are two buttons on the side to tighten and loosen. You can adjust it until it's perfect." That was how Nike senior innovator Tiffany Beers explained it. The technology has been in the works since 2013, and it's based on what went into the Nike MAG -- a replica of Marty McFly's self-lacing sneakers in "Back to the Future" that Nike made last year. Nike said the HyperAdapt makes use of a "more technical, sport version" of the automatic tying mechanism. The HyperAdapt 1.0 will be available in three colors to Nike+ members this holiday season. The company said interested buyers can create an account online and sign up for updates about the shoe. The Nike+ app will be revamped in June and will give users access to "coveted products and events," the company said in a press release. Shoe designer Tinker Hatfield said the HyperAdapt shoe aims to give athletes the ability to quickly make small adjustments to how tight or loose their shoes fit. "That's an important step because feet undergo an incredible amount of stress during competition," he said in a statement. Nike did not have pricing information available about the HyperAdapt 1.0.Gordon Parks’s “Segregation Story” images, first published in Life magazine in 1956, are as important today as they were 60 years ago. Though the civil rights movement is most commonly associated with black-and-white photography, these images — which are part of an exhibition opening tomorrow at Weinstein Gallery in Minneapolis — were shot on color film, and connect past and present in a more immediate way. Parks brought an equally tender and frank eye to capture and honor the intimate, everyday moments of the Thornton family and their community in Shady Grove and Mobile, Ala., showing us how they managed to live “normal” lives in conditions that were anything but. Moments of happiness, love and strength, like a church gathering or a family outing to the ice cream stand, take place under codified inequality. Parks was a close friend of the writer Ralph Ellison, and the Weinstein Gallery exhibition also comprises photos from “A Man Becomes Invisible,” a series he worked on with Ellison that debuted in 1952. Parks, a recipient of the National Medal of Arts, was a tireless advocate for social change throughout his life, and called his camera his “weapon against poverty and racism.” Revisiting his images today serves as a powerful reminder of how much progress we have yet to make.A security expert that build his career on identifying vulnerabilities in Microsoft software now says that the company has come a long way. Marc Maiffret, a former hacker turned legitimate security researcher, and now chief security architect at FireEye, told InSecurity Complex that Apple’s software was inferior to Microsoft’s in terms of security and the capacity of protecting end users, despite claims to the contrary by the Cupertino-based hardware company. In fact, Maiffret put Apple on the spot for marketing its software as more secure than Microsoft products, noting that it was just marketing and nothing more. Still, the former hacker indicated that he had witnessed Apple starting to change its ways, and care more about security. “It's even a little scarier with them because they try to market themselves as more secure than the PC, that you don't have to worry about viruses, etc. Anytime there's been a hacking contest, within a few hours someone's found a new Apple vulnerability. If they were taking it seriously, they wouldn't claim to be more secure than Microsoft because they are very much not. And the Apple community is pretty ignorant to the risks that are out there as it relates to Apple. The reason we don't see more attacks out there compared to Microsoft is because their market share isn't near what Microsoft's is,” he stated. According to Maiffret, before Apple only recently, in the past six months, started caring more about securing its products, it was at the same level as Microsoft before the January 2002 Trustworthy Computing memo from Bill Gates. But while he slapped Apple over the wrist, Maiffret praised Microsoft not only for the progress it had done over the better part of the past decade, but also because of the Security Development Lifecycle. “Now when you look at Microsoft today they do more to secure their software than anyone. They're the model for how to do it. They're not perfect; there's room for improvement. But they are definitely doing more than anybody else in the industry, I would say,” he underlined. “[…] From an internal process in how they go about auditing their code and securing software from a technical perspective, they do have one of the best models. The area they still have room for improvement is around time lines of how long it takes for them to fix things.” The Security Development Lifecycle is a model deployed by Microsoft internally, designed to secure software as much as possible by doing extensive testing to filter out vulnerabilities, and also ensure that when flaws do exist, mitigations are in place to make exploits extremely difficult, if not impossible. Windows Vista, the first Windows client to be produced in accordance with the best practices of the SDL, was also the company’s most secure operating system in history. Windows 7 was built on Vista’s legacy, and is bound to be just as, if not even more, secure compared with its predecessor. In the first week of April 2010, Microsoft published the Security Development Lifecycle (SDL) Version 5 for all third-party software developers to leverage in their products.Bitcoin smsBlockChain – Blockchain Analysis Via SMS Blockchain analysis is both intriguing and worrisome for Bitcoin enthusiasts all around the world. Even though the blockchain functions as a public ledger for all types of transactions, there is still some work involved if you want to properly analyze patterns. With smsBlockChain, that process is now as simple as sending a text message. Also read: An Analysis of the Last Eighteen Months of Bitcoin smsBlockChain – Full Blockchain Information via SMS The reason a service such as smsBlockChain can cause worries is because they offer a ton of information about any Bitcoin wallet address. Not only will you receive information such as the current Bitcoin price, but also information about public addresses, such as their current balance and the last address that a wallet has interacted with. In doing so, it becomes easier for people to check their Bitcoin wallet balance and track their expenses, but it also allows anyone in the world to analyze your public wallet address.Granted, users can generate infinite new public wallet addresses, but this kind of blockchain analysis at the cost of a text message can cause quite some harm. On the other hand, you could make the argument that “you shouldn’t use Bitcoin or the blockchain if you want to hide transaction details.” And that statement is more than valid up to a certain extent, as not everyone wants their address to be monitored – by any random person on the planet- for legitimate reasons. That being said, smsBlockChain will offer anyone in the world access to the blockchain, regardless of whether or not they have an internet connection. It is not possible to send money without an internet connection [at this point], but from an informative point of view, all of the blockchain information is just a text message away. At the time of publication, services offered by smsBlockChain are available to anyone in the world. The platform also offers free and unlimited usage of the service until June 22, 2015. However, when we tested this service ourselves with a public address, all of the information related to this address was incorrect. We have notified the service operators of this issue. UPDATE 09-06-2015: We have received word from the developer the issues were now resolved. After testing the service, we can now confirm all features offered by smsBlockChain are fully working as intended. What are your thoughts on smsBlockChain? Let us know in the comments below! Website: http://smsblockchain.com/index.html Images courtesy of ShutterstockMarc Garlasco helped target laser-guided bombs during the Iraq invasion, and he claims in an NPR interview entitled “Assessing the Human Cost of Air Strikes in Iraq,” that the military does a careful calculation of how many innocent civilians will be killed for each bomb dropped. According to Garlasco, they’re VERY careful. If more than 29 innocent civilians are calculated to become “collateral damage,” they have to get White House approval. What would that be like.... FC [Field Commander]: Mr. President – we’ve got the 3rd highest ranking al’Qaeda commander in Iraq lined up in our sights, but if we bomb, we might kill more than 29 civilians. What should we do? W [Dubya]: 3rd highest? Didn’t we already get him? FC: Sir – this is the new, new 3rd highest in command. W: Oh, well that sounds serious. I hate to butcher so many innocent Iraqis everyday. On the other hand, maybe that madman will someday muster the capacity to kill more than 29 people, so … let’s bring Dick in on this … Dick? DC [Dick Cheney]: Look George, I thought we agreed that we were used to collaterally damaging Iraqi civilians by now, and that it’s worth it in our epic battle of good vs evil. After all, your predecessor set the precedent. W: Huh? DC: Remember the Leslie Stahl 60 Minutes interview with Madeline Albright? [DEAD SILENCE] DC: Where she said the death of 500,000 Iraqi children in pursuit of U.S. foreign policy was O.K.? W: Ah,... DC: Here, look at this video again – – – W: Oh. Right. I guess if Clinton’s UN Ambassadors think 500,000 dead kids in pursuit of U.S. foreign policy is O.K. – – – – But don’t some of those Iraqis have families friends and loved ones who might turn into terrorists against us? DC: No, they don’t. And anyway, remember, we agreed that all Iraqis are potential terrorists. W: Oh yeah. Well go ahead FC. You have my authorization. [Minutes pass] FC: Sir – we obliterated the terrorist-nest village, but the madman seems to have escaped. Don’t worry, we’ll get him tomorrow. That’s one village that will never again harbor terrorists. W: Weeee! Heck-of-a-job, FC! How many potential al’Qaeda recruits did we bring to justice? DC: I’ve asked you before to stop asking that. Remember we aren’t supposed to keep count. FC: Oops! They’re saying we targeted the wrong new 3rd highest in command. Apparently the real new 3rd isn’t in this part of the country. He was having a secret meeting with Condy. W: Rat feathers! How many times have we missed like that? DC: We don’t keep track of that either. –And thanks to FilemanThe couple purchased the truck from a Vietnam veteran who had painted the truck in a camouflage pattern. "The childcare centre was not open, I went under the truck, under there with torches, you could see my feet sticking out while Jason was inside the truck and we were trying to communicate to each other," Mrs Morris said. Mr Morris got out of the truck to get ready for his didgeridoo performance, which had been confirmed with the kindergarten the day before. "He was carrying his didgeridoo and his work bag, just a training bag you would take to a sports day. "Jason walked up to the door, he left his bag there and he walked back to the truck and he looked baffled, he said, 'No one is there'." Jason Morris playing the didgeridoo to a captive audience On his way back to the truck Mr Morris noticed approaching police cars with their lights on. Maroochydore police officer-in-charge Gavin Marsh said police had received multiple reports from the childcare centre as well as the public about a possibly armed person and a suspicious vehicle outside the centre. Topaz and Jason Morris nicknamed their truck 'Da Beast'. "Our officers were sent up there for what we were advised was a possible armed person," he said. "We were getting reports a female was under the van and there was yelling and screaming." Mrs Morris said she had no idea what was going on when police arrived and ordered the pair to raise their hands. "We thought they were looking for someone else, we were thinking, 'What is happening?' " she said. "We were extremely terrified because we thought we were in danger of someone running around and I was thinking we can't move the truck because we can't fix the steering wheel. "The childcare had gone into lockdown and we were completely unaware. "All this was going on while I was under the truck and I had no idea but then the penny dropped and we realised we were the people they were looking for." Mrs Morris said the police checked their ID and the truck and told them they had received multiple reports of suspicious activity. "It was extremely confusing and scary, we were both in shock," Mrs Morris said. She said after police realised it was a misunderstanding they went and notified the childcare centre where children, parents and staff had been hiding. "They (the people in the childcare centre) were all still in shock, fair enough, but at the end as I was trying to fix the truck, no one still bothered to care that that was still scary for us," she said. The centre cancelled Mr Morris's show and the following one he had scheduled. Mrs Morris said her husband's shows were about teaching children that it was OK to be different and said last Tuesday's events really brought home for her how important the shows were. "The disability show is telling everyone that it is OK to be different and we got judged because we drive a different vehicle... it stings in the face a bit," she said. "It was a rather a strange chain of events that have left us both bit rattled." Buderim Community Kindergarten would not comment.After seven years of filming The Big Bang Theory, it turns out that the cast hasn't learned all that much about Science. In an interview with Stephen Colbert (via The Late Show), Big Bang's Kaley Cuoco was asked if any of that scientific knowledge has seeped in over the years, and if she could now fake her way through a scientific conversation. "(Laughs) No! I would like to pretend that I could, and the guys on the show like to say they've learned things, they haven't learned anything. No No No, all B.S. We have real people there who have actual real brains write all of that stuff. We not so much. We just say what's on the page and do the best that we can to get through (laughs). Refreshingly honest, and after 7 seasons of watching the show, I haven't gotten any better grasp on science either. I did develop more of an appreciation for Barenaked Ladies as a result of their theme song, so that must be worth something.Michael Snyder Economic Collapse This is the time of the year when Americans run out to their favorite retail stores and fill up their shopping carts with lots of cheap plastic crap made by workers in foreign countries where it is legal to pay slave labor wages. By doing this, the American people are actively participating in the destruction of the U.S. economy. You see, buying products that are made in America is not just a matter of national pride. It is a matter of national survival. If we do not support American workers, they are going to continue to see their jobs shipped out of the country. If we do not support American businesses, they are going to continue to die off at a staggering rate. Last year, the United States had a trade deficit with the rest of the world of 558 billion dollars. More than half a trillion dollars that could have gone into the pockets of U.S. workers and U.S. businesses went overseas instead. If that money had stayed in the country, taxes would have been paid on that mountain of cash and our local, state and federal government debt problems would not be as severe. As a result of our massive trade imbalance, we have lost tens of thousands of businesses, millions of jobs and trillions of dollars of national wealth. Both major political parties have sold us out on these issues, and we are getting poorer as a nation with each passing day. We desperately need a resurgence of economic patriotism in the United States before it is too late. Yes, I know that it is very tempting to buy foreign-made products. After all, they are almost always cheaper. But most people don’t often think about why they are cheaper. Unfortunately, in the name of “free trade” American workers have been merged into a global labor pool where they have to compete directly for jobs with workers on the other side of the globe that live in countries where it is legal to pay slave labor wages. This makes employing American workers a tremendous liability. If a company hires you and pays you 10 to 15 dollars an hour with benefits, how is it going to compete with another company that pays workers a dollar an hour with no benefits on the other side of the planet? Both major political parties are pushing this emerging “one world economic system“, but it is absolutely killing American jobs. We have already seen a mass exodus of jobs and businesses out of this country, and wages for the jobs that remain in the United States are being forced down because there are hordes of unemployed workers that are willing to take just about any decent job they can find. It has become painfully obvious that our politicians are not going to do anything to help us on these issues, so what we need is a mass awakening among the American people. We need to educate people that buying things that are made in America is good for the economy and that buying things that are made elsewhere is bad for the economy. But for now, most Americans are clueless. They will line up on Black Friday morning and trample one another in a desperate attempt to save a few bucks on cheap plastic devices that were made on the other side of the planet. And they will pay for much of this “shopping” with credit cards. Credit card debt is on the rise once again. In fact, average credit card debt per borrower was 4.9 percent higher in the third quarter of 2012 than it was in the third quarter of 2011. It looks like most of us didn’t learn our lessons from the last financial crisis. But not all Americans enjoy the shopping that is typically involved with this time of the year. One recent survey found that approximately 45 percent of all Americans think that there is so much financial pressure associated with the holidays that they wouldn’t mind skipping them completely. That same poll found that approximately 41 percent of all Americans would only be able to survive for two weeks without a paycheck. Many Americans are up to their eyeballs in debt, their incomes are not keeping up with rising prices, and they find themselves scratching and clawing just to make it from month to month. Meanwhile, we continue to destroy our own jobs and businesses by spending our money on products that have been made outside the country. The following are 55 reasons why you should buy products that are made in America this holiday season… 1. When you buy products that are made in America you support American workers. 2. When you buy products that are made in America you support companies that are doing business in America. 3. In 2000, there were more than 17 million Americans working in manufacturing, but now there are less than 12 million. 4. The United States has a trade imbalance that is more than 7 times larger than any other nation on earth has. 5. Our trade deficit with China in 2011 was $295.5 billion. That was the largest trade deficit that one country has had with another country in the history of the planet. 6. In 2011, our trade deficit with China was 28 times larger than it was back in 1990 and more than 49,000 times larger than it was back in 1985. 7. When NAFTA was passed in 1993, the United States had a trade surplus with Mexico of 1.6 billion dollars. In 2010, we had a trade deficit with Mexico of 61.6 billion dollars. 8. One professor has estimated that cutting the U.S. trade deficit in half would create 5 million more jobs in the United States. 9. Overall, the United States has run a trade deficit of more than 8 trillion dollars with the rest of the globe since 1975. That 8 trillion dollars could have gone to support U.S. businesses and pay the wages of U.S. workers. Federal, state and local taxes would also have been paid on that 8 trillion dollars if it had stayed in the United States. 10. According to the Economic Policy Institute, America is losing half a million jobs to China every single year. 11. The United States has lost an average of approximately 50,000 manufacturing jobs a month since China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001. 12. According to U.S. Representative Betty Sutton, the United States has lost an average of 15 manufacturing facilities a day over the last 10 years. 13. During 2010 alone, an average of 23 manufacturing facilities permanently shut down in the United Statesevery single day. 14. Overall, the United States has lost more than 56,000 manufacturing facilities since 2001. 15. The United States has lost a staggering 32 percent of its manufacturing jobs since the year 2000. 16. Between December 2000 and December 2010, 38 percent of the manufacturing jobs in Ohio were lost, 42 percent of the manufacturing jobs in North Carolina were lost and 48 percent of the manufacturing jobs in Michigan were lost. 17. As I have written about previously, 95 percent of the jobs lost during the last recession were middle class jobs. 18. Due in part to the globalization of the labor pool, only about 24 percent of all jobs in the United States are “good jobs” at this point. 19. Right now, more than 41 percent of all working age Americans do not have a job, and the vast majority of the new jobs that are being created are low paying jobs. 20. The United States now has 10 percent fewer “middle class jobs” than it did just ten years ago. 21. According to the Economic Policy Institute, the U.S. economy loses approximately 9,000 jobs for every $1 billion of goods that are imported from overseas. 22. As our economic infrastructure is gutted, formerly great manufacturing cities all over America are being transformed into festering hellholes. 23. Between 2001 and 2007, the value of products that Wal-Mart imported from China grew from $9 billion to $27 billion. 24. In 2001, American consumers spent 102 billion dollars on products made in China. In 2011, American consumers spent 399 billion dollars on products made in China. 25. The United States spends about 4 dollars on goods and services from China for every one dollar that China spends on goods and services from the United States. 26. Back in 1998, the United States had 25 percent of the world’s high-tech export market and China had just 10 percent. Today, China’s high-tech exports are more than twice the size of U.S. high-tech exports. 27. In 2002, the United States had a trade deficit in “advanced technology products” of $16 billion with the rest of the world. In 2010, that number skyrocketed to $82 billion. 28. The United States has lost more than a quarter of all of its high-tech manufacturing jobs over the past ten years. 29. Manufacturing employment in the U.S. computer industry was actually lower in 2010 than it was in 1975. 30. The Chinese undervalue their currency by about 40 percent in order to gain a critical advantage over foreign competitors. This means that many Chinese companies are able to absolutely thrive while their competition in the United States goes out of business. 31. According to the New York Times, a Jeep Grand Cherokee that costs $27,490 in the United States costs about $85,000 in China thanks to all the tariffs. 32. In 2010, China produced more than twice as many automobiles as the United States did. 33. Since the auto industry bailout, approximately 70 percent of all GM vehicles have been built outside the United States. 34. Do you remember when the United States was the dominant manufacturer of automobiles and trucks on the globe? Well, in 2010 the U.S. ran a trade deficit in automobiles, trucks and parts of $110 billion. 35. In 2010, South Korea exported 12 times as many automobiles, trucks and parts to us as we exported to them. 36. In 2010, China produced 627 million metric tons of steel. The United States only produced 80 million metric tons of steel. 37. In 2010, China produced 7.3 million metric tons of cotton. The United States only produced 3.4 million metric tons of cotton. 38. Today, China produces nearly twice as much beer as the United States does. 39. 85 percent of all artificial Christmas trees are made in China. 40. Right now, China is producing more than three times as much coal as the United States does. 41. China is now the number one supplier of components that are critical to the operation of U.S. defense systems. How stupid can we possibly be? 42. According to author Clyde Prestowitz,
we will make everything Scrum.” But if you don’t work to solve the problem, you are just precipitating that factory thinking.St. Patrick’s Day is a full 24 hours when the world celebrates Irish culture. It’s also the best day of the year for many people! Travelers visiting San Diego during the holiday are in (Irish) luck. The city will be lit up with festivities everywhere. So, no matter if you’re looking for a loud night out or even a healthy run to start the holiday, there’s bound to be something to bring out the Irish in everyone. Image: San Diego Shamrock If you’d like to have a big, loud night out, consider attending San Diego Shamrock. This late-night block party will be held in one of the city’s best neighborhoods, the Gaslamp Quarter. Be prepared to sham “rock” out to live bands performing Irish rock, Irish punk rock and other festive favorites. If you’d prefer to start your day off running (literally), consider partaking in the St. Patrick’s Day 10K race. Head to Mission Bay Park and compete against other racers for the “Irish-themed” costume contest. Afterwards, enjoy Domino’s Pizza and beer. Families probably will want to see the city’s St. Patrick’s Day parade. Watch as bagpipers, musicians and performers make Balboa Park colorful. Grab some pals and get ready for a night out. Imbibe drink specials at four different bars and celebrate beer. Green attire is encouraged, but not required. Since you’ll be enjoying yourself in America’s Finest City, you might as well relax at the city’s top digs; luckily, PC Housing has fully furnished corporate housing locations near each of these activities, so you can stay where you’ll be in the heart of the activity. These comfortable spaces are personable and will make you feel right at home instantly. Cozy housing and one of the most fun days of year—what more could you ask for?Readers may recall claims of 1000 year residence times for CO2. This essay suggests a much shorter interval. -Anthony Guest essay by Leo Goldstein Surplus CO 2 is removed from the atmosphere by natural sinks at a rate proportional to the surplus CO2 concentration. The half-life of the surplus CO 2 concentration is approximately 40 years. This is the conclusion of my research paper, published on defyccc.com today. I am grateful to Prof. Fred Singer and Prof. William Happer for their help in writing this paper. The correct (although approximate) formula for CO 2 concentration leads to a number of conclusions of public interest: CO 2 concentration in the atmosphere will increase much slower than has been claimed by the IPCC. concentration in the atmosphere will increase much slower than has been claimed by the IPCC. A relatively small part of the anthropogenic CO 2 in the atmosphere has been released by the US; a relatively large part of the anthropogenic CO 2 has been released by China. in the atmosphere has been released by the US; a relatively large part of the anthropogenic has been released by China. If stabilizing or decreasing atmospheric CO 2 content becomes desirable at some point in the future, that can be achieved by decreasing anthropogenic CO 2 release at that time; no premature action is needed. content becomes desirable at some point in the future, that can be achieved by decreasing anthropogenic release at that time; no premature action is needed. The warming effect of anthropogenic CO 2 is less than the warming effect of other gases and aerosols (according to IPCC calculations) in both the short and long term, so what are the motives behind this laser focus on CO 2? The topic of the CO 2 removal rate has been discussed a number of times on WUWT (by Christopher Monckton of Brenchley, Docmartyn in comments on Dr. Lindzen’s article, Anthony Watts and others), and various opinions were expressed. Estimates of the half-life varied. For some time, the subject was surrounded by confusion, created by sloppy definitions and evasive statements in IPCC assessment reports. There was a mix-up between the residence time of a CO 2 molecule in the atmosphere and the rate of change of the surplus CO 2 concentration. The residence time (~5 years) is of little interest, except as an indication of quick carbon turnaround. The true subject of interest is the rate of change of the surplus carbon concentration in the atmosphere. Another issue was the link between CO 2 concentration and temperature. On the geological timescale, the rise in CO 2 concentration tends to follow the temperature rise, concurring with a hypothesis that the latter causes the former. Nevertheless, such an effect is not significant on the multi-decadal scale. CO 2 concentration in the atmosphere grows mostly because of anthropogenic release of CO 2 through fossil fuels combustion and land use changes. The paper’s full title is Simple Equation of Multi-Decadal Atmospheric Carbon Concentration Change. It is article-length (~5,000 words, not counting references), citable, and discoverable by search engines, including the Climate Sanity and Freedom Search. In a slight departure from a widely-used academic format, the paper contains a Summary (for busy readers). The abstract is as follows. Surplus CO2 is removed from the atmosphere by natural sinks at rate, proportional to the surplus CO2 concentration. In other words, it undergoes exponential decay with a single decay constant. This conclusion is rigorously proven, using first principles and relatively recent observations of oceans. Historical data for CO 2 concentrations and emissions from 1958–2013 are then used to calculate the half-life of the surplus concentration. This theoretically derived formula is found to be an excellent match to the historical CO 2 concentrations over the measurement period. Furthermore, the “initial” CO 2 concentration in the formula came out to be very close to the likely “pre-industrial” CO 2 concentration. Based on the used datasets, the half-life of the surplus concentration of CO 2 in the atmosphere is found to be approximately 40 years. Advertisements Share this: Print Email Twitter Facebook Pinterest LinkedIn Reddit"Angel" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan about the heroin overdose death of Jonathan Melvoin (1961-1996), the Smashing Pumpkins touring keyboard player, [1] as McLachlan explained on VH1 Storytellers. The song first appeared on Surfacing, the Canadian singer's 1997 album. It is sometimes mistitled as "In the Arms of an Angel"[2] or "Arms of the Angel". "Angel" was McLachlan's second consecutive top five hit on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at number four and remaining in the top ten for nineteen weeks. In McLachlan's native Canada, the song reached number nine on the RPM Top Singles Chart and was the forty-eighth best-selling single of the year. Outside North America, the song has charted in several countries in the years following its release, including reaching number seven in Ireland (in 2002) and number nine in Norway (in 2008). Background [ edit ] "Angel" was one of the first songs written for Surfacing. McLachlan said that writing it was easy, "a real joyous occasion",[3] and that "the bulk of it came in about three hours." It was inspired by articles that she read in Rolling Stone about musicians turning to heroin to cope with the pressures of the music industry and subsequently overdosing.[4][3][5] She said that she identified with the feelings that might lead someone to use heroin: "I've been in that place where you've messed up and you're so lost that you don't know who you are anymore, and you're miserable—and here's this escape route. I've never done heroin, but I've done plenty of other things to escape."[3] She said that the song is about "trying not to take responsibility for other people's problems and trying to love yourself at the same time". Composition [ edit ] The song has a sparse arrangement—mostly McLachlan at the piano, with subtle upright bass played by Jim Creeggan of Barenaked Ladies. It was recorded in the key of D-flat major.[6] For live performances, it is transposed up one half-step to D major, the key it was originally written in, and played without the bass. Chart performance [ edit ] Released as a single in 1998, "Angel" peaked at number four on the US Billboard Hot 100 on February 22, 1999[7] and number one on three Billboard charts: the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart,[8] the Adult Top 40 chart,[9] and the Top 40 Tracks chart.[10] It was the United States' eighteenth highest-selling song of 1999.[11] In McLachlan's native Canada, "Angel" peaked at number nine in January and March 1999 and spent ten weeks in the top 40.[12] It ended the year as Canada's forty-eighth most successful single.[13] In the years following its release, "Angel" has charted in a large number of countries. In January 2002, it peaked at number seven in Ireland and number 36 in the United Kingdom.[14][15] In 2008, "Angel" charted in Norway and peaked at number nine for two weeks.[16] The following year, it made a brief appearance on the New Zealand Singles Chart, debuting and peaking at number 36 in July.[17] The song has charted in Austria and Switzerland on several occasions, peaking at number 17 in both counties,[18][19] and it also reached number 57 in Germany in October 2012.[20] The following month, it debuted and peaked at number 77 in France.[21] During its original release, "Angel" peaked at number 99 on the Dutch Single Top 100, but it reached a new peak of number 31 in February 2014.[22] Live performances [ edit ] On July 2, 2005, McLachlan performed this song at Live 8 Philadelphia with Josh Groban. She also performed the song during the "Concert for Linda," dedicating it to the memory of Linda McCartney. On September 10, 2011, McLachlan performed the song to close the ceremonies at the dedication of the Flight 93 Memorial in Stonycreek Township, commemorating the passengers and crew of United Airlines Flight 93 who fought the hijackers and brought down their airplane in the September 11 attacks. On Sunday, November 23, 2008, Sarah McLachlan performed "Angel" at the American Music Awards with artist Pink. Legacy [ edit ] The song has had enduring popularity. It is often used to highlight emotional scenes on television shows, and has been featured in a number of soundtracks (including the film City of Angels and TV's Alias, As the World Turns, Cold Case, Dawson's Creek, Early Edition, Felicity, General Hospital, Providence, Strong Medicine, and The Pretender). In addition, it is also used as a song of comfort and healing, most often following tragic events such as the death of Diana, Princess of Wales in August 1997, the April 1999 Columbine High School massacre and the September 11, 2001 attacks. Furthermore, a large number of video tributes to loved ones uploaded by YouTube users have been set to this song. Musician Darryl McDaniels, otherwise known as D.M.C. of the hip-hop band Run-D.M.C., has said that the song saved his life.[23] ASPCA [ edit ] Since 2007, "Angel" has been included in an advertisement for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) in which McLachlan serves as the spokesperson. The song is played over video of dogs and cats in an animal shelter and is credited with helping raise millions of dollars for the ASPCA.[24] This ad was later parodied numerous times on the internet and inspired many memes. The song was also donated by McLachlan for Tribe of Heart's movie The Witness which depicts the awakening of consciousness of a New York City construction worker with respect to the treatment of animals.[25] Charts and certifications [ edit ] Covers and other versions [ edit ] Live cover performances [ edit ] In popular culture [ edit ]by Gordon Duff, VT Senior Editor “….the depth of Pollard’s info that he passed on to Russia (amongst others) was as damaging as the Rosenberg’s was during that era. Devastatingly state of the art. Virtually everything that we knew/know about nukes….” (US Navy nuclear weapons expert exclusive to Veterans Today) _________________ Israel is demanding the immediate release of Jonathan Pollard. Pollard, sentenced to life in prison for spying against the United States is a hero in Israel. Jonathan Pollard, an American of Jewish ancestry and Zionist extremist views who publicly acclaims that he tried to destroy America to help maintain the “racial purity of Israel.” Pollard may have been spying for Israel but all the information he stole, a truckload of America’s most vital secrets, all went to the Soviet Union. Why did Israel send this information to Russia, the names of all American intelligence assets behind the Iron Curtain, the exact locations of all NATO nuclear weapons facilities, missile silos and detail on how to defeat America’s defenses from nuclear attack? America doesn’t openly admit it, but this is exactly what was done, and done with one purpose, a surgical strike on America, starting and ending World War III in hours. This is the current deal Israel is offering this time; If America releases Pollard, Israel agrees to suspend its 62 year ethnic cleansing program against Palestinian Muslims and Christians, for a short time at least. The American public has never been told the truth about Pollard. Current figures of deaths directly attributed to Pollard’s spying are at between 110 and 120 American CIA agents and up to 1600 top American intelligence assets that were foreign nationals. Minimally, Pollard should have faced 110 murder counts for American victims alone. He should have been tried and executed many years ago except for intercession by the government of Israel. Since Pollards sentencing in 1987, they have continually demanded his release. Pollard wasn’t a spy, he was a terrorist. Pollard had only one purpose, not to spy for Israel but to enable the Soviet Union to launch a successful nuclear “first strike” on America. Pollard didn’t act alone but had a series of handlers in Tel Aviv and Moscow, THIS WASN’T AN ISRAELI SPY OPERATION BUT A JOINT SOVIET/ISRAELI ASSAULT ON NATO For some reason, the State of Israel has never been called to account for its full complicity in Pollard’s crimes. Dozens of Israeli military and intelligence officials were fully complicit in going along with Pollard and should have been extradited to the United States and tried for their crimes. Additionally, why isn’t it a crime for an Israeli to spy on the United States on behalf of the Soviet Union? If Israel and the United States are allies, then spying on the United States for Russia should have been a crime in Israel also. Instead, Pollard and his accomplices in Israel are treated as national heroes and the American government has remained silent. Moreover, the American press, even when reporting Israel’s current demand for Pollard’s release, fails to outline the most basic facts of the case and, in particular, the most glaring inconsistencies. WHEN AMERICA ALMOST DIED Though the facts behind the Pollard disaster have never been made public, members of America’s military, intelligence and national security organizations knew, they had to, it was their job to try to defend a country left vulnerable to attack. Stories of DEFCON alerts tied to Pollard, are spoken of quietly, hushed voices, among retirees, pilots from the Strategic Air Command, NORAD personnel and other top military commands, both American and NATO partners. Pollard dangled victory in front of a Soviet regime that was the most radical and thoughtless in their history, at a time when the signs of the collapse were becoming clear. ISRAEL’S SIDE OF THE STORY This is the rationale Israel gives for asking for Pollard’s release: The Reagan Administration was withholding critical intelligence on potential terrorist attacks on Israel. (Editor’s note: Coincidentally, after Israel’s withholding information that would have prevented the attack on the Beirut Marine Barracks in 1983, killing 241 Americans including 220 Marines.) President Reagan’s betrayal of Israel and the support for terrorists shown by people on his National Security Council, including advisers who were supplying Iran with advanced weapons including the Hawk anti-aircraft system and 1500 advanced TOW anti-tank missiles. (Iran Contra) Key Reagan officials were actively building Iraq as an American surrogate power in the Middle East, offsetting Israel’s role as sole nuclear power in the region. (Unstated but clearly implied) The Soviet Union had, by 1982 become a more reliable partner for Israel and was likely to come out the winner in the Cold War. (Editor’s note: Worst guess of all time) WOLF BLITZER AND POLLARD Wolf Blitzer, then of the Jerusalem Post, interviewed Pollard in his jail cell and wrote an article calling Pollard “Israel’s Master Spy.” Blitzer tried to paint Pollard as victim of an American witch hunt, the victim of an anti-Semitic FBI. The Washington Post published the Blitzer account and American media pulled in behind this false cover story painting Pollard as a victim. Blitzer used his support of Pollard to vault himself to the top of Americas most respected media, the voice of CNN. What is not reported is that Blitzer was only able to “spin” Pollard as aiding Israel because the damage done to the United States was so severe that it was and is classified. Pollard and Blitzer talked about stealing intel on the PLO and Libya, information long shared with Israel but nothing about NATO order of battle or war plans against a Soviet ground offensive against Western Europe, the real heart of Pollard’s efforts. The deal cut Pollard, leaving him alive, is the equivalent of giving a drunk driver who plows through a sidewalk filled with kindergartners a ticket for a broken tail light. WHERE IS AMERICA’S PRESS? The Pollard story should be a hot one. We have CIA agents rounded up, tortured for months, their networks turned, hundreds head for the gulag, more get a bullet in the back of the head. America is left blind and defenseless during the most brutal period of the Cold War, a period when the Soviets had a real superiority in missiles and the ability to hit any target with pinpoint accuracy, something continually misreported by America. The nuclear Armageddon prayed for by Christian Zionists would have been a reality, for America at least. Russia would have survived relatively unscathed except for the radiation clouds from North America and Western Europe. This is the real story of Pollard, one totally blacked out in the press. Why is no one asking about this? WIKIPEDIA ON POLLARD Admiral Shapiro, who was himself Jewish, stated that he was troubled by the support of Jewish organizations for Pollard: “We work so hard to establish ourselves and to get where we are, and to have somebody screw it up… and then to have Jewish organizations line up behind this guy and try to make him out a hero of the Jewish people, it bothers the hell out of me”.[10] Eric Margolis alleges that Pollard’s spying may have led to the capture and execution of CIA spies in the Eastern Bloc after Israel sold or bartered Pollard’s information to the Soviet Union.[60] According to one theory, Israeli businessman and convicted Soviet spy Shabattai Kalmanovich may have been made a scapegoat for information from Pollard that had been willingly shared by Israel with the Soviets in order to secure the release of certain Jewish scientists in the USSR.[61] Ron Olive, retired Naval Criminal Investigative Service, led the Pollard investigation and in 2006 published the book Capturing Jonathan Pollard – How One of the Most Notorious Spies in American History Was Brought to Justice. In his book, Olive writes that Pollard was not serving Israel solely, and that Pollard confessed to passing secrets to South Africa and to his financial advisers, shopping his access to Pakistan and recruiting others for money.[62] EQUAL JUSTICE FOR ALL WITH SOME EXCEPTIONS A few weeks ago, a serial killer was arrested in Atlanta, boarding a plane for Israel. For decades Israel was a “get out of jail free card” for anyone, with extradition totally impossible, no matter how serious the crime. If an African American kills a police officer in any state, he will be executed. Are we saying that, if for instance, the murderer is of Jewish heritage and he kills a CIA officer, even a hundred CIA officers, he can reasonably expect to spend his reflective years in a beach front condo in Israel? Do the families of the dead have to see his beaming face on Israeli television or read his commentaries in the Jerusalem Post? Well, this is exactly what Israel is asking for and is holding the lives of thousands of Palestinians hostage as a bargaining chip. This sounds to me like the actions of a terrorist state. —————————————————————————————————— READER COMMENT ADDENDUM (FROM A NUCLEAR WEAPONS SPECIALIST) Comment: What the hell Gordon? Ya’ got something printed that I cannot find ANYthing to argue with. I feel…kind of depressed. Just kidding. You know my background, so you know I can’t go into some things, but….the depth of Pollard’s info that he passed on to Russia (amongst others) was as damaging as the Rosenberg’s was during that era. Devastatingly state of the art. Virtually everything that we knew/know about nukes. Combine it with what Walker gave, along with what the couple working at Los Alamos TRIED to give away to ”Venezuela” (and some say that they had already offered it/sold it to Russia & China), and it’s fairly evident that our enemies know pretty much everything we know. I was told at one time that the amount of money spent by Russia and China combined, on obtaining our technology by espionage, was absolutely minute in consideration of what the costs to them would have been if they had to use their own technology, and therefore it was given the highest priority. They placed virtually no limits on what they would pay for critical design info, and yet, amazingly, they usually got it at bargain basement prices. In the case of the Rosenberg’s- for free. Same for Pollard and I believe Ames. I doubt if we’ll ever truly know what nuke info Walker and his son passed on to Russia, but it was sold incredibly cheap. A few thousand dollars for the entire Polaris-sub codes being used in the Pacific, for instance. Much less for entire copies of nuke IPB’s and weapon assembly summaries. To the point though Walker will never be released I’ve been told, and I believe it. He pissed off the wrong people with his arrogance. But Pollard? Probably. G-d damn the people that allow the castration of this country. Related Posts:Earlier this month, director Peter Jackson teased the crowd at Comic-Con with the news that he was interested in shooting additional material beyond his planned two-part adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy epic The Hobbit. “There’s other parts of the story that we’d like to tell that we haven’t been able to tell yet,” he said. But as to the question of whether that extra footage could potentially translate into an actual third Hobbit film, Jackson wouldn’t go that far. “It’s very premature,” he said. “The discussions are pretty early.” Well, it may still be early, but EW has confirmed that serious discussions between Jackson and Warner Bros. are indeed taking place to explore the possibility of turning The Hobbit into a trilogy. Before you get too excited, though, there are several major hurdles that would need to be cleared before this could become a reality: Among other things, new deals would need to be worked out with the cast, and it’s quite likely that Jackson — who had already scheduled two months of additional shooting on the second film for next year before these talks began — would need to add even more time to shoot additional material to fill out a third film. As for where that material might come from, Jackson and his co-writers, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, are already drawing on sources beyond The Hobbit book itself — in particular, some 125 pages of additional notes Tolkien wrote at the end of Return of the King that expanded the world of The Hobbit, which Jackson has the rights to use. As Tolkien purists know, they’ve also taken a few extra liberties, inventing a couple of totally new characters, like Evangeline Lilly’s Elf warrior Tauriel. But Jackson has not yet revealed — and is perhaps still trying to work out — exactly what shape the story would take if, in fact, The Hobbit became a trilogy. Would the climactic Battle of the Five Armies that ends The Hobbit shift to become the basis of a third film? Would a third film extend the story beyond the end of the book somehow and serve as a kind of bridge to The Fellowship of the Ring? For now, it’s anyone’s guess, and we’ll need to wait to see how things develop. The first Hobbit film, subtitled An Unexpected Journey, hits theaters Dec. 14, and the second, There and Back Again, is slated for Dec. 13, 2013 — and, assuming they’re as successful as many anticipate they’ll be, Warner Bros. would certainly be happy to see the franchise continue on. Not to mention that, for millions of Lord of the Rings fans around the world, the prospect of another Middle-earth trilogy would have a nice, familiar ring to it. Read more: ‘The Hobbit’ behind-the-scenes diary: Comic-Con! Goblin-town! Yak hair! Legolas! — VIDEO ‘The Hobbit’ Comic-Con panel: Peter Jackson gifts a bounty of footage upon Hall H ‘The Hobbit’ movies wrap filmingOcean acidification: A national strategy to meet the challenges of a changing ocean Researcher Interviews Scientists are working to better understand how ocean acidification will impact habitats, animals, and people. Here, two ocean scientists—both members of the committee that wrote Ocean Acidification: A National Strategy to Meet the Challenges of a Changing Ocean (2010) —share insights from their own research. James Barry is a senior scientist at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute. He studies several aspects of the biology and ecology of marine organisms and communities, focusing on factors that influence the structure and function of marine ecosystems. Q: When did you first begin to consider the impacts of ocean acidification on marine life? A: My interest in ocean acidification was sparked when I heard scientists suggesting that perhaps we could lessen the impact of climate warming by placing some of the waste carbon dioxide produced by power plants into the deep sea. I couldn’t help but wonder if deep sea animals such as crabs, urchins, and fish, would react to the changes in the chemistry of sea water caused by the addition of carbon dioxide to the ocean. Q: What are some of the early experiments you carried out to investigate ocean acidification? A: My research group, in collaboration with other ocean scientists, designed experiments to understand how marine organisms would be affected by increased carbon dioxide. Our plan was to release a small amount of carbon dioxide deep below the ocean’s surface, and to analyze the response of ocean animals to the carbon dioxide. At the high pressures of the deep sea, carbon dioxide is a liquid, not a gas, so we obtained some liquid carbon dioxide from a soda vendor. Using a remotely-operated undersea exploration vehicle, we carried a container of liquid carbon dioxide deep below the ocean’s surface and released it onto the seabed. Cameras attached to the vehicle to transmitted images back to the lab, and we watched to see what would happen. Within a few minutes, a grenadier fish approached the pool of liquid carbon dioxide and swam directly into it, dipping its nose into the fluid. It immediately turned and swam rapidly away – had the carbon dioxide affected the fish in some way? Then a small brittle star—a species related to a sea star—moved close to the pool of carbon dioxide, sensed it, and quickly crawled away. Why? We knew that as carbon dioxide mixed with seawater, chemical reactions would occur that would make the water more acidic. We concluded that the deep sea animals were probably reacting to the acid produced as the liquid carbon dioxide reacted with sea water. Q: How did these early experiments direct your later research? A: Around the time of these initial experiments, there was a ‘gee whiz’ moment for the biological oceanography community as a whole. We’d known for quite a while that the oceans were absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. But now scientists realized that ocean chemistry was changing rapidly as a result of this absorption, and that it would change marine ecosystems. As this concept dawned on us, my research shifted. I no longer wondered if carbon dioxide would impact ocean life – it was clear that it already was. Instead, I wanted to know how changes in ocean chemistry would affect different types of marine organisms. From my laboratory’s early experiments, we’d learned that some animals were harmed by exposure to more acidic conditions, while others seemed to be more tolerant. We began to study the differing effects of ocean acidification on animals native to the shallow and deep areas of the ocean, in the hopes of figuring out how ocean acidification would affect different ecosystems. Q: Why study the Deep Sea? A: The ecosystems of the deep sea are very different to those of more shallow, coastal waters. In coastal waters, organisms experience dramatic changes in their environment on a regular basis. For example, floods may bring a surge of freshwater, changing the salt content of the water; the temperature of the water can vary with the season, or currents, and rivers can carry nutrients from land run-off that can affect oxygen levels and acidity. In contrast, conditions in the deep sea are cold and dark fairly constantly. As a result, the animals that live in deep-sea ecosystems are generally ill-equipped to respond to environmental change. For this reason, many researchers think that deep sea organisms may be more severely impacted by ocean acidification than their shallow-water counterparts. Q: What experiments did you carry out to investigate your new research question? A: One experiment was to investigate the different reactions of a deep water crab and a shallow water crab to ocean acidification. The shallow water crab—a Dungeness crab, the type you often find at restaurants—recovered quickly from carbon dioxide stress, but the deepwater crab did not recover. This showed that animals accustomed to different environments have different capabilities for dealing with environmental stress. We chose to study crabs because they are important members of marine food webs, and thus provide insight into ecosystems will fare in changing conditions. We hope that comparing the performance of various types of animals that are important in shallow and deep water communities will help us develop an understanding of the overall sensitivity of marine ecosystems to ocean acidification. Q: Why is it important to study different ecosystems? A: As a society, we need to know how environmental changes like ocean acidification will affect the distribution and abundance of life in the ocean and the function of whole ecosystems. Ultimately, those ecosystems produce marine fisheries, purify our water, and provide other ecological services we depend upon. But it isn’t really possible to perform experiments to measure how ocean acidification will affect whole ocean ecosystems. We can, however, measure how well different animals cope with ocean acidification using a combination of lab experiments and field studies. The species that perform best in our experiments are more likely to continue to survive, grow, and reproduce as the ocean becomes more acidic than those that are less tolerant of experimental acidified conditions. Combining the findings of many different studies, we hope to be able to predict how ocean acidification may affect the composition and function of marine ecosystems and the services they provide for society. That will help us make informed decisions about how we deal with carbon dioxide. Joanie Kleypas is a scientist at the Institute for the Study of Science and the Environment. She studies how coral reefs and other marine ecosystems are affected by changes in the Earth’s atmosphere and climate. Q: When did you first begin to consider the impacts of ocean acidification on marine life? What inspired you to look into this research area? Most of my work has involved using simple computer models to simulate how much coral reef growth has changed in the past, and how much it is likely to change in the future. These models use environmental information such as temperature and light to calculate how much calcium carbonate is produced by corals, and how much is removed by erosion and dissolution. In 1997, a colleague, Dr. Bob Buddemeier, suggested I also look at the carbon chemistry of seawater as another environmental factor, in addition to temperature and light. I did, and it turned out to be a good predictor of reef growth. Bob had also convinced another colleague, Jean-Pierre Gattuso, to do lab experiments of growing corals under different carbon dioxide conditions. Those results as well as other pieces of evidence convinced us that rising atmospheric carbon dioxide was changing ocean chemistry, and that corals were going to be affected by it. Q: Please describe an experiment you carried out to figure out how ocean acidification would affect marine life. I’ve continued to use computer models to predict where and when reefs will continue to grow—the places where more calcium carbonate is produced than is removed—and where and when they will erode away. Q: Why is it important to study coral? Why does it matter if coral reefs erode or grow? Corals are important both ecologically and geologically. Ecologically, coral reef communities are probably the most diverse on the planet, rivaled only by tropical rainforests. They are not only beautiful and fascinating, which is of course one reason I’ve chosen to study them, they also support many people around the world because they are important to fisheries and tourism. Geologically, coral reefs have produced a huge amount of rock on the planet. The Great Barrier Reef, for example, is a composite of reefs that have grown layer by layer for thousands of years, into one of the most significant ocean features that can be seen from space. This reef, and many others, act as protective offshore barriers that protect coastlines, provide shelter for many marine organisms, and of course, support their high biodiversity. Q: Have there been any surprises since you started investigating ocean acidification? This is an interesting question. Scientifically, yes, there have been many exciting surprises. I feel the most fascinating, if disturbing, aspect of this research is that ocean acidification affects not only marine calcifiers, but other organisms that are vitally linked to the major nutrient cycles in the ocean. In the non-scientific world, I have been surprised by the attempts by some to discredit even the most robust scientific findings on ocean acidification. The National Academies > Earth & Life Studies > Ocean Studies Board, Article.Image caption Saif al-Islam has not been seen in public since late August Saif al-Islam - the son of slain ex-Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi - says he is innocent of crimes against humanity, an international prosecutor has said. The International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said talks with Saif al-Islam had been held through intermediaries. The ICC says Gaddafi's son, accused of crimes during the recent conflict in Libya, would get a fair trial. Saif al-Islam, aged 39, has been in hiding for months. Recent reports claimed the man, who had once been the presumed successor to his father, was in a convoy heading toward Libya's desert border with Niger, where other Gaddafi allies have fled. But those reports have not been confirmed, and the ICC says it does not know where he is. Prosecutor's fears Mr Moreno-Ocampo told Reuters that the contacts with Saif al-Islam were through intermediaries, without revealing their identity. "There are some people connected with him that in touch with people connected with us, so we have no direct relation," the prosecutor said. Saif al-Islam: ICC charges Indirect co-perpetrator of murder and persecution as crimes against humanity Between 15 February and 28 February, Gaddafi security forces carried out systematic attacks against civilians Saif al-Islam "assumed essential tasks" to make sure plan worked ICC warrant Profile: Saif al-Islam Gaddafi family tree Malians pray for Muammar Gaddafi He added: "But we trust very much the person who is in touch for our side. He says he (Saif al-Islam) is innocent, he will prove he is innocent, and then he is interested in the consequence after that." Mr Moreno-Ocampo earlier expressed fears that Saif al-Islam might decide against surrendering to the ICC and try to escape to a friendly country with the help of mercenaries. The ICC denies that any kind of deal is being arranged with Saif al-Islam, stressing that the goal of the talks is to ensure an arrest warrant is carried out. An ICC arrest warrant issued for Saif al-Islam in June accuses him of murder and persecution. The document claims that he played an essential part in systematic attacks on civilians in various Libyan cities carried out by Gaddafi's security forces in February. Mr Moreno-Ocampo said the ICC had learnt "through informal channels" that mercenaries were offering to move Saif al-Islam to a country that has not signed up to the ICC's Rome statute. Reports say Zimbabwe is a likely final destination for Saif al-Islam if he chooses to flee from the ICC. Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe was a long-time ally of Muammar Gaddafi. ICC difficulties The ICC has no police force of its own, but member countries are legally bound to enforce its warrants. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Sir Geoffrey Nice QC: "What happens to Saif al-Islam shouldn't really be subject to behind-the-scenes deals" However, the credibility of the court has been called into question in recent years in Africa. Many of the continent's governments have argued that the ICC disproportionately focuses on crimes in their countries. Those claims have led the African Union to advise its members that they should no longer feel bound by the ICC's rules. Member countries including Malawi, Chad and Kenya have all defied the court by failing to arrest Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who has a long-standing arrest warrant against him. The warrant issued against Saif al-Islam came alongside warrants for intelligence chief Abdullah al-Sanussi, who is still believed to be on the run, and Muammar Gaddafi. The former Libyan leader, who was deposed in August after six months of civil conflict, died from gunshot wounds last week after fierce fighting in the city of Sirte. The National Transitional Council (NTC) is now overseeing political reform intended to lead to national elections within eight months.When you hear about people battling their demons, it's usually metaphorical. In Sunny's case. it's horrifyingly literal. On the
still consider other defensive options including Ryan Bertrand and Benjamin Mendy. But Conte's bid to sign Alex Sandro has hit a wall after AC Milan made the shock signing of Leonardo Bonucci from Juventus. The transfer means Juve are unlikely to also allow Sandro to leave. Meanwhile, Chelsea will consider both Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Andrea Belotti if their move for Alvaro Morata fails. The players on Chelsea’s transfer shortlist 16 show all The players on Chelsea’s transfer shortlist 1/16 The players on Chelsea's wishlist... Lindsey Parnaby/AFP/Getty Images 2/16 Alexis Sanchez \| Arsenal Arsenal FC via Getty Images 3/16 Alex Sandro \| Juventus Getty Images 4/16 Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain \| Arsenal Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images 5/16 Ross Barkley \| Everton Getty Images 6/16 Djibril Sidibe \| AS Monaco AFP/Getty Images 7/16 Virgil van Dijk \| Southampton Getty Images 8/16 Adama Traore \| Middlesbrough 9/16 Cedric Soares \| Southampton Getty Images 10/16 Ryan Bertrand \| Southampton Ian Walton/Getty Images 11/16 Mousa Dembele \| Celtic Getty Images 12/16 Fernando Llorente \| Swansea Getty Images 13/16 Marco Verratti \| PSG AFP/Getty Images 14/16 Faouzi Ghoulam \| Napoli Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images 15/16 Danny Drinkwater \| Leicester City Getty Images 16/16 Renato Sanches \| Bayern Munich Bongarts/Getty Images 1/16 The players on Chelsea's wishlist... Lindsey Parnaby/AFP/Getty Images 2/16 Alexis Sanchez \| Arsenal Arsenal FC via Getty Images 3/16 Alex Sandro \| Juventus Getty Images 4/16 Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain \| Arsenal Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images 5/16 Ross Barkley \| Everton Getty Images 6/16 Djibril Sidibe \| AS Monaco AFP/Getty Images 7/16 Virgil van Dijk \| Southampton Getty Images 8/16 Adama Traore \| Middlesbrough 9/16 Cedric Soares \| Southampton Getty Images 10/16 Ryan Bertrand \| Southampton Ian Walton/Getty Images 11/16 Mousa Dembele \| Celtic Getty Images 12/16 Fernando Llorente \| Swansea Getty Images 13/16 Marco Verratti \| PSG AFP/Getty Images 14/16 Faouzi Ghoulam \| Napoli Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images 15/16 Danny Drinkwater \| Leicester City Getty Images 16/16 Renato Sanches \| Bayern Munich Bongarts/Getty Images The Blues turned attentions back to Morata after missing out on Romelu Lukaku, but AC Milan have trumped Chelsea's offer for the Real Madrid man. Defender Kurt Zouma's season-long loan move to Stoke is expected to be confirmed imminently.An armed suspect wanted on a rape charge has been taken into custody and all hostages have been'released and are accounted for', according to police. Two hostages had been released from the Baltimore Burger King around 3pm Sunday, according to WJZ. A seven-year-old girl was among the hostages who had been held for several hours at the fast food restaurant, according to police spokesman, T.J. Smith. An armed suspect wanted on a rape charge has been taken into custody and all hostages have been'released and are accounted for', according to police Baltimore Police said the seven-year-old girl was among those being held hostage for several hours at the restaurant Police spokesman, T.J. Smith said in a news conference Sunday that the armed suspect who allegedly fled from police is wanted on a rape charge Smith said in a news conference earlier on Sunday that the armed suspect who allegedly fled from police is wanted in connection with a rape that happened within the last 48 hours. Earlier Sunday, the suspect led police on a vehicle chase before crashing into another vehicle. The gunman, who has not been identified, then fled by foot holding what police believed to be a handgun into the Burger King in Southwest Baltimore. Smith said on Twitter that the suspect had refused to pull over after being spotted by officers around 11am. He said the driver of the other car is being treated for minor injuries. 'Our ultimate goal is to end this peacefully for all parties,' Smith said. A SWAT team and negotiators are at the scene and police are asking the public to avoid the area between Monroe Street and Washington Boulevard. A male hostage was released from the fast food restaurant around 2.30pm, according to WJZ. No injuries or shots fired have been reported. A SWAT team and negotiators surrounded the restaurant and asked the public to avoid the area. The Burger King (pictured) is located in Southwest BaltimoreSporting Kansas City Academy defender Jaylin Lindsey has been called in to the U.S. Under-17 National Team for the 2017 CONCACAF U-17 Championship. The tournament is held in Panama and will run from April 21 through May 7. Lindsey is one of 20 players named on the roster for the tournament, which acts as the qualifier for the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup, which will be played from Oct. 6-28 in India. The U.S. has been drawn into Group C and will face Jamaica (April 23), Mexico (April 26) and El Salvador (April 29). All three of the USA’s matches will be streamed live on the CONCACAF Facebook page. Lindsey, 17, has been a member of the U.S. U-17 Residency Program since last August and has made over 15 appearances for the age group, recording three assists from the backline. He has previously represented the U.S. Youth National Team at the Under-15 and Under-15 levels. The Charlotte, N.C. native signed an Academy contract with the Swope Park Rangers on May 6, 2016, making his professional debut against Saint Louis FC a day later. He later drew his first professional start in a match against Real Monarchs SLC on Aug. 13, 2016. U.S. U-17 Roster by Position: GOALKEEPERS (2): Carlos Joaquim Dos Santos (Benfica; Philadelphia, Pa.), Justin Garces (Kendall SC; Miami, Fla.) DEFENDERS (5): Christopher Gloster (New York Red Bulls; Montclair, N.J.), Jaylin Lindsey (Sporting Kansas City; Charlotte, N.C.), James Sands (New York City FC; Rye, N.Y.), Arturo Vasquez (FC Golden State; Mira Loma, Calif.), Akil Watts (IMG Academy; Fort Wayne, Ind.) MIDFIELDERS (7): George Acosta (Weston FC; Hollywood, Fla.), Taylor Booth (Real Salt Lake AZ; Eden, Utah), Christopher Durkin (D.C. United; Glen Allen, Va.), Blaine Ferri (Solar Chelsea SC; Southlake, Texas), Christopher Goslin (Atlanta United FC; Locust Grove, Ga.), Indiana Vassilev (IMG Academy; Savannah, Ga.), Adrian Villegas (Portland Timbers; Hood River, Ore.) FORWARDS (6): Ayomide Akinola (Toronto FC; Brampton, Ont.), Andrew Carleton (Atlanta United FC; Powder Springs, Ga.), Zyen Jones (Atlanta United FC; Clarkston, Ga.), Bryan Reynolds, Jr. (FC Dallas; Little Elm, Texas), Joshua Sargent (Scott Gallagher Missouri; O’Fallen, Mo.)Summary: Studies presented at Neuroscience 2017 shed new light on how the brain consolidates memories and the neurological effects of poor sleep. Source: SfN. Although the general benefits of a good night’s sleep are well established, one-third of American adults do not get a sufficient amount of sleep. Recent research sheds new light on the extensive effects of sleep on the brain, as well as the harms caused by sleep loss. The studies were presented at Neuroscience 2017, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience and the world’s largest source of emerging news about brain science and health. Adequate restful sleep leads to improved cognitive function and enhanced memory formation, while insufficient, restless sleep has harmful effects such as impaired memory and judgement, and can lead to increased risk for medical conditions such as stroke, obesity, and cardiovascular disease. The connection between sleep and brain function has long been an area of exploration for neuroscientists. Today’s new findings show that: MicroRNA expression may serve as an indicator of sleep loss in rats and humans, suggesting a possible method for predicting those at risk for diseases and cognitive deficits typically associated with sleep debt. Three species of spiders have amazingly fast circadian clocks, raising questions about how they avoid the negative effects typically associated with deviating from the normal biological timeframe. The brain preferentially reactivates negative memories during sleep, prioritizing the retention of these emotional memories. Other recent findings discussed show that: A computerized algorithm can determine whether people viewed images of faces or houses by comparing patterns of electrical activity in the brain during sleep. “Sleep is even more multifaceted and fascinating than we realize,” said press conference moderator Sigrid Veasey, a professor at the Center for Sleep and Circadian Neurobiology at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine. “Today’s findings reveal interesting new aspects of the complex relationship between sleep and the brain, and the vital role that sleep plays in everyday human functioning.” About this neuroscience research article Funding: This research was supported by national funding agencies such as the National Institutes of Health, as well as other public, private, and philanthropic organizations worldwide. Find out more about the neuroscience of sleep on BrainFacts.org. Source: Emily Ortman – SfN Publisher: Organized by NeuroscienceNews.com. Image Source: NeuroscienceNews.com image is in the public domain. Original Research: The findings will be presented at Neuroscience 2017. Cite This NeuroscienceNews.com Article MLA APA Chicago SfN “Studying Sleep’s Profound and Extensive Effects on Brain Function.” NeuroscienceNews. NeuroscienceNews, 12 November 2017. <http://neurosciencenews.com/sleep-brain-function-7927/>. SfN (2017, November 12). Studying Sleep’s Profound and Extensive Effects on Brain Function. NeuroscienceNews. Retrieved November 12, 2017 from http://neurosciencenews.com/sleep-brain-function-7927/ SfN “Studying Sleep’s Profound and Extensive Effects on Brain Function.” http://neurosciencenews.com/sleep-brain-function-7927/ (accessed November 12, 2017). Feel free to share this Neuroscience News.Because nearly half of all strangulation victims have no visible injuries, the King County medical examiner and a senior deputy prosecutor are training police, medics and emergency-room personnel to recognize and document the symptoms. Stevie Barber’s roommates awoke to her screams as her boyfriend strangled her into unconsciousness, then set fire to her bedroom. Barber’s boyfriend and her roommates made it out of the burning Central District duplex. Firefighters pulled Barber, 21, from the blaze with burns to her entire body. She was declared dead on arrival at Harborview Medical Center just five days into 2000. Her death more than 17 years ago would become a watershed event in the careers of King County’s chief medical examiner and a senior deputy prosecutor, who have both spent countless hours educating lawmakers, first responders, ER physicians, nurses and jurors about the physical and psychological impacts of strangulation on victims of domestic violence. “You can easily conclude strangulation is more a technique of intimidation than it is an intent to kill. This demonstrates, ‘Your life is in my hands,’ ” said Dr. Richard Harruff, who became the county’s chief medical examiner the same year Barber was killed. Help for domestic-violence survivors If you are in immediate danger, call 911. If you have been abused by an intimate partner, call the Washington State Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-562-6025 (voice and TTY). A variety of agencies in the area offer assistance, including confidential shelters, counseling, child therapy and legal help: Seattle resources can be found here. King County resources: 206-205-5555 or www.kingcounty.gov/how-do-i/domestic-violence.aspx 206-205-5555 or www.kingcounty.gov/how-do-i/domestic-violence.aspx King County Coalition Against Domestic Violence: kccadv.org/get-help kccadv.org/get-help Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence: wscadv.org/resources/ If you have been abused by an intimate partner, call the Washington State Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-562-6025 (voice and TTY). A variety of agencies in the area offer assistance, including confidential shelters, counseling, child therapy and legal help: Because nearly half of all strangulation victims have no visible injuries, the goal of the training sessions is to help police, medics and emergency-room personnel recognize and document symptoms and behavior consistent with strangulation. In some cases, injuries manifest hours or days later, said Terri Stewart, the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) program coordinator at Harborview Medical Center and the state’s SANE training coordinator. “A lot of times victims have memory loss … A lot of times they can have agitation and confusion and restlessness as a result of lack of oxygen to the brain,” she said. “I think a lot of first responders misinterpret that as (the victim) being over-dramatic or ramped-up due to this domestic-violence event.” (Unlike in many dictionary definitions, strangulation is not necessarily a fatal act in legal or medical terms.) Explaining to juries that a woman without a mark on her was in fact a hair’s breadth from death is part of the challenge in holding perpetrators accountable, said Senior Deputy Prosecutor David Martin, who with Harruff recognized the pervasiveness of strangulation in domestic-violence relationships after working on Barber’s homicide case. “It takes good advocacy in the courtroom and good investigations and good expert testimony to explain the lack of injury, when lack of injury is pretty common in strangulation,” Martin said. The Barber case, which was the first murder Martin helped prosecute, became the impetus for public-health research by Harruff, who with Martin rewrote a state law making strangulation a felony offense. It used to be that prosecutors had to be able to prove a victim lost consciousness or control of bodily function for a strangulation to be charged as a felony. That changed in 2007, when the state Legislature adopted the update to state law written by Harruff and Martin that recognized strangulation as one of the most lethal forms of domestic violence. Lawmakers concluded the “particular cruelty of this offense and its potential effects upon a victim both physically and psychologically, merit its categorization as a ranked felony offense.” A decade later, second-degree assault by strangulation is the most frequently filed domestic-violence felony charge in King County Superior Court. Martin, who heads the prosecutor’s domestic-violence unit, said his unit is on pace to file 200 strangulation assault cases by the end of the year. First-time offenders face a standard sentence range of three to nine months in jail, though some are able to plead down to fourth-degree assault, a gross misdemeanor punishable by up to 364 days in jail that also results in the loss of firearms rights. But many of the men Martin prosecutes are serial domestic-violence offenders who face lengthy prison sentences. All but five states have felony strangulation laws like Washington’s, and California is going a step further. Starting Jan. 1, police officers there will be required to inform strangulation victims that they may have suffered internal injuries, and encourage them to seek medical attention. Under Senate Bill 40, officers will also incorporate information about strangulation into domestic-violence incident reports, just as they do after domestic violence involving a weapon. The ‘last warning shot’ While strangulation is most often seen in domestic-violence assaults, 10 percent of the 472 rape victims who had sexual-assault exams at five King County hospitals last year also reported being strangled — and nearly a quarter of them lost consciousness, said Harborview’s Stewart. Another 30 percent of rape victims couldn’t say if they had been strangled, because they couldn’t remember all of the details of their assaults, she said. Strangulation is not a common cause of death for female homicide victims, although it’s widely viewed as a red flag that an abuser’s violent behavior is escalating — and it’s often a precursor to homicide by other means. “Strangulation is the last warning shot,” said Gael Strack, a former San Diego County deputy prosecutor and the CEO and founder of the Training Institute on Strangulation Prevention. “If somebody punches you, the likelihood of that being a life-threatening injury is minimal. If somebody goes for your neck, it’s like if somebody goes for a gun — something bad is going to happen.” The homicide rate for women has decreased along with other violent crimes over the past 30 years, and deaths from strangulation in King County have been roughly halved. Between 1980 and 1989, an average of nearly 29 women were killed by homicidal violence per year, and 25 percent of them died by strangulation, according to Harruff. After the passage of the federal Violence Against Women Act in 1994 — which recognized the severity of crimes associated with domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking, and provided funding for prosecution — the female homicide rate and strangulation deaths both declined dramatically, Harruff said. From 2010 to 2016, the average number of female homicide victims in the county had dropped to roughly 14 per year, with 12 percent resulting from strangulation, he said. “If you want to control your woman, you strangle her. If you want to kill her, you shoot her,” said Harruff, noting women are far more likely to be shot, stabbed or beaten to death by an intimate partner than killed by strangulation. Harruff believes the state law that elevated strangulation to felony assault also has had a direct impact on lowering homicides, since abusers are often prosecuted before they can kill. He and Martin are working on a study they will present to the American Academy of Forensic Sciences in February. By analyzing 848 King County homicide cases involving females killed from 1978 through 2016, they are attempting to measure whether a history of strangulation is a significant contributor to an eventual homicide. They believe it is. What happens In domestic-violence cases, manual strangulation — the use of hands, forearms or both to compress someone’s jugular veins, carotid arteries, airway or all three — is more common than ligature strangulation, in which an object like a phone cord, belt or bed sheet is used. A victim who is strangled can lose consciousness in a few seconds, stop breathing in less than two minutes and die in three to five minutes. While an average male handshake has been measured at between 80 and 100 pounds of pressure per square inch, it takes only four to seven pounds of pressure to compress the jugular veins, which carry deoxygenated blood from the head to the heart, and twice that amount of pressure to compress the carotid arteries, which carry oxygenated blood from the heart to the head, according to Harruff and Strack. Compressing someone’s airway requires about 30 pounds of pressure. Cerebral hypoxia — a reduced oxygen supply to the brain — is the essential injury involved in strangulation. “The first part of the brain sensitive to lack of oxygen is the hippocampus, which is responsible for recording and filing information. The first thing that will go is your memory,” Strack said. Half of strangulation victims won’t have any visible injuries. Those that do could have bruises, scratches, fingernail impressions and petechiae, which are pinpoint hemorrhages that occur on the skin and eyes when blood is trapped too long in the jugular veins, causing tiny blood vessels to break. Even victims who don’t lose consciousness may suffer brain damage, since it doesn’t take long for oxygen-starved brain cells to die. “You’re not able to throw somebody into an MRI or do a CAT scan to see the damage,” Martin said. But forensic exams by trained SANE nurses are incredibly valuable, because symptoms like a raspy voice, difficulty swallowing, or memory loss can be documented along with a victim’s history of assaults, he said, pointing to a program launched in 2012 by the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office in Arizona to document evidence of strangulation. There, he said, strangulation victims do receive forensic exams. “I hope we’ll one day make that happen here,” said Martin. Remembering a victim When Harruff was recognized in 2006 by the King County Coalition Against Domestic Violence — now called the Coalition Ending Gender Based Violence — for his work on strangulation, he dedicated the award to the memory of Barber, the woman who died in the fire after she had been strangled by her boyfriend, Isaiah Ashley. Barber, a Montana native, moved to Seattle seven months before her death and was trying to make her way in the world, said Martin, the deputy prosecutor. He recalled phone conversations with Barber’s mother and the raw anguish of her loved ones who addressed the judge during Ashley’s sentencing hearing. Ashley pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and spent 13 years in prison before his release in February 2014. As of last year, Ashley, now 37, appeared to be living in Spokane, court records show. “It was just an enormous tragedy, and it’s hard on a certain level to think he’s out now,” Martin said.Every developer type person who has worked on the IBM i, or its predecessors, has had to use the Copy File command, CPYF, to copy data from one file to another. Most have rarely used more that the first screen's parameters, thereby missing a way to make the command execute faster. For small files the difference is negligible, but in a file of several 100,000 records or more the method I describe below will make a noticeable difference. I have to thank Stu Haddock for reminding me of this. It is all down to the value of the FROMRCD parameter of the CPYF command. The default for the FROMRCD parameter is START, which means that you want to start copying the data from the start of the file. You can also enter from which record you wish to copy. If I enter "1", to indicate that I want to start copying from the first records. I would expect that to be the same as the FROMRCD(START). But it is not. If I am copying a keyed file: FROMRCD(START) - The records are copied in keyed order. - The records are copied in keyed order. FROMRCD(1) - The records are copied in arrival sequence, in other words the order the records are in the file, and not in keyed order. But does this really make a difference? I created a file called BIGFILE that contained eight fields. The first field, FLD1, is a packed field and is the file's only key field. I was not going to do much of a test if the records were number sequentially, so I wrote a program to write 1 million records to the file and FLD1 contains a random number generated by the CEERAN0 API. If you are not familiar with this API or with generating random numbers you should read the post Generating random numbers. I created three programs: The first used CPYF with FROMRCD(START) : CPYF FROMFILE(MYLIB/BIGFILE) + TOFILE(QTEMP/@BIGFILE) MBROPT(ADD) The second used CPYF with FROMRCD(1) : CPYF FROMFILE(MYLIB/BIGFILE) + TOFILE(QTEMP/@BIGFILE) MBROPT(ADD) + FROMRCD(1) And the third program used CPYF with FROMRCD(1) and control blocking. To learn about how to use control blocking see Using control blocking to improve database performance. OVRDBF FILE(BIGFILE) TOFILE(MYLIB/BIGFILE) + OVRSCOPE(JOB) SEQONLY(YES BUF256KB) OVRDBF FILE(@BIGFILE) TOFILE(QTEMP/@BIGFILE) + OVRSCOPE(JOB) SEQONLY(YES BUF256KB) CPYF FROMFILE(MYLIB/BIGFILE) + TOFILE(QTEMP/@BIGFILE) MBROPT(ADD) + FROMRCD(1) I ran this on an IBM i where I was the only user signed on. Each program was submitted ten times to a "single threaded" job queue in the order of program 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, etc. The time taken for each CPYF was calculated in seconds, and the average for each type of copy file. Type of copy Average seconds FROMRCD(START) 36.0 FROMRCD(1) 15.2 FROMRCD(1) with control blocking 13.6 The FROMRCD(1) took less than half the time it took the FROMRCD(START) to complete. Using control blocking made the CPYF even faster completing in 38% of the time it takes using the FROMRCD(START) to finish. Next time you have to copy a large file you should use control blocking and FROMRCD(1) rather than just the CPYF command's defaults. Do note that the FROMRCD parameter can only be used with Physical file and SQL tables, not with Logical files. What happens if you want to use selection criteria? See here. You can learn more about the CPYF command on the IBM web site here. This article was written for IBM i 7.2, and should work for earlier releases too.According to NASA, 97 percent of actively publishing climate scientists agree that global warming is due to human activities. Despite this fact, Donald Trump advisor and total non-scientist Anthony Scaramucci compared climate change to the idea that the world is flat on the CNN program New Day. The topic came up after the show’s host, Chris Cuomo, asked Scaramucci why Trump’s transition team has asked the Department of Energy for the names of individuals working in the department on climate change. Scaramucci evaded the question, choosing instead to explain that Trump’s team doesn’t want climate change to be “ideologically based” and that maybe 97 percent of scientists have gotten climate change wrong. “There was an overwhelming science that the Earth was flat, and there was an overwhelming science that we were the center of the world,” Scaramucci said. “We get a lot of things wrong in the scientific community.” But comparing climate change to the beliefs of flat-earth truthers like B.o.B and Tila Tequila is an inaccurate and very bad analogy, reminiscent of the time Ted Cruz compared “global warming alarmists” to Galileo. To equate a scientific reality like climate change to the disproved theory that the world is flat not only compares fact to fiction but gives a semblance of credibility to the idea that the world is flat. Despite what conspiracy theorists believe, we know that the Earth is not disc-shaped with discrete edges, and we know the sun does not zoom around it in orbit. Galileo, Cruz’s scapegoat, supported the idea that the Earth rotated around the sun way back in 1543. We have photographic evidence that the world is round from ISS astronauts. Ships disappear on the horizon, star constellations are in different regions around the world, and the sun illuminates areas on Earth at different times. The Earth is not flat. INVERSE LOOT DEALS Meet the Pod The first bed that learns the perfect temperature for your sleep, and dynamically warms or cools according to your needs. Buy Now Meanwhile, there are numerous pieces of evidence that mankind has exacerbated climate change. Furthermore, Scaramucci’s claim that climate change science is swung by ideology betrays his very own party. While there is skepticism concerning climate change, one in ten Republicans say they deeply care about climate issues, and the majority of Republicans believe scientists should have a part in shaping climate policy. Climate change science isn’t like the idea that the world is flat, but saying so is very much like the attitude that caused the 16th-century clerics to punish Galileo for saying that it is round.Transfer Market Agent rubbishes claims that striker will renew Napoli deal Atletico Madrid have received a timely boost in their pursuit of Diego Simeone's attacking target, Gonzalo Higuain. Corriere Dello Sport reported last Friday that the man who struck 36 times in Serie A last season would be renewing his contract at Napoli until 2020, which would have ended the Champions League runners-up's hopes of signing the man Simeone feels can be the final piece of the puzzle. But on Wednesday, the player's brother and agent Nicolas took to the airwaves, telling Radio Continental that these reports had been wide of the mark. His brother said that Higuain had arrived in 2013 under the promise of regular Champions League football and league title success. Though Neapolitans returned to Europe's premier competition with a group stage exit in 2013/14, and the pre-tournament play-offs a year later, they have failed to dislodge a dominant Juventus side as the kings of Italy. Should the club not find a buyer willing to meet president Aurelio De Laurentiis' insistence on the player's €94 million release clause being met, then the agent insisted the number nine will be happy to let his current two-year deal run down, while maintaining that the attacker will not let up in performing for the Serie A side. But, with the player two years shy of his 30th birthday having enjoyed the season of his life, there may never be a better time to cash-in and the hope now for Atletico is that De Laurentiis will settle for a handsome profit on the former Real Madrid man that clocks in some way below that exorbitant figure.This article was written to show you some of the best self-improvement techniques that’ll help you change your life. It’s no secret that self-improvement is strongly linked with success. By taking measures to improve yourself, you’re also improving the likelihood of being successful in life. Whether this means your career, your relationships, or something else, your life always benefits taking measures to developing yourself. 11 Self-Improvement Techniques That’ll Change Your Life The techniques listed below, are simple things you can do to start improving your life for the better. It’s amazing how much of a difference these can make to your happiness, success, and sense of fulfillment. Here are 11 self-improvement techniques that’ll change your life: 1. Practicing Gratitude Daily Believe it or not, practicing what seems to be the lost art of gratitude can boost your overall happiness. Nowadays, we’re really not grateful enough for all the awesome stuff we have access to in life. I recently wrote an article that stated how much happier people were in poorer countries, than over here in the likes of the UK and US. Funny how that works, isn’t it? You’ll probably find that if you take a few minutes everyday to practice gratitude, you’ll complain a lot less about the small things in life. Here’s what to do: Find a suitable moment during your day, where you’re sitting in a cafe, taking a walk, or driving your car. In that moment, take a second to really enjoy and appreciate what you’re doing Whether it be sipping that cup of coffee, enjoying a view, or travelling at 60MPH down a country road, just appreciate how great it truly is 2. Hitting the Gym Every Other Day I used to hate going to the gym and working out… However, I’m at a point now where if I don’t go for a few days, I feel sluggish, run down, and weak. I’m actually addicted to feeling sore after a workout. It’s that feeling that shows me my body’s not decaying. If you hit the gym at least 4 times a week, you get a serious energy boost for the days you’re not working out. It feels fantastic. Plus, you know… hitting the gym is good for your health, helps you achieve your dream body, gain confidence, and attract more people into your life. …Can’t leave out those awesome benefits. 3. Stop Watching the News I hate watching the news. I won’t often read newspapers, or turn on any news channels on the TV. Why? It’s depressing. Let’s be honest. It sucks you in and makes you feel negative about the world you’re living in right now. Nobody wants that. That doesn’t encourage positivity. Sure, there’s a lot of bad s*t that goes on in the world. We all know that, and it seems like 2016 hasn’t been the best of years. Our hearts will always go out to the victims of such situations that get plastered all over the news. However, you sitting there becoming depressed isn’t going to do any good. Maybe give the news a rest for a while, and see what happens. 4. Asking For Help When It’s Needed Sorry, but you can’t do everything on your own in life. Doesn’t matter what aspect of life it is, you can’t do it all alone. There are going to be times when you need help. In terms of the blogging aspect, I ask for help all the time. If I have questions, I’m not afraid to ask people. I’ve asked advice on everything you could think of, from SEO companies, on design, social media management – and everything else in between! In fact, the list of companies that give me all the aid I need is endless… Don’t be afraid to ask or search for help when you need it! 5. Acting Out of Want, Rather than Worry This is one of the biggest self-improvement techniques I know. And it’s to simply start acting out of want, instead of worry. What I mean by this is simple… So often in life we worry; about small things, about big things. We worry all the time. So what happens, is we begin to take action out of worry, and forget about what we really want. We settle for an average job, because we’re worried about going after the dream job and not getting it. We worry about people rejecting us, so we only go after people we think are the safe options. We want to go travelling, but we’re worried it’ll be dangerous, so we don’t. Or we avoid the places we’d absolutely love to visit. Sound familiar? Yep, well… just stop it! Forget your worries. Act on what you want. 6. Banning Excuses From Your Life You probably give yourself at least 3 or 4 excuses a day as to why you can’t do something. My guess is they revolve around the following: I’m too young or too old I’m too tired I’m not smart enough I have no money I have no time It’s impossible Do you realize how ridiculous these all sound? Go and ask someone successful how ridiculous these excuses are. I always tell people to try 30 days without making any excuses. Zero whatsoever. You just do whatever it is you said you ere going to do. And then take a look back at those 30 days and see how much more you got done. 7. Questioning the Normal Sometimes it seems silly to question the normal way of doing things. Don’t you think? I mean, all these people have been doing something the same way for years and years because of several reasons. Why would we question that? Nobody else does, it’s just accepted as the normal way of life. I read an article the other day, about a large company who’s just scrapped the degree requirement to work for them, because, and I quote, “there’s no proof going to university increases your success.” Sometimes it’s important to question the normal way of doing things. In fact, that’s how so many of the famous individuals we all know today came to our attention. By doing the opposite to what’s expected, and being successful at doing so. 8. Building A Positive Environment Around You For a positive life, you need to surround yourself with positivity and encouragement! There’s a speech I listened to the other day, and the gist of it went a little like this; “If you run a race with people that aren’t as good as you, yeah you’ll win; but if you run a race with people that are better than you, you might come in last, but your time will be better.” Surrounding yourself with positive and like-minded people pushes you harder than usual. So even if you think you’re being productive in comparison to the people you’re currently hanging around with, you might be able to do so much more when you make yourself the weakest link in a circle of friends. 9. Stop Chasing People & Money We’re probably all guilty at one stage of our lives or another, of chasing both people and money. Sometimes you chase people thinking you like them, more than you actually do. And you chase money thinking that being rich and having all this cool stuff will make you happy. When you find out that’s not the case, which hopefully you do one day, your attention becomes focused on your dream and nothing else. And being focused on a dream eventually leads to attracting the people and money, rather than wasting time chasing them. 10. Taking Care of Your Health Taking care of your health isn’t just good for the core reasons such as being free from diseases/illness and living longer. The daily benefits people experience from being healthy are: More energy Less risk of depression Less stress Higher concentration and focus Higher levels of happiness It’s important to take care of your health; and even if you’re young, and you’re not ‘bothered’ about all these illnesses that tend to affect the older generation, don’t forget about all the other benefits of eating healthy whilst you’re young and you’re body’s strong. 11. Thinking, Believing & Acting Big All three rolled up into one pile of awesomeness! If you can begin to think big, believe big, and act big, then you’re heading towards great things in life. It’s not an easy mindset to get into, but once you do, doors start opening. If you haven’t read the book; ‘The Magic of Thinking Big‘, definitely pick up a copy when you can. Quite frankly, this book is the reason why I think big, believe big and act big. This is the last, yet not the least, of the 11 self-improvement techniques on this list that’ll change your life. Summary Now that we’re at the end of this article, here’s a short recap on the 11 self-improvement techniques I’ve mentioned above:
for signing Cronk. He's given his all to that club and would have his nose a little out of joint at playing second fiddle to Cronk. But I won't be waiting at Sydney Airport with a contract in hand when he arrives back from his US holiday. Mitch is a bloke who needs his space. He doesn't need me bending his ear and telling him what he should do. But if he decides he wants out of the Roosters, the Sharks will pick up the phone and express their interest. The No.7 has copped plenty of stick over his career, particularly over his performances at Origin level. https://images.performgroup.com/di/library/sportal_com_au/6/c8/mitchell-pearce_7ezydz2tfwln1kruqteksu11x.jpg?t=1135916013&w=500&quality=80 I think a lot of it has been unjustified. Mitchell has been up against the best game managers we've probably ever seen - Cronk, Thurston, Smith and Lockyer. Sure, he could have done better in a few of those games - he'd be the first to admit it - but any Origin loss doesn't just come down to one player. Mitchell Pearce is a quality player and quality bloke and we'd love him at Cronulla - but only if he's after a fresh start. I'M STICKING STRONG WITH MY RLWC PREDICTION They might make me eat my words but I'm sticking to my pre-World Cup prediction and declaring Tonga won't make it the final. My old mate Andrew Fifita won't be happy with me for saying that, but I think the men in red will bow out at the hands of England at the semi-final stage. I love what Tonga's brought to the tournament - the colour, the passion, the ad-lib footy - and I cheered them home against New Zealand. They will beat Lebanon in the quarter-finals but I think the Poms will be too structured and have just a little bit too much class for them when we get down to the last four. It's an England-Australia final for mine.Your browser does not support iframes. They might need to fumigate the building, at least before the Giants play there next. A 34-0 loss to the Niners was one of the worst home defeats in Jets history, a toxic mix of injury (Santonio Holmes) and insult. We’ll add more reaction as the night goes along. Share your thoughts; sometimes it helps to vent. Brian Bassett of the Jets Blog: This game was an absolute embarrassment to watch. While the Jets were not expected by most to win the game, it was such an overall poor showing by the team that it basically validated everything people said last week after their “win” in Miami. The Jets defense looked cookie dough soft yet again, and their inability on offense to do anything had me masochistically wishing for the days of Brian Schottenheimer. It wasn’t so much that the Jets lost, it was how they lost. Rich Cimini, ESPN New York: The perfect storm is occurring before our very eyes: Poor quarterback play. Poor coaching by offensive coordinator Tony Sparano. And poor planning by GM Mike Tannenbaum, who constructed an offense with serious limitations. They can’t run, can’t pass, can’t do anything. Coach Rex Ryan said: “I was going to say we got our butt kicked, but really, we got our ass kicked. There’s no two ways, ins or outs about it. “Here’s the recipe for getting your ass kicked, all right: 2 for 13 on third down. That’s 15 percent. Four turnovers. A blocked punt when they rush one guy. And giving up 245 yards rushing. How’s that for a recipe?” #Sanchez joins Gabbert, Tebow, Troy Smith and Derek Anderson as only QBs with 3 straight starts with <50% cmp% since 2009. — Chase Stuart (@fbgchase) 30 Sep 12The result is a document that, whether by intent or simple necessity, looks a lot more like Mulvaney’s proposal than Trump’s. “This definitely is a Mulvaney budget,” said former Representative David Jolly, a Florida Republican who has frequently criticized Trump since leaving Congress in January. “No question, because I don’t believe the president understands the finer details of what he himself is submitting to the Congress. But a Mulvaney budget will never pass the Senate.” It probably won’t pass the House, either. Republicans in the majority ignored White House budget proposals when they came from former President Barack Obama, and they might give barely more consideration to Trump’s. “The president proposes, and the Congress disposes,” reminded Representative Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania. While the House and Senate must agree on a budget as a procedural first step for Republican legislative priorities like tax reform, it’s not a bill that goes to Trump for his signature or veto. House Republicans are drafting their own budget, and in the past, their proposals have been more aggressive in cutting entitlement programs while taking less of an ax to domestic discretionary spending. The Freedom Caucus proposals that Mulvaney has helped to write usually cut both, and they never came close to passing. Trump did leave his imprint on the budget in a few key areas where Mulvaney otherwise would have diverged. He already insisted on requesting a significant increase in defense spending (which became $54 billion) and a downpayment on funding for his border wall, which Congress ignored in an initial spending fight this spring. The budget includes $25 billion over 10 years for a new paid family leave initiative, an Ivanka Trump priority. It “supports” the president’s pledge of $1 trillion for infrastructure, although the amount of direct federal spending requested is merely a fraction of that total. And Trump instructed Mulvaney to steer clear of cutting Medicare and Social Security benefits. “I made the case for why those programs should be reformed, and the president said ‘No, I'm going to keep my promises,’” Mulvaney told reporters, recounting a conversation he had with Trump in the Oval Office. The budget director said he had presented Trump with a checklist of programs he wanted to cut, and Medicare and Social Security were the only ones he rejected. Mulvaney then asked the president, he said, if he still wanted a budget that erased the deficit within a decade. “‘I still want you to balance the budget. Just don't do through changing these programs,’” he replied, in Mulvaney’s telling. “And we were able to do it.” Mulvaney’s account, however, gives himself a bit too much credit. Trump had also promised not to cut Medicaid, the program that provides health care for the poor and the disabled. But the budget assumes the passage of the American Health Care Act, which slashes more than $800 billion from Medicaid over a decade. And although the proposal does not touch what Mulvaney referred to as “mainline” Social Security—benefits for elderly Americans—it does reduce funding for the Social Security disability fund. The budget also cuts other safety-net programs, including the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and it adds restrictions for food stamps, the Earned Income Tax Credit, and the Child Tax Credit.1. Smith has consumed the Matrix, and thanks to the Oracle, threatens the Machine City and Zion. 2. Neo travels to the Machine City and strikes a peace deal with Deus ex Machina, "God from the Machine." 3. Neo fights Smith in a battle that can never end. 4. With a clue planted by the Oracle, Neo realizes satori and surrenders to Smith. 5. Lana Wachowski explains (from the video game The Matrix: Path of Neo): What happens to Neo is a culmination of many choices in the final battle, and also the entire trilogy. This is not a short answer.from the video game. (see #5 if you want to jump right to it).Let's outline the major plot points; this builds up from the obvious to the amazing:an Exile, she is still attached to the Machine Mainframe. She had a choice to escape Smith, but she didn't.Smith has already discovered how to download himself to the physical world. He possessed the body of Bane, and could download himself to every other person connected to the Matrix. Smith can also download himself into the Oracle's "body" - the Machine Mainframe.By allowing Smith to consume her, the Oracle gambles the entire Machine race. After consuming them, Smith can use the sentinels to utterly destroy Zion. Everyone faces extinction.He meets the Deus Ex Machina, literally "God from the Machine." Terrible to behold, with a baby face made of thousands of swirling microbots, the DEM is reminiscent of Ezekiel's visions of heaven. The DEM is also arrogant and defensive, but the Oracle's gamble has forced the DEM to agree to peace terms between Zion and the Machines if Neo defeats Smith.As one gains power, the other rises to match. Neo can never conquer Smith through force, and vice versa. This final battle repeats the same images again and again: Smith and Neo hit each other with equal force, causing equal damage. If Neo gains the upper-hand over Smith, Smith recovers and turns the tables on Neo, then the other way around, on and on, presumably forever. The only way Neo can win is to stop fighting.An interesting aside: the "falling green code" that the Matrix is so famous, the inspiration for so many screensavers in the early 2000s, was originally designed to allude to the heavy rain in this scene, even before the first movie was finished. This suggests that the Matrix is literally weeping code under the strain of Smith.of the entire trilogy, not so much the flashy stuff that follows.Far from being some corny line of dialog, this is the culmination of everything the Oracle has done for Neo - all of her riddles, her tests, all the errands she has sent Neo on and the strange beings he met along the way. When the Oracle first said this line, Neo understood, but at this final moment Neo comprehends deep within his gut - heit.Neo had already experienced Smith's conversion process inand said it felt like dying. But Neo has already survived death, so he understands he can survive this as well. "Neo stands on the verge of satori, ready to resolve the parodox of choice and choicelessness, free will versus fate, but that can only be achieved through an act of surrender, which occurs after an abandonment of the perspectile nature of truth, accepting the totality of present consciousness which ultimately allows an evolutionary transition, transcending the Cartesian Dilemma through emergence of de-limited spirit which then provides the world with a third path, the Path of Neo, the path of peace." Paradox of Choice, Free Will vs Fate: Neo is the One because of his choices, yet he could not have succeeded without external forces, such as his friends and enemies, influencing his path. The debate of Free Will vs Fate is a paradox because both sides are correct. Neo is the One because of his choices, yet he could not have succeeded without external forces, such as his friends and enemies, influencing his path. The debate of Free Will vs Fate is a paradox because both sides are correct. Abandoning the Perspectile nature of Truth: A major theme of the entire trilogy, Neo recognizes that he knows so little despite all of his powers. Yet again, Neo must abandon what he thinks to be absolute truth in order to grow. A major theme of the entire trilogy, Neo recognizes that he knows so little despite all of his powers. Yet again, Neo must abandon what he thinks to be absolute truth in order to grow. Transcending the Cartesian Dilemma: aka, Descartes' Mind/Body dualism. Although we are each a single individual, our minds and our bodies seem to exist in two separate worlds which operate on separate rules. The dilemma is unifying the two, made possible by transcending the duality entirely. aka, Descartes' Mind/Body dualism. Although we are each a single individual, our minds and our bodies seem to exist in two separate worlds which operate on separate rules. The dilemma is unifying the two, made possible by transcending the duality entirely. Accepting the Totality of present consciousness: Whatever our minds resist grows to overwhelm us. We must accept dualities and paradoxes or risk being fixated on them. Neo must accept Smith's rage and negativity as fighting Smith only makes him stronger. Whatever our minds resist grows to overwhelm us. We must accept dualities and paradoxes or risk being fixated on them. Neo must accept Smith's rage and negativity as fighting Smith only makes him stronger. An act of surrender: This very phrase is a paradox - an act of actionlessness. Surrender is a shunned concept in Western culture, a sign of weakness. Yet in Eastern philosophy, surrender is the answer to duality and paradox. It is not weakness because you choose to surrender. By letting these conflicts rage on in our minds, they quiet down. This very phrase is a paradox - an act of actionlessness. Surrender is a shunned concept in Western culture, a sign of weakness. Yet in Eastern philosophy, surrender is the answer to duality and paradox. It is not weakness because you to surrender. By letting these conflicts rage on in our minds, they quiet down. On the verge of Satori: Satori is an ecstatic self-realization, when you realize a truth with more than just your mind, but your heart and your experiences as well. A truth that pierces you to your very soul. Neo realizes that as long as he resists Smith, their fight will continue forever. If Neo wants peace, he must surrender to Smith. The act of surrender, with Smith's blackness sweeping over him, is the moment of Satori. Satori is an ecstatic self-realization, when you realize a truth with more than just your mind, but your heart and your experiences as well. A truth that pierces you to your very soul. Neo realizes that as long as he resists Smith, their fight will continue forever. If Neo wants peace, he must surrender to Smith. The act of surrender, with Smith's blackness sweeping over him, is the moment of Satori. Evolutionary transition through emergence of de-limited spirit: Instead of dying, Neo's consciousness grows beyond the limits of his body to inhabit the Matrix. 6. The transcendence of Neo & Smith replicates to each copy of Smith, saving every person in the Matrix. 7. The Matrix is reloaded for the 7th time, and the mind experiences Sati. There is a lot of Eastern philosophy going on here. Let's break this down:What I find interesting is that Smith/Oracle (the copy of Smith possessing the Oracle) is what sends the giant shock wave through the Matrix. The Oracle is much, much more powerful than Neo.Forget what you've read on the Internet about women throwing themselves on fires.is a buddhist concept for the ecstatic feeling one gets after achieving enlightenment. Thus as the sun rises over a new era in the Matrix, Sati has created a beautiful effect in honor of Neo. The light of the Matrix has lost its subtle green tint and is replaced with a full white spectrum.Neo is honored by the Machines and carried away, with faint suggestions that his body is incorruptible (will not decay after death). His mind and spirit have likely transcended into the Matrix, covering it like a guardian angel or holy ghost. We can never know for sure because of the "perspectile nature of truth."By Robert Romano As evidenced by the outcomes of both the Virginia gubernatorial race and the Alabama Senate special election, no matter what, Democrat voters are going to be extremely motivated in 2018 to take back Congress. In Virginia, Ralph Northam beat Ed Gillespie by 234,000 votes, and by turning out 71 percent the amount of those who voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016. Republicans comparatively only turned out 66 percent the amount of those who voted for Donald Trump. To have won in Virginia, the GOP would have had to turn out nearly 80 percent of every person voted for Trump. There, suburban turnout for Gillespie was high, but in rural areas, it was depressed. In Alabama, Doug Jones beat Roy Moore by a little less than 21,000 votes, and by turning out 92 percent the amount of those who voted for Hillary Clinton. That is uncanny. The GOP only turned out 49 percent of the amount of those who voted for Trump. It stands the reason, then, that a good number of Jones voters were actually cross-over voters. According to exit polls, 8 percent of Republicans who showed up in Alabama voted for Jones, while only 2 percent of Democrats voted for Moore. Jones also won independents 51 percent to 43 percent. The seat could have been saved with just 51 percent of those who voted for Trump. And enough did show up, but too many of them voted for Jones. Here, just the opposite phenomenon was in effect as in Virginia, suburban turnout for Moore was depressed while rural turnout was relatively elevated. In both races, Democrats were highly motivated to turn out, and overall Republican turnout was depressed because it was divided. Every election is a turnout affair, and the side that maximizes their turnout stands the best chance of winning. Democrats, lacking majorities in the House and the Senate, plus having lost the 2016 presidential election, have to do very little to motivate their side. They will call the 2018 races referenda on the GOP agenda, on the Trump agenda, whatever they need to sew the narrative for November. The truth is, Democrats could say almost anything, because, again, being completely out of power, their supporters are frothing at the mouth to create a check against Republican rule. The message will be whatever wins the A/B split test. That is because the current environment Republicans find themselves in is subject to an entirely predictable political cycle. The White House incumbent party tends to lose House seats in midterm elections 89 percent of the time dating back a century, with losses averaging 35 seats. The exceptions were 1934, 1998 and 2002. As a result, no matter what, it is a near certainty that Republicans will lose seats in the House, and there is a significant likelihood they will lose the majority if the losses are merely the average 35 seats from past cycles. Republicans only have a 21-seat majority at the moment. On the Senate side, things are a little bit rosier. Nine seats up for election were in states that Trump carried in 2016: Florida, Indiana, Missouri, Montana, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. However, if not even the Alabama Senate seat is safe, the Senate is very much in play in 2018. In addition to attempting to pick up seats, Republicans have to also defend seats in Arizona, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming. Certainly, then, losing the Jeff Sessions Senate seat in Alabama is a wake-up call for the Republican Party. The question is whether the GOP will take the wrong message from Virginia and Alabama, and enter into a panicked, every-man-for-himself, self-defeating attitude. Or whether they will hold their ranks whilst they maintain their majorities. For, this is no time to panic. Instead, it is time for Republicans to rally to President Trump and the agenda that won the election in 2016. That is, cut taxes, repeal Obamacare, appoint conservative judges, get better trade deals, slash regulations, curb illegal immigration and build the southern border wall. Also, no bad deals on DACA amnesty. The wall is not enough; chain migration has to be ended. So far, Republicans have not been all that impressive in the Congressional majority, and have thus far failed to pass a major agenda item via legislation, missing a once in a generation opportunity. Republicans have only had the White House, House, and Senate trifecta two other times since the Great Depression, in 1953-54 and 2003-06. The GOP should also carefully analyze what made 1934, 1998 and 2002 exceptional. Those were the exceptions to the rule where the White House incumbent party actually picked up seats in the midterms. Two were existential events — the Great Depression and 9/11 — which had dramatically altered the political landscape nationally. The first had Republicans being brought to the point of extinction, as the party got all of the political blame for the pervasive high unemployment of the 1930s depression. The second, the al Qaeda attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, brought a new atmosphere to Washington, D.C. Congress voted to authorize military force in Afghanistan in 2001 and again in Iraq in 2002. The election became a referendum on the war on terror broadly and specifically the votes on the Iraq war authorization, which many Democrats voted for, maximized Republican enthusiasm in the election and depressed Democrat turnout. Democrat attempts to stall legislation creating the Department of Homeland Security also played a role, with the GOP deftly portraying Democrats as obstructionists. Specifically, in 2002, Republicans turned out 74 percent of the amount of those who voted for then-President George W. Bush in 2000. Democrats only turned out 66 percent of their base that voted for Al Gore. 1998 was when Independent Counsel Ken Starr was running around and Republicans were about ready to dial up impeachment charges on then-President Bill Clinton. During that cycle, Republicans only turned out 68 percent of their base. Democrats only turned out 66 percent, but being roughly equal, they still managed to pick up 5 seats. In fact, it wasn’t even that Democrats had rallied to Clinton — their turnout was sufficiently depressed — it was that Republicans failed to get sufficiently motivated, or were turned off by the ongoing efforts to remove Clinton from office rather than governing. If 2018 could have any corollaries to past episodes where the White House incumbent party actually picked up seats or at least did not lose the majority, it might be to 1998. This time, Democrats are whispering of impeachment, obsessed with Special Counsel Robert Mueller investigation into supposed Trump-Russia collusion in the 2016 election, and not addressing the issues of the American people. So, how might Republicans change their fortunes? Besides enacting their agenda while they still have majorities — which is absolutely necessary and a no-brainer to motivate their base and to prove they are concerned with governing — they should turn their sights on the absolute politicization of the Justice Department, the FBI and the Special Counsel under Democrats. The DNC and the Hillary Clinton campaign paid for the Fusion GPS-Christopher Steele dossier. Top Justice Department and FBI officials were tied to this dossier, which was presumably used to initiate a high-level national security investigation into the opposition party in an election year. And then, after they lost, they doubled down to tear down the incoming president, to destroy the new administration and to overturn the result of the election with trumped up, fake charges of being foreign agents. So, Trump and the Congressional Republicans should make them pay. Big-time. Let it all out. The depth of the political corruption at the Justice Department and even at the National Security Council and the intelligence agencies that tried to interfere in the elections, help Democrats win and when that failed, to prosecute Trump officials. Clean house. Leave no stone unturned. Make sure everyone knows who was responsible. Demotions won’t cut it. People need to fired, and those engaged in misconduct, prosecuted. If public trust is not restored, the long-term consequences for the country could be cataclysmic. We cannot have two rules of law, one for Democrats where nobody is held accountable for their crimes, and one where Republicans are held accountable for crimes that were not even committed. Hold up Section 702 reauthorization of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. And in the meantime, push for real reforms at these departments and agencies to prevent such political surveillance and abuses from ever occurring again. Appeal to a bipartisan sensibility against the dangers of politicization of intelligence and law enforcement, and the more Democrats fight it, the worse it will become for them. As the crimes that were committed in the latter days of the become clear to the American people, Democrats in Congress running interference will become a part of the problem that needs solving in the minds of voters, particularly Republican voters, who can become united by the issue, thus altering the political landscape. It’s time to deliver the counter punch and to turn the tables. To be effective in 2018, Republicans need to unite their party and give them a reason to be excited, as excited as Democrats currently are, and then give their opponents on the margins enough of a reason to stay home. Then, upon reflection, Republican efforts to govern on the issues of real importance to Americans, that is, lower taxes, getting rid of as much of Obamacare as possible, less regulation, more jobs, law and order and secure borders, stand a chance of minimizing the damage in 2018. Then they can say, while Democrats were wasting time breaking the law looking for Boris, Natasha and the Russians at Trump Tower, President Trump and Republicans in Congress were working on behalf of the American people who elected them in 2016 to keep them safe and get the economy moving again. There is no tomorrow. It’s time to govern. Robert Romano is the Vice President of Public Policy at Americans for Limited Government.You can't throw a stone these days without cracking the faceplate on some fancy virtual reality headset. The technology we've been lusting after for so long is about to hit the mainstream in a major way, with big releases arriving in the next year from Facebook's Oculus, Sony, and Samsung. Running parallel to this trend is the world of augmented reality, where virtual images are layered onto what you're seeing in the real world. Google and Microsoft have made major bets on this technology with Magic Leap and HoloLens. But while all those titans of technology are working to perfect a version of this technology that will appeal to the average consumer, startups are already putting it into practice with industrial customers. Daqri is an augmented reality (AR) company based out of Los Angeles. It has developed an AR headset and the software which powers it. Technicians wearing its unit out in the field can see additional information, get step-by-step instructions, and easily relay what they are seeing to a support team connected remotely to their headset. Getting step-by-step instructions layered on top of the real world The application is not very different from what Google set out to achieve with Glass, which offered features like turn-by-turn directions through its mapping service and live streaming your point of view to friends on a Hangout. Luckily for Daqri, the average worker in an industrial factory is far less concerned with fashion and privacy, the two issues which really tripped up Glass. The visor looks pretty normal attached to a hardhat, although you've still got to remember that it might make people uncomfortable if you wear it into the bathroom. Daqri started working on this technology before a big market for the final product existed. It's managed to convince several large corporations to experiment with its headset and hopes to parlay that into hard data about increased productivity it can use as a sales pitch to a much broader segment of customers. Daqri hasn't yet built a consistently profitable business, but as a pioneer in a crowded field, it's acquiring very valuable real-world experience that much larger players in tech might want to acquire.I hate solo queue. I absolutely loathe it. I've played a lot of video games in my time, but nothing has rustled my jimmies more than ranked League of Legends. Each game is a new level of pain in the inferno. Between the trolls, the feeders, and the skill level of low ELO, I find myself unhappy with League of Legends after a long day of losing. That's when I began to think: why should I play this game if it's not fun? The thought was quickly followed by a realization. Games should be fun. The solution to the problem was clear, so I cleared myself of rage and decided to enjoy playing again. This all started by losing all day, but it all changed when I played with LaRazza late one night. Every game, last pick. I tossed serious mode out the window to have fun. Unconventional supports all night. That's all we ran, and boy was it fun. Not only was I helping my team by filling in, but it was enjoyable as well. fun on the left, serious on the right There is a lesson to be learned here. You are more likely to win when you are having fun. After all, video games are made to be enjoyable, so you might as well have fun and let the wins come. To remove anger, you could: - Listen to music. Your favorite music makes you happy. So why not sing a couple of tunes while playing video games? Pandora and iTunes are perfect to listen to when playing! I will admit to starting the Call Me Maybe chorus in all chat. 99% of other players join in the fun. Seriously, you'd be surprised how good a stupid and silly pop song will improve your mood. -Take a break between games. The shortest 5 minute break can be the difference between you exploding or genuinely enjoying a game. You won't always get good teams, so after a miserable game, give the trolls from the last game some time to re -queue so they are not on your team again! - Look at pictures of adorable animals on the internet. The internet holds a plethora of adorable kittens, puppies, ducks, and every other animal you can make up. Google "precious puppies" or "cuddly kittens" to be awwing in no time. Alternatively, you can visit http://www.reddit.com/r/aww/ for an ever updating source of cute pictures. - Revisit your game play to see what you can do better. Teammates are not always at fault for losses. Even you are not infallible. Reflect on what you did well, and what you failed it. There's always time for improvement! A tool to help record games can be found at http://www.leaguereplays.com/. - Take a nap. Ever question why parents make their kids take naps when they are screaming and crying? It's because naps help alleviate stress. I have never gone to sleep angry and woken up angry. Especially over something as small as game rage. Take a nap, get refreshed, and game some more! - Play with a friend. Duo queue shares the suffering. Also, it lessens the chance that you will have a lesser skilled player on your team. Count on your friends to help you! The best way to escape ELO Hell is with a friend, plus since you will have someone with you, both good times and bad will be shared, reducing anger all around. - Go outside. 5 minute walks outside are amazing. Look at how beautiful the world is. Enjoy nature. When you're done, sit at your computer, shut the blinds, and remember why you stay inside to play video games all day. Remember: the HF in GL;HF means have fun, so do it!Time management is one of the hardest skills for people to manage on their own. Although some lucky people are able to manage their time efficiently, most people need a lot of practice to acquire it. The good news is that with the current state of technological development, becoming organized could not be any easier. Related: 5 Apps That Increase Your Productivity Thanks to faster hardware and more intuitive software, being productive is literally automated and one of the hottest computer technologies on the market right now are tablet devices like the iPad and Google Nexus. Below are some examples that show how tablets can be used for increasing productivity and organization. Productivity usually depends on many factors; such as the working atmosphere, the actual time spent working and the ability to make sound decisions. These tasks can be completed in a timely manner with the assistance of tablets. Employees can use tablets at work and at home, plus use it to gather information or prepare for an important meeting. Its portability also allows people to choose comfortable places where they feel relaxed where they can work from – all of which can be beneficial for productivity and work progress. Being connected to the Internet has its advantages. For example, E-mails can act like a pager, being able to receive messages from work any time, making sure you get important information on the go. This is crucial in niches where every new moment brings in important information, the financial markets for example. With tablets, being able to stay connected and organized has never been easier. Nowadays, most of the software a company uses – from personal messengers and web clients to special accounting applications – can be accessed as a mobile or tablet app. This means that an employee can access their account from practically everywhere and get in contact with customers and co-workers, complete important tasks, socialize or just check whether everything goes as planned. This is a big deal relating to productivity, because it makes being able to complete tasks from work with the help of new technologies. A few apps that can really help you take your tablet to new heights are: There are also a number of mobile apps that help you manage your time and organize your work. You can download various calendar apps that use numerous interfaces to present information in the way you prefer. Alarm clocks and reminders are there to help you remember important meetings or appointments. Many special time management apps can divide your time (if that is what you need) in time periods and detect how many hours you work and the period of your rest. With special safe-box programs, you are able to securely keep all your credit/debit cards or other information ready to operate with. For those of us who have always found it hard to be disciplined workers and to organize time properly, tablets come in handy. They have become our watchdogs and help us to reduce our procrastinations, or to just have all of our information in one place, ready to access it and work with it all the time. Tablets are definitely a great tool to increase productivity and develop self-organizing habits. That being said, it’s best to combine your usage of technology with self-discipline and planning. Here is a neat infographic titled “7 Day Plan to Stay Productive” that may help you get started: Related Posts Hump Day Treat: 5 Quick Tips For Better Productivity 5 Ways To Make More Time At The Office 3 Steps To Genuine Productivity At Work Photo Credit: ShutterstockJoe Miller: 'There should not be' a federal minimum wage By Matt DeLong In an interview with ABC News and Politico, tea party-backed Alaska GOP Senate candidate Joe Miller stood by some of his most controversial positions and added a new one to the list -- he opposes the federal minimum wage that has existed in the United States since 1938. "That is clearly up to the states," Miller said. "The state of Alaska has a minimum wage which is higher than the federal level because our state leaders have made that determination. The minimum level again should be the state's decision." So there should not be a federal minimum wage? "There should not be," Miller answered. "That is not within the scope of the powers that are given to the federal government." Miller also defended his opposition to federal unemployment insurance. "It still makes far more sense to have those kinds of decisions made at the level closest to the people, where there is more accountability, less inefficiency, where there is more understanding of where the people ought to be and what the state role of government is," Miller said. "If you like big government, move to Massachusetts." Recent polling shows Miller is in a tight race with Sen. Lisa Murkowski -- whom he upset in the GOP primary and is now mounting a write-in bid -- and Democrat Scott McAdams. McAdams announced Saturday that he has raised $650,000 since the Aug. 24 primary, while Miller has taken in $450,000 online since Murkowski announced her write-in candidacy in September. In the new ABC/Politico interview, Miller confirmed that he plans to move his family to Washington if he wins. Watch:My friends know that I appreciate candor, and that I can be frank to a fault. I don’t tolerate it well when everyone in the room is desperately trying to ignore the proverbial eight-hundred pound gorilla sitting in the corner. Author Sherry Weddell does not tolerate this well either. And she would like us – “active” and presumably committed Catholics, lay, religious, consecrated and clergy – to focus on one rather large gorilla sitting in the corner of our contemporary Church: the reality that a disturbingly large proportion of Church-going Catholics fail to live as disciples of Jesus – as intentional disciples. That message is at the heart of a sorely needed reality check she provides in her new book, Forming Intentional Disciples: the Path to Knowing and Following Jesus. She begins by sharing some disturbing statistics she has extrapolated from her own analysis of a 2008 study by the Pew Research Center. Among them: • Only 30 percent of Americans raised Catholic are still “practicing” (which in the survey meant “attending Mass at least once a month”). • Another 38 percent hang on to the Catholic label – cultural Catholics – but seldom or never attend Mass. • The other 32 percent no longer consider themselves Catholic. Of these, 3 percent follow a non-Christian religion, 14 percent consider themselves "unaffiliated," and 15% have joined a Protestant faith community. Weddell observes: “[W]e have asked hundreds of diocesan and parish leaders from sixty dioceses throughout the English-speaking world this question: What percentage of your parishioners, would you estimate, are intentional disciples? To our astonishment, we have received the same answer over and over: ‘Five percent.’” More troubling still is her discovery – after working with hundreds of parishes, and personally interviewing a couple thousand practicing Catholics, most of whom described themselves as “active” and “heavily involved” in their parishes – that many of them have tremendous gaps in their understanding of the faith. They might be in Church every Sunday: ushers, lectors, parish secretaries, religious ed teachers and so on. Yet Weddell not infrequently discovered many who – upon sharing with her their own experience of the faith – did not believe in the divinity of Jesus, or who intimated that that they don't even believe in a personal God at all! Her personal experience in these one-on-one encounters seems to confirm one of the most disturbing implications of the Pew study. Weddell explains: “It is especially sobering to learn that when Pew surveyors asked the question, ‘Which comes closest to your view of God: God is a person with whom people can have a relationship, or God is an impersonal force?’ only 48 percent of Catholics were absolutely certain that the God they believed in was a God with whom they could have a personal relationship.” This is tragic. But this is the reality on the ground in today’s Catholic Church. And we should be thankful to Sherry Weddell for forcing the issue, and presenting a clear strategy to bring these brothers and sisters of ours to a personal relationship with
left the airport. Shields was scheduled to fly later that day, but never made the flight and has not been seen since. Her phone and wallet were found at her apartment. The grisly discovery was made along the rocky coast on the west side of the jail by Department of Correction staffers, a source said. The cause and manner of death are pending further studies. PIX11's Dan Mannarino and Myles Miller contributed to this report.DeepMind Health, the division of the Google-owned AI company that’s focused on building links to healthcare providers to drive the application of machine learning algorithms for preventative medicine, has inked a fresh data-sharing agreement with the NHS Royal Free Hospital Trust in London. The new data-sharing arrangement extends until at least 2021. It’s the second agreement signed between the pair — and it supersedes their original agreement inked last year, which ran into controversy after a freedom of information request by New Scientist revealed the volume of patient identifiable medical data (PID) flowing from the Royal Free to DeepMind, and raised questions about whether NHS information governance principles were being correctly followed. The data in question was being used to power an app called Streams, built by DeepMind but using an NHS algorithm to generate alerts on patients at risk of Acute Kidney Injury (AKI). At the time the collaboration was made public, last February, no details were provided about how much PID was being shared between DeepMind and the NHS — leading to huge consternation when the scope of the arrangement emerged. The U.K.’s data watchdog, the ICO, began investigating complaints about the data-sharing agreement. The Streams app also ran into trouble when it was revealed DeepMind and the Royal Free had not registered it as a medical device with the oversight body, the MHRA, despite piloting the app in the Royal Free’s hospitals. The MHRA had not been approached prior to starting tests of the app. The pair subsequently suspended use of Streams in the hospitals. But they’re now announcing plans to restart the project — and, evidently, to try to reset it onto a firmer information governance footing. Above all this is an attempt to improve the tarnished public image of DeepMind’s inaugural push into preventative healthcare by trying to secure patient trust — to, ultimately, grease the future funnel for more data flows from the NHS to DeepMind. The point is, healthcare-related AI needs very high-quality data sets to nurture the kind of smarts DeepMind is hoping to be able to build. And the publicly funded NHS has both a wealth of such data and a pressing need to reduce costs — incentivizing it to accept the offer of “free” development work and wide-ranging partnerships with DeepMind (which has several other projects on the go with other NHS Trusts). DeepMind and the Royal Free confirmed today that the Streams app has now been registered as a medical device with the MHRA, and said it is ready to be deployed in the Royal Free’s hospitals from early next year. “Following prototype testing, as well as registration with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), this first version of Streams is ready to be deployed to clinicians across the Royal Free hospital sites early in 2017. It is expected to result in an immediate improvement in AKI-related patient safety and outcomes,” they write in a press release about what they describe as the “next phase” of their collaboration. There also looks to be a broadening of the scope, with the PR talking about expanding the app’s remit to cover early detection of sepsis and organ failure, as well as AKI. “The ultimate version of the Streams app will alert doctors and nurses to patients who need their attention in seconds rather than hours, reducing the number of patients who deteriorate in hospital without a clinician being aware,” they write, adding: “Streams will be extended beyond AKI to help care for patients with other serious conditions including sepsis and organ failure. At least ten thousand people a year die in UK hospitals through entirely preventable causes, and some 40% of patients could avoid being admitted to intensive care, if the right clinician was able to take the right action sooner.” On the information governance front, among the noteworthy developments are: A commitment from DeepMind/Royal Free to publish “the key agreements underpinning this partnership,” including the master services agreement (covering the partnership as a whole) and information processing agreement (covering how patient data is processed) — although they do not state when these documents will be published. Update: both documents can now be downloaded from DeepMind’s Streams webpage. both documents can now be downloaded from DeepMind’s Streams webpage. A statement that DeepMind’s software and data centers will undergo what they describe as “deep technical audits by experts commissioned by [DeepMind’s] Independent Reviewers” (a list of the reviewers can be found here). The introduction of what they describe as “an unprecedented level of data security and audit” pertaining to the data being shared under the arrangement, with data access “logged, and subject to review by the Royal Free as well as DeepMind Health’s nine Independent Reviewers” An intention to develop what they describe as “an unprecedented new infrastructure that will enable ongoing audit by the Royal Free, allowing administrators to easily and continually verify exactly when, where, by whom and for what purpose patient information is accessed.” This is being built by Ben Laurie, co-founder of the OpenSSL project. A commitment that the infrastructure that powers Streams is being built on “state-of-the-art open and interoperable standards,” which they specify will enable the Royal Free to have other developers build new services that integrate more easily with their systems. “This will dramatically reduce the barrier to entry for developers who want to build for the NHS, opening up a wave of innovation — including the potential for the first artificial intelligence-enabled tools, whether developed by DeepMind or others,” they add. They also describe the types of data being shared under the new agreement as “similar” to those being shared in the original agreement — suggesting there has been some rethinking of which types of data are appropriate to share for the AKI use-case (a key criticism of the original arrangement); although it’s not yet clear what those differences are. We’ve asked DeepMind for clarification and will update this story with any response. Commenting in a statement, DeepMind co-founder Mustafa Suleyman said: “Privacy and trust are paramount, and we’re holding ourselves to an unprecedented level of oversight by publishing our agreements publicly and engaging nine respected public figures to scrutinise our work in the public interest.” Despite what is clearly a lot of re-engineering of the presentation and some changes in the structure of DeepMind’s collaboration with a publicly funded and much-beloved National Health Service, many questions remain unanswered — not least the core criticism that the volume of PID being shared without patient consent is questionable, given the pair have always relied on claiming they do not need to obtain patient consent for sharing the data because they say it is being used for what’s termed “direct patient care.” However, direct patient care refers to a direct care relationship between an individual patient and their clinician(s) — whereas some of the patients’ whose data is being shared under the Streams arrangement, so at least initially for the purposes of detecting AKI, will never be in the relevant direct care relationship because they will never develop AKI. Safe to say, the push toward “preventative” healthcare looks to be putting a lot of pressure on the NHS’ traditional information government processes — which are not set up for an era of big-data mining and machine learning-driven “future potential” promises. It remains to be seen whether the U.K.’s National Data Guardian will seek to provide some guidance here (following controversy generated by the original DeepMind/Royal Free data-sharing data, Caldicott has been looking into how data was shared between the pair). But as private sector giants like DeepMind make early bids for valuable public health data sets — for the stated aim of building future healthcare services to sell back in to the NHS etc. — governments and regulators have an equally pressing need to get their heads around the new reality of health data — as both a highly sensitive and personal resource and a commercial-accelerant-in-waiting that could enable the creation of a new generation of digital healthcare products. One thing is certain: Gaining and sustaining patient trust in any such systems will be essential. At the time of writing DeepMind had not responded to requests for an interview.Professors Laroche, Haggren and Skahill of the University of Colorado - Colorado Springs will not allow you to invade their man-made climate change "safe space" and if you don't like it then you can get out. According to The College Fix, that is the response students recently received from the progressive teacher trio after "expressing concern" for their success in a course that refused to debate climate change. The full email from the teachers is posted below but here are a couple of the highlights: "We have received several emails from students expressing concern for their success in our course given their personal perspectives on climate change." “The point of departure for this course is based on the scientific premise that human induced climate change is valid and occurring. We will not, at any time, debate the science of climate change, nor will the ‘other side’ of the climate change debate be taught or discussed in this course. Opening up a debate that 98% of climate scientists unequivocally agree to be a non-debate would detract from the central concerns of environment and health addressed in this course.” “… If you believe this premise to be an issue for you, we respectfully ask that you do not take this course, as there are options within the Humanities program for face to face this semester and online next.” Here is the full email from the professors of HUM 3990 SECOL1 - Master - Special Topics in Humanities: Climate Change (click picture for a larger image.) Would it be inappropriate to share Nasa's findings that Antarctica's ice sheet has actually been growing larger rather than shrinking (see "Another Inconvenient Truth? New NASA Study Finds Antarctica Is Gaining Ice")?OSEN via Naver1. [+3,921, -82] He makes all that on his own ㅋㅋㅋ2. [+3,182, -135] He's making bank in royalties off of his talent in making good music3. [+2,723, -120] I wish he was my dongsaeng...4. [+2,278, -580] What a good career it must be to be a celebrity ㅋㅋㅋ5. [+502, -17] That income estimate was from 2012... and since then, he's released a solo and a new Big Bang album so I'm sure it's much higher now ㅋ Amazing6. [+479, -22] He's making what he earns but it's such a large amount that I'm jealous7. [+439, -21] Wow, he really does make a lot...8. [+411, -14] He could basically make 790 million won just sitting there breathing....1. [+275, -10] His income just exceeds anything you're capable of imagining... would I ever be able to touch that kind of money in my lifetime?2. [+235, -12] Good for him, what am I supposed to make a living out of3. [+184, -9] Ah... fck... jealous...4. [+16, -2] That income was estimated in 2012 so... it's probably higher now...5. [+10, -4] So he can basically sit around doing nothing and still make 800 million won... Basically makes as much as owning two 5 floor buildings in Gangnam. Nevermind the income he makes from CFs, concerts, solo albums, world tours... talk about through the roof.Following the death of AJ Pero in March, the metal band say their 2016 gigs, titled Forty and Fuck It, will be their last Metal act Twisted Sister will pay tribute to their late drummer, AJ Pero, with a series of farewell shows in 2016, the band said on 8 April in a statement. After Pero died of a suspected heart attack in his sleep in March, remaining members Dee Snider, Jay Jay French, Eddie Ojeda, and Mark “The Animal” Mendoza say they have been contemplating the band’s future. Today, the band announced that they would replace Pero with Mike Portnoy (of Dream Theater and Winery Dogs) for two tribute shows. The first will be at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas and the second at The Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, New Jersey. After this, there will be one last tour in 2016 before they call time on performing for good. “Finally, Twisted Sister has made it official that 2016 will formally close the touring chapter of their illustrious and legendary career. The Forty and Fuck It farewell shows celebrates the band’s 40th anniversary with the core lineup of Snider, French, Ojeda and Mendoza,” the band said. “Additionally, fulfilling all concert obligations that have been made for the remainder of 2015 (in several different countries), Twisted Sister want their fans to know all festival dates that they have been advertised as playing will happen.” Jay Jay French formed Twisted Sister in 1972 with a lineup that evolved throughout the years, with Ojeda joining in 1975, Dee Snider in 1976 and Mendoza in 1978. Pero joined Twisted Sister in 1982 and left four years later, rejoining in 1997. He played on six of the group’s seven studio albums, including their biggest hit, 1984’s We’re Not Gonna Take It.My thoughts on Obama’s Nobel are simple. It is all about Israel/Palestine and it is a good thing. It is an effort by the northern Europeans to give Obama political capital to put pressure on Israel. Period. Is it premature? Who cares. The Nobel people are trying to effect history. I hope they are effective. Obama secretly believes what Walt and Mearsheimer and Brzezinski and Carter say. He doesn’t have the political ability to say so. The Israel lobby has him chained to a radiator. The Prize’s political resonance as an Israel/Palestine event can be glimpsed in two media responses yesterday. First, Andrea Mitchell (who is Jewish and married to Alan Greenspan, who said the Iraq war was about oil, which is very misleading) said on NBC Nightly News that the Nobel had been given to controversial figures in the past, including Jimmy Carter. This is an outrageous statement, and a smear. It makes me wonder whether Mitchell is a closet Zionist. (Yes I know, I wonder that about everyone.) Jimmy Carter won the prize, in 2002, partly because of the greatest achievement in peacemaking in the Middle East by the U.S., the Camp David accord of 1978. Yes it sold out the Palestinians, and Carter would make up for that problem through later efforts. Still, it was an international break through. To say he was controversial is pure slimeball reflection of the lobby’s rage at Jimmy Carter for his recent books in support of Palestinian human rights. The second appearance was by David Brooks on NPR’s All Things Considered. I think David Brooks is a wonderful columnist. He’s smart and comfortable and insightful. He also hides the strength of his Jewish attachments. I have never heard him so angry as he was on this occasion. He mocked Obama, saying he should have gotten all five prizes this year, and said the prize was a "travesty." Then words to the effect that no one cares what "five guys in Norway" say about our foreign policy. The use of the street language, "five guys in Norway," from a columnist who is usually more dignified in his prose, was jarring. Brooks said twice that the prize should go to the Iranian dissidents. The Iranian dissidents, who have even less of a track record than Obama (but yes more bravery, a lot of them). Why is Brooks injecting Iran into this, repeatedly? Because he knows this is about pressure on Israel. He wants us to look at the real enemy, Iran. This is a primal struggle in our politics, that the media never cover. It was what the McCain-Obama race was all about, whether we would put any pressure on Israel. Brooks is, as he uncharacteristically admitted some months back, "gooey-eyed" about Israel, a country he has visited a dozen times. This is sorrowfully the essence of the neoconservative engagement in our politics, concern about Israel. And it was this as much as anything that the Nobel committee was recognizing: Obama ran as an antiwar candidate, having struck an anti-Iraq stance in ’02, and defeated two powerful inside pro-war candidates, both of them supported by neocons and their cousins the liberal hawks. That was a revolution in American politics, the end of the neocons. It is slow to be felt here, yes, because the Establishment is still possessed by the likes of David Brooks and Andrea Mitchell.Close A Chinese consumer electronics company has announced that it is "co-recreating" the storied but now defunct Palm brand. There is one problem, though. The company still doesn't know what to do with the new Palm. The announcement was made by TCL, 25th largest maker of consumer electronics in the world, at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. The company has confirmed earlier reports that it has acquired full exclusive rights to use the Palm brand name, trademark, and logo from its previous owner, Hewlett-Packard, which purchased Palm in 2010 but ultimately abandoned all efforts to develop WebOS-based devices a couple of years later. However, TCL has no detailed plans as to what it plans to do with Palm. Instead, the company is hoping that the technological community and Palm's nostalgic fan base, whose heartstrings get a tug at the thought of the Palm Pilot, Pixi and other devices, will think of something for TCL. "Palm was an original pioneer and we want to keep it that way," said TCL George Guo in an interview with PhoneScoop. "We want to attract the people who have ideas on how to revive the brand in a meaningful way." Guo said TCL is looking to crowdsource ideas on new Palm devices, operating systems and apps in an effort to create a new "Palm built by Palm fans." He himself is one of those fans, Guo said, which is why he is well aware of the full value of the legendary Palm brand. "We are interested in the brand because we believe this brand has value," he said. "It was once a very strong brand and there are many fans of this brand around the world, including people at TCL." It is not yet clear how TCL will carry out its plans to reach out to the community, but the company believes the revival of the beloved brand will be the "largest-scale crowdsourced project ever seen in the industry." TCL also has not laid out its plans on how to work out Palm's relationship with Alcatel Onetouch, another smartphone company owned by TCL that is also planning to enter the American market. One thing is clear, though. The new Palm will certainly not use the WebOS platform in its future devices. LG currently owns the rights to WebOS, which now runs on its lineup of smart televisions. "We are open to all ideas, but probably not WebOS," Guo said. TCL said the new Palm will be based in Silicon Valley, right in the very heart of America's technological hub, and will take advantage of the talent located in the area. In other words, TCL will be hiring American engineers and marketers to rebuild Palm while providing full support from its team of 5,000 engineers and a sizeable budget. ⓒ 2018 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.Amal and George Clooney at their 2014 wedding in Venice. (Doesn’t George Alamuddin have a nice ring to it, though?) Photo by Pierre Teyssot/AFP/Getty Images In an interview in July’s InStyle, actress Zoe Saldana revealed that her husband, artist Marco Perego, took her last name, making him Marco Saldana. She was worried that the choice would cause him to be “emasculated” by others, but he replied, “Ah, Zoe, I don’t give a s–t.” Men taking on their wives’ last name is still incredibly unusual. When I put out a call for men who had done it, most who responded had not changed their name to their wife’s, but had hyphenated or invented a whole new name. But a few folks had actually gone all the way. “I’m against women changing their names; the whole idea that a woman’s entire identity somehow changes after a ceremony, and becomes subsumed by her husband’s, is ridiculous,” Deborah Kadish, who is working towards an MPH at the University of Haifa, explained over email. However, her husband, Noam Kadish, a master’s student at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, felt “it was important to have a ‘family’ name” for the sake of their children. She told him that “if it was important to him, he should change his name, and he agreed,” Kadish writes. Tristan Salazar, who works for a union in New York City, agreed with Noam, saying, “It was important to both of us to have the same name. To identify as a family unit in that way.” He thought it was easier to take his wife’s name, however, “because my wife, who is an actor, already had a professional identity under her name.” “My wife intended to keep her surname, whereas I’d wanted to change mine for a while,” explained writer and stay-at-home father Aaron Grunfeld. “I even considered a pen name when I started writing but found it awkward to invent.” The wedding, then, was a chance to do what he had been wanting to do for awhile anyway. Practical considerations dominated the conversation, but at least one respondent, who wanted to remain anonymous, is changing his name to his wife’s for political reasons: “The name change feels like a really legit way to walk the talk.” “I live in the Bay Area,” he adds, “and there are lots of dudes walking around calling themselves feminists whose facade crumbles pretty fast when challenged.” While the male name-changers did meet some resistance from family members, by and large they reported little pushback from friends and acquaintances—although as Kadish pointed out, “that says more about our choice of acquaintances and friends than about society at large.” Living in liberal enclaves does help. Defenders of the practice of naming women after their husbands usually swear up and down that it’s about family cohesion and convenience. I’ve never bought those arguments—my mom and I don’t have the same last name, but no one was ever confused about our relationship to each other. But if family cohesion is paramount, why not change the husband’s name instead of the wife’s? That gets the job done without any implications of sexism. Hyphenating and making up new names are also good solutions, but one does have to admire the elegant simplicity of those who just invert the tradition and call it a day.PHILADELPHIA — The stories make perfect sense now, all these years later, but Gail King felt they were a little bizarre at the time. Other than her son, she wondered, what other two-year-old would sit quietly at the local rink in South St. Paul, Minn., and watch his brother’s entire game, refusing to leave until the Zamboni cleaned the sheet while his peers played with mini-sticks in the hall? What other three-year-old, she thought, would wheel a toy lawnmower beside his father’s and spend entire afternoons pretending to cut the lawn, without giving up halfway through? Or what teenager would seem content chopping wood for hours at the family’s lakeside property? The kind of kid, she learned, who would become an NCAA national champion, an Olympian, and an alternate captain in the NHL before his 24th birthday. “Looking back on them, it’s like, well, he had focus since he was very young,” King says. There’s another tale King tells about her son, Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Justin Faulk: when she first took him skating. It was near the start of summer and Justin was around three years old. He hated the experience so much that King gave up and carried him around the ice instead. When summer ended, King tried once more. This time, Justin suddenly knew how to skate. He didn’t even need the metal skating trainer like all the other kids. For this one, King at least has an explanation. “He used to watch The Mighty Ducks over and over and over, like I don't know how many times a day,” she says. “We laughed and said he learned from watching Mighty Ducks how to skate.” So thanks, Charlie Conway and Adam Banks, for helping to teach the blueliner who is now tracking toward history during his fifth NHL season. With a dozen power play goals scored by the regular schedule’s midway mark—actually, all of them came before Dec. 12, but Faulk hasn’t scored since—he could become the first defenseman ever to eclipse 20 in a single NHL season. The rest of the Hurricanes, for reference, have 10 power play goals combined; Faulk’s 54.5% share of the team-wide total would rank first all-time by a whopping margin. squad in juniors, he was out the door. “She was like, ‘Okay, whatever, haha, funny,’” Faulk recalls. “Then it came and I was like, ‘See ya.’ She said, ‘You weren’t lying to me, huh?’ I said, ‘Nope. Told ya.’” Sitting in the lobby restaurant of the Philadelphia Ritz-Carlton, after practice with the Hurricanes on a road trip in mid-December, Faulk smiles. There’s a brightness about him, casual and mature at the same time. A second round pick (37th) by Carolina in 2010, Faulk is a leader on the league’s third youngest team, both in the locker room and in points (31) and even-strength assists (14). He is serious in his aims but relaxed in his disposition, able to brush aside bad games with sleep or a shower, able to have his four front teeth chipped in half by a best friend’s stick during open hockey and brush it off by saying, “If it wasn’t you, I would’ve punched you in the face.” Together, these traits make Carolina head coach Bill Peters laugh when he says this: “To me, he’s a little bit of an old soul for a 23-year-old.” And make his mother drop her voice when she says this: “Disappointments to a normal kid weren’t really a disappointment to him, because he had a true tragedy. It changes your level. When he was younger and a kid would be crying after they lost, he didn’t understand that. It’s just a game. Why are these little kids crying? Well, he was the same age as them, but he had been through something much worse in life.” Claus Andersen/Bruce Bennett/Getty Images The family property was located along the water in Turtle Lake, Wis., a little over an hour from home in St. Paul. King’s parents used to own the land, but sold to King and Justin’s father and then moved a mile down the lake. Every summer weekend, relatives would pitch tents, park campers and party. It was the spot to be. Dirt bikes. Four-wheelers. Walleyes and muskies. King and Dale Faulk divorced when Justin was young, but the best memories of his father always took place there. That’s all they are, though—memories, grainy like old film footage. One day, when Justin was seven years old, his mother and brother, David, picked him up early from school. “I’ve got to tell you something,” King told her son. That day, David was supposed to have gone fishing at the lake with their dad. It was opening weekend and they wanted a head start. But the trip got canceled when Dale started feeling ill. And when Justin’s grandfather went to check on Dale, they found him unresponsive. At 37 years old, he had suffered a heart attack and died. David, five years older than his brother, took it the hardest, but Justin was still young. “It’s not fully clear,” Faulk says. “I remember the day I was told. But from then on … I mean, I couldn’t tell you how I reacted when I was seven years old.” This part, he knows: The death of his father strengthened the bond with his mother. “We might’ve been forced because of the situation that was happening,” Faulk says, “but I couldn’t ask her for one thing and she says no and I could just run to my dad. She says no, it’s no. That’s the way it is. I’m honoring her answer. I’m sure there’s plenty of people who have grown up with one parent who have dealt with that situation. When you only have one person to lean on, you need them for things.” says. “It was never like you need to play well, you need to do this. As long as we were having fun, that’s what mattered. “Not everything’s perfect, not everything’s the way you want it to be. If things don’t go well, there’s another day to move on, get better. That’s hockey, life, whatever. Learn from things, grow from things. Can’t have what you want, can’t always get what you want. Tough s---, you know?” The next night at Wells Fargo Center, teammate Jeff Skinner poured a hat trick on the Flyers, including the tying goal in the third period, on which Faulk had a secondary assist. But Philly’s Shayne Gostisbehere scored in overtime, giving the Flyers a 4–3 win and interrupting a hot streak that had seen the Hurricanes win four of their past five games. After eight wins in October and November combined, Carolina finished the calendar year with an 8-4-1 record in December and is still only six points out of second place in the clogged middle of the Metropolitan Division. The team is a work in progress, Faulk included. His skating and offensive skills are his strengths, and he’s a workhorse (logging 24-plus minutes per game) with a still untapped defensive upside. “We want him to round out his game and become a guy who’s going to be in the Norris conversation for years to come,” Peters says. “He’s scratching on the surface, a little bit, for sure. He should be a guy who’s talked about. I would think he’ll have a shot to play in the World Cup for the U.S. He’s already been part of the 2014 Olympic team, so if we’re back in the Olympics, I’d think that’s back in his wheelhouse at that stage in his career.” Olympics, though not much. He has become a fixture in the community, partnering with a youth hockey program and launching an initiative to give tickets to the national guard, and was recently selected to his second straight NHL All-Star Game, the only representative of Carolina each time. That type of rapid success, though, might not happen with the Hurricanes, but Faulk believes it eventually will. “Do you want to win now or do you want to win in two years, for 10 years?” he says. “You want to make sure you do it the right way. There’s always urgency to win. But at the same time you want to make sure you’re building something for the future and not sticking with winning today. Put in the work the right way, it’ll get rewarded.” For proof of hope, Faulk points to a statistic he had recently heard, now updated through Carolina's overtime win over Columbus on Jan. 9, the team’s second straight: So far this season, the 11 Hurricanes players aged 23 or younger have accounted for 56.9% of Carolina’s goals, 53.2% of its points, and 61.9% of its first assists. • Hurricanes’ climb in standings fueled by six American defensemen “On D, it’s 23 (Faulk), 18 (Noah Hanifin), 21 (Brett Pesce), 21 (Jacob Slavin), then we’ve got two dinosaurs at 34 (Ron Hainsey), 35 (John-Michael Liles),” Faulk says. "Friends with both of them so I can say it,” he clarifies, then continues. "We’re young and hopefully these players, these young guys can develop. I said this early in the year, someone asked me, ‘Do you think you’ll have a better season than last season?’ I hope, maybe not necessarily right away, but I hope I didn’t reach my peak at 23. If so, hopefully it’s long. If you plateau, hopefully it doesn’t fall down soon. Hopefully you stay there, at a minimum.” He is focused on this. It’s the way he’s always been.Description If you can't read, click on the link at the top of the window, then click again on the picture, you'll end up with his original full size~ I wasn't searching about pyro, I was just wandering on internet and started to see all those details matching, it became very creepy, my heart was like a locomotive xD shame on me...* so I wanted to share, and I don't know if someone already posted all of this discovery. lets debate, tell me your opinion, tell me what you think, if I am wrong somewhere~ at the end of the day, I think Lincoln is alive plugged to the Life Extender Machine, in some Illuminaty conspiracy, where pyro also belongs secretly.And I believe Pyro is Radigan, very very very old, full of vitality, with serious hallucinations, all of this due to Australium.Researchers Christopher J. Ferguson and M. Brent Donnellan took issue with with the research article from Allesandro Gabbiadini et al., entitled “Acting like a Tough Guy: Violent-Sexist Video Games, Identification with Game Characters, Masculine Beliefs, & Empathy for Female Violence Victims”, which was first published on April 13th, 2016. The Italian research report was originally used by various media outlets to claim that violent, sexist video games such as Grand Theft Auto cause gamers to become less empathetic toward female victims. However, Fergurson and Donnellan’s latest report scrutinizes and breaks down some of the factual incongruities with the data. Ferguson and Donnellan’s 14-page re-analysis of Gabbiadini’s report is available in the Journal of Youth and Adolescence and is also available online at Springer Link. Their brief summary of going back over the data revealed that they couldn’t quite seem to find the link between sexism in gaming and a lack of empathy toward women that some of the media had been promulgating, with the abstract briefly mentioning… “We confirmed that there was little evidence for an overall effect of game condition on empathy toward girls or women.” What’s more is that there were problems with the game selected for the original study. GTA: San Andreas and GTA Vice City were selected as the “sexist” games, while Half-Life 1 and Half-Life 2 were selected as the violent but non-sexist games, and Dream Pinball 3D and Q.U.B.E. were selected as the non-violent, non-sexist games. Ferguson and Donnellan had issues with this because they said the games being measured weren’t even, which is true. Dream Pinball 3D isn’t even in the same genre as the other games, and the two Half-Life games are first-person puzzle-shooters where-as GTA is a third-person sandbox game. Additionally, Gabbiadini’s report seemed to skew the way the ages were handled in measuring exposure to “sexist” content in video games. Ferguson notes… “During our reanalysis we found that the groups unexpectedly different significantly in the age of participants Participants in the “sexist” game group were significantly younger than in either the neutral group or violent game group.” There were also issues with the way Gabbiadini et al., also selected an open-world game for the study, in particular GTA. Ferguson believed that using an open-world game where players can choose their activity in the sandbox game, it can distort the perception of sexist content given that players aren’t confined to just one activity… “We also have one reservation about the use of sandbox games such as GTA to expose participants to “sexist” content. Although we agree with Gabbiadini et al. that the GTA series has sexist content, given that players have considerable freedom to shape their own experiences, it is harder to determine the strength of the manipulation on each person and the general flow of the causal arrow. Determining that exposure to sexist content is relatively constant in sexist game conditions may be one challenge for this research field in general.” The conclusion was basically that after the re-analysis they couldn’t agree that some content in games deemed sexist could cause gamers to lose empathy for women. They also argued what is considered “sexist” in games, as some people considering rescuing women in games as “sexist” and some people consider strippers in games as “sexist”. Nevertheless, they feel as if there’s just not enough data to justify the conclusion that sexy women in games will instantly turn gamers into sexists… “our reanalysis joins an increasing body of literature that suggests there may be little link between sexism in games and sexism in real life. However, this perspective does not mean that moral concerns about sexism in games are unimportant. Our concern is that claims about the power of scientific evidence to support moral agendas may backfire, especially when the evidence is equivocal.” Ferguson does warn, however, that the re-analysis of Gabbiadini’s work is not meant to be taken as a be-all, end-all on the discussion and that it also doesn’t address or account for other hot-button topics regarding the social and psychological factors of gaming on gamers, such as addiction. Nevertheless, for now, this new re-analysis joins other reports that so far seem to suggest that playing violent games with sexy avatars won’t turn you into a raging sexist. (Main image courtesy of Heilige Frucht)Alpha & the Omega Roughly 4 years ago a close friend and I we're playing the popular MOBA League of Legends. We had been playing for a while after we had both quit playing Halo competitively. The concept of a MOBA grew on me quickly and enlightened a competitive spark in my that I hadn't had in long while. But for some reason, even being a highly ranked (s1) LoL player with little MOBA experience, the actual gameplay... bored me. So I looked for a different MOBA, something similar to WoW's movement with LoL's design. I googled "Free-to-Play MOBA" -- found SM
waste that way. So the adventurers who had been hired would stay, the extra [Guardsmen], [Hunters], [Healers], and so on would lend their expertise, and a group of Antinium Workers and Soldiers under Anand’s supervision would stay to complete construction work. Everyone else would leave. That suited Erin just fine. She woke up a bit as the cold air blew into her face. But after adjusting her head so she was sheltered by the wagon’s sides, she dozed off. Woke up again. This time Erin saw Liscor in the distance. She blinked around blearily and decided a few more minutes wouldn’t hurt… “Miss Erin? We’re here.” A hand shook Erin gently. She groaned and then opened her eyes. The wagon was parked right next to the hill the inn stood on. Erin looked at Termin, and realized he’d stopped here for her. “Oh, thanks, Termin!” He smiled at her, and dipped his head slightly. “My pleasure.” There was much more to say, but it was too early. Erin got up and woke up the other Horns of Hammerad by yanking the blankets off them. They swore at her—Ceria nearly hit Erin with her skeletal hand before she opened her eyes. But they did get up. It was customary to tip drivers, even if they had been paid. Erin fished around for a coin but Termin waved her away. “Treat me to a meal tonight, miss. You’ll be open? Then I’ll be there.” He gently flapped the reins and Erma and Fox began to plod off. “Bastard. It’s not a minute’s travel up the hill.” Pisces glared at the wagon as it rolled through the snow. Erin glared blearily at him, shivering already despite the blanket she’d draped around her shoulders for extra protection. “That’s a lot of work for his horses. We can walk. Come on.” Silently, the adventurers trudged up the hill after Erin. She pushed open the door to her inn and they practically fell down the steps to the basement. Erin paused only to make sure they had enough blankets. Everyone but Ksmvr was already back asleep. Silently, Erin wandered over to the fireplace and added a few logs that had been piled up next to it. The glowing embers set fire to the wood as she blew carefully at it. The ash made her cough. Erin took a few steps back and stared as the temperature in the common room began to rise. She glanced towards the window. It was still night. But there was light there, too. It would be dawn soon. If she were back home, Erin would have been dead asleep—or going to sleep if she’d pulled another all-nighter playing chess online or studying games. She would have never contemplated anything remotely resembling hard work at this hour, and probably would have slept in till one. “Huh. I guess I’m a morning person now.” Erin smiled, and bowed her head as she shivered and sat at an empty table in her inn. She closed her eyes, but that was a mistake. Yes, if she were back home, she’d be lying in bed with her laptop, covered with blankets as the snow fell outside. Maybe she would be thinking about getting a part-time job, or what college would be like next year. She’d be studying chess or chatting online with a friend and— Memory. It hurt. Erin bit her lip, so hard she nearly punctured skin. She stood up and sighed. Swaying on her feet, Erin frowned. She was still waking up. “…not now. But it’s Christmas time. Time…?” The mumbling attracted attention. Erin heard the creak of someone descending the stairs and saw Lyonette rubbing her eyes as she walked down. The young woman froze when she saw Erin standing in the center of the room, but then she relaxed. “Oh. I thought—” Erin nodded at her. Lyonette silently stumbled down the steps. Both girls stood in the room, staring at each other. Without saying anything, a consensus was reached that it was far too early for anything resembling conversation. Erin sat back down. Then she stood up with a groan and went into the kitchen to prepare food for the masses. Lyonette went outside with a bucket for water. Some things were easiest to do on autopilot. Erin mechanically made crepes in a batter and fried them up. She was munching on a buttery crepe before she properly woke up. The hot food was burning her hands, but it was food so she didn’t care. The sun was coming up. Now Erin could think, she wandered back into the common room, leaving a heap of crepes in a bowl covered with a towel. They could always be reheated, and she had too much work to do to stay in the kitchen. “Time to get to work.” “Huh?” Lyonette paused mid-bite, a piece of crepe halfway towards her mouth. She blinked blearily at Erin. The young woman waved at her [Barmaid]. “I said I’m going to work. A lot. Today’s going to be busy, Lyon. I think you’ll have to stay in the inn most of the time, but I’ll be running around like a chicken with its head cut off.” The young woman sitting at the table nodded. She paused, frowned, and woke up a bit more. Then she thought about what Erin had said. “Do they actually do that?” “What?” “Chickens. Do they really run around when you…I mean, if you…” Lyonette gulped. Erin paused. “Maybe? I dunno, I’ve never actually tried it. It’s just what people say where I come from.” “Oh.” The two girls stared at each other. After a second, Erin coughed. “We don’t do that all the time. It’s just…” “No, I understand.” “Right. Well then…I’m off to the city!” Awkwardly, Erin edged out the door. She came back in to grab a money pouch and fill it with coins. She was feeling the rush of sugar and adrenaline now. She put a smile on her face and fixed it there. “Do we need anything, Lyon? I mean, Lyonette?” “Um. Lyon’s fine I guess. We need some more flour, a few tomatoes if you want to make that ‘cats-up’ stuff, and some salt. I think we’ve got enough for tonight.” “Alright, got it! Oh, and one more thing—” Erin poked her head back through the door. Lyonette looked at her expectantly. “Christmas is coming.” “What’s that?” “It’s a holiday! Everyone’s going to get presents and have fun, so…think of some gifts for people, okay? You’ll have to get presents for uh, two other people. It can be food, something small or fun or anything like that. Just think of something nice to give someone else.” “Okay?” “Thanks! I’ll explain the rest later!” —- It was just a smile, but Erin wore it like a shield. Smiling helped. Smiling made you think the day might not be horrible after all. Not that she thought today would be horrible, but she had a lot to do, and she was going to do it cheerful or she’d kill herself. Or someone. Like the sleepy guardsman at the gate. The Drake on duty just stared at Erin as she stood outside the closed gates. After five minutes he managed to get them open enough for her to slip through. “I have so much to do!” Erin groused to herself as she stomped across the streets of Liscor, trying not to slip on the snow-covered paving stones. There was practically no one up yet, but she found Market Street at least partially occupied. While pedestrians had yet to hit the streets, the shopkeepers were setting up, miserably trying to stay warm while they opened their stalls. Erin found one familiar Gnoll grumbling to herself as she dusted snow off of her counter with a paw. Krshia Silverfang turned before Erin could call out to her. The Gnoll sniffed and smiled as Erin approached her small stall. “Krshia!” The young woman beamed at her. The Gnoll smiled and beckoned Erin closer. They huddled beneath her stall’s flimsy walls from the wind while they chatted. “Erin Solstice. It has been far, far too long since we have spoken properly, yes?” “Yes! How are you doing, Krshia? I know we talked a bit at the party, but there’s so much that has happened!” “Indeed. We must catch up. But first—have you business with me?” “I do! Here—oh wait, I don’t have a list. But I know what I need.” “Hmm. Let me fetch a piece of parchment and charcoal, yes?” Erin chatted with Krshia as the Gnoll wrote down her shopping list and told her it would be delivered to her inn by the end of the day. Erin put a few coins on the table and got three bronze coins in change. Then she took a deep breath and got to the real reason she’d sought Krshia out so early. “Krshia, I know Lyonette’s um…well, I know she did a lot of things while I was gone.” “That is so. Hrm. You say you have done much in Celum while you were away, yes? Well, Lyonette has…also done much here.” Erin peeked up at the tall Gnoll’s face. Krshia’s expression was hard to read, but her ears weren’t flat. That was a good sign. “I know you didn’t want her back in the city. But she came in, didn’t she?” Krshia paused, and her ears did twitch then. But her voice remained level and calm. Or seemingly calm. “She was allowed back in the city by Zel Shivertail, no? What is a Gnoll’s pride before the famous hero of the Antinium Wars? We will do nothing to her, not when the Council is against us.” “I’m sorry. But she came back to—” “Save the child Mrsha. I know. It makes it better, no?” “No. Well, yes. Maybe. But she only did it because of that. She won’t come back otherwise. And I had a chat with her, and…well, she’s sorry and she’ll try to make amends.” “So I have seen. But her debt is large, Erin.” “I know. I just wanted to say that she’s going to try and stay out of the city unless it’s an emergency. And a bit of the money she gets paid—once I actually pay her—will go to you for your shop. It’s not much, but it’s what she can do. What I can do.” Krshia blinked down at Erin. She didn’t immediately reply. Erin shivered. “I know it’s not enough. But she’s trying, okay?” “Hrm. I understand.” Krshia shook her head. She looked tired as she flicked a bit of snow that had dared to land on her counter off onto the ground. “That Human child is odd. Odd, but I see her trying. It is not enough, but it will do. Let us not talk of such things, Erin. You have just returned—again. Let us talk of good matters, or as much good as there is on such cold days.” “Okay.” Erin smiled at Krshia and saw the Gnoll bare her canines in response. After a second, Erin frowned. “Krshia, what’s the Council? That’s the group that rules Liscor, right? Who are they? I’ve never seen them.” The Gnoll shrugged. She glanced hopefully up and down the street, but Erin was her only customer. A few Drakes were starting on one end of the street, but it would be several minutes before they got to her. “The Council is made up of important people in the city. It is a Drake thing. The foremost people sit on it and decide what must be done from time to time.” “Really, who are they?” Another shrug. Krshia frowned a bit as she replied, which made Erin think that Gnolls didn’t get much of a place on the Council. “The head of the Adventurer’s Guild, the foremost [Mage], usually head of the Mage’s Guild…hrm, the Captain of the Watch, Zevara, the head of the Merchant’s Guild…Olesm…” “Olesm!?” “He is chief [Tactician] in the city. He must advise on matters that may be military. He has a voice.” “Wow. I had no idea he was actually that important!” “Well, it is a civilian council. While the army is away they leave such people in charge. You know Liscor’s army is a mercenary one? They are a power unto their own, but they rarely return to the city.” “Huh.” Erin thought about that for a second. Then she stared at Krshia. The Gnoll wasn’t shivering, but she looked miserable, standing in her small stall waiting for customers as the snow fell down again. Miserable. Perhaps it was her stall. It was too small. Erin remembered how it had looked before, how many wares Krshia had had on display. Now… “I’m sorry about your shop. Did I say that before? I’m really sorry about it. I know it was hard—and I’d like to help if I can.” Krshia blinked at Erin and shook her head. “You say it as if it was your fault. It is not.” “But I need to say it. I hired Lyonette, and I know you were upset. It must be so hard—if I can do anything, I will. That’s what friends are for.” The [Shopkeeper] just shook her head. “I must have new wares to sell, and that costs money. To sell I must buy, and I have less coin than I did. My friends in the city and those from my tribe aid me. They lend me coin and I buy and sell with that. It is enough. It is not as if you can give me more business—unless there is something like those hamburgers I may sell?” She looked inquiringly at Erin, but without any real hope. Erin hesitated, and then smiled. “I do have some ideas. Maybe not things I can make, but—I’ll try.” “It is all I ask, yes? But where does this spirit come from?” “I did a lot of thinking. Well, mostly on the wagon ride to Esthelm and back. I think I can help, and not just by giving you a bunch of coin or anything. I just—I want to make sure my friends are doing okay. Which reminds me, where’s Brunkr? I heard he was sick from Klbkch!” Krshia paused. She had been smiling a bit at Erin. Now the smile vanished into the cold. “My nephew? He is poor. He rests in my home, Erin. He will…be better after he gains the courage to do what must be done, I think.” “What’s that?” Krshia looked uncomfortable. She shook her head and glanced around the street. “Better if you see for yourself. I would let him explain or you see, but not say it. Hrr. Perhaps there is time before more come to shop. Would you like to see?” Erin hesitated. Krshia was clearly upset. If she wasn’t saying… “Sure.” It was a quick walk to Krshia’s apartment. Erin opened the door and recognized the cozy home. Nothing much had changed since her last visit, save for what looked like a heap of rugs on Krshia’s couch. Then someone groaned and the pile of rugs turned into Brunkr, wrapped up in blankets as he lay in Krshia’s home. “Brunkr? I have come back, yes? And brought someone to visit.” Krshia spoke quietly to Brunkr. He made no reply. He was lying with the blanket wrapped around his huge frame. Something stank horribly. Erin made a face and suppressed the urge to gag. She peered at Brunkr, but couldn’t see anything, cocooned as he was. “What’s wrong with him?” “Go away, Human.” Brunkr’s voice was muffled but distinct. She saw him roll and then two dark brown eyes glared malevolently at her. “Leave me, Erin Solstice. And take your cursed doombringer far away from me. Leave her yourself unless you wish to end up as I do.” Doombringer? Erin frowned and then realized he meant Mrsha. Krshia frowned at Brunkr. “Nephew! Be silent. Do not blame bad luck on the Mrsha child.” Brunkr ignored his aunt. He sat up with an effort, groaning as his legs slowly unfolded and he shifted the blanket. The smell grew worse. It was the smell of…Erin’s stomach roiled and the crepes threatened to come up. The Gnoll warrior was breathing heavily and sweat was staining his fur as she stared at Krshia. “Is it time to cut it off? Is that why you have come?” “Cut? Cut what off?” Erin blinked at Brunkr. He stared incredulously at her, and then snarled. He tore off the blanket from his frame and thrust his right hand at her. Both Human and Gnoll recoiled. Erin saw yellow dripping pus, oozing around red broken skin covered in horribly stained fur—in an instant she realized where the smell was coming from. The blanket Brunkr had tossed to the floor was also covered in dried yellow gunk. It was horrible. And disgusting. Erin swallowed hard and forced her stomach to stay still. “What’s that? How did you…?” “Your cursed one bit me.” Brunkr snarled at Erin. He cradled his hand, unable to touch it as more yellow pus dripped slowly out of the infected injury on his arm. Erin couldn’t look away from the horrible sight. Whatever Mrsha had done, and Erin vaguely recalled her biting Brunkr only a bit, that small injury had turned into a full-scale infection that had taken over a good portion of Brunkr’s forearm. It was horrible, and clearly not healing. “That’s bad.” Both Brunkr and Krshia stared at Erin. She gulped again. “That’s real bad. Um, Brunkr. Mrsha did this? Have you—I mean, I’m sorry, but she didn’t mean to do that. Have you had that looked at by a [Healer]? Or gotten a healing potion or something? If you need to, I can pay for—” The male Gnoll made a sound of fury and turned away violently. Krshia pulled at Erin’s arm and whispered to her as the two stood by the door. “It is not something curable with a healing potion, and the [Healers] cannot fix such an injury, Erin. Not ones from Liscor—and not ones from Celum, I fear. It is too far infected now. Only magic might save it, and few know healing spells for this.” “Oh. Oh no.” Erin didn’t know what to say. She understood the problem. Maybe Brunkr would be okay in her world, but here a healing potion and [Healer] were the only types of medicine available. And neither one was specialized in fighting diseases or infections. “It is my doom, brought upon me. It will fall on the rest of you as well.” Brunkr stood in a corner, holding his arm, not looking at the other two. He had heard every word they had said with his acute hearing. His arm. It was a ghastly sight, but Erin couldn’t look away for some reason. She kept waiting for Brunkr to turn so she could stare at it again. Her right hand twinged. Erin stared down at it, and remembered a similar sight. She looked at Krshia questioningly. “Back when my hand was all cut up Klbkch gave me a healing potion. It worked, even though it was sort of infected. Are you sure a healing potion—a good one—wouldn’t…?” Krshia shook her head instantly. “Light infections, perhaps. The body will fight it off in the end, yes? So a healing potion makes it faster. But deep rot such as this…no. It will only speed up the infection.” “So what can you do?” Krshia didn’t reply. But she stared at Brunkr and Erin saw the Gnoll’s entire body tense up. Erin went pale. “No. Really?” “He must—” “No! Not yet!” Brunkr’s voice was full of anguish. He bent over his hand, making a sound that was more animal than word. Erin saw Krshia staring at her younger nephew with deep sorrow—but also something cold in her gaze. “It must be soon, nephew. Erin, even she can see your hand is gone, yes?” “No!” “No!” The echo came from Erin’s mouth. Both Gnolls stared at her, Brunkr turning his head to look. Erin was shaking her head. “No, Erin Solstice? But you see his hand. It must go or the rot will consume him as well.” “No, it’s—maybe something can be done. Krshia, let me—I think something can be done.” “Truly?” “Impossible!” Brunkr snapped at Erin, showing his teeth. Erin felt her heart beating faster, but not from fear. She stared at Brunkr’s hand and thought of doctors, hospitals. She had no idea—only a vague recollection of taking tablets and getting shots, but maybe… “Let me try to help, okay? I think I have an idea. I’ll come back—” “Do not lie to me, Human.” Brunkr glared at Erin, seemingly more infuriated by her offer to help than his aunt’s words. Erin held her ground as he stumbled towards her. Brunkr’s voice was slurred by pain and grief, but he was still a warrior of a Gnoll tribe. He towered over her as he glared and Erin saw Krshia staring warily at her nephew. “Humans—hrr. I hear Humans say try and give up in an instant. What can you do that my tribe—my aunt cannot? Can you save my hand? Tell me. If you lie, I will know.” “I can try.” Erin looked Brunkr in the eye. He stared at her. The anger was replaced by dull resignation in an instant. “You will fail, and say you did all you could. Your words are empty.” “I don’t give up that easily. Here.” Erin stepped past Brunkr, to a pile of rags that smelled horrible. She found a bucket of water and washed the rags briskly as Krshia guided Brunkr back to the couch. Erin wrung the cloth and pressed it on Brunkr’s head. The Gnoll groaned and lay back. Erin turned to Krshia and silently the two females left her apartment. “If you can help, I will give all to save his hand. But is it possible?” “I don’t know. I don’t know, Krshia, but I know who I can ask.” “Who?” “Ryoka.” That was all they said on the matter. Back at Krshia’s stall, Erin stood in front of it, feeling heavier than she had when she’d just woken up. She couldn’t get the image of Brunkr’s infected hand out of her head. Krshia seemed equally weighed down, despite Erin’s assurances. She looked so tired. It hurt Erin’s heart. The girl cast around for something, anything that could make the Gnoll feel better, and then remembered one of the things she had decided to do. She put a smile on her face and made it stick by sheer force of will. Lighthearted tone. Erin took a breath and did her best. “I know Brunkr’s in bad shape, but can I tell you about something that’s going to happen a few days from now, Krshia?” “Hm? What is this thing, Erin Solstice?” Krshia eyed Erin as the girl tried to summon the powers of the holiday spirit. She spread her arms. “Christmas! I know you don’t know what that is, but listen. Back where I come from…back from my world, we have a tradition. Every year, in the winter, just before the new year starts, we celebrate Christmas.” “Hrm. The longest day of the year, the winter solstice is yet a few days away. Before this is Christmas, you say? What happens on this day?” “We celebrate. We give each other presents, eat lots of food—oh, and Santa Claus comes to give things to everyone!” The Gnoll just stared at Erin. The girl tried to explain. She got most of the points across, although Krshia still didn’t understand why a fat man would run around with presents and coal to give to everyone. But the Gnoll was smiling when Erin had finished. “So you intend to celebrate this—this day of giving soon?” “Yes! Tomorrow, maybe? Or the day after? I know there’s not a lot of time to get gifts, but we can all try, right? But we have to do it before the new year’s. That’s very important. So…do you want to join in? I’m going to have everyone give gifts to two people so everyone gets presents. We’ll have a huge party at my inn and everything!” Erin held her breath as Krshia thought about the idea. The Gnoll rubbed her face with a furry paw, and then smiled again. “Christmas. Yes, it could be a nice thing to do. And I must give gifts to two others? Whom? Or will it be a surprise?” Erin hesitated. “I think that could get weird. I’ll come up with a list and tell everyone who their people are. I’ll uh, also make sure you don’t get Lyonette and she doesn’t get you. I guess I should keep Klbkch and Zel from being Secret Santas too.” “Hrm. That may be wise, yes.” Krshia bared her teeth in a smile. Erin smiled back. “Okay. I’ve got to go. But I’ll be back. And—I’ll be back.” “I know. Go safely, Erin. And have a merry…Christmas, yes?” “Yeah!” The girl waved and hurried off down the street. Krshia watched her go, and then sighed. The thought of her nephew was like a burden on her, a heavy stone. But somehow, she thought of it differently now. She managed to smile, and perhaps it was that which attracted a middle-aged Drake across the street to Krshia’s stall. The Gnoll smiled wider, and began to talk with the Drake. Perhaps she was only there for a chat, but Krshia thought she could smell an opportunity here. “Hello, Tesha. Have you heard of an interesting Human tradition? No? It is called ‘Christmas’. I tell you because it is coming soon, and you may wish to buy presents if you wish to partake. You see, on Christmas…” —- So much to do, and so little time. Erin was trying to figure out which street to go down when she saw a familiar face and scales in the crowd. She called out at once. “Olesm!” “Erin? I was just going to see if you were back!” The Drake beamed at her. They stopped in the middle of the street, the vapor trails of their conversation floating upwards as they talked and shivered. “How are you, Olesm? We barely talked before—Lyonette says you were a huge help to her while I was gone. Thank you so much!” “Aw, it was nothing—well, actually, it was sort of hard.” Olesm frowned as he nudged Erin. They stood aside to let a grumpy Drake wearing armor and a group of other armed Drakes stomp by. The Drake wearing the most impressive regalia snorted as he saw Erin talking with Olesm. “Humans.” He passed by and Olesm shook his head. “Sorry—what was I saying? Oh yeah, I was happy to help Lyonette. But it’s a good thing she managed to patch things up with the Gnolls so they’d deliver to her. My arms nearly fell off trying to haul all the food she wanted up to the inn every day! I don’t know how you do it!” “You get strong. See?” Erin tried to flex her arm to show Olesm, but all the clothes on her body made that futile. Olesm smiled and then fidgeted. “I don’t suppose you’re free right now, Erin? I’d love to chat with you—I mean, there’s so much I’ve been meaning to show you, and I’d love to play a game if…” Erin sighed and Olesm’s face fell. “I’m sorry, Olesm. But I’m so busy! I have to go to the Mage’s Guild after this, and then…” “I completely understand. I’ll ask again later.” Olesm raised his claws and made to back away. Erin felt a pang as she saw how disappointed he was—and how hard he was trying to hide that fact. “Why don’t you come to the inn after lunch? I’ll definitely have time to talk then. We can play a few games of chess and—oh, I can show you how to play Shogi!” The blue-scaled Drake paused. His tail began to wag hopefully in the snow. “Really? You mean it? I won’t be interrupting?” “I’ll make time. It’s a promise, okay? After lunch. You can make it, right?” “I’ll be there! No problem! Let me just—I’ll have to get my notes, and a bottle of fresh ink—and I can show you all the letters I’ve received. I’ll be there! At your inn, right? Definitely!” Erin smiled as Olesm rushed off, practically jumping for joy. Then she frowned. “After lunch? Gotta go faster, then.” She stomped down the street, searching for the Mage’s Guild. In truth, Erin had never been there, but it wasn’t hard to find the place. There wasn’t a line this early in the day, and the Drake at the counter was clearly bored. He didn’t seem any happier to have to serve anyone, but Erin gave him her best smile anyways. “Hi there, you do messages by spell, right? Can I send a message to…Invrisil? How much would that cost, actually?” The Drake stared at Erin, and grudgingly pointed his claw to a large sign with prices listed right above his head. Erin turned red and stared at them. “Payment is up front. We don’t send packages by magic either; you’ll need to go to a Walled City or another city for that.” The Drake’s voice was testy. Erin nodded a few times. “Got it…not too pricy, huh. Okay, I think I’d like to send a message to my friend! Can I send it now, or do I have to wait?” The Drake pointed to the sign again. “There’s a fee for quick deliveries. Just tell me your friend’s name and I’ll have it addressed to her.” Erin gave him Ryoka’s name, spelling it out for him as he frowned over the odd spelling, grumbling about Human names. Her message was simple, and was written verbatim. “Hey Ryoka, this is Erin! I need help! I just spoke with Krshia—you know she’s got a nephew, Brunkr, right? Well, he’s got an infected hand and I was wondering—okay. Wow. That much? Um, Ryoka, lots of money to send this, so…how to heal infected hand? Also, when are you coming back? Christmas is soon. Come back soon!” After that, Erin had to pay and wait for the [Clerk] to take the letter upstairs to the [Mage] on duty. She got a small receipt and her change—she was paying in gold coins since the Gold-rank adventurers didn’t seem to have smaller denominations. Erin wondered if Ryoka would get the message. She was about to hurry back to her inn when the Drake at the desk suddenly called out after her. “Miss? Miss Human!” She came back to the counter. He was frowning at something that had just shot down a small tube from upstairs. It was a slip of parchment, folded up. He showed it to Erin. “A reply just came back. It seems your friend has already received your message. She is at the Mage’s Guild in Invrisil this moment.” “What?” Erin stared at the [Clerk.] “That’s a weird coincidence.” He didn’t look as astounded as Erin felt. “It happens. Normally we would take in her message with the rest as it comes in, but she paid to send a reply back fast.” “Oh. Well then…can you tell Ryoka I’m here? Or do I have to send another message?” The Drake paused. He looked reluctant to be awake, and more reluctant to have to speak with an uninformed customer, but Erin’s smile wore him down and he decided to be helpful. “Why don’t I send a message requesting a two-way communication between you two?” “Wow. You can do that? Thank you! But will it cost a lot?” The Drake coughed, looking around the empty building. “If you were paying for a mage to be on standby, yes. But it’s clear around here and I know Invrisil has mages to spare…we’ll deliver all your messages sent immediately for an upfront fee, and every message sent afterwards. It’s not cheap, but if you have the gold to spend you can get a reply right away.” “In that case, let’s have a chat!” Erin plonked gold coins on the counter and the Drake sighed only slightly before scribbling down on a bit of parchment. He had to talk to the [Mage] on duty—and then send a message to Invrisil to Ryoka and the people there. But in the end Erin found herself dictating responses to him and waiting for a response as Ryoka got messages back on her end and replied. It was a thousand, no, ten thousand times worse than the most disjointed Skype call. Erin had to dictate a message to the [Clerk] and then wait for as many as ten minutes for a reply. She passed that time chatting with him and introducing the idea of Christmas to his world, but it was still arduous. When all was transcribed and done, the conversation the [Clerk] had written down for Erin read like a chat session, albeit one marked down with ink on parchment. [Erin] – Hi Ryoka! This is Erin! Are you okay? How are things? I’m in Liscor right now! The Horns of Hammerad brought me back! How’s Magnolia doing? What’s up? [Ryoka] – Don’t waste money. What’s this about infection? Describe. How bad; symptoms. Any complications on return? [Erin] – Sorry. No bad things! Met Teriarch—mean! Brunkr has tons of pus—yellow and stinky! Mrsha bit, now whole arm is bad! Krshia says choppy-chop. I say no! How to fix? [Ryoka] – Will talk T later. Brunkr needs antibiotics. Can’t heal with time; penicillin is best bet. Can tell how to make, but too slow. Chop might be only way, but must make sure new wound does not spread. Let me think. Wait for response. The message looked like Ryoka had had to spell out penicillin letter by letter for the poor [Clerk] on duty. Erin had to wait eight minutes for the next response. [Ryoka] – P recipe: needs to let mold grow. If you know origin—poultice. Must grow greenish-blue mold on orange or bread. But must isolate. Not all molds are P obviously. Very difficult; hire O to do it. In meantime, best bet is disinfection and honey. [Erin] – Honey? Really? [Ryoka] – Yes. Honey can have antibiotic if natural. Clean wound thoroughly. Use hot, salt water. Clean area, apply clean dressing. Think germs. Change dressings regularly. Honey must be applied after cleaning. [Erin] – Got it. Will try! And…new thought! What about matches? [Ryoka] – Matches? Why? [Erin] – Christmas! It’s Christmas soon! You must come back with presents! We will have party! Can you take carriage back? Tell Reynold he is invited too! [Ryoka] – Will try. Much to do here. Matches—talk O. Needs P from Periodic Table for striking box. Powdered glass, P…striker. Combine with sulfur and other things for match head. Other ingredients can figure out. Understand? [Erin] – Sort of. I know P from table! [Ryoka] – Red P. Not sure if discovered. See if O knows. May be substitute. For striking box, understand? Can use sandpaper maybe instead. [Erin] – Got it! When coming back? [Ryoka] – Unsure. [Erin] – Come, please! Party is in two days! Come for Christmas! Tell Magnolia she is Scrooge! Ressa is cool. [Ryoka] – Will try. Leaving now. Possibly there had never been such a confusing conversation for any [Clerk] to record. Both girls didn’t bother with grammar when delivering their messages and indeed, the only reason the words were spelled correctly was that the [Mages] couldn’t handle texting slang. Erin left the Drake at the desk with her money pouch lighter, but newfound hope in her heart. She strode out of the guild, muttering to herself and thinking fast. “Penicillin, matches, and honey. I can get Lyonette to help with that, but Ryoka sure knows a lot. If she knows how matches work…hm…I should have asked about…wait, that gives me a great idea!” Erin patted at her pockets, looking for something to write with, and then marched back inside the Mage’s Guild to borrow the [Clerk]’s quill for a second. She ended up going back to Krshia to buy an inkpot and ink. It was hard to scribble on parchment and
irical programme Yesterday Live. Featuring the melody of Abba's hit song Mamma Mia, the parody shows a man who appears to be masquerading as Göranson as he makes an impassioned plea about the imminent threat from the east. "Mamma Mia! They will tear us apart! 7-3! Just like in hockey last year," he sings, referring to Russia's drubbing of Sweden at the 2012 World Championships. The clip, a version of which has been published on YouTube with English subtitles, features a rollicking chorus at first sung by a group of fawning female journalists and later by a set of male dancer/soldiers dressed in tight yellow shorts and blue sleeveless shirts. The video's faux-commander at first suggests that Sweden's only hope of surviving a Russian invasion is to join Nato. He then makes sexist claims about the qualifications of Karin Enström, Sweden's minister of defence. "Our potential is fragile and our Minister of Defence wears a skirt," he sings. But by the end of the video, which also includes references to Ikea, Saab, and duty free alcohol purchases, the satirical Swedish commander has changed his tune about Sweden's suitability for Nato. "If the Russians are strong...we should ask them to protect us from Nato," he suggests. Despite being ridiculed in the sketch, Engström took it all in stride. "Freedom of speech is a good thing, especially in Russia," she told the Aftonbladet newspaper. The Local/dl Follow The Local on TwitterWilliams and Stone write: "Despite the overwhelming evidence that thalidomide caused miscarriages and birth defects, Chemie Grunenthal for years fought to resist paying the necessary compensation required for a lifetime of care - and still does." Thalidomide caused birth defects in around 10,000 children. (photo: PA/AP) The Nazis and Thalidomide: The Worst Drug Scandal of All Time By Roger Williams, Jonathan Stone, The Daily Beast Revelations of their connections with the makers of a deadly drug. he girl's head is flung back, her mouth open in a cry of pain. She doesn't feel anything. She is a bronze sculpture symbolizing the suffering of 10,000 or more children around the world born in the '50s and '60s who did suffer greatly, and still do, as adults. Because their mothers ingested the notorious drug thalidomide, they were born without legs or arms or with foreshortened limbs like The Sick Child cast in bronze. Some were born deaf and blind; some with curved spines, or with heart and brain damage. The over-the-counter tranquilizer was hailed as a wonder drug when released in the late 1950s. Its maker, Chemie Grünenthal, a small German company relatively new to pharmacology, marketed it aggressively in 46 countries with the guarantee that it could be "given with complete safety to pregnant women and nursing mothers without any adverse effect on mother and child." During the four years it was on the market, doctors prescribed it as a nontoxic antidote to morning sickness and sleeplessness-and it sold by the millions. For nearly half a century, the privately owned company was silent and secretive about the epic tragedy it created while earning a vast profit. Even before its release, the wife of an employee gave birth to a baby without ears, but Chemie Grünenthal ignored the warning. Within two years, an estimated million people in West Germany were taking the drug on a daily basis. But by early 1959, reports started to surface that the drug was toxic, with scores of adults suffering from peripheral neuritis damaging the nervous system. As profits kept rolling in, however, Chemie Grünenthal suppressed that information, bribing doctors and pressuring critics and medical journals for years. Even after an Australian doctor connected thalidomide with deformed births in 1961, it took four months for the company to withdraw the drug. By then, it is estimated to have affected 100,000 pregnant women, causing at least 90,000 miscarriages and thousands of deformities to the babies who survived. Despite the overwhelming evidence that thalidomide caused miscarriages and birth defects, Chemie Grünenthal for years fought to resist paying the necessary compensation required for a lifetime of care-and still does. Victims say the company's payments have been derisory and far from enough to pay for the expensive care needed by those severely deformed. In 1970 the company agreed to pay about $28 million into a fund for the victims and was given permanent legal immunity in Germany in return. When money in the fund ran out, the German government made compensation payments, and in 2009 Grünenthal replenished the fund with a one-off endowment of?50 million-about $63 million. (Elsewhere in the world, there are still pending claims and class-action suits.) Beyond monetary restitution, victims and their families had to wait more than five decades for an apology. But on Aug. 31 this year, the company's new CEO, Harald Stock, stepped outside its headquarters in Stolberg to unveil the bronze sculpture of the suffering girl and to apologize to all the victims, heartbroken families, and survivors. His sincerity was manifest. "We ask for forgiveness that for nearly 50 years we didn't find a way of reaching out to you from human being to human being," Stock said. "We ask that you regard our long silence as a sign of the shock that your fate caused in us." With a go-ahead smile and close-shaven head, the Freiburg-born executive had arrived in January 2009, following the retirement of Sebastian Wirtz, the sixth generation to head the family firm. The "we" in his plea for forgiveness referred to the company. But his announcement in Stolberg brought no message from the Wirtz family-or anybody else still living who presided over thalidomide's silent years. And victims were upset because the company's contrition for the severely damaged who need lifelong care is still not matched in the level of compensation. Adding to the dark shadow over the company, it is increasingly clear that, in the immediate postwar years, a rogues' gallery of wanted and convicted Nazis, mass murderers who had practiced their science in notorious death camps, ended up working at Grünenthal, some of them directly involved in the development of thalidomide. What they had to offer was knowledge and skills developed in experiments that no civilized society would ever condone. It was in this company of men, indifferent to suffering and believers in a wretched philosophy that life is cheap, that thalidomide was developed and produced. Stolberg is Wirtz town, a clutch of attractive buildings that sit snug in a green valley around a medieval castle on the eastern outskirts of Aachen in North Rhine-Westphalia. Its prosperous air is due in large part to the family firm founded by Andreas Augustus Wirtz in the 19th century. Devoutly Catholic, the Wirtz family has for decades been the pillar of Aachen society, and their philanthropy has included a new roof on the city's imperial cathedral, built by Charlemagne in 786. Today the company has a global reach, with affiliates in 26 countries. It employs 4,200 people worldwide and has revenues approaching $1.3 billion, mostly from painkillers. Products from its perfume subsidiary, Mäurer & Wirtz, include brands such as 4711 and Tabac, while the Dalli-Werke subsidiary concentrates on household cleaning products. Many who live in the town rely on the company for their livelihood; some have been employed there for many years. Men and women who worked as child slave laborers for the company during World War II carried on clocking in well into middle age, reluctant to speak about the company's past. At the outbreak of war in 1939, the family-owned company was in the hands of Hermann Wirtz, aided by his twin brother, Alfred, an engineer and fellow Nazi party member. The company benefited from Hitler's Aryanization program by reportedly taking over two Jewish-owned companies, one of which made the Tabac range it still sells to this day. At war's end, the business, which until then had focused mostly on soap, perfumes, and cleaning products, found a new direction. In 1946 the Wirtz family set up Chemie Grünenthal, a small-town company that would become a haven for labor-camp scientists and doctors looking for work as it developed drugs desperately needed in the war's aftermath. The fact that former Nazi Party members were recruited by Grünenthal was not altogether surprising. Major American companies such as Standard Oil and Du Pont maintained commercial links with the Nazi regime during the war and afterward recruited former Nazi scientists, too. Among those invited to Stolberg by Hermann Wirtz was Martin Staemmler, a leading proponent of the Nazi "racial hygiene" program. Following Germany's invasion of Poland, he had worked with the SS on its population policy, deciding who should live and who shouldn't. At Grünenthal, he was head of pathology at the time thalidomide was being sold. Another euthanasia enthusiast was Hans Berger-Prinz, who worked with Hitler's personal physician, the handsome Karl Brandt, the lead defendant at the so-called doctors' trial at the Nuremberg war-crimes tribunal. Brandt, Germany's senior medical official during the war, was executed after he was found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity for his involvement in medical experiments and procedures on prisoners and civilians. In 1968, when Grünenthal executives were put on trial and charged with negligent manslaughter and causing grievous bodily harm, deformity, and sickness through the selling of Contergan, the German brand name for thalidomide, Berger-Prinz spoke for the defense. Dr. Ernst-Günther Schenck, portrayed in Downfall, the 2004 film about the last days of Hitler, is the only uniformed Nazi known to have found refuge at Grünenthal, though he was not involved in the thalidomide program. As the inspector of nutrition for the SS, he developed a protein sausage that was tested on 370 prisoners in concentration camps, killing many. He was barred from working as a doctor again in Germany after returning from 10 years as a prisoner of war in the Soviet Union. Grünenthal gave him a job in Aachen. Grünenthal also offered employment to Heinz Baumkötter, an SS hauptsturm-führer, the chief concentration-camp doctor in Mauthausen and Natzweiler-Struthof, and, most notoriously, from 1942 chief medical officer in Sachsenhausen. Sentenced to life imprisonment by the Soviet Union, in 1956 he was, like Schenck, returned to Germany, where he was employed by the Wirtz family at Chemie Grünenthal. Perhaps the best known of Grünenthal's murderous employees was Otto Ambros. He had been one of the four inventors of the nerve gas sarin. Clearly a brilliant chemist, described as charismatic, even charming, he was Hitler's adviser on chemical warfare and had direct access to the führer-and committed crimes on a grand scale. As a senior figure in IG Farben, the giant cartel of chemical and pharmaceutical companies involved in numerous war crimes, he set up a forced labor camp at Dyhernfurth to produce nerve gases before creating the monolithic Auschwitz-Monowitz chemical factory to make synthetic rubber and oil. In 1948 Ambros was found guilty at Nuremberg of mass murder and enslavement and sentenced to eight years in prison. But four years later, he was set free to aid the Cold War research effort, which he did, working for J. Peter Grace, Dow Chemical, and the U.S. Army Chemical Corps. Ambros was the chairman of Grünenthal's advisory committee at the time of the development of thalidomide and was on the board of the company when Contergan was being sold. Having covered up so much of his own past, he could bring his skills to bear in attempts to cover up the trail that led from the production of thalidomide back through its hasty trials to any origins it may have had in the death camps. The central figure at the Grünenthal trial in Aachen was Heinrich Mückter. During the war, his expertise had been anti-typhus work. Outbreaks of the disease in the Army made finding a vaccination a high priority. Because typhus culture cannot live outside a body, it was kept alive by injecting it into prisoners. Once injected with the disease, the prisoners could then be used to try out the vaccines to see if they worked, and Mückter's experiments were reportedly carried out in Auschwitz, Buchenwald, and Grodno as well as at Kraków. Responsible for the deaths of hundreds of prisoners, Mückter was wanted at the end of the war by the Polish authorities, but he was lucky: caught by the Americans, he had the Iron Curtain drawn across his past. And Grünenthal offered him an opportunity to continue his work. As the company's chief scientist and head of research, Mückter was credited with the development of thalidomide, and given that he earned hefty bonuses on the drug, its initial popularity made him very rich. The "chemical brains" behind thalidomide may have been Mückter's mentor, Prof. Werner Schulemann of Bonn University, according to Martin Johnson, a longtime campaigner at Britain's Thalidomide Trust. Schulemann had developed the first synthetic antimalarial drug and carried out human experiments in field hospitals and in the camps. But it was Mückter's work on anti-typhus vaccines trialed in the camps that Johnson believes may provide the link to thalidomide, a line he is pursuing for the book he is writing on the thalidomide story, provisionally titled The Last Nazi War Crime. "I thought I would be ready for publication a long while back," he says, "but new information keeps arriving." Information keeps arriving, but time may be running out in the hunt to find the hard evidence to establish that thalidomide was developed or trialed in the death camps-a hard link that would surely embarrass Grünenthal into finally giving full compensation to its victims around the world. What is clear, though, is that the recent apology is not enough. Trapped for eternity in her bronze confinement, the statue of the sick child is haunting, her silent scream reminding us of the pain of the thalidomide babies.These days, Mr. Greenbaum, his flowing silver mane pulled back into a ponytail, is content to be the official curator of his most famous work. From his cluttered apartment adorned by the requisite gold record on the wall, Mr. Greenbaum runs a Web site called spiritinthesky.com where he posts photos and stories about himself; hawks “Spirit in the Sky” T-shirts, hats, coasters, mouse pads and CDs; and acts as an electronic sounding board for thousands of devotees. Photo “I get e-mails from 9- and 10-year-old kids who say it’s their favorite song,” Mr. Greenbaum said. “I’ve gotten letters from funeral directors telling me that it’s their second-most-requested song to play at memorial services, next to ‘Danny Boy.’ ” Oddly, the tune that’s turned out to be Mr. Greenbaum’s salvation is in part a shout out to Jesus, written and performed by a nice Jewish boy from Massachusetts. As one verse of “Spirit in the Sky” proclaims: Never been a sinner, I never sinned I got a friend in Jesus So you know that when I die He’s gonna set me up with The spirit in the sky Mr. Greenbaum claimed that he has received thousands of e-mail messages and letters about that verse. “A lot of them say, ‘We’re all sinners, we were born sinners, how dare you,’ ” he said. “O.K., so what do I know? ‘Sanford and Son’ was written by Jews and what did they know about being black?” Mr. Greenbaum had a traditional Jewish upbringing. “My parents weren’t Hasidic, but they were almost Orthodox,” Mr. Greenbaum said. Growing up in Malden, Mass., he attended Hebrew school and was bar mitzvahed. His early musical influences were somewhat incongruous: folk, delta blues and jug band music. He played guitar and sang in coffeehouses while attending Boston University, and then moved to Los Angeles in 1965 to form Dr. West’s Medicine Show and Junk Band, sort of a psychedelic jug band. Band members wore face paint and played instruments like the washboard, whiskey jug, kazoo and automobile fender while bathed in colored lights. The group once opened for Sonny and Cher and scored a modest novelty hit in 1966, “The Eggplant That Ate Chicago.” Dr. West broke up shortly after its lone hit, leaving Mr. Greenbaum on his own. “I thought maybe I’d stop the goofiness and go electric,” he recalled. Mr. Greenbaum signed a deal with Erik Jacobsen, a successful producer who had a string of hits with the Lovin’ Spoonful, and began work on his first solo album. Photo One night, while Mr. Greenbaum was watching TV, he happened upon country gospel king Porter Wagoner singing a stirring song about forgiveness and redemption. Mr. Wagoner’s performance sent Mr. Greenbaum scrambling for a notepad. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “I thought, ‘Yeah, I could do that,’ knowing nothing about gospel music,” Mr. Greenbaum remembered. “So I sat down and wrote my own gospel song. It came easy. I wrote the words in 15 minutes.” The song’s first verse set the tone for what would be Mr. Greenbaum’s message for the ages: When I die and they lay me to rest Gonna go to the place that’s the best When I lay me down to die Goin’ up to the spirit in the sky. Newsletter Sign Up Continue reading the main story Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Invalid email address. Please re-enter. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. Sign Up You will receive emails containing news content, updates and promotions from The New York Times. You may opt-out at any time. You agree to receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. Thank you for subscribing. An error has occurred. Please try again later. View all New York Times newsletters. While Mr. Greenbaum wrote the words to “Spirit in the Sky” quickly, the music proved more difficult. Mr. Greenbaum tried a jug band version, a folk rendition and even a delta-blues inspired incarnation, but couldn’t get the sound he wanted. The song began to come together in the studio. To give the tune an authentic gospel feel, the production team brought in the Stovall Sisters, an Oakland-based gospel trio, to sing backing vocals. Mr. Greenbaum ditched his acoustic guitar for a more aggressive-sounding Fender Telecaster that had a raspy fuzz box custom-built into the body of the instrument. The resulting sound was an oddly compelling combination of gospel and hard rock: a clap-along church spiritual featuring a preacher who slides to one knee at the edge of the stage and plays a scorching solo on his Telecaster. (Jack Black, call your agent.) Photo “There was resistance to releasing ‘Spirit in the Sky’ as a single,” Mr. Greenbaum said. “First of all, it was too long. It’s about four minutes. Plus it was so weird. Here’s a Jew singing about Jesus with this fuzz box going ‘brrrrrr.’ That fuzz tone, you can’t get it out of your head. Even to this day, I’ll be walking around and I can hear it somewhere.” In late 1969, Reprise Records finally released “Spirit in the Sky” as a single after two other singles from Mr. Greenbaum’s first solo album tanked. “Spirit in the Sky” became an instant smash worldwide. The song stayed on the Top 40 charts for 14 weeks and was at the time the best-selling single ever for Reprise, a label that included stars like Frank Sinatra and the Kinks. What happened next to Mr. Greenbaum’s career will be familiar to anyone who has ever watched a special on VH1. Mr. Greenbaum’s follow-up singles fizzled, his record company dropped him from the label, his marriage fell apart and the phone stopped ringing. By 1980, Mr. Greenbaum had quit music and was working as a cook in a series of Northern California restaurants. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “I thought, ‘Well, that’s it,’ ” Mr. Greenbaum said. “I was broke, what else could I do? You can’t write another ‘Spirit in the Sky,’ so I’ll do this. I worked my way up from cooking hamburgers to being a sous chef to being a kitchen manager writing menus and cutting meat. I was O.K. with it.” Mr. Greenbaum’s redemption came with a call from Hollywood. The producers of the 1987 film “Maid to Order,” starring Ally Sheedy, decided to include “Spirit in the Sky” on the movie’s soundtrack, which soon led to several other movie and advertising deals, sparking a demand that has remained remarkably steady ever since. Last summer, Nike used “Spirit in the Sky” as the centerpiece of a special 90-second TV commercial. “There are two things we look for in a song,” said Ryan O’Rourke, art director for Wieden & Kennedy, the ad agency based in Portland, Ore., that created the Nike spot. “One is what is the song’s vibe, what’s the feeling it conveys? And second, does the song’s structure fit the structure of the commercial? ‘Spirit in the Sky’ had two really good things going for it. Almost instinctively when you hear that guitar riff, it communicates to you, ‘Get ready, something fun is coming.’ ” Mr. Greenbaum agreed that the reason for the song’s popularity is simple. “It still sounds good,” he said, after listening — yet again — to the paean that both made and ended his career. “It sounds perfect.”WASHINGTON – Capt. Brett DeVries was 150 feet off the ground on a strafing run when the 30 mm gun of his A-10 misfired at the same moment the entire canopy of his aircraft blew off. DeVries, a pilot with the 107th Fighter Squadron of the Michigan Air National Guard was training July 20 with wingman Maj. Shannon Vickers and two other A-10s over Michigan’s Grayling Air Gunnery Range. DeVries was in the middle of his second run when a “donut of gas” enveloped DeVries’ gun and aircraft. At that instant the canopy blew off and exposed the pilot to 325 knot winds. The winds overtook his helmet and slammed into his chest. DeVries’ head was buffeted back and forth as he worked to control the aircraft and climb to a higher altitude. Instinct kicked in and DeVries lowered the seat as far as it would go to offer some protection from the air around him and assess the damage. In an Air Force press release on the accident, both DeVries and Vickers described what happened next. Vickers didn’t see the incident but he saw DeVries start to rapidly climb. Vickers flew to his wingman, coming up underneath the aircraft to assess damage. The blown canopy had damaged the bottom of the aircraft too. Inside the cockpit, DeVries wanted to run through his checklists — but without a canopy it was impossible. “There was paper everywhere. And I was afraid to open up my emergency checklist, because I knew that would just blow away and maybe get sucked into an engine.” The two aircraft began the return to base. Vickers and DeVries ran through options on the route. Could he eject? It was unclear if the damage the gun had done has also damaged the ejection seat. × Fear of missing out? Fear no longer. Be the first to hear about breaking news, as it happens. You'll get alerts delivered directly to your inbox each time something noteworthy happens in the Military community. Thanks for signing up. By giving us your email, you are opting in to our Newsletter: Sign up for the Air Force Times Daily News Roundup Could he land? DeVries pushed down to lower the landing gear with Vickers watching closely. “Gear up!” Vickers shouted over the radio. The A-10‘s nose wheel was hung up — the gun’s damage made a normal landing impossible. DeVries got the gear to retract. There was no other option, DeVries was going to belly-land the plane — no wheels, no canopy. “I just thought, ‘there is no way this is happening right now,’” Vickers said. Air Force pilot lands A-10 with no canopy, no gear A misfire from the Warthog's 30mm gun enveloped the A-10 in smoke, blew the canopy off during training flight, but the skilled pilot landed the plane and was unharmed. As DeVries and Vickers made the 25-minute flight from explosion to runway, the two pilots “talked through every possibility and how he was going to land it.” They had A-10 maintainers from the base on speakerphone too, giving recommendations to the two. DeVries came in shallow and slow, landed centerline and exited the badly damaged Warthog on his own.Download raw source Delivered-To: john.podesta@gmail.com Received: by 10.25.24.194 with SMTP id 63csp2829069lfy; Tue, 27 Jan 2015 17:11:10 -0800 (PST) X-Received: by 10.107.5.79 with SMTP id 76mr1077208iof.15.1422407470049; Tue, 27 Jan 2015 17:11:10 -0800 (PST) Return-Path: <robbymook2015@gmail.com> Received: from mail-ie0-x229.google.com (mail-ie0-x229.google.com. [2607:f8b0:4001:c03::229]) by mx.google.com with ESMTPS id j7si2516281igx.15.2015.01.27.17.11.09 (version=TLSv1 cipher=ECDHE-RSA-RC4-SHA bits=128/128); Tue, 27 Jan 2015 17:11:10 -0800 (PST) Received-SPF: pass (google.com: domain of robbymook2015@gmail.com designates 2607:f8b0:4001:c03::229 as permitted sender) client-ip=2607:f8b0:4001:c03::229; Authentication-Results: mx.google.com; spf=pass (google.com: domain of robbymook2015@gmail.com designates 2607:f8b0:4001:c03::229 as permitted sender) smtp.mail=robbymook2015@gmail.com; dkim=pass header.i=@gmail.com; dmarc=pass (p=NONE dis=NONE) header.from=gmail.com Received: by mail-ie0-x229.google.com with SMTP id rl12so18782264iec.0; Tue, 27 Jan 2015 17:11:09 -0800 (PST) DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=gmail.com; s=20120113; h=mime-version:in-reply-to:references:date:message-id:subject:from:to :cc:content-type; bh=EjXK2J7K9FhXRM6jKSNqQSEKG5V1bL8Ume3adM1YZWg=; b=U3OMrfxbhZmyeOBaq+1tHXkls3YuefEBwNwLfd924g94GoJVJ8UcZKCEJNM/XmOUW6 mlq4Nub6bKdsJfnA7TuaBLPGIMTTLwD4C2Ff12ZlNK/dvMUaSd4YJOlxhIppfNSawGqf Y3gNypsu2VcUtMcytoVmxDL7gYK/Z+Hn/y9U+lV+z3ovMYKOVK0runnRylJ2VJyhhgGc MwxMEVpiFH1+n3P/ZicXVRLWdwMeD2MRYCPuthb0bYvnJhWLSrPPISHBVJ052vi0i+q4 jW3evI9kOaG9LLZdXlFR/q4XhQAzB6PQKEEzWiUHeTBn+kg27pfCRnWvjxpwepYFXndG gSXA== MIME-Version: 1.0 X-Received: by 10.50.254.99 with SMTP id ah3mr893828igd.12.1422407469325; Tue, 27 Jan 2015 17:11:09 -0800 (PST) Received: by 10.64.148.100 with HTTP; Tue, 27 Jan 2015 17:11:09 -0800 (PST) In-Reply-To: <CY1PR0301MB0635B3D3C09EE9702CBA9055DD330@CY1PR0301MB0635.namprd03.prod.outlook.com> References: <CY1PR0301MB063592CD6B060A0F642A3273DD320@CY1PR0301MB0635.namprd03.prod.outlook.com> <CALk44aB+gry9xhOnAS02-akAq5xyVTNP1Wy1VS0UPJqze=5q4A@mail.gmail.com> <CAB5o6ba11z1Bgd1ykN+BkFpr3Pu=UOT2yw2PX1H5Wn3+7rpE9A@mail.gmail.com> <CY1PR0301MB0635B3D3C09EE9702CBA9055DD330@CY1PR0301MB0635.namprd03.prod.outlook.com> Date: Tue, 27 Jan 2015 20:11:09 -0500 Message-ID: <CAB5o6bYB4UtC8EM1Jk3OWTDPMYxyUV8Cz7KxV6SEryh1cw6TVw@mail.gmail.com> Subject: Re: Biden From: Robby Mook <robbymook2015@gmail.com> To: Huma Abedin <huma@hrcoffice.com> CC: Cheryl Mills <cheryl.mills@gmail.com>, John Podesta <john.podesta@gmail.com> Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary=001a1134a90eef6217050dac0b7f --001a1134a90eef6217050dac0b7f Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Yeah...all the more reason to just move forward. I don't want to speak for John, but I believe he was a proponent of moving forward last time we discussed. On Tue, Jan 27, 2015 at 8:07 PM, Huma Abedin <huma@hrcoffice.com> wrote: > Part of our challenge is we are interviewing people in his office and I > am concerned he finds out and additionally feels like we are taking people > from under him. > > > > > > From: Robby Mook [mailto:robbymook2015@gmail.com] > Sent: Tuesday, January 27, 2015 7:51 PM > To: Cheryl Mills > Cc: Huma Abedin; John Podesta > Subject: Re: Biden > > > > My gut is to push forward...I worry the later we wait the more possibility > there is that he'll get offended. I'd rather have it leak and him feel > respected than delay and he feel more pressure to run. > > But I don't know the guy at all... > > > > On Tue, Jan 27, 2015 at 12:17 PM, Cheryl Mills <cheryl.mills@gmail.com> > wrote: > > no objection thought if we could do it later I would > > > > On Tue, Jan 27, 2015 at 10:32 AM, Huma Abedin <huma@hrcoffice.com> wrote: > > Biden's office is saying he can meet next week. > Just confirming you are all still on board with her seeing him knowing it > will leak etc? > > > > > --001a1134a90eef6217050dac0b7f Content-Type: text/html; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable <div dir=3D"ltr">Yeah...all the more reason to just move forward.=C2=A0 I d= on't want to speak for John, but I believe he was a proponent of moving= forward last time we discussed.</div><div class=3D"gmail_extra"><br><div c= lass=3D"gmail_quote">On Tue, Jan 27, 2015 at 8:07 PM, Huma Abedin <span dir= =3D"ltr"><<a href=3D"mailto:huma@hrcoffice.com" target=3D"_blank">huma@h= rcoffice.com</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class=3D"gmail_quote" sty= le=3D"margin:0 0 0.8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"> <div lang=3D"EN-US" link=3D"blue" vlink=3D"purple"> <div> <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><span style=3D"font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Ca= libri",sans-serif;color:#1f497d">Part of our challenge is we are inter= viewing people in his office and I am concerned he finds out and additional= ly feels like we are taking people from under him.<u></u><u></u></span></p> <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><span style=3D"font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Ca= libri",sans-serif;color:#1f497d"><u></u>=C2=A0<u></u></span></p> <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><span style=3D"font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Ca= libri",sans-serif;color:#1f497d"><u></u>=C2=A0<u></u></span></p> <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><b><span style=3D"font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"= ;Calibri",sans-serif">From:</span></b><span style=3D"font-size:11.0pt;= font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"> Robby Mook [mailto:<a href=3D"= mailto:robbymook2015@gmail.com" target=3D"_blank">robbymook2015@gmail.com</= a>] <br> <b>Sent:</b> Tuesday, January 27, 2015 7:51 PM<br> <b>To:</b> Cheryl Mills<br> <b>Cc:</b> Huma Abedin; John Podesta<br> <b>Subject:</b> Re: Biden<u></u><u></u></span></p><div><div class=3D"h5"> <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><u></u>=C2=A0<u></u></p> <div> <p class=3D"MsoNormal">My gut is to push forward...I worry the later we wai= t the more possibility there is that he'll get offended.=C2=A0 I'd = rather have it leak and him feel respected than delay and he feel more pres= sure to run.<u></u><u></u></p> <div> <p class=3D"MsoNormal">But I don't know the guy at all...<u></u><u></u>= </p> </div> </div> <div> <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><u></u>=C2=A0<u></u></p> <div> <p class=3D"MsoNormal">On Tue, Jan 27, 2015 at 12:17 PM, Cheryl Mills <<= a href=3D"mailto:cheryl.mills@gmail.com" target=3D"_blank">cheryl.mills@gma= il.com</a>> wrote:<u></u><u></u></p> <blockquote style=3D"border:none;border-left:solid #cccccc 1.0pt;padding:0i= n 0in 0in 6.0pt;margin-left:4.8pt;margin-right:0in"> <div> <p class=3D"MsoNormal">no objection thought if we could do it later I would= <u></u><u></u></p> </div> <div> <div> <div> <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><u></u>=C2=A0<u></u></p> <div> <p class=3D"MsoNormal">On Tue, Jan 27, 2015 at 10:32 AM, Huma Abedin <<a= href=3D"mailto:huma@hrcoffice.com" target=3D"_blank">huma@hrcoffice.com</a= >> wrote:<u></u><u></u></p> <blockquote style=3D"border:none;border-left:solid #cccccc 1.0pt;padding:0i= n 0in 0in 6.0pt;margin-left:4.8pt;margin-right:0in"> <p class=3D"MsoNormal">Biden's office is saying he can
going to be the director of CIA that gives that order," he said. Brennan said in April he would reject an order to resume waterboarding because the CIA as an "institution needs to endure." Trump later called Brennan's April comments "ridiculous." The former reality show host has said "torture works" and has tried to portray himself as a law-and-order candidate. During a rally on April 20 in Indianapolis he added, "I love it...we should make it much tougher than waterboarding." President Barack Obama banned the use of waterboarding in 2009, calling it torture and thus a violation of international law. A Senate Intelligence Committee report completed in 2014 showed that the waterboarding of three suspected militants detained in secret foreign prisons during the Bush administration was ineffective at producing intelligence on terrorism. Former CIA operatives have told U.S. News that the use of enhanced interrogations techniques like waterboarding reflect how the agency has faced crises of ethics and identity since the end of the Cold War.About This Game WARNING! With this game your dreams can finally come true because you can play as Gabe Newell, the boss of Valve Corporation!This game is divided into two modes, the first it's the steam mode where you can manage and decide what type of game release on steam, what to buy and what to develop (with steam sales included!).In the story mode you can control Gabe Newell in his fight against other companies, talk with his employees and decide the fate of Half Life 3!This game has been designed and conceived by a strange and perverse mind, so, the developer doesn't take any responsibility of possible dreams or hallucinations about GABEN.The game also contains some bugs and easter eggs, created especially to entertain the player, will be adjusted only the bugs that ruin the gaming experience.It is also recently available a DLC for this game called: "GabeN DLC", CLICK HERE for the DLC pageEmail Share +1 1K Shares Amid media reports of clerks refusing to issue marriage licenses to gay couples, Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton said Tuesday the U.S. Supreme Court decision on gay nuptials “needs to be enforced across our country.” Clinton made the remarks during the question-and-answer portion of a town hall meeting in Las Vegas in response to a question from someone who identified as a local LGBT business owner and founding president of the Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce in Nevada. According to a transcript provided by her campaign, the Clinton supporter asked the candidate if she could speak to how she intends to support the LGBT community as president, such as by improving economic equality and creating safe spaces for youth. “I certainly can,” Clinton replied, eliciting applause. “Well, first, as president, I will do everything I can to make sure that marriage equality is enforced. It’s the law of the land and it needs to be enforced across our country.” Clinton offered no details about what this enforcement would look like, but made the comments amid turmoil in some areas around the country on same-sex marriage. Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis continues to withhold marriage licenses to same-sex couples despite a federal court order instructing her to give the documents to all couples regardless of sexual orientation. Meanwhile, a same-sex couple in Texas won $44,000 in a settlement over a lawsuit they filed against Hood County Clerk Katie Lang, who denied them a marriage license on religious grounds. The Washington Blade has placed a call to the Clinton campaign to clarify what enforcement of the marriage equality decision would look like, such as by requiring clerks to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples regardless of religious beliefs. During the town hall, Clinton said immediately after making the comments on marriage that attention should turn to tackling discrimination, saying as a member of the U.S. Senate she co-sponsored the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. “And we have a lot of work to do there,” Clinton said. “There’s just so much continuing discrimination and bias.” ENDA hasn’t been introduced this Congress, but previous versions were restricted to barring workplace discrimination against LGBT people. The legislation has fallen out of favor with some LGBT advocates in favor of a more comprehensive bill. During the town hall, Clinton didn’t mention the Equality Act, legislation pending before Congress that would bar LGBT discrimination in all areas of civil rights law, but she’s endorsed the legislation via Twitter. Clinton also spoke during the town hall at length about issues facing LGBT youth. In remarks that elicited applause from the audience, Clinton noted they face a high rate of homelessness in Las Vegas and elsewhere in the country. “I particularly worry about young people because there is a lot of misunderstanding and even mistreatment still today by families of young people who are LGBT, and they’re hoping to be accepted and they are not, and they find themselves on the street,” Clinton said. “I know you’ve got people in Las Vegas who are homeless on the streets, who are young LGBT people who have had to leave home.” But Clinton said she was prepared to address this issue as president by fighting for more services and visibility for LGBT youth. “So we need more services, we need more support, and we all need to be speaking out in favor of treating these young people with respect and dignity and giving them a chance,” Clinton said. “And I hope that as president, I will not only be able to speak to that, but demonstrate how we do it, and then support laws that will make it easier for a lot of our people, particularly young people.” According to media reports, the atmosphere during the town hall, which was favorable to Clinton, contrasted sharply with a news conference in a gymnasium that followed shortly thereafter in which she defended herself amid continued controversy over use of a personal email address as secretary of state and classified information found on her server. During a testy exchange captured on video with Fox News’ Ed Henry, Clinton shrugged when asked whether she wiped the server, making an ad-homimem joke of “like with a cloth or something?” instead of answering the question. According to Politico, a reporter asked Clinton as she exited the gymnasium if the questions indicate the email controversy won’t go away and will continue to dog her campaign. Clinton reportedly turned around and again shrugged by raising her hands in the air. “Nobody talked to me about it — other than you guys,” Clinton is quoted as saying as she exited with her top aides around her. The transcript of the Q&A with Clinton on LGBT issues follows:Several years ago, Midwest Living magazine asked me to provide a “no fail pie crust”. The results elicited this comment from the food editor: “We share a test kitchen with Better Homes and Gardens, Traditional Home, Successful Farming, Diabetic Living and more. The staff is educated in food science or through a culinary school. We used your crust for all the pies and they were blown away with the recipe. Not only does it taste great, it was easy to work with. You became a sensation! One of the staffers refuses to make any other crust at home and she’s been on staff for almost 20 years. I hope you feel the love!” I think you will too after making this melt in your mouth crust. Many elements go into a pie crust and an understanding of how they work will help allay any misgivings you have. First of all, let’s talk about flour. The type of flour used will determine, almost completely, the outcome of the crust due to the protein count of the gluten. In making pastry dough, the fat is cut into the flour so that the two proteins in flour, which make up the gluten, cannot come together to link up and form a chain or strand. On the other hand, bread dough is worked vigorously by kneading in order to link the two proteins to form a chain. Whereas the elasticity gained by working the dough is desirable in bread, it is not in pastry, which is why pastry dough is handled and worked as little and as quickly as possible. Bread flour has the highest percentage of gluten followed, in descending order, by all purpose flour, pastry flour and cake flour which has the very least. It would seem reasonable that if the lowest amount of protein is desired then cake flour would be the choice. Using all cake flour does make a very tender crust, however it is rather mealy and without good texture. Because pastry flour is not commonly available to the consumer, many recipes combine two thirds all purpose flour with 1/3 cake flour. While this yields a better crust, reversing it and using a larger amount of cake flour with just a little all purpose yields the requisite tenderness and flakiness without sacrificing the crispness, texture or strength. In addition, it can stand a little more handling than crusts made with other flours – a boon to beginners. The most important item is the fat used. The colder and harder the fat, the flakier the crust. At every point while and after adding the fat, the pastry should be worked quickly and kept cold. Lard, a very hard fat, is advocated by die hard pie crust makers as providing the flakiest crusts. This is true, but its very definite flavor along with its very high cholesterol and the difficulty of finding it in the supermarkets make this the least used choice. The second flakiest crust will be obtained with vegetable shortening, as it is 100 percent fat, although not as hard as lard. Butter, with a fat content of 75 to 80 percent, will not produce as flaky a crust, but the taste is superior. To maximize flavor and retain flakiness a combination of butter and shortening is used in this recipe. The butter is used directly out of the refrigerator and the shortening is frozen in 1 tablespoon measurements. Under no circumstances use butter substitutes such as I Can’t Believe it’s Not Butter, etc. They have a lot of water in them that alters the proportions of fat and water. Liquids make the dough cohesive. Water, although the main liquid usually used in pie crusts, is not the only one to be considered. Egg and lemon juice play an important part also. Ice cold water is used to slow down the formation of the gluten strands. Several ice cubes placed in a cup of water 5 to 10 minutes before using are sufficient to chill it. Egg in the crust adds firmness, crispness and color and is particularly good when making pies with juicy fillings. When less than a whole egg is called for, beat a whole egg with a fork until the yolk and white are completely mixed, then measure the amount called for. Lemon juice, because of its acid content, acts as a tenderizer on the gluten. Measuring the flours is very important to the finished pastry. As a professional baker, I weigh everything. However, I realize many homes do not have scales. Stir the flour in the bag or canister, dip the cup in and fill to overflowing. With the back of a knife or anything flat, sweep the excess flour off. Be sure to use a dry measure – one that has no lip on the top. At this point you are ready to mix. There are several ways to mix the dough. But my favorite is using the food processor. The only caveat is you mustn’t over mix – use pulses as they are easy to control. Cold butter and shortening are cut into the flours with pulses. You want the pieces to remain the size of peas so when the pastry is rolled out the fat gets trapped between the layers of flour. When it bakes, the fat melts and the steam causes the pastry to puff and become flaky. After the fat is cut in, the liquids are combined and pulsed in until large crumbs are formed. To roll the pastry, use as little flour as possible. You may think a photo of “lightly floured surface” is ridiculous but I have had students that use so much flour you can’t see the surface of the table. Extra flour rolled into the dough at this point will only serve to toughen it. To keep a round shape, roll from the middle out to the edges. If, no matter what you do, the shell does not form a good circle you can help it along. Cut away the bulging part of the pastry, moisten the edge of the pastry that needs help with water and patch it with the cut piece overlapping to make a seam. Sprinkle lightly with flour and roll lightly. The seams will not adhere to each other without the water. Roll the pastry into a circle about 12 1/2 to 13 inches round. To make sure the pastry fits into the corner of the pan and is not being stretched, ease about one eighth of the pastry at the side of the pan gently toward the middle. Now bring the pastry back to the rim and slide it down the side of the pan so you can see it fits the angle at the bottom. Continue around the pan in this manner. Trim the overhang a uniform 1 inch, turn under and flute the edges if making a single crust. Both a single and double crust are shown below. Baking an empty shell is called “blind” baking the shell. The biggest obstacle here is the tendency towards shrinking when baking. To forestall this, it is necessary to freeze the shell first then weight it. I am always amused by the pictures of a few aluminum weights on the bottom crust or something that looks like a string of beads. These will do nothing to help your cause. Line the frozen crust with foil that has been sprayed with a releasing agent (do not use waxed paper – it doesn’t have enough strength when removing), pressing it, sprayed side to the crust, against the sides and letting it stick up over the top. Fill the crust completely to the top with dried beans – limas are my favorite because they are big and heavy. It will take two pounds of beans for a nine inch crust. Follow the times in the recipe and you will have a perfectly baked, beautiful, tall empty shell waiting for whatever filling you choose. It is important for the finished shell to have color so it remains crisp and flaky. Cool the beans completely and store in a covered container to use over and over. I have had mine for years. If you are baking a pie longer than 45 to 50 minutes, the edges need to be covered or they will become overly brown. It is much safer to do this before baking instead of waiting until it is halfway or more done then trying to cover it hot. After the top is put on the pie, simply tear off strips of foil about 3 inches wide and cover the edges. These are left on for about half the baking time and then removed so these edges can bake also. The color of the pans will alter the baking times. I see mostly dark ware for consumers these days, very little aluminum. Dark metal or glass pie pans require a twenty five degree reduction in heat in order not to over brown or burn. To figure out how much filling you need, a standard pie pan requires about 6 cups of fruit, plus sugar and thickeners. The deep dish pie pans require about 8 cups of fruit plus sugar and thickeners. By following the steps you see here, you will be assured your pie crusts will be fast, flaky, fantastic and fail-proof. Pie Crust Ingredients Single Crust 13/4 cups sifted cake flour (6 1/8 ounces or 175 grams) 1/3 cup sifted all purpose flour (scant 1 1/2 ounces or 40 grams) 3/4 teaspoon salt 6 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces and frozen until hard 3 tablespoons shortening (like Crisco) frozen and cut into pieces 2 tablespoons beaten egg 1 teaspoon lemon juice 5 tablespoons chilled water Double Crust 3 cups cake flour (10 1/2 ounces or 300 grams) 1/2 cup all purpose flour (2 ounces or 60 grams) 1 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 stick + 4 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces and frozen until hard 4 tablespoons vegetable shortening frozen and cut into pieces 1 egg, beaten 2 teaspoon lemon juice 1/2 cup chilled water Place both flours and the salt in the processor bowl. Pulse several times to mix. Place the butter over the flours. Pulse the processor to cut the butter into large chunks. Add the frozen shortening. Pulsing the processor, cut in until the butter and shortening are the size of peas. Do not over process. Use short bursts. Combine the egg, lemon juice and water. Pour in a circle over the processor contents. Pulse until it forms small clumps in the bowl. Pour onto a lightly floured work surface. Push the clumps together to form a cohesive mass. Knead 4 or 5 times for form a dough. Pat into a circle about 1 inch thick. Wrap in film and refrigerate a minimum of 2 hours or overnight. If making a double crust, divide the circle into two pieces, one a generous 1/3 of the dough. Form each into a round about 1 inch thick. Wrap in film and refrigerate. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, flatten the cold dough with a rolling pin, Roll the dough into a circle approximately 13 inches for a 9 inch pie pan. Here I am using a 12 inch cardboard round as a guide cutting a bit larger to get 13 inches. Place in the pie pan by sliding hands under the crust and lifting into the pie pan. It can also be rolled up on the rolling pin and unrolled in the pan. and fit into edges by pulling the dough gently away from the side of the plate and then fitting it securely into the edge and patting in place Fill the pie as desired. (See below for this Very Berry Pie filling.) Brush the bottom overhang with water after the crust is rolled before placing the top crust on. Roll the top crust approximately 12 inches and place it over the filling. Cut the overhang an even 1 inch all the way around. Tuck the crust under. The wet bottom crust will seal them together when you flute. and flute the edges. Although this is optional, it gives a beautiful finish to the pie and makes a crunchy top crust. Brush the top with a beaten egg. and sprinkle with sanding sugar (which is a coarse sugar much like the texture of coarse salt). Cut vents into the top for the steam to escape. You can cut any shape you wish. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Place the pie on it. This will make clean up easy if the filling goes over the edge while baking. To prevent the edges from browning too much or burning it is easier to cover them with foil before you bake than half way through when it is hot. We did this at the bakery. Half way through baking we removed the foil and the edges, after baking, were the same color as the rest of the crust. Bake as called for. Baked Pie. Notice the edges. Blind Baking a Crust – This refers to baking an empty crust to be filled with a non baked filling. Roll the bottom crust as directed above. Place it in the pan, adjust it to fit into the edges and turn the overhang underneath as above. Flute the crust as above. Freeze the crust until it is hard, about 45 minutes or longer. Spray a piece of foil large enough to extend over the top of the crust with baking spray. Place the sprayed side down to cover the frozen crust and sides and extend over the top. Fill with beans. Any kind of bean can be used. I prefer lima beans because they are big and heavy. Be sure to fill the pan to the top with beans. Bake for 20 minutes with the beans. Remove the beans by bringing the four corners of the foil together and lifting out. Return to the oven and bake for approximately 18 minutes until lightly browned and set. Very Berry Pie – At the bakery we used unsweetened frozen fruit for our pies as, out of season, the fruit is very expensive and not always the best. Because the fruit has been frozen it will have more juice than fresh fruit. Consequently, there is more thickener in the frozen fruit version that would be used with fresh fruit All of the fruit should be thawed but still cold. If you wish to use fresh fruit, reduce the flour and tapioca to 2 tablespoons each and follow the directions. 12 ounces frozen blueberries 12 ounces frozen red raspberries 24 ounces frozen sliced strawberries 1 3/4 cups sugar (375 grams or 13 ounces) 3 tablespoons instant tapioca 3 tablespoons flour 2 tablespoons butter, cut in small pieces 1 egg, well beaten, optional Sanding sugar, optional Thirty minutes before filling the pie, combine the sugar, tapioca and flour. Mix together well to distribute the flour and tapioca in sugar Stir in the fruit with the juice. Let sit for 30 minutes. Pour the filling into the prepared pie shell and dot with the butter. Continue as above including wrapping the edges with foil. Bake for about 25 minutes; remove foil and finish baking for about 35 minutes more until browned and the filling is bubbly. SaveSave SaveSave SaveSaveShare Share It has been a big week for MyMagic+ developments. First, there was the first large scale test of the entire MyMagic+ system with guests. Then we had details of how MyMagic+ is likely to operate once it goes live later this year. Another interesting aspect of MyMagic+ that we have not touched on until now is the MagicBand customization accessories. Coinciding nicely with this weeks test, gift shops at both Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge and Disney's Contemporary Resorts began selling a whole range of MagicBand accessories. Designed to allow guests to personalize their bands, the range includes almost every way of attaching something to a MagicBand. There are three components of the accessory line, CoverBands, MagicSliders, and MagicBandits. We've got an overview of each below, along with lots of photos at the end of this article. CoverBands MagicSliders MagicBandits Priced at $6.95 for one, or $15.95 for three, CoverBands do exactly what the name implies - they cover your MagicBand. Made of a cloth-type material, the CoverBands wrap your MagicBand with a whole range of different designs. You can choose from a variety of Mickey and Minnie designs, Pirates of the Caribbean, or some more much subtle patterns. So if you don't like the color of your band, or just want to change it up - the CoverBand seems to be the way to go for a complete transformation.At nearly twice the price of the CoverBands, MagicSliders attach to the MagicBand by sliding onto the strap. You can choose a Mickey or Minnie shape from $12.95. They are quite large, and although they look great, it would seem that they would add to the bulk of the MagicBand.Starting form $6.95, MagicBandits are small pin-like objects that snap onto the band adjustment holes. Lots of designs are available, including Mickey and Minnie, Nightmare Before Christmas, Muppets, Tink, and Phineas and Ferb. We've got photos of all the accessories below, along with some Disney created demos of fully blinged out MagicBands. Article Posted:War against Issa heats up, as Cummings releases IRS transcript Slamming Issa's leaks, Cummings says “not one witness…has identified any involvement by any White House officials” The internal war between House Oversight Committee chair Darrell Issa and ranking Democrat Elijah Cummings blew up again Tuesday, when Cummings released the full transcript of a five-hour interview with the conservative Republican IRS screening manager who said the very first Tea Party case was flagged by one of his own staffers, and denied any White House knowledge or involvement with the controversial screening policy. Part one is here; part two is here. You’ll recall that Cummings had previously charged Issa with misrepresenting the Committee’s findings when he charged that the investigation was uncovering evidence that pointed to “Washington” involvement. Cummings demanded that Issa keep an earlier pledge to release all of the transcripts of committee interviews to date. Issa refused, calling Cummings “reckless” and “irresponsible” for sharing a partial transcript of the Republican screening manager's interview, and insisting any further disclosure of interviews would “undermine the integrity of the Committee’s investigation.” Advertisement: Of course, Issa himself then leaked the transcript of an interview with IRS agent Holly Paz, a Washington, D.C. based supervisor who reviewed some of the applications, to USA Today, Reuters, the Wall Street Journal, the Associated Press and Politico. (AP also got to look at transcripts of interviews with agents Gary Muthert and Elizabeth Hofacre). Issa seemed to think Paz’s testimony somehow proved that political meddling indeed came from “Washington,” neglecting the fact that the IRS is based there, and the Cincinnati screeners followed internal procedure by consulting Washington based supervisors. But as AP reported, Paz “provided no evidence that senior IRS officials ordered agents to target conservative groups or that anyone in the Obama administration” was involved. (Media Matters breaks down the entire Paz story here.) “Rather than working together in a bipartisan manner, Cummings wrote to Issa, “you apparently directed your staff to spend the weekend engaging in the same activity you condemned as “reckless” less than a week earlier.” Cummings’ Oversight committee staff had already released partial transcripts of the Cincinnati screening manager’s testimony, but Tuesday’s full transcript provides more detail. From Cummings’ summary of the testimony of the self-described “conservative Republican:” The Screening Group Manager explained that the very first case at issue in this investigation was initially flagged by one of his own screeners in February 2010. He told us he agreed that this case should be elevated to IRS employees in Washington because it was a “high profile” application in which the organization indicated that it would be engaging in political activity. He explained that he initiated the first effort to gather similar cases in order to ensure their consistent treatment, and that he took this action on his own, without any direction from his superiors, and without any political motivation. He also confirmed that one of his screeners developed terms subsequently identified by the Inspector General as “inappropriate,” such as “Patriot” and “9/12 project,” but that he did not become aware that his screener was using these terms until more than a year later. The manager’s testimony explains why some of the Tea Party applications wound up in Washington – although I’ve always had a hard time understanding how anyone could use the location of the federal government as a synonym for political meddling without any other proof. Cummings concludes: Advertisement: These facts are a far cry from accusations of a conspiracy orchestrated by the White House to target the President’s political enemies. At this point in the investigation, not one witness who has appeared before the Committee has identified any involvement by any White House officials in the identification or screening of Tea Party applicants for tax exempt status, and the Committee has obtained no documents indicating any such involvement. As Cummings notes in his letter, the dueling transcript leaks by Issa and Cummings is understandably causing some people, even Republicans, to demand that the committee release the full interview transcripts. “Let’s see everything. Let’s see it all. And let’s see all the transcripts and you know let’s have a fair, objective analysis of this,” Sen. Rob Portman told a Cincinnati television station. I doubt that Issa will find Portman any more persuasive than he does Cummings. But it’s nice to see Cummings try to keep Issa honest, even if that’s close to impossible.Take a look at the map above. It tells the story of a year's population change in the United States, according to the latest census data. It shows where the population is growing, like the coasts, the Sun Belt and the oil fields of western North Dakota. It shows, too, where numbers are in decline -- along the Mississippi River and in much of the rural Northeast, from northern Maine down through New York, western Pennsylvania and into the heart of the Appalachians. This is the story that I believe the good folks at the Pew Charitable Trusts wanted to tell last week when they dug into these numbers. But using the exact same data set, they generated a map that looks like this: "Population growth slowed last year in some of the nation's most expensive counties, like those in California's Silicon Valley, and picked up in more affordable counties in the Sun Belt," according to the text above the map. But it's next to impossible to discern that just from looking at the map. In fact, it's hard to discern just about anything. The difference between my map and Pew's -- again, they both use the exact same data set -- underscores a bit of a dirty little secret in data journalism: Visualizing data is as much an art as a science. And seemingly tiny design decisions -- where to set a color threshold, how many thresholds to set, etc. -- can radically alter how numbers are displayed and perceived by readers. Pew treated the data in a seemingly sensible and rational way. It sliced up the full range of data -- from minus-6.3 percent (Terrell County, Tex.) to plus-28.7 percent (Loving County, Tex.) -- into five buckets of equal size: -6.3 to 0.7, 0.7 to 7.7, 7.7 to 14.7, etc. Assign a color to each bucket, color each county according to which bucket its population falls into, and voila! A map. Right? The problem is that while Pew's buckets are nice and evenly distributed, the numbers are not. There are 3,141 counties in the Census Bureau's data set, and 3,138 of them fall into either the first or second buckets. Only three counties -- extreme outliers, all of them -- posted a population gain greater than 7.7 percent last year. So those three darker shades of the scale are essentially unused, and the entire map gets washed out into two similar colors. [The rise of humankind, in one mesmerizing map] But there's a potentially bigger problem, too. Some counties lost population, while others gained. That's a pretty big distinction. Mapmakers often respect big distinctions like that by using a bivariate color scale -- say, one set of colors for positive values (like blue), and another set of colors for negative ones (like red). That's what I ended up doing in the map at the top of this page. But that crucial positive-negative threshold gets lost in Pew's map -- that lightest shade of colors on its map encompasses all negative values and some positive ones as well. The map becomes blind to perhaps the most significant dividing line in the data -- the border between growth and recession. I don't write any of this to pick on the Pew Charitable Trusts (full disclosure: I used to work at the Pew Research Center, a project it funds). Its overall analysis of the census data in its story is 100 percent sound, and like anyone else who does this for a living I've made my share of clunker maps over the years. But each time I put numbers on a map, I'm struck by how it's possible to radically alter the appearance of a visualization just by tweaking a couple of basic parameters. And with the proliferation of maps like these, as well as tools that make it easy for just about anyone to make them, it's helpful to understand just how much these decisions can affect what you see on the printed (or digital) page. Numbers carry a veneer of authority and objectivity that words can seem to lack. But communicating with numbers is, in many ways, just like communicating with words. You make decisions about what to emphasize and what to downplay, and about how to convey a full understanding of the subject at hand. Ideally, those decisions lead to presenting the numbers in the clearest possible light. But as with words, inarticulate framing can lead you to muddle rather than clarify. More from Wonkblog: Map: Literally every goat in the United States One map shows why America's gun violence is so much worse than anywhere else A poverty map where the South looks the bestRaNia's new memberis killin' it!� During 'Demonstrate,' the group's comeback showcase held at club The A on November 11,�Alexandra proved that she's got the whole package: beauty, talent, plus the confidence to back it all up. She spit fire for her solo freestyle rap performance and owned the stage like no other!� Though the audience may not have understood all of her rap, they could clearly see that Alexandra's got the presence to slay the K-Pop scene with her ferocity.� Seul-ji attested to the close bond they immediately formed with Alexandra, saying, "Initially, Alexandra was going to be a part of the group from the next album onward. But we got along so well and there was endless talk that we wanted to work together beginning with the upcoming album, so we decided to start right away. People claimed that [Alexandra] is just a guest member because she won't be a part of the album composition process. But starting with the next album, she will be involved in every aspect of album promotions including the creation of choreography and composition. She really is a RaNia member."�South African president Jacob Zuma has finally fired the much respected finance minister and shuffled 20 ministers and deputy ministers into new roles. In a statement around midnight local time on Mar. 31, Zuma said his decision was guided by a desire to increase the number of women and young people in his cabinet. Zuma also shuffled ministers in the transport, energy, police, sports, public works and tourism portfolios. South Africa’s currency the rand plunged against the dollar at the news of another finance ministry shuffle. Pravin Gordhan was replaced with Home Affairs minister and popular young politician Malusi Gigaba, while Jonas was replaced Sifiso Buthelezi, a businessman who was appointed to parliament just a year ago. The last time Zuma reshuffled finance minsters, his decision to appoint an unknown parliamentarian to the job was heavily criticized, and he was forced to re-hire Gordhan. Reuters/Mike Hutchings Pravin Gordhan and Mcebisi Jonas (right) walking tall. Rumors of a reshuffle began to swirl when Zuma summoned Gordhan and Jonas back from an international investor roadshow on Mar. 27. The animosity between Zuma and Gordhan has simmered for over a year, with immediate consequences for the currency and the country. The firings will unsettle both local and international investors who have looked to Gordhan for steady stewardship of the economy around the murky waters of corruption claims and general mismanagement associated with Zuma’s beleaguered leadership. Hours before the reshuffle, the South African Communist Party confirmed that it was indeed Zuma’s intention to axe Gordhan and Jonas. Gordhan and the other axed ministers are senior members of the South African Communist party, until now a close ally of the African National Congress. The death of an iconic anti-apartheid activist revealed that some within the ANC also do not support Zuma’s decisions. At the family’s request, Zuma did not attend Ahmed Kathrada’s funeral on Mar. 30. Kathrada, who was imprisoned alongside Nelson Mandela for nearly three decades on Robben Island, penned an open letter to Zuma in April last year, asking him to resign after a string of corruption scandals and mounting allegations of cronyism. At Kathrada’s graveside, South Africa’s former president Kgalema Motlanthe read the letter again, to a standing ovation from other veteran members of the African National Congress. Gordhan was singled out at the funeral for representing Kathrada’s ideals and integrity. The prudent Gordhan is regarded as an obstacle to Zuma’s plans for the national treasury and the ambitions of the president’s friends, the Gupta family. Jonas came into the spotlight when he revealed that he rejected a $44 million bribe from the Gupta family who allegedly wanted him to do their bidding in the treasury. Unlike during his previous shuffle of finance ministers, Zuma may have had a good political reason to let go of Gordhan, the relationship between the two becoming untenable following months of political infighting.Did you have any reservations about working with CGI dragons? My initial thoughts were that it could have become a special effects project rather than an acting project. I was worried that it might end up with the people in it looking a little bit foolish. Also, I was concerned about how the dragons were going to look. CGI is an incredible thing but I've seen them use it disastrously many times before. But, that said, I'm kind of attracted by movies where there is a real possibility of it going badly wrong. There have been movies where other people have said to me "You're nuts for doing this! Why would you risk doing this?", and I've kind of realized that that's what I enjoy. What about the head butt from Matthew McConaughey during the big fight scene? It dropped me like a sack of potatoes. In the movie you see me crawl around the ground for a couple of seconds to try to find my bearings - that is real! Then I thought I had to get up and finish the scene or it was going to be no use. I could see that the film crew were staring to see if I was all right. When we finished I asked Matthew if he was OK. He said "Yeah, you mad bastard - I headbutted you!" There are rumours that you have a love/hate relationship with acting... I started at a young age and some of my memories that I think of as my life are not my life. They are scenes that I was in. It is a very sad state of affairs. I'll find myself having dinner with people and someone will mention something and I will say I was in that situation once. Then I'll say, forget it, it was a scene I was in. That can get to be quite confusing. Did you go out much in Dublin when you were not working on Reign Of Fire? I am not a big social animal, especially when I'm working. I feel really silly acting in front of other actors if I feel I know them too well. I don't want people to be able to tell how much I am acting. We went out in Dublin a few times and Matthew had parties at his place, but most of the time he was down at the boxing gym - sparring and just hitting somebody.Where New Virginia is the gateway to Mars, Bradbury is its beating heart. The first settlement to be fully sustainable, the birthplace of Quantum Economics, and home to the seat of power of the Interplanetary Trade Commission. First settled in 2024, Bradbury as a settlement is second only to Meridian Landing in terms of age. The city that would come to be the namesake for the state was a stark rejection of the notions of colonization first tried at Meridian. Where the colonists of Meridian hid beneath the dirt, Bradbury vaulted out of a crater with one of the planet's first domes. Where Meridian's colonists subsisted on low calorie greens and fish, Bradbury had wheat, beef, milk, cheese and honey
, and additional layoffs are believed to be just months away. Pensions expenses consume about 25 cents of every dollar the district spends.(RELATED: Chicago Lays Off 1,400 Teachers To Fund Extravagant Pensions) Rauner proposes to fix what he believes is mismanagement by Chicago officials through a state takeover. Under Rauner’s plan, the state government would have the power to remove the current CPS board of education and replace it with a special state-appointed authority. The plan would also allow the beleaguered school district to declare bankruptcy as a means of getting its fiscal house in order. Going bankrupt would allow the district to void union contracts, which it is otherwise bound by. The Illinois Policy Institute, a small-government think tank, praised Rauner’s proposal. “In 2012, while CPS was already in financial crisis and the city knew even tougher times would be ahead, Mayor Rahm Emanuel agreed to raises averaging 13 percent for teachers who belong to the Chicago Teachers Union,” the group said in a statement sent to The Daily Caller News Foundation. “These were raises the city could not afford, and that came with no promise of better educational outcomes. Now, Emanuel and CPS CEO Forrest Claypool are urging state lawmakers to send more money Chicago’s way – again, with no promise of better educational outcomes, and no commitment to reform the things that have made CPS finances so unstable to begin with.” Rauner placed the blame for CPS’s problems squarely on the shoulders of Emanuel, saying the mayor has been so incompetent the state has no choice but to intervene. “The mayor has failed on this,” Rauner said Wednesday, according to The Chicago Tribune. “He’s failed on public safety, he’s failed on schools, he’s failed on jobs in the neighborhoods, he’s failed on taxes, he’s failed on reforms. And I’m tired of it. We have to take action.” Rauner also argued Emanuel is on the brink of surrendering to Chicago’s powerful teachers union, an outcome he said would be unacceptable. “The mayor is afraid of them,” Rauner said. “He’s not taking them on. He caved in the teachers strike four and a half years ago, and he’s sending the message right now, he’s going to give them what they want and then say, state pay for it. We are not going to let that happen.” But Rauner may not be able to do anything. He has to work with a Democrat-controlled legislature, and top Democrats said there was no chance they’d let Rauner’s plan go through because of the threat it poses to public pensions. “Gov. Rauner hopes to use a crisis to impose his anti-middle class agenda,” said state House Speaker Michael Madigan in a statement, according to The Chicago Tribune. “Republicans’ ultimate plans include allowing cities throughout the state to file for bankruptcy protection, which they admitted today would permit cities and school districts to end their contracts with teachers and workers — stripping thousands of their hard-earned retirement security and the middle-class living they have worked years to achieve.” If lawmakers reject Rauner’s proposal, it’s not clear what will get CPS out of its mountain of financial problems. Besides ongoing fiscal problems, the district also faces the looming threat of another strike, which the Chicago Teachers Union has authorized. Another strike in the country’s third-largest school district could be just a few months away. Follow Blake on Twitter Send tips to blake@dailycallernewsfoundation.org. Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.Timmy is a neutral ghoul encountered by Prince Arthas and Jaina Proudmoore in Andorhal in Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos during Chapter Four of the Human Campaign called "Cult of the Damned". Timmy is kept in a cage at the center of Andorhal and can be freed by destroying it. Timmy is a Neutral being, so he can only be attacked with the Attack-button and then Left-click on him. He can be killed and drops the Ring of Superiority. Speculation Edit This article or section includes speculation, observations or opinions possibly supported by lore or by Blizzard officials. * It is speculated by some that the ghoul Timmy is in fact Little Timmy transformed by the plague, and also that Timmy the Cruel in World of Warcraft is the same ghoul. However, Little Timmy is seen later selling ice shards, and even later on Theramore with his mother further dampening this theory. Warcraft III designer David Fried commented on the matter: "Timmy got used a few times because multiple designers end up making the same references in different areas. Tim Campbell was the level designer who put the original Timmy into Warcraft III (he's part of a quest if I remember correctly), and another level designer, Dean Shipley put the undead ghoul Timmy in the later level. The WoW quest designers were not the same designers from Warcraft 3, so it's not surprising that things got mixed up, and thus you have Schrodinger's Timmy, who is simultaneously alive and undead".[1] References EditAfter Kingsday we have one more celebration that we should highlight as it keeps on getting bigger each year. Celebrating our freedom after the 2nd world war, May 5th is a great day in Amsterdam. Once every 5 years people get a day off but this year we are just as lucky as last year because it falls on the same day as “hemelvaart”. Where to go? Well, these are the best celebrations in Amsterdam on May 5th: Vrijland Festival When & Where? 12pm – 11pm Blijburg aan Zee Tickets €35,- This party is always a good option with a great line up such as Zwart Licht, Tom Trago, Axel Boman, Swindle and other performances from Reggea & Dub to Bass and Beats, Techno and Bands. Blijburg aan Zee is renewed and has a great view over the lake. Facebook VOL ontmoet Amsterdam When & Where? Starts at 9am / Amsterdam Museum Free Entree Amsterdammers and refugees meet eachother for breakfast to get to know eachother. We love this! Breakfast is cooked by Syran chef Kamal who cooks daily for over 200 men in a refugee camp in the Havenstraat in Amsterdam. Do something different today! www.amsterdammuseum.nl Yummya Food Festival When & Where? 5th -8th May from 12pm / Jaap Edenbaan Free Entree This is about food. good food and a lot of food. It’s the first edition and it will be a streetfood themed festival where you can feast your taste buds and enjoy the joyful ambiance. Several old and new foodtrucks will be present at this new location. A perfect festival for families, couples and friends! www.yummya.nl Curry up will be at Yummya Hemeltjelief Freedom Picknick When & Where? 12pm – 11pm / NDSM Werf Free Entree after 11pm 5 euro’s A Picknick, music and activities make this celebration a perfect option for everyone from families with children to groups of friends. The picknick is until 8pm with the music until 11pm. The big party continues at Noordenlicht (also at the NDSM Werf) until 3am! www.hemeltjelieffestival.nl A sweet party for all! Bevrijdingsfestival / Het Vrije Westen When & Where? 11am – 11pm / Westerpark Free Entree The Westerpark features big stages with upcoming talent in dance, music and art. This is the largest “freedom” party in Amsterdam with a mix of music from Rock to acoustic. Entrance is always free and drinks and food is widely available. www.hetvrijewesten.eu Het Amsterdams Verbond When & Where? 12pm – 11pm / Sportpark de Eendracht Tickets €30,- Expect a young crowd dancing to the tunes of Kris Kross Amsterdam, Vunzige Deuntjes, La Razza and more. www.hetamsterdamsverbond.nl Bevrijdingsdag zonder Entree When & Where? 11am – 1am / DOK Amsterdam Free Entree Celebrate freedom with lovely music, enough food to go around and in the sand with a campfire at night. Facebook Dance on the dock Bevrijdingsdub 2016 When & Where? 1pm – 11pm / NDSM Werf Tickets €8,50,- There isn’t too much info about this party but it was a succes last year so bring your dancing shoes and warm jacket for the evening! Facebook “Let’s remember our freedom in Amsterdam on May 5th” Rebellion, Het Vrije Westen When & Where? 11am -11pm / Westergasterras Free Entree Besides the various live venues on the Klönneplein ext door, this stage is for the Westergas Terras hosted by Rebellion. They have a wonderful line-up in store for you. Kids and grandmothers are welcome, just bring them some earplugs. Facebook Busy but nice! Curated by David August When & Where? 11pm – 5am The Marktkantine Tickets €15,- It been a while since David full curated a DJ set in Amsterdam but the wonder boy is back. We saw him in Barcelona and his music is amazing. This time he brings 2 extra DJ’s to the stage called Damiano von Erckert and Paquita Gordon. Don’t miss it! Check for more info on Facebook Enjoy and don’t forget to enjoy your freedom! Love, Wander-LustAs we enter the middle of the Spring season, we’re going to start seeing some major reshuffling in the table. It’s going to be fun and frustrating. Friday, April 22nd Miami FC v Rayo OKC 8:00 pm EST ESPN3 FIU Stadium, Miami, FL Miami have been stunningly underwhelming. For instance, even though striker Dario Cvitanich has scored in every match so far this season, he’s been a non-factor in attack (two of his three goals are penalty kicks). Although attacking midfielder Ariel Martinez has shown a frenzied pace, very little has come out of Miami to impress. This has been reflected in their record to date, two draws and a loss. It makes it odd then that we can look at a team like Rayo OKC who have also failed to tally a win and conclude that it is the more threatening team. Rayo failed to kill off Edmonton when they were a man up and then had the misfortune to lose to Carolina in a goal bonanza. It’s simple really, Rayo have scored more and surrender fewer goals than Miami. Rayo OKC picks up its first win. Saturday, April 23rd Ft. Lauderdale Strikers v Jacksonville Armada 7:00 pm EST ESPN3 Lockhart Stadium, Ft. Lauderdale, FL A lot of people thought that the Strikers were going to come out of the gate strong. A productive preseason and talented new signings gave good reason to feel bullish on them. The team has only played two games, so we have to pump the breaks a bit on the negativity. However, in the ten match Spring, one point out of six is dire. Not only that, but Ft. Lauderdale looked terrible in each of its matches. I think part of this is because too much is being heaped on PC to be the team’s golden boy. I could imagine a labored draw in the works because playing at Lockhart always looks sad for either team. But the Strikers lack momentum as well as a cohesive presence, unlike Jacksonville, who I think will pick up their first road win of the season. Tampa Bay Rowdies v Carolina Railhawks 7:30 pm EST beIN Sports Al Lang Stadium, St. Petersburg, FL Carolina are still the hottest team in the league. Even though on paper, they’ve just gotten by their opponents, when you watch the matches you can’t help but be impressed with just how dangerous the trio of Austin Da Luz, Nazmi Albadawi, and Tiyi Shipalane is. The team is in form and in the driver’s seat for the Spring title. Although the Rowdies should be doing better than they are (an eternal mantra for the team) they have been steadily improving. Yet hanging your hat on a one-nil win over lowly FC Edmonton is rather daft. Striker Tom Heinemann is still failing to warrant minutes and while Tampa Bay’s defensive line has had moments, I can’t see this team beating the Railhawks. However, the Railhawks could end up beating themselves. Against Ottawa last week, even though Carolina threatened again and again, its finishing was less than stellar. But I think the return of Brian Shriver to Al Lang Stadium will be interesting, and I think he’ll come out ahead of his counterpart Heinemann. Carolina wins. Minnesota United v New York Cosmos 8:00 pm EST ONE World Sports NSC Stadium, Blaine, MN Minnesota haven’t faced that impressive of opposition the last two weeks. Edmonton was easily swept aside two weeks ago and last week Ft. Lauderdale was shambolic in defeat. Facing the Cosmos will be a real test for the team. If Minnesota hopes to win the Spring, then it must beat the Cosmos (especially after losing the season opener to Carolina). New York will be looking to bounce back after a stunning last minute loss to Indy Eleven last week. Like Minnesota, the Cosmos opened the season against very weak opponents and then had their bell wrung by a surprisingly good Indy. These two teams are rather even across the board, so I’m going to have to go with a draw. Sunday, April 24th FC Edmonton v Ottawa Fury 4:00 pm EST ESPN3 Clarke Stadium, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Perhaps the least interesting match of the weekend will be this battle for the bottom. It’s been hard on the Canadians so far this season. I can’t imagine that changing for either side. Ottawa lack anyone in attack who can impress or finish. Edmonton seem unable to organize themselves anywhere outside the middle third and even then, there is no creativity or urgency. Things need to change for both sides. It’s going to be a messy match. Edmonton have yet to score a goal but Ottawa have given up the most thus far this season. I can’t see either side doing anything of note, so I’m going with a draw.Today, a victory was won for privacy advocates and bloggers everywhere, as a school board member failed to convince New York State courts that Google should be required to hand over details about anonymous commenters on a Blogger blog. Recently, a lot of flak has been tossed in a lot of different directions, much of it towards Google and Yahoo (but of course we can't forget Facebook) in regards to their various and often conflicting stances on privacy. Today, though, Google took a position on privacy that was commendable in that they refused to hand over anonymized data unless the person to whom the data belonged to consented to its release. Marcy Friedman, the Supreme Court Justice presiding over the case, ultimately agreed, stating that a decision against Google would have a "chilling effect on protected speech." The whole ordeal seems to be over anonymous comments on a blog post regarding how public funds should be dispersed. The original blog post is fairly straightforward, but the comments were accusations baseless and ad hominem. Those that have been on the internet for more than twenty minutes or so know that this is not out of the ordinary, and it reminds me of the immortal words from Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back: "The Internet is a communication tool used the world over where people can come together to [complain] about movies and share pornography with one another." We wouldn't want to lose that, now would we? [via WebProNews]The Emissions Trading Scheme is up for review, but the government has controversially left agriculture out of the discussion document. Photo: AFP Opposition parties argued the sector must be included because it was responsible for about half of New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions. Passed into law by the former Labour-led government, the Emissions Trading Scheme is the government's primary tool to try to reduce climate-damaging emissions. The original ETS had agriculture entering the scheme in 2013, but when National took power, it pushed that out to 2015, then legislated to keep it out of the scheme indefinitely. Photo: RNZ / Alexander Robertson Climate Change Minister Tim Groser said it was simply not reasonable to include agriculture in the review. "Nobody in the world is putting a price on biological emissions; we're developing the technologies and no country has put in as much effort as New Zealand. "When we have technologies that are commercially available then there is a good argument for doing something on this issue, but until then it would simply be a tax on farming and have climate change implications whatsoever other than negative." But Green Party MP Kennedy Graham said regardless of the government's view on whether agriculture should be in the scheme, it should certainly be part of the review. "Bear in mind that the last ETS review panel recommended a phase-in of agriculture, this government ignored that and cherry-picked the recommendations of the last review panel. "[The government] said they were taking agriculture out of the legislation 'for the moment' and will reflect on it, and now, as we all suspected, they are formalising the permanency of agriculture being out." Photo: RNZ / Alexander Robertson Labour Party climate change spokesperson Megan Woods said agriculture should absolutely be in the review and in the ETS. "It's both concerning and disappointing, we can't delay the inevitable. "Labour's got a very clear position that we need to be bringing agriculture into the ETS, and we've also signalled that we need to have a more nuanced look at the way we account for some of the agricultural gases." Under the ETS some sectors only have to pay for half of the cost of their emissions, which includes waste, electricity and liquid fossil fuels, like petrol. The review will consider whether it is time for those sectors to face the full cost of their emissions. While Mr Groser was reluctant to give a straight answer on whether that was his preference, the signs point to yes. "We're giving a pretty clear sense of direction there, that it's time now to tighten up the settings a bit on the ETS, how much, how fast? "That's the point of the consultation and it would be a phoney consultation if we came up with a pat answer when we're just starting the process of talking to stakeholders." Mr Graham was cynical about the timing of the review. "The discussion document itself is a form of dressage - dressing up the show pony before the Paris [climate change] conference. "The minister talks, in his introduction, about continuing the transition to a low carbon economy... continuing the transition? It hasn't begun, our emissions are increasing." Federated Farmers Vice President and Climate Change spokesperson Anders Crofoot says leaving agriculture out of the ETS was sensible because there was nothing farmers could do about emissions from stock - other than stopping production. "Putting them in the ETS is essentially just a tax on production when there's nothing you can do to change what is happening. It isn't really helpful. "And in the longer term New Zealand is an efficient producer on a global stage of animal proteins and given we are producing food, if New Zealand doesn't produce it somebody else will produce it and if they do that in a less carbon efficient manner that actually has more emissions and the globe is not better off." Federated Farmers Climate Change spokesperson Anders Crofoot. Submissions on the main issues in the discussion document are due in February next year, and recommendations are due to be made to the minister in the second half of next year.A little bit more of the swamp was drained last Thursday when President Trump announced that IRS Commissioner John Koskinen will be replaced when his term expires on November 12. Actually, Koskinen deserves another term, not as IRS Commissioner, but as an inmate at Leavenworth. Merely replacing him is too little too late: Koskinen’s term ends on Nov. 12. He was eligible for reappointment, but Koskinen is fiercely opposed by congressional Republicans. Members of the House Freedom Caucus attempted but failed to impeach Koskinen last year, largely over his handling of the scandal involving former IRS official Lois Lerner. Prior to Koskinen’s tenure, Lerner was accused targeting conservative groups who applied for non-profit status. Koskinen was accused of stonewalling congressional investigators looking into Lerner’s activities as well as of covering up for the Obama administration. Koskinen was an unindicted co-conspirator with Lois Lerner in the weaponizing of the IRS to target the Tea Party and other conservative groups during the 2012 election cycle, something which helped get President Barack Hussein Obama reelected. The Trump DOJ has apologized to these groups for the IRS excesses but these apologies ring hollow after Attorney General Jeff Sessions, poster child for the Peter Principle, let Lois Lerner skate on all criminal charges. Apologies not accepted. That introduction of a resolution to impeach IRS commissioner Koskinen came as no surprise considering the lawlessness of the Obama administration and its use of the IRS to bludgeon its political opponents and the refusal by the DOJ to prosecute Lois Lerner for her political targeting of the Tea Party and other conservative political groups, as well as her destruction of evidence. The resolution, introduced by House Oversight Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), Rep. James Jordan (R-OH) and 18 other committee members, accuses Koskinen of making false statements under oath, failing to comply with a subpoena, and failing to notify Congress that key evidence was missing or destroyed. As they explained it to Fox News’ Sean Hannity: "The heart of this concern is that they had in their possession documents that were under subpoena and they destroyed those," Chaffetz said. "Imagine, Sean, if the IRS had asked you for those documents and you said, 'Well, I had them, but I went ahead and destroyed them.' What would happen to you?" Likely we would be incarcerated and not just impeached. As the Washington Times notes, Koskinen is knee-deep in the IRS corruption and the cover-up: Among the specific charges leveled by Mr. Chaffetz and 18 of his fellow Republicans on the committee were that Mr. Koskinen, appointed by President Obama in December 2013 after the targeting scandal broke, misled Congress when he said he had turned over all of former IRS senior executive Lois G. Lerner’s emails and that he oversaw destruction of evidence when his agency got rid of backup tapes that contained the emails. Lying to Congress and destruction of evidence under subpoena are federal crimes, and that includes the arrogant Mr. Koskinen, who is just one example of how being an Obama donor can get you a good job with the administration. As Investor’s Business Daily noted: Certainly it might be argued that Koskinen's current position is owed to four decades of being a prodigious Democratic donor. Koskinen has contributed to every Democratic presidential candidate since 1980, including $2,300 to Obama in 2008, and $5,000 to Obama in 2012. Of course, being an Obama donor with a government job in and of itself is not a crime, but how Koskinen has used that job is positively criminal. Koskinen once confessed before Congress that obeying the law was a difficult task” “Whenever we can, we follow the law," IRS chief John Koskinen recently told the House Ways and Committee in a Freudian slip of the truth that says it all. When the DOJ dropped prosecution of Lerner, no one was more delighted than Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md) whom Roll Call quotes as saying after the Lerner dismissal: “Over the past five years, Republicans in the House of Representatives have squandered literally tens of millions of dollars going down all kinds of investigative rabbit holes -- IRS, Planned Parenthood, Benghazi -- with absolutely no evidence of illegal activity,” Cummings said in a statement. Actually, there is quite a bit, including arguably some coordination with the abusive IRS by Cummings himself. As Investor’s Business Daily has noted: Of particular interest to us has been Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., ranking member on Rep. Darrell Issa's House Government Reform and Oversight Committee, who has made every effort to keep the committee from finding out the true extent of IRS corruption and abuse of power in its targeting of conservatives. As we've noted, emails released by Issa, a California Republican, show that Cummings' Democratic staff had requested information from the IRS' tax-exempt division, the one headed by Lois Lerner, on True the Vote, a conservative group that monitors polling places for voter fraud and supports the use of voter IDs, something that Cummings opposes. "The IRS and the Oversight Minority made numerous requests for virtually identical information from True the Vote, raising concerns that the IRS improperly shared, protected taxpayer information with Rep. Cummings' staff," the Oversight panel said in a statement. House and Senate Democrats, it has been documented, often sent letters to the IRS asking that particularly successful and annoying groups be investigated. Cummings’ coordination and collusion with the IRS is also troubling if not criminal. It is worth noting that one of the charges in the impeachment of Richard Nixon in the Watergate scandal was just considering the use of the IRS for political purposes. People went to jail in Watergate for participating in and covering up a crime. So to should John Koskinen, along with Lois Lerner. Daniel John Sobieski is a freelance writer whose pieces have appeared in Investor’s Business Daily, Human Events, Reason Magazine and the Chicago Sun-Times among other publications.Three times in Earth's history, ice has covered the majority of the planet. During vast ice ages millions of years ago, sheets of glaciers stretched from the poles almost to the equator, covering the Earth in a frozen skin. Conditions on the "snowball Earth," as scientists refer to it, made the planet a completely different place. "We're essentially talking about another world," said Linda Sohl of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York. In May, Sohl spoke with a small group at a lunchtime seminar, later posted online, about the evolution of the understanding of the snowball Earth and how it has changed as technology has improved. [50 Amazing Facts About Earth] Continent-sized glaciers By the early 1990s, scientists had found several unusual features that indicated something chilling had happened in the past. Glacial deposits of similar ages appeared on almost every continent. Evidence revealed that capped carbonates — limestone overlays formed by the ocean — lying on top of the glacial deposits had formed where they were found, rather than having migrated south from higher latitudes. "There had been this growing consensus that we'd had some terrible ice ages back in the past," Sohl said. These features appeared at three different times in Earth's history, at 750 million, 635 million, and 580 million years ago. Artist's concept of a Snowball Earth. (Image: © Snowball Earth image via Shutterstock) "Snowball events are extreme glaciations," Carl Stevenson, a geologist with the University of Birmingham in Great Britain, told Astrobiology Magazineby email. Stevenson is part of a separate project studying snowball events. During normal ice ages, "ice sheets sort of pulse outward from the poles and retract," Stevenson said. "In a snowball event, the pulse of glaciers seems to reach a tipping point for some reason, and the whole system goes into a snowball." Instead of retracting, the glaciers creep farther south. Temperatures on a snowball Earth are estimated to have reached minus 58 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 50 degrees Celsius). As the ice spread, more heat was reflected back into space rather than absorbed by the planet, dropping temperatures down in a runaway effect that sped the formation of ice. "If you can think of continent-size ice sheetssitting where Saudi Arabia is right now, that will give you an idea of how cold the environment seemed to be," Sohl said. [Gallery: Awe-Inspiring Glaciers] The world remained almost completely frozen over during each of the three periods for around 10 million years before warming again. Scientists still aren't certain what caused temperatures to rise again, but volcanic activity is a strong suspect. Many rocks absorb carbon dioxide, but in a snowball scenario such formations would be covered, allowing the atmosphere-heating molecule to build up to a point where global warming could melt the ice. Slushy or solid? First proposed in 1992 by Joseph Kirschivink at the California Institute of Technology, the idea of an icy Earth lay dormant for six years until Harvard colleague Paul Hoffman published an article envisioning a world with a totally frozen ocean. But an Earth where the water was 100 percent solid was a hard sell to some. At a workshop in Switzerland in the summer of 2006, 65 scientists — geologists, biologists, planet modelers and those in other fields — came together to discuss the possibilities and problems with such a world. "We spent a week thrashing through a bunch of things," Sohl said. Ultimately, the evidence seemed against a completely ice-covered world. Biologists pointed out that a frozen ocean would block light, which should have resulted in mass extinctions that don't show up in the fossil record. Geologists raised the issue that the proposed shutdown of the water cycle was not compatible with evidence. Sohl felt that most people left the conference thinking that the oceans never froze completely. Maroon glacial deposits lay on top of a grey carbonate reef. Though the photo was taken in Canada's Yukon Territory, the land mass lay in the tropics millions of years ago, indicating just how cold the planet got. (Image: © Francis A. Macdonald/Harvard University) "The alternative is that you have a slush ball," Sohl said. "Yes, there was a really bad ice age, but we had lots of open ocean." "A slush ball is sort of a halfway scenario where, instead of a total 'white out,' there are gaps in the ice with open water," Stevenson said. Sohl describes a world where the heat is concentrated around the equator, leaving a band of liquid water where life could survive. [Wipe Out: History's Most Mysterious Extinctions] Better technology, better models Computer simulations are limited by the technology that ran them, and programs have come a long way in 15 years. "Earlier models were more restricted by the computers they ran on, and so when they approximated the real world, those approximations were quite crude," Gavin Schmidt told Astrobiology Magazineby email. Schmidt leads the program that developed and maintains the GISS-E2 simulations, a climate model program that Sohl used to simulate the conditions of a near-frozen Earth. GISS-E2 has a variety of configurations with technical differentiations. Today's programs can break things into smaller pieces and work with more details than the programs that modeled the first ideas of icy Earths. "The earliest models dealt mainly with the lower atmosphere; now they include the ocean, sea ice, land surfaces, the carbon cycle, aerosols, atmospheric composition, the stratosphere and above, and so on," Schmidt said. The first versions of GISS-E2 were developed in the early 1980s, but the program has been updated and tweaked a number of times with the help of a variety of people. "It is very much a group effort, including oceanographers, meteorologists, mathematicians, computer scientists, and others," Schmidt said. Climate models such as GISS-E2 can give scientists not only a view of Earth's possible past, but can also provide peeks into the future. Upcoming changes will also help the simulation to have greater flexibility, allowing it to be used for other planets. A second look As part of the May seminar, Sohl presented information about her current ongoing research into the two older icy periods. Using the more modern programs, she has engaged in rerunning simulations her team originally performed in the mid-1990s. With more experiments to perform, the recent research has not yet been subject to peer review or publication. In both sets of experiments, the land was barren. The presence or absence of plants affects the reflectivity, or albedo, of a planet, which in turn feeds into how fast it heats up. "Plants on land didn't show up until about 460 million years ago," Sohl said. "At best, there might have been some lichens or something like that on land, but that's really controversial." Graphic showing the progression towards a Snowball Earth. (Image: © NASA) The original experiment assumed standard desert conditions, but for the modern version, the scientists used a spot in the barren Gobi desert as an example of the proportions that could occur on a desolate early Earth. Both projects simulated 60 years, at which point there were no more changes. Today, a simulation of that time frame lasts 12 hours; the original run-through lasted far longer. Sohl discussed seven experiments with the group. The first was a basic control run, using preindustrial conditions. She also ran three simulations each for the two glacial intervals, changing the brightness, or luminosity, of the sun. Early in the history of the solar system, the sun was dimmer, which would also have affected the development of the snowball Earth. In the original program, land masses were collapsed into a Pangaea supercontinent state, but for today's experiments the team decided that relocating the continents didn't have a significant effect on changing the planet's albedo. But leaving the world as is created a number of nooks and crannies for ice to pile up in, slowing the program down. Sohl said that future runs would contain a simplified topography. Scientists don't know exactly what triggers the tipping point for a snowball Earth. One surprising result of Sohl's recent simulations was that extreme conditions weren't a requirement. A snowball Earth was created using conditions from before the relatively recent Industrial Age. Another shock was the similarity of the results for the younger ice age even when the initial conditions were changed. Simulations with the solar luminosity set to the maximum suspected levels while the carbon dioxide levels were minimized produced comparable conditions to the sun shining at today's brightness. "I was not prepared for these runs to be so similar to each other at this point," Sohl said. Going forward, Sohl hopes to investigate other modifications that E2-R will allow, including changing the length of the days to the 21.9 hours it once took the Earth to turn on its axis. As technology allows climate models to account for a wider range of variables, scientists should be able to better understand the driving forces that created and maintained a slushy snowball planet. But if the Earth has become a giant ice block three times, could it happen again? "I don't think they would happen again during human existence," Stevenson said. This story was provided by Astrobiology Magazine, a web-based publication sponsored by the NASA astrobiology program. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook or Google+. Published on SPACE.com.OK, I’ll admit it. I’m hooked on travel. I think it’s awesome. There is just something about heading to new places that excites my soul and gets me giddy every time I start packing my bags or planning a trip. So much is my passion for travel that I want to give those that dream of exploring the world further nudging to make it happen. So I sat down and wrote this, to nudge you dreamers again. If you hear the call to travel and need more reason than to experience some of the incredible variety of the world and to explore the playground that is the earth (really?), here are some of the wonders to be found in travel. A Broader Perspective “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.” Mark Twain Experiencing different ways of life will only widen your perspective and meeting new people from different backgrounds and with totally different experiences of life hones your empathy and ability to understand others. Real world travel offers insights that go beyond historical facts you could learn in a book and you’ll probably even see your home country in a new light. ‘Travel broadens the mind’ – yes it’s a cliché, but like most there’s a truth there, and if you travel with an open mind and make an effort to put yourself out there, you can’t fail to see things in ways you’d never seen before. Healthy Discomfort Leaving your country and getting out of your bubble of familiarity will stretch you. Depending on where you go, you’ll be pushed in one way or another – maybe you won’t know how to speak or read, how to greet someone, or you won’t have a clue how to catch local transport. The point is that wherever you go there’ll be something unfamiliar to you in an honestly inconvenient way. And while this might not be the funnest aspect of travel, it will force you to be open to your new environment and use your mind to figure things out. Being adaptable to new situations and practising patience becomes second nature; two precious skills that serve beyond life on the road. Inspiration The world is an inspiring place but it can be incredibly hard to recognize that truth when you’re stuck in a rut or a predictable routine in what has become a banal and mundane environment. When you travel you’re getting out there, discovering new and previously unseen worlds. Travel will open you up to all kinds of new things – languages, lifestyles, social conventions – and these new experiences lead to new ideas and connections, capable of inspiring in many ways. Here are a couple… On How To Live Travel can inspire us to change things in our own lives that we weren’t previously aware were even an option. Through meeting people living alternatives, travel enabled me to see beyond norms and accepted truths of the culture I grew up in – like working 45 weeks a year until retirement, or needing to earn and spend lots of money to lead a fulfilling life – and inspired me to find and create a more appealing lifestyle that suited me. If you feel like your life is becoming flat and dull, travel can open you up to countless possibilities for change – different jobs and career paths, places to live, how to structure your life, lifestyle philosophies, other ways that you can offer your gifts to the world. There really are innumerable paths, and in this way travel can show you how many options you really have. Creativity There’s something in the mental stimulation of new experiences that inspires and feeds creativity and the urge
one of the region’s most prosperous economies with over $14,000 GDP per capita in 2008. By 2011, that number had plummeted to $5,517 and only managed to rise by $1,000 as of 2014. Prior to 2011, Libya’s oil output stood at around 1.6 million barrels per day compared to less than 400,000 barrels per day today. Stricken by poverty, many refugees began to flee Libya to seek a better life in Europe, particularly Italy. As the West intervened to topple Gaddafi, it promised the Libyan people “a better future for Libya” that would include democracy and stability in his wake. For US politicians and corporations, the idea of having such a post-Gaddafi Libya to do business in was a dream come true. “We can do business, have economic ties that will allow American business to prosper from a free Libya,” Senator Graham told Fox News in October of 2011, just days after Gaddafi was “out of the picture.” Graham was amongst the Republicans at that time who were calling on Washington to spare some cash to aid the war-torn country. However, nearly five years since NATO set boots on Libyan soil in March of 2011 and four-and-a-half years since Gaddafi’s murder, Libya has still not received the help and support it was promised. In the meantime, Libya has again become the target of airstrikes, which are now aimed at terrorists. Last week, the US said it had struck a training camp near the Libyan city of Sabratha, killing a Tunisian national, Noureddine Chouchane, who was an IS facilitator. There are now fears that the US might pursue another intervention in Libya under the pretext of fighting jihadists. “The notion and the labeling of a country as a failed state is really and has been a pretext for US military intervention,” Abayomi Azikiwe, editor at Pan-African News Wire, told RT. “We heard the same rhetoric in regard of Afghanistan in 2001. We heard that as well in regards to Iraq.”Guest post by Joe Hoft Last night, President Trump held a rally in Harrisburg, PA, instead of attending the White House Correspondent’s Dinner. Inside the rally at the PA Farm Show Complex & Expo Center the crowd was massive and as previously noted, the crowd size broke the all time record for the arena. President Trump destroyed the main stream media (MSM) early in his speech and in particular the New York Times. The President shared the following at the 5:43 mark in the video below: So just as an example of the media take the totally failing New York Times. Pretty soon they’ll only be on the Internet. The paper is getting smaller and smaller. You ever notice? It’s starting to look like a comic book its getting so small. But I will tell you because I watched and I used to be in the real estate business. They sold their beautiful New York Times building in Manhattan – a cathedral to journalism, such a beautiful, beautiful building, for around $130 million. And the group that bought it later sold it for approximately $500 million. And now they live in a very ugly office building in a crummy location. Next they buy the Boston Globe newspaper with losses for $1.3 billion, invest millions and millions and millions of dollars to get it going and in the end they sell it for $0. They give it away. And then they write nasty editorials and op-eds telling me how I should be handling world events and our country. No. But that’s what we have – they’re incompetent, dishonest people who after the election had to apologize because they covered it, us, me, all of us – they covered it so badly that they felt they were forced to apologize because their predictions were so bad. Do you remember their predictions? They lost a lot of people because of the way they covered. So here’s the story, if the media’s job is to be honest and tell the truth, then I think we would all agree the media deserves a very, very big fat failing grade. Very dishonest people.Editor's note: This article is Part 1 of 3 in a series focusing on gun violence in Mexico. Part 2 of 3 Blame crosses US-Mexico border Mexico, a state with highly restrictive gun laws, minimal arms manufacturing, and only one gun shop in the entire country, is awash in firearms, many of them from the United States. A study published last year by the Trans-Border Institute at the University of San Diego estimates that upward to a quarter-million weapons are purchased in the U.S. and smuggled into Mexico annually. Amid the hyperviolence of Mexico's war on drugs, this southward flow of illicit arms has evoked consternation and pleas for reform of U.S. gun policy from officials and activists on both sides of the Rio Grande. But others say curbing the illicit trafficking of American arms will have little effect on the complex network of violence that has claimed the lives of tens of thousands of Mexicans in the past few years. The flow of weapons "No More Weapons!" reads a giant billboard that stands just south of the U.S.-Mexico border beside a bridge leading into the Mexican city of Juárez. The sign's enormous letters, crafted from crushed firearms seized by Mexican authorities, add heft to a demand specifically directed at Mexico's northern neighbor. Sign up for NCR's Copy Desk Daily, and we'll email you recommended news and opinion articles each weekday. Sign Up Now At the billboard's inauguration in February 2012, then President Felipe Calderón begged the "dear people of the United States" to help end the "terrible violence" in Mexico. "The best way to do this," he said, "is to stop the flow of automatic weapons." Ironically, Calderon's 3-ton sign on the Juárez bridge overlooks a gun buyer's paradise. For scattered along the U.S. side of the 2,000-mile border are 6,700 licensed gun shops, convenient, if unwitting, supply points for illicit firearms that are loaded into trucks that daily trundle over the bridge past the no-weapons billboard and into Mexico. The country is experiencing an epidemic of gun violence. After years in decline, Mexico's homicide rate tripled during the Calderón presidency (2007-12). Up to 121,000 persons were murdered. Of those, 47,000-70,000 were victims of what some researchers have categorized as "organized crime-style homicides," a term that recognizes perpetrators include soldiers and police as well as hit men related to narco-cartels. While Mexico's current homicide rate (23.7 per 100,000) is slightly lower than the regional average (25.9 per 100,000), "no other country in the Western Hemisphere has seen such a large increase in the number of homicides over the last five years," write the authors of a 2012 Trans-Border Institute report on drug violence in Mexico. The country's current average of 1,500 murders per month under President Enrique Peña Nieto is only slightly lower than what it was under Calderón. And guns are increasingly the weapon of choice. Used in 20 percent of all homicides in the 1990s, they are the killing tool in half of today's murders. Mexicans are shooting each other with pistols, handguns, revolvers and even military-style assault weapons. How many of those firearms originate in the U.S. is a question that interests Topher McDougal, an associate professor of economic development at the University of San Diego's Kroc School of Peace Studies. The MIT-trained economist is the co-author of "The Way of the Gun: Estimating Firearms Traffic Across the U.S.-Mexico Border," a report published in March 2013 by the Trans-Border Institute and the Brazil-based Igarapé Institute. Previous studies of U.S. gun flow into Mexico made estimates based on weapons seized at the border, but McDougal said there was no way of knowing what percentage of the total flow those catchments represented. So he and fellow researchers David A. Shirk, Robert Muggah and James H. Patterson looked at the U.S. gun shops -- their projected sales and proximity to the border -- and developed an econometric model to estimate the volume, dollar value and demand for guns trafficked south. Advertisement The institutes' study found that as many as 253,000 guns are annually trafficked into Mexico, representing about 2.2 percent of the total demand for U.S.-sold firearms. The weapons, typically bought in the U.S. through "straw men" purchases and then carted south, provided $127 million annually in revenue between 2010-2012 to U.S. gun dealers and arms manufacturers, who are "literally making a killing," said McDougal. Sever the Mexico supply route and 47 percent of all U.S. licensed firearms dealers would go out of business, according to the report. McDougal's estimate is much higher than previous totals based on guns retrieved. The U.S. Justice Department's Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives reported in 2012 that of the more than 99,000 guns that Mexican authorities seized and submitted to the ATF for tracing between 2007 and 2011, 68,000 were "U.S.-sourced." But guns seized represent only a small portion of the weapons trafficked south, according to McDougal and his colleagues, who discovered that Mexican and U.S. authorities are seizing only about 15 percent of the illicit firearms entering Mexico. That low figure does not surprise Adam Isacson, senior associate for regional security policy at the Washington Office on Latin America. Isacson, who frequently travels to Mexico, said U.S. border officials rarely scrutinize southbound vehicles and Mexican authorities check less than 20 percent of the time. The U.S. authorities simply don't have the capacity, he said, adding, "Can you imagine the backup of traffic into El Paso [Texas] if they checked every car crossing the bridge into Juárez each morning?" The ability to prevent arms trafficking is complicated by various U.S. gun laws restricting the collection and publication of information on how a gun is acquired. The government is prohibited from storing records of individual gun purchases and can only trace and publicize limited aggregate data on weapons retrieved at a crime scene. Revealing the location of the original retailer, for example, is not allowed. To get around these obstacles, Trans-Border Institute researchers advise providing information on gun sales tax revenues at the county level, which would give a fairly detailed estimate of guns sold in shops along the border. Any unusual uptick in sales would alert law enforcement officials to investigate. The researchers also recommend prohibiting cash transactions for guns, creating a Mexican firearms database, and developing a background check that would vet for straw purchasers. "To simply require a 'clean record' is inadequate," McDougal said, "because people who are hired to purchase arms for a third party are hired for their record. Even if Congress were to adopt a universal background check, this wouldn't prevent straw purchases because you have no way of knowing if the purchaser is going to resell the gun." 'No longer domestic' The March 2013 Trans-Border/Igarapé report came out amid a resurgence of the national debate on gun control sparked by the December 2012 grade-school shooting in Newtown, Conn. McDougal hopes his research will help recast the debate and raise awareness of the cross-border effects of U.S. gun policy. "Just as foreign policy is no longer foreign because of globalization, domestic policy is no longer domestic," he said. When the U.S. federal ban on assault weapons expired in 2004, Mexican homicides escalated immediately and significantly, according to recent research. The report "Cross-Border Spillover: U.S. Gun Laws and Violence in Mexico," published in 2013, found that after the ban ended, gun-related deaths increased 35 percent in Mexican counties adjacent to Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, states with permissive gun laws, but stayed constant in counties south of California, where a state ban on assault weapons remains in place. "It is interesting that for so long, the U.S. has complained about the supply of drugs coming up from Mexico," McDougal said. "Now this is a mirror issue. The U.S. says of the drugs that it is a supply-side problem. The difference here is that the Mexican government has never said the drugs are a legal right of Mexican citizens." [Claire Schaeffer-Duffy is a longtime NCR contributor.]United States secretly sent a plane and seeked help from Scandinavian countries to capture serial whistleblower, Edward Snowden We all know that ever since he leaked secret NSA documents, Edward Snowden has been a marked man. But not many know that US had tried to capture Snowden from Denmark. The Justice Minister of Denmark has confirmed that the US sent a rendition flight to Copenhagen Airport to capture Snowden.The Justice Minister’s confirmation is just seconding the reports which appeared last month that US landed a private aircraft in Copenhagen intended to capture Snowden in June 2013. In a report published by Danish online media Denfri US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) prepared to kidnap Edward Snowden and ship him back to United States. The reports were initially rubbished by Danish authorities. However, now Justice Minister Søren Pind told the Danish parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee the US was granted permission to use Danish airspace and land a plane at Copenhagen Airport to transport Edward Snowden to America. “The purpose of the plane’s presence at Copenhagen Airport was apparently to have the ability to transport Edward Snowden to the USA in case he was delivered from Russia or another country,” Mr Pind said in a written statement seen by the Local. Local also reported that US sought the help of Danish, Norwegian, Swedish and Finnish authorities in tracking down Snowden. “The FBI requests that your service immediately notify the necessary and applicable agencies of the below information in the event that Snowden should board a flight from Moscow to one of your respective countries for either transit purposes or as a final destination,” a sent that the FBI sent out of the US Embassy in Copenhagen read. It may be recalled that Denmark’s Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen had previously dismissed calls from Denmark’s left wing to offer the whistleblower asylum. “I have a very hard time seeing what the reasoning would be for parliament to pass a special law taking the extraordinary step of offering an American citizen political amnesty in Denmark,” Rasmussen said. “He is sought for a series of legal violations; that’s what he is. And the US is a democratic constitutional state,” he added. Snowden tweeted about the incident, saying it “seems to confirm Denmark intended to violate principle of non-refoulement as I sought asylum.” Remember when the PM #Rasmussen said Denmark shouldn't respect asylum law in my case? Turns out he had a secret. https://t.co/8K6cYuvAhv — Edward Snowden (@Snowden) January 27, 2016The father of billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch helped construct a major oil refinery in Nazi Germany, a new book reports. Adolf Hitler personally approved the refinery, according to “Dark Money” by Jane Mayer, which looks at some rich donors to what the book terms in its subtitle the “radical right” of today while focusing on the Koch family. Fred Koch and American Nazi sympathizer William Rhodes Davis were partners in the refinery, the third largest in the Third Reich and a critical industrial cog in Hitler’s war machine, according to The New York Times. Koch Industry company officials did not participate in the book. The refinery is not mentioned in an online history published by Koch Industries, according to the Times. The Koch brothers have given more than $100 million to conservative and libertarian policy and advocacy groups in the United States, Mayer reported in the New Yorker, where she works as a staff writer, in 2010.Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s son Donald Trump, Jr. said Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) can only win the Republican presidential nomination by “bribing the delegates.” While discussing the delegate system, Trump said, “I think we’re going to do what we need to do at a point. We want to win without having to do that. You know Ted Cruz has no chance of winning this without bribing the delegates. That’s his game at this point. He’s mathematically eliminated but that’s his from day one he’s not appealing to the voters. He’ll lose more states than Mitt Romney. I can’t name a single state that Mitt lost that Ted can possibly win. So I think at this point the Republican establishment would much rather just hand the things over to Hillary, hand the reins over to her and let her run it. Guess what? There’s no accountability in the party. You lose, it doesn’t matter. You win, okay, great, you win. because everyone’s in on the same thing. all their job is to do is to protect the little cliques they formed to keep the paychecks rolling from special interests and the same thing with the delegate process we’re seeing today.” Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNENDec 11, 2012; New York, NY, USA; Brooklyn Nets head coach Avery Johnson reacts during the first quarter against the New York Knicks at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports ORG XMIT: USATSI-95576 ORIG FILE ID: 20121211_ajl_ag9_044.jpg (Photo: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports) Story Highlights Johnson was fired by Brooklyn in December This is his second stint with ESPN If Avery Johnson isn't coaching in the NBA, he wants the next best thing: analyzing the league on TV. That's exactly what he will do – again. Johnson, who was fired as coach of the Brooklyn Nets in December, is re-joining ESPN's television coverage of the NBA and will appear on NBA Coast 2 Coast, NBA Tonight and SportsCenter, Johnson told USA TODAY Sports on Tuesday. Johnson, who will make his in-studio debut on Oct. 21, worked for ESPN from 2008-10 after losing his coaching job with the Dallas Mavericks. ROCKETS: Howard, Harden and Lin a new Big Three? "I had such a great time during my two-year stint with ESPN, that was the first phone call I made when I knew that I was not going to go back to coaching right now," Johnson said. "I really enjoy working with the staff at ESPN, the access to so much information and stats and just staying close to the game. Because we're always on TV, I had to watch games morning, noon and night, and it really made me feel like it was the next best thing close to coaching. It reminds me of the preparation I undertook as a coach." Johnson has a great basketball mind and grew into his role at ESPN, using his ability to see what is happening on the court and it break it down for viewers. "You have to make sure you are prepared and articulate your material where it's clear to the audience," Johnson said. DAVID STERN: Proud of global reach LEBRON AND FREE AGENCY: Why he's handling it perfectly this time He has no problem being critical, if that's what is necessary. "The main thing is you have to do your job," Johnson said. "When you're working for ESPN, your loyalties lie first with the network because they're the ones giving you the platform to do something you're really passionate about, and I'm passionate about television work. "I have to make sure that whatever topic we're discussing that I communicate in such a way that fans and viewers can appreciate the material. It has to be truthful. You have to be accurate." Johnson said the 2013-14 season is laced with intrigue. "Can Miami get to the Finals for the fourth straight year and three-peat? That's intriguing," He said. "A team like Indiana … can they break through and get to the Finals. That's intriguing, especially with Danny Granger coming back. How is he going to fit into the lineup? Are they going to start him? Are they going to bring him off the bench? I need to see a little bit more out of their point guard play. Larry Bird's back. They've turned over their assistant coaching staff a little bit. I'm intrigued by the addition of Nate McMillan and Popeye Jones. "Do the Spurs have it in them one more time to get back to the Finals? Or are they going to have a hangover?" And course, Johnson is interested in watching his former team, the Nets, this season with first-year coach Jason Kidd leading a great of stars. "Obviously, having coached the Nets, I'm intrigued about whether they can bring it all together in another make or break year and make it to the Finals," he said. "Or are they going to be early-round out when there's a lot of pressure on them to get to the Finals, especially with their significant payroll and new additions?" The time away from coaching in the NBA also gives Johnson a chance to watch his son, Avery Johnson Jr. play basketball his senior season at Plano (Texas) West High, a strong contender to win the Texas 5A state title. The younger Johnson is getting attention from college basketball coaches, and Johnson believes his son will play college basketball next year. "He will. We've had college coaches not only looking at Avery Jr., but other players on the team, too," Johnson said. He sounds just like other coaches and executives, such as Steve Kerr, Fran Fraschilla and Stan Van Gundy, who took time off from the job to spend more time with their children. Maybe one day, Johnson will get back into coaching. "I consider myself all-in at ESPN, and I love my job, and I love this opportunity," Johnson said. "I'm not sure what the future is going to hold. But right now, this year, I'm really excited working at ESPN." 2013 NBA COACHING CAROUSEL:UR Fight iPPV UR Fight (pronounced “your fight”) The Celebrity Theatre, Phoenix AZ 20 March 2016 An iPPV designed to promote the web-TV channel “URshow.tv”. It’s pitch was a broad nostalgia hodge-podge of worked pro-wrestling and shoot MMA/boxing bouts with older and/or disgraced personalities. Ken Shamrock was originally scheduled to fight Dan Severn (the match I was most looking forward to, that we never properly got in WWF!) but Ken was replaced by WCW/Friends-alum Tank Abbott, who wasn’t licensed, so the match was scrapped entirely. Today it was found out that Shamrock tested positive for steroids (and methadone – used for pain or drug dependence) at Bellator 149 last month. So is it worth the asking price of $12? Let’s find out. Opening video: Holy shit, in a bad way. Michael Rappaport (co-star of Inside Out with Triple H) Ken Shamrock, Chael Sonnen in front of a US flag, Gary Busey et al plugging URshow.tv and it’s “video AMAs, real time voting, and the most unbelievable contests and prizes”. Oh my God! Smacks of some money mark paying disinterested celebrities to hock their soulless web channel. Combined with the card subject to change and multiple types of sporting contests, it has the potential to be another heroes of wrestling. Commentators: Jim Ross, Sean Wheelock (MMA commentator) and Rampage Jackson. In 2008 he was charged with a felony hit and run with the police in tow and a female victim tried to claim it caused a stillbirth (which was dismissed). You might remember he was in TNA (!) with the Main Event Mafia and hung around Angle; even wrestling against the Aces & Eights. They have no chemistry. Sean Wheelock does a good job of presenting points of information, although he embarrassingly sucks up to JR using smark terms like “mark”, “legit heat” and “turning heel”. It’s great to hear JR, and God love him he’s trying, but even he can’t feign being interested/excited. He does have some fun quips throughout the night. “Hey JR, you should promote your own shows.” “I’d like to keep my money.” Our innoggeral 😉 contest is Shannon Ritch vs Mavrick Harvey. The first of 4 -count ‘em 4- bouts! And the PPV is 2 and a half hours. Rampage immediately notes the mat must be slippery, affecting how people fight. It rucks up easily and the ring looks cheap – they fucking skimped on the ring affecting the quality of the fights! Something straight of bumfights with how unprofessional this was, setting the tone: Harvey brawling in the ropes and a big wedgie! Harvey won with a rear naked choke in Round 1. Shannon "The Cannon" Ritch vs Mavrick Harvey #URFight AMAZING less than a minute in pic.twitter.com/WG506N4MH1 — ZombieProphet (@ZProphet_MMA) March 21, 2016 Chael Sonnen vs Michael Bisping – Metamoris Rules (Submission-only grappling) Chael’s a hell of a promo and it sucks he didn’t (or hasn’t) gotten into WWE. Given that he’s a notable friend of CM Punk and was released from UFC in mid-2014 due to his multiple failed drugs tests, he won’t be coming to WWE anytime soon. Bisping beat Anderson Silva at UFC Fight Night 84 a couple weeks ago so I’m unsure how he can fight for another organisation. Rampage did note that win but said he was lucky, the judges beat Silva. Sonnen weighed in at 231 (19 heavier than Bisping), JR quips he enjoyed the catering at ESPN (lol!). They sleep through their fight – an eternity before the first takedown attempt. They grapple like they’re both avoiding injuring themselves and their opponent, like they were paid to appear, not to compete. Commentators call it “conservative” and “showing mutual respect”. Boo! In the last minute there was a scissors takedown and angle lock attempt but time was up and it was a draw. Chael says he won’t fight again professionally. It’s like the ending of Dexter – if you wanted no-one to ask you to come back, perfect job! Crowd are absolutely dead. They’ve turned down the lights but you can see the scores of empty ringside seats! Deafening silence! Chael Sonnen vs Michael Bisping #URFight Bisping's fake elbows and @Rampage4real isnt happy pic.twitter.com/9GggLOekJR — ZombieProphet (@ZProphet_MMA) March 21, 2016 Pre-recorded fight from earlier today: Kobe “The Stunna” Ortiz vs Brendan “Tiny Shorts” Tierney OH MY GOD! It looks like the fighters are in slow motion and they’re pulling their punches. It looked wrong. Sadly no stunner, but a TKO in Round 3, a stoppage due to strikes, the Stunna winning it. Wow, mega heat with “intermission performer” Riff Raff singing a song with four disinterested models standing in the ring. The commentators admit it shit the bed, pondering if the cheer for angle was really for Riff Raff leaving. Ha! Pro-Wrestling: Rey vs Angle (41 and 47 respectively) in a 2 out of 3 falls match. What we all came to see! Idiot backstage reporter gets her facts wrong live and Rey has to correct her, admitting he’s not wearing the mask a fan made for him, but rather the fan is wearing it and will accompany him. WTF don’t bring up the mask at all then! That’s like a kid giving you a drawing and for safe-keeping you put it in the bin! Wear it you cunt! Or get a proper version of it made. The kid is also taller than Rey, and in the shirt, you could tell the fans didn’t know which one of the two was the star. No choreography as the fan is told to look at the screen and he looks at something else. The whole event feels unrehearsed/poor direction. Hail to the chief! Kurt Angle comes out to Bob Backlund’s theme. YES. This match was reffed by TNA’s Brian Hebner and tonight’s announcer is former WWE guy Justin Roberts. Presentation is crucial in modern wrestling and it feels very bush league/unimportant. Roughly mid 2000s ROH. Bit rusty starting off, but it heats up and Angle gets the first fall with the Angle Slam. Rampage shakes his head at the small size of Mysterio, having to fight a man much heavier than him. Rey ties it up with a 619 and a shit splash, and straight into near falls (including the battered sausage!). Ref bump, low blow and when Angle grabs a chair, Rampage shouts Motherfucker! Jackson was enjoying himself here (he name-dropped Ultimate Warrior and JYD as his favs) but I wonder how most MMA fighters/broadcasters feel about calling (obviously scripted) pro-rasslin bouts. With Riff-Raff’s distraction (taking the chair away), Rey wins with the 619 and the world’s shittest frog splash. No themesong plays. Riff-Raff hotdogs with Mysterio to silence. It just feels out of sorts! HILARIOUS them trying to get Riff Raff over. A decent but inconsequential and unmemorable bout, it’s like someone was watching SummerSlam 2002 on the Network and wanted it on their show. When the two warmed up is was fun to see them wrestling each other again. JR notes “at least the crowd came alive for the pro wrestling match” — it woke the crowd up, which was great. JR keeps putting over how massive it was for Rey to win 2 straight falls (coming from behind) and nobody’s done it; gotta mention Benoit did it 2-0 at Insurrextion 2001! MAIN EVENT: Boxing: Roy Jones Jr vs Vyron Phillips Old boxer (Jones) vs younger MMA fighter in a boxing match. Contributing to the carny atmosphere, fighters sent in tapes to UR Fight, and facebook voted for the final four nominees (which Vyron won), so the 34-year old gets to box his hero, the 47-year old Roy Jones Jr. If he won he’d get $100,000. Voting only STARTED about 3 weeks ago (FIX! FIIIIIX!) so it was a slam dunk. Jones outboxed him easily, and smashed him with a right in the jaw in the second round, and despite Vyron getting up, the ref called waved it off as a TKO. Roy Jones Junior KO's Vyron Philips for his 63rd win of his career. Philips: "There goes my $100 grand" pic.twitter.com/TWJau4B3VY — KO KINGS (@KOKINGS4) March 21, 2016 Overall: Pretty much a low-rent freak-carny show! Very short fights, it delivered on what you’d expect, which is for it to be not very good! Save your money, look for gifs online. Shame on Sonnen/Bisping. But hey, we got a wedgie, a solid punch, and Angle vs Mysterio. So you didn’t miss much! But if you saw it, lemme know what you thought. Our 3RD ANNUAL GOLDEN NOGGERS video dropped last night (watch it here!) and our New storyline arc trailer earlier in the week (watch it here!)Photo: WWE/YouTube The best professional wrestlers know how to make an entrance, whether it's Stone Cold Steve Austin's shattering glass, the Undertaker's church bell "gong," or the Rock's "If you smell what the Rock is cooking." That's certainly true for the WWE's three-man tag champions the New Day, who have turned their entrance into a spectacle unlike anything else in the company. The scene plays out on nearly every episode of WWE programming: "Don't you dare be sour. Clap! For your world famous, two-time champs, and feel the power!" bellows a voice over the PA. "It's a New Day, yes it is!" The group's contemporary gospel theme song—somewhere between Kirk Franklin's "Revolution" and "I Smile"—hits, and three black wrestlers in bold neon spandex enter the arena. Fans clap, and cheer "New Day rocks!" or "New Day sucks!" depending how they feel about the often-villainous group. It's one of the biggest reactions of the night. But despite the quirkier elements of their gimmick—like wearing plastic unicorn horns and playing the trombone—there is a hint of a familiar song and dance: the hand-clapping and hip-grinding of black wrestlers, grouped together simply because they were black, and with a gospel theme, no less. Are the New Day the latest in a long line of unfortunate gimmicks for wrestlers of color, or is there something more to their absurd antics? Read More: Talking, Selling, And Wrestling: A Conversation With Jim Ross Wrestling's past is littered with unfortunate roles for black wrestlers, from manservants and street thugs to voodoo priests and tribal boogeyman—and that's only looking back to the late 1980s. "The greatest achievement that a black wrestler could have in the '70s, '80s and '90s is not being seen as a black wrestler," explains David Shoemaker, the author of The Squared Circle: Life, Death, and Pro Wrestling. Back then, there were producers backstage at WWE who would say, "Being black is the gimmick." "While no one would say that backstage now, it's not that long ago," Shoemaker told me. The wrestling world manages to bring this part of its legacy back into the spotlight every year or so. Last year, it was Hulk Hogan's racist tirade and subsequent public shaming. In 2014, it was the rise of Rusev. Nicknamed the Bulgarian Brute, Rusev was a monster heel who waved the Russian flag over his vanquished opponents—most of whom were black. A series of quick, effortless matches (known as "squashes") over low-level losers ("jobbers") is the typical method for building up a heel, but Rusev's opponents included veteran powerhouse Mark Henry, repeat champion Kofi Kingston, and Big E Langston, who was just coming off a run as Intercontinental Champion. Fans flocked to wrestling blogs and forums, asking why Rusev mostly beat black wrestlers. Big E tweeted, "I have a feeling [Rusev] hates Hip Hop and cornbread." Aside from getting trounced by Rusev, these men also shared what some critics contend is all too common for black wrestlers in WWE: shallow characters that traffic in racial stereotypes and little else. "With these gimmicks," Shoemaker says, "it's almost less offensive that they exist than that they're so thin: a thin veneer over a non-gimmick, because of the idea that they already have a gimmick, and it's their skin color." Kingston, one of the most purely athletic and acrobatic members of the roster, debuted in 2007 but his character—an all-smiles, erstwhile Jamaican babyface—never evolved. Langston bounced between heel enforcer and face strongman since his 2012 debut, never getting the time to develop either character. A third Rusev jobber, Xavier Woods, joined the main roster in 2013 and simply borrowed the funk-dancing gimmick of another wrestler. The three men who would eventually become New Day chafed at being confined by their race. "We didn't want to sing and dance, because for African-American athletes, you're either singing and dancing, or you're the big strong black guy, or the foreign black guy. Those are the three archetypes," Woods recalled telling WWE boss Vince McMahon on Chris Jericho's podcast last August. "We want to push some sort of message for all kids, but more specifically for young, black kids watching wrestling: you can be whatever kind of character you want, you come with a blank slate and you can be anything, not just these three things." In summer of 2014, Woods began "managing" Kingston and Big E, who were by then losing together as a tag team. He preached and commanded from the sidelines and the tag team started winning. The trio described themselves simply as "smart athletic friends" on social media and in interviews—no racist tropes, no tired gimmicks. On commentary, Woods continued to take a hard-line position, noting how the three wrestlers were upset at their treatment by the powers that be. Enough was enough, and Woods was ready for a change: "You cannot move ahead by shaking hands, kissing babies, singing and dancing like a puppet. You cannot move ahead by always doing what you're told," he intoned in July. "It is our time to find purpose, because we do not ask any longer. Now, we take." "I was giddy when I saw [them] debut," says Dion Beary, who had written about wrestling's race problem in The Atlantic just weeks before Woods, Kingston, and Big E first teamed up. "I was just happy that three incredibly talented dudes, all of whom I'd mentioned in my article, were getting a shot at doing something cool together." Soon, however, the three disappeared from WWE's televised product, their gimmick apparently scrapped. Eventually McMahon called them into his office. "I want you guys to be preachers," Kingston recalled his boss saying on "Talk Is Jericho." "And all three of us were like, oh my God." Months after rejecting the stereotypical roles bestowed on black wrestlers, Woods, Kingston, and Big E found themselves saddled with a new one. The New Day in the ring. Photo by Megan Elice Meadows/CC BY-SA The New Day debuted in the ring that November in bright blue gear, backed by a gospel choir, all smiles and newly obsessed with clapping, sermonizing about positivity at every turn. Langston, the son of a preacher, had the most pronounced transformation, morphing from stoic strongman to a gasping, bug-eyed bombast who would pull a hankie out of his singlet and dab sweat from his brow. Mostly, the New Day spent their time as secondary players, helping to tell the stories of other tag teams. As frustrated as they were, they tried their best to take advantage of the situation and mold it into opportunity. "When we were given the gimmick and saw what it was," Kingston told Jericho, "we figured, if we throw everything that we can—smiling, clapping, happiness, everything—into this babyface gimmick, it will not take long to turn heel
situations. The best part about it is everyone is OK and he's doing fine, and he's going to be able to come back and enjoy a Braves game." View Full Game Coverage The family of the young boy has chosen to keep their identity and status updates private. But when they visited the boy in the hospital, Gomez, Laird and Braves third baseman Chris Johnson all gained a sense that he was going to recover from the resulting injuries. "We just wanted to put him in some good spirits and make sure everything was all right," Johnson said. "It was good to hear everything was going good and hopefully, he'll be back at a game soon." Having received tickets from a friend, the boy's father brought his son to his first Major League game and provided him the treat of sitting approximately four rows above the Braves first-base side dugout. Unfortunately, these prime seats put the child directly in line to be drilled by the foul ball Gomez lined into the stands during the seventh inning. "I heard it hit something," Johnson said. "Then I saw his dad immediately grab him and take off. That's when you knew, especially with the sound it made. It sounded like it hit two barrels -- off Gomez's barrel and then off another one. It's scary stuff, I'm just glad he's all right." A father of two, Gomez said he had trouble sleeping until around 5 a.m. ET on Wednesday. After getting a few hours of sleep, the Brewers outfielder gained some relief when he visited the boy in his hospital room. "The important [thing] for me is to have the opportunity to talk to him and see him and stay with him for [about 30 minutes]," Gomez said. "He was really happy." While Gomez was able to interact, the boy was sleeping when Laird and Johnson arrived at the hospital around 11:30 p.m. on Tuesday. The two Braves players could still see blood around the boy's left ear as doctors ran tests. But by Wednesday morning, Johnson and Laird were informed that the boy had awoke to the thrill of finding the various autographed items they had brought to the hospital. Each of the Braves players signed a bat, and Laird left one of his autographed catcher's mitts. "Sometimes, there's more to the game than just playing the game," Laird said. "You want to make sure everything is OK. We just wanted to go over there, make sure he was all right and let the family know we were thinking about them." Teheran had planned to send his mother the ball with which he recorded the final out of Tuesday's shutout. But he has instead decided he will give it to the injured boy. "He's a young kid and he's here to enjoy the game and watch Major League players play baseball," Laird said. "Next thing you know, he's in the hospital. But the best part about it is he's doing all right and he's going to come back and enjoy a game with his family. That's the most important thing." As Braves fans learned of Gomez's hospital visit on Wednesday afternoon, many of them took to Twitter to express that they had changed their feelings for the high-energy Brewers outfielder, who drew ire in Atlanta last September, when his animated home run trot when former Braves catcher Brian McCann would not allow him to reach the plate. Memories of that incident and the benches-clearing incident that followed led many Braves fans to heartily boo Gomez this week. But it seemed like the perception changed on Wednesday. "The Braves fans [are] being so nice to me and the media, especially," Gomez said. "They tweeted, 'You're a really good man.' Life is crazy. Before they hate me, now they love me."Actress and model feminist Jane Fonda says she's known for more than a year that Harvey Weinstein sexually harassed and assaulted young women in Hollywood, but chose not to say anything. Speaking to Christiane Amanpour, Fonda said that her friend, and fellow outspoken liberal activist, Rosanna Arquette, told her about her experiences with Weinstein. Arquette was one of several women who also spoke to Ronan Farrow, telling the New Yorker author that after she resisted Weinstein's advances in a New York City hotel room, he cut her out of the business for years. But Fonda says she never spoke up, and kept Arquette's claims under lock and key, despite, it seems, running into Weinstein here and there at Democratic party events during the 2016 election. "I'm ashamed that I didn't say anything right then," Fonda said. She should be. Fonda has been a women's rights activist for years, beginning in the 1960s when her anti-war activism dovetailed nicely with the feminist movement. Just recently, at the Emmy Awards, Fonda and co-star Lily Tomlin made provocative statements accusing President Donald Trump of being a sexist, and emblematic of an oppressive Patriarchy designed to keep women down. “Back in 1980 in that movie, we refused to be controlled by a sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot,” the pair crowed. “And in 2017, we still refuse to be controlled by a sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot.” Weinstein was clearly the exception to Fonda's rule. According to Fonda, she never said anything about the Hollywood mogul because "I guess it hadn't happened to me, and so I didn't feel that it was my place." That's right: Fonda said nothing because, despite what is likely a horrific story from her own friend, recounting a vile and treacherous man, Fonda wasn't on Weinstein's list of victims, so she felt no need to address the problem — or even, it seems, help her friend make her story public. Fortunately, Fonda cleared her name later in the interview by saying she is actively "resisting" Donald Trump, so clearly she's doing her part to oppose male hegemony, and need not be called on to take any responsibility for Hollywood's pile of filth. "Let's not think this is some unique, horrific thing. This goes on all the time," Fonda told Amanpour. "It's this male entitlement — in Hollywood, and everywhere. In offices and businesses all over the world, in bars, and restaurants and stores, women are assaulted, abused, harassed and seen for just being sexual objects, there for a man's desire, instead of as whole human beings." She claimed Donald Trump actually made it harder to come forward with allegations of sexual assault, and that she — Jane Fonda — has been doing "good" work, helping to bring sexual harassment and misogyny to the forefront, an effort that Trump himself stalled. Trump, she claimed "counteracts a lot of the good that we're doing, because a lot of men say, 'Well, our president does it, and he got elected even after people discovered that he was an abuser, so I'm just going to go ahead and do what I want to do.'" Weirdly, Weinstein seems to have been prescient on the subject of Trump's nomination; he started harassing women sometime in the 1990s. It was only after Trump's election, when the New York Times — by no means a Trump-loving publication — began digging into allegations of Weinstein's behavior.By By Kev Hedges Feb 22, 2011 in Entertainment British soul artist Adele has this week completed an amazing chart feat: a number one single and number one album in the same week as well as another single and album in the top five. This has not been achieved since The Beatles in 1964. Her first album, 19, jumped up from number six to a top five slot at number 4 in the chart. She also has another single in the top five to go with her number one hit, Rolling in the Deep, last week at number five has now moved up to number four. The Beatles had two singles and two albums in the top five of both charts with I Want To Hold Your Hand and She Loves You, which were number two and five respectively in the singles charts. In the same week the albums The Beatles and Please Please Me were occupying the top two slots respectively. A full list of the official charts can be found Adele, 22, from Tottenham in north London, is a singer-songwriter who has already won two Grammy Awards, reports Brit Awards presenter James Corden introduced her live performance with a poignant reminder of how Adele's music can touch the heart. He said: "There's nothing quiet like the feeling when you are listening to a song, written by someone you don't know, who you've never met, that describes how you felt at a particular moment in your life. This next artist is able to perform that time after time. Which is why she is number one in seventeen countries across the world right now. If you have ever had a broken heart, you are about to remember it now..." In the UK album charts she held on to the top spot with her second album, 21. In the singles chart her latest tune Someone Like You, climbed from number 47 to the top spot following a live performance at the 2011 Brit Awards Her first album, 19, jumped up from number six to a top five slot at number 4 in the chart. She also has another single in the top five to go with her number one hit, Rolling in the Deep, last week at number five has now moved up to number four.The Beatles had two singles and two albums in the top five of both charts with I Want To Hold Your Hand and She Loves You, which were number two and five respectively in the singles charts. In the same week the albums The Beatles and Please Please Me were occupying the top two slots respectively. A full list of the official charts can be found here Adele, 22, from Tottenham in north London, is a singer-songwriter who has already won two Grammy Awards, reports Sky News - Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, at the 51st Grammy Awards Brit Awards presenter James Corden introduced her live performance with a poignant reminder of how Adele's music can touch the heart. He said: "There's nothing quiet like the feeling when you are listening to a song, written by someone you don't know, who you've never met, that describes how you felt at a particular moment in your life. This next artist is able to perform that time after time. Which is why she is number one in seventeen countries across the world right now. If you have ever had a broken heart, you are about to remember it now..." More about Adele, Soul Music, Charts More news from Adele Soul Music ChartsDuring a news conference on June 29 Cardinal George Pell said he was innocent of sex abuse charges and said he was a victim of "relentless character assassination." Pell said he would take leave from his position as the Vatican's finance chief to return to Australia to fight the charges. (Reuters) A cardinal in charge of the Vatican’s finances has been charged with multiple sexual offenses by Australian police, in one of the most significant indictments against a top-ranking leader of the Catholic Church. Cardinal George Pell faces multiple charges of “historical sexual assault offenses,” the Australian criminal justice system’s term for offenses committed in the past, Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner Shane Patton announced at a news conference on Thursday morning in Australia. That morning, Victoria police notified Pell’s legal representative that he has been charged and must appear in court on July 18, Patton said. Patton said that Pell was treated no differently than any other defendant because of his high rank in the Vatican — notifying a legal representative and summoning the defendant to court at a later date is the recommendation of Australian prosecutors in a case like his. Patton did not discuss the details of the case, so it was not clear whether Pell was charged with participating in abuse or covering it up. In the Vatican, Pell’s job as secretariat of the economy is so crucial that it has been described as the second-most-powerful role in Rome, after only the pope. But for years, he has faced accusations of improper behavior connected with clergy sexual abuse in Australia. In Ballarat, Pell’s hometown, dozens of children were abused by priests. After the abuse came to light, priests testified under oath that Pell knew about the abuse while it was occurring. The scale of the abuse in Ballarat was staggering: In one fourth-grade class of 33 boys, 12 committed suicide, the Post reported in 2015. Five priests who worked in the parish were convicted of crimes, including one who was found guilty of abusing more than 50 children. Two years ago, Peter Saunders, a survivor of sexual abuse on the Vatican’s Commission for the Protection of Minors, spoke out against Pell, calling him “almost sociopathic” in his lack of concern for the victims of abuse in an interview with Australia’s television program “60 Minutes.” Saunders asked Pope Francis at the time to remove Pell from his position and take “the strongest action against him.” But Pell publicly refuted Saunders’s allegations, and a Vatican spokesman stood with Pell, saying the cardinal “must be considered reliable.” [From 2015: Top Vatican cardinal trailed by old child abuse scandal from Australia] Pell has served as a priest since 1966. Australian Cardinal George Pell spoke to a commission investigating the Catholic church's sexual abuse cases in Australia on Feb. 29. The Vatican's finance minister admitted that the Church "has mucked things up, has let people down." (Reuters) In response to an Australian inquiry into clergy sexual abuse last year, he testified in court that he had heard about “misbehavior” by two priests — including priests kissing children and swimming naked with them — but had not reported it. He had heard only fleeting references to the priests’ actions, he said, and knew little about the incidents. He said he doesn’t remember a child ever reporting abuse to him, though he added, “My memory is sometimes fallible,” according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. When children did report abuse in earlier decades, he said, they weren’t likely to be believed. “In those days, if a priest denied such activity, I was very strongly inclined to accept the denial,” he said. “At that stage, the instinct was more to protect the institution, the community of the church, from shame.” In his testimony, he said, “The church has made enormous mistakes and is working to remedy those.” [From 2016: Pell testifies about handling of sexual abuse that rocked Australia] On Thursday morning, Patton did not offer any details about the charges against Pell, other than to say that the cardinal faces “multiple charges in respect to historical offenses.” This post has been updated.HTML Tags Some tags take parameters, called attributes. The attributes are given after the tag, separated by spaces. Certain attributes have an effect simply by their presence, others are followed by an equals sign and a value. (See the Anchor tag, for example). The names of tags and attributes are not case sensitive: they may be in lower, upper, or mixed case with exactly the same meaning. (In this document they are generally represented in upper case.) Currently HTML documents are transmitted without the normal SGML framing tags, but if these are included parsers will ignore them. ... The title is not strictly part of the text of the document, but is an attribute of the node. It may not contain anchors, paragraph marks, or highlighting. the title may be used to identify the node in a history list, to label the window displaying the node, etc. It is not normally displayed in the text of a document itself. Contrast titles with headings. Next ID The format of this tag is not yet specified. NOT CURRENTLY USED HREF If the HREF attribute is present, the anchor is senstive text: the start of a link. If the reader selects this text, he should be presented with another document whose network address is defined by the value of the HREF attribute. The format of the network address is specified elsewhere. This allows for the form HREF=#identifier to refer to another anchor in the same document. If the anchor is in another document, the atribute is a relative name, relative to the documents address (or specified base address if any). NAME The attribute NAME allows the anchor to be the destination of a link. The value of the parameter is that part of a hypertext address which follows the hash sign. TYPE An attribute TYPE may give the relationship described by the hyertext link. The type is expressed by a string for extensibility. Strings for types with particular semantics will be registered by the W3 team. The default relationship if none other is given is void. Format: ... The text may contain any ISO Latin printable characters, including the tag opener, so long as it does not contain the closing tag in full. Line boundaries are significant, and are to be interpreted as a move to the start of a new line. The ASCII Horizontal Tab (HT) character should be interpreted as the smallest positive nonzero number of spaces which will leave the number of characters so far on the line as a multiple of 8. Its use is not recommended however. Paragraph ,,,,, Second level heading text... Highlighting ...... etc. Glossaries Term definition pagagraph Term2 Definition of term2 Lists list element another list element... Opening list tags are:On Wednesday night Sens. Bernie Sanders and Ted Cruz, the runners-up for their respective parties’ nomination, engaged in a CNN debate on the future of the Affordable Care Act. This legislation also goes by the nickname “Obamacare,” which I must point out because polling indicates a third of Americans don’t know these are the same thing. The debate highlighted the different approaches each party has in regards to healthcare policy. Sen. Sanders acknowledged the shortcomings of Obamacare, but contended that an outright repeal would be disastrous. He is in favor of improving Obamacare, and ultimately moving towards a system where healthcare is a guaranteed right for all. Cruz generally argued that Obamacare is a travesty that drive up costs and hurts small businesses. He claimed that Republicans would replace Obamacare with new health reforms, although their party has had eight years to come up with a better plan and have not released one. The only concrete specifics Cruz gave were that they would “get the government out of healthcare” and give choices to citizens. No matter what individual policies and regulations come forth from a healthcare law, the role of government is the key difference between the parties in our country, on almost every issue. The question is always whether the government or private companies should handle certain functions and responsibilities. This boils down to which entity we should trust to handle healthcare policy. The main difference between the government and private companies is that one is accountable to the American people and the other is accountable to shareholders and their profits. The government has an incentive to give you quality coverage, because you are essentially their boss. If they do a poor job then citizens will have the power to affect change. A private company cares about making money. That’s it. Senator Sanders repeatedly pointed out that without Obamacare an insurance company could refuse to cover someone if they find out they have cancer. This sounds horrible and inhumane, but they won’t do it because there is no money in covering someone in a pre-existing condition. Republicans love to warn about the dangers of “big government.” And there is always a risk that government will overstep its authority and violate the rights and privileges of its citizens. But the U.S. government is by no means some corrupt entity who must constantly be prevented from oppressing the people of the country. Most of the workers in federal agencies are simply doing their best to help the people they serve. The government taking an active role in healthcare is not as dangerous to our democratic way of life as the government taking an active role in monitoring its citizens through an organization like the NSA. That is an area where it would be beneficial to reduce the power of government. But as all other major industrialized countries in the world guarantee healthcare coverage to all its people, it is clear that government control of healthcare is not a problem. In the case of healthcare, government regulations are often beneficial. Allowing young adults to stay on their parent’s plan until they are 26 helps them save money and start out on the right foot. Preventing companies from denying coverage to people with pre-existing conditions saves lives. Medicaid expansion and subsidy assistance helped 20 million more people get health insurance and saved an estimated tens of thousands of lives. If we take it further and guarantee coverage for all, there is no doubt we will be saving thousands more lives every year. No one would argue that the Affordable Care Act is perfect. It would probably work better if Republicans hadn’t fought it from day one and denied the expansion of Medicaid in 19 states. But the way forward is not to scrap it and leave citizens at the mercy of insurance companies. Healthcare is a right we should guarantee to all citizens, and we will never be able to achieve that through privatization.Despite promising to shut down eavesdropping operations on American allies nearly two years ago, the Obama administration has continued to monitor the communications of friendly heads of state, most notably Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The National Security Agency “captured communications between Mr. Netanyahu and his aides that inflamed mistrust between the two countries,” a senior intelligence official told The Wall Street Journal. According to the official, the White House kept spying on Netanyahu because it served a “compelling national security purpose,” and used the information gleaned to counter Netanyahu’s campaign against President Obama’s proposed Iran Nuclear Deal. Through the probe, the White House discovered Netanyahu’s office had “coordinated talking points with Jewish-American groups against the deal,” and communicated with American lawmakers to see “what it would take to win their votes.” Follow Datoc on Twitter and FacebookUsing DNS as an Ansible dynamic inventory Remie Bolte Blocked Unblock Follow Following Jan 21, 2016 If you’re using Ansbile as your System Configuration tool (and you should, cause it’s awesome) you will inevitably reach the point where you have to define your inventory. Introduction to the Inventory The inventory (or “hosts” file) is list of host names that you want to manage using Ansible. The hosts can be grouped in INI-style sections. The default location is /etc/ansible/hosts. It’s a plain text file which means you can use your favorite text editor to update it from time to time. If you have a project in which you keep your Ansible plays you can also add your hosts file in your project and refer to it when calling Ansible in your terminal. You might even put this in source control if you’re in a sharing mood. This works very well if your a small team with a small fixed set of hosts to manage. However, if you want to scale, for instance by using Virtual Machines you might not want to manually keep track of your dynamic hosts. Using a Dynamic Inventory To solve this issue, Ansible has the ability to include a Dynamic Inventory. A dynamic inventory is a script that is called by Ansible which returns a JSON array of hosts. The Ansible documentation includes some examples for AWS EC2 and OpenStack, but if you’re not using the world’s most popular cloud service, you may need to get your hands dirty. Jan-Piet Mens wrote a great article on how you can create a dynamic inventory with a database and provided some examples on how the JSON response looks like. You could use this example to create a website or small application in which you can manage your dynamic servers. However, it does require you to host/maintain an additional tool only to manage your inventory. For those who, like me, want to keep it simple I’d like to offer an alternative approach by leveraging the existing, mature and proven system for managing host names: DNS. Using a Dynamic Inventory with TXT records You are probably familiar with DNS as the service that translates your common domain name (like www.google.com) to the more obscure IP address that computers use to communicate. Although this is very useful, DNS can actually do much more. It has a long list of features including the ability to add TXT records to your domain name in which you can store meta-data that can be used in machine interaction. One of the more common uses of the TXT record is Sender Policy Framework (SPF), an anti-spam measure. As most providers will allow you to programmatically update your DNS records using an API, the TXT records are also viable for creating a dynamic Ansible inventory with additional meta-data (like sections or host variables). Using multiple TXT records The beauty of using DNS is that it allows multiple TXT records for the same (sub)domain. So you can add an unlimited number of hosts in your DNS system with their Ansible meta-data and store them in a single DNS domain for quick reference. DNS record caching It keeps getting better if you take into account that DNS already has a global network which is geared towards performance. DNS is a distributed system in which each node retrieves and caches the requested output. This will allow you to maintain your dynamic inventory on a global scale without creating to much burden on your DNS server.PETALING JAYA: Single mother Anitha (not her real name) used to buy a small tub of margarine for RM4.90 at the supermarket in her neighbourhood. It now costs RM5.50. As the cost of living increases, so too do Anitha’s troubles. Raising two children on a receptionist’s salary of RM2,100 a month is no easy feat. Adding to her woes is that she’s now paying more for rent, having recently moved from a low-cost flat in Desa Mentari, an area notorious for its gangsters. She made the move for her children’s sake. “What is most important to me is my children’s education,” she said. “Whoever wins the next general election must support education. The Indian community is in a bad place and education can help. “Sadly, Indian politicians just haven’t done enough for us. They only know how to talk.” Anitha’s three-person household is one of the 227,600 Malaysian Indian households earning less than RM3,900 a month. These are households categorised as B40, the poorest Malaysians. Last month’s meeting between Pakatan Harapan chairman Mahathir Mohamad and Hindraf leader P Waythamoorthy highlighted the critical role Malaysian Indians, particularly those in B40, have in determining election results. Indians may represent only 7% of the population, but their numbers were enough to make them kingmakers in the last two general elections, the campaigns for which saw both opposition and Barisan Nasional courting their more popular leaders. Now that GE14 is just months away, the two sides are back at their drawing boards plotting strategies to capture Indian votes. The fallout between Waythamoorthy and the Najib administration, just months after their electoral understanding in 2013, may be an indication that efforts to woo them this time will be complicated. In April, the government launched a 10-year Malaysian Indian Blueprint (MIB) aimed at the community’s B40. Not to be left behind, Pakatan Harapan is also in the midst of developing its own plan for the community. According to MIB statistics, close to 60,000 of the B40 Indian households earn less than RM2,000 a month, and of those earning less than RM1,000 a month, about 84% do not have enough savings to support three months of living expenses. The community is also far behind the Bumiputeras and Chinese in education. Only 5% of Indian children whose parents had no formal education succeeded in tertiary education, compared with 33% for the Bumiputeras and 44% for the Chinese. The number of school dropouts among Indians is also disproportionately high, accounting for an estimated 13% of the total number of dropouts from primary school. About 14.5% of Indians are unemployed, compared to 11.6% of Bumiputeras and 8% of Chinese. Among those aged 15 to 19, 25.5% of Indians are categorised as unemployed, compared to 8.1% of Bumiputeras and 12.1% of Chinese. MIB also highlights police statistics from 2014, which show that among those arrested for violent crimes, 31% were Indian, 51% Malay and 11% Chinese. The figure for Indians is considered high since they make up only 7% of the Malaysian population. Further, it is estimated that about 70% of criminal gang members in the country are Indians. While the rival coalitions are actively wooing the Indian community, a political analyst says many are misreading the potential impact of the Indian vote in GE14. James Chin, the director of the Asia Institute at the University of Tasmania, acknowledges that the Indians can be kingmakers in 10 to 15 constituencies, but only if the fights in those constituencies are close. “But GE14 is all about the Malay vote,” he said. “If PAS puts a third candidate in all Malay seats to go up against both BN and PH, then PH is finished.” He said this was because previous elections showed that in three-cornered fights in Malay constituencies, BN would win 90% of the time. He also said the pattern of Indian votes would likely be unchanged from the last general election if GE14 were to be held this year. His reason for saying so is that there hasn’t been a “political earthquake” within the Indian community like the one that has happened in the Malay community, with Mahathir joining the opposition. He said he didn’t believe Hindraf could draw BN’s Indian supporters away from the coalition. “I believe Indian voters have already decided. The majority will vote PH, but BN will manage to hold on to its voters.”Download “Bitcoin Multi-Signature Accounts for Corporate Governance” as a PDF By Pamela Morgan, Empowered Law Bitcoin allows us to keep complete control over our money, without the need for banks or custodial accounts. Ownership and control of the keys is the only thing that determines control over the funds. With that great power comes a significant responsibility: if you lose control of your keys, lose your keys, forget your password or become incapacitated, you lose your funds and those that depend on you lose too. There’s no recourse for you, your family, your heirs, your company employees, your shareholders. Whether you are managing your personal funds or managing funds for a company, your control and power come with a great deal responsibility. If you are managing company funds however, you have a fiduciary duty and your company’s survival might depend on it. Fortunately, there’s a better way to manage that fiduciary duty, with the use of bitcoin’s multi-signature capability. This article will examine the use of multi-signature in bitcoin as a tool for responsible corporate governance and for managing the risk of theft, loss, embezzlement or incapacity. Bitcoin’s Multi-signature Feature for Corporate Accounts: Imagine you just invested 100BTC in a company, run by Alice and Bob, the CEO and CFO respectively. If the company uses a bitcoin wallet to store funds, who should control the keys? What happens if Alice or Bob die or are incapacitated by illness? Would you expect the company to have a contingency plan for continued operations? Would you expect the company to have a way to access your investment? What if you were an employee of the company? Would you expect to be paid for the work you’ve done? Should the company stop operations? Many business owners would want their business to continue operating, if for nothing more than the opportunity to help support their families and leave a legacy after they are gone. The continuity of properly staffed and managed organizations do not hinge on one or two people. However if all company funds are exclusively controlled by one person, and their private keys become unavailable to the organization, for any reason, the organization immediately becomes insolvent, as the funds are effectively frozen. Beyond survivability of the funds in the case of incapacity or death, we must also consider the possibility of theft, embezzlement or loss of the keys. A single-owner bitcoin wallet is vulnerable to theft and must be diligently backed-up to avoid loss. Relying on a single-owner bitcoin wallet also means that the investors and managers of the company must trust the owner of the wallet and are vulnerable to that person embezzling funds or being coerced by thieves. Single-owner accounts are a bad idea, in bitcoin as in traditional finance. In a business environment, single-owner bitcoin wallets concentrate risk and responsibility to one person, making the funds susceptible to theft, loss, embezzlement, and operational disruption due to temporary or permanent incapacity. There’s a better way: bitcoin’s multi-signature capability. This article focuses on implementing multi-signature accounts as a solution to this problem, balancing security interests with good corporate governance. First we’ll look at traditional corporate banking practices and governance as well as the benefits and shortcomings of these practices. Then we will consider multi-signature accounts as a solution and explore the benefits and shortcomings of those. Next we will discuss how to implement a multi-signature solution, including how to set up accounts, who should serve as signers, and what processes should be implemented. Finally, we will review an example implementing these processes. Traditional Corporate Separation of Duties: Separation of duties is a best practice within established corporations. Simply put, separation of duties is the division of certain responsibilities between different persons in the organization to add a layer of protection for shareholders and an accountability structure within management. For example, it’s common to require approval from both the CEO and the CFO for large expenditures, transfer or sale of capital and large assets. The CEO maintains executive power, deciding what to spend; the CFO provides oversight and accountability for shareholders. This separation of duties provides protection against a broad range of scenarios both internal and external, intentional and accidental such as embezzlement from either executive, coercion of either executive, impersonation, and theft or loss of credentials. One party does not hold all of the spending authority and therefore cannot individually subject the company to significant loss by way of inappropriate spending. Most traditional corporate bank accounts are set up to require multiple signatures to effectuate a transaction. Typically, a number of people are given signing authority on each account. These people are added to each account as “authorized signers”. For example, on an operations account, the authorized signers might include a bookkeeper, an accounting manager, the CFO, and the CEO. Cheques drawn from this account would require two signatures, such as the bookkeeper and the accounting manager, in order to be valid. If the bookkeeper leaves the company, the CFO or CEO could step in to sign cheques until a suitable replacement is found, without impacting company operations. The company would not need to worry about the bookkeeper independently withdrawing all funds from the account because transactions require two signatures. Bitcoin’s Multi-Signature Addresses Achieve Separation of Duties: Multi-signature addresses allow us to access the benefits of a traditional multi-signer account without bank reliance or constraints. Multi-signature addresses provide similar corporate governance measures, as transactions require more than one signature to be valid, however organizations should use caution when implementing them. In a traditional setting, banks play a hidden role in the transaction. While bank approval is not generally required for activity, the bank provides a method of recovery in the case of incapacity or death of an authorized signer. This is an important and relevant service for all accounts, including bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, and by excluding traditional banks from the process we must look to alternative solutions to this problem. Multi-signature accounts can provide an elegant, easy-to-implement solution. If a signer approves the transaction but is unable to execute it, due to travel, illness, or a planned vacation (remember these transactions often require access to cold storage, secure internet connectivity, and PGP signed emails), the transaction can be executed by the third party. If a signer becomes incapacitated, through illness or death, the accounts are not effectively frozen because the third party can be asked to sign transactions. Multi-signature addresses, by design, allow for an easy separation of duties. While traditional bitcoin addresses allow transfer of funds by presenting one “proof” consisting of a public key and private signature; multi-signature accounts require one proof for each required signature. Multi-signature accounts require M of N signatures, meaning you could set an account up to require 2 of 2 signatures, 2 of 3 signatures*, 2 of 4 signatures, 3 of 3, and so on. While the benefits of separation of duties could be achieved by implementing a 2 of 2, organizations should implement no less than 2 of 3 signatures, in order to provide for continuity in the event one of the signers or the signer’s credentials become unavailable. Bitcoin’s Multi-Signature Addresses are Superior to Traditional Bank Accounts: Traditional banks can be compelled to hold, freeze, or confiscate customer funds because banks hold funds in custodial accounts and banks are profit-driven organizations subject to strict regulation. Because the bank holds the funds, the bank can be compelled to continue to hold them by an outside organization having influence over the bank, despite a request to release funds by the original depositor. Funds can also be frozen for administrative purposes, because of misunderstandings or clerical errors by the bank, because of bankruptcy or insolvency of the bank or for a myriad of other reasons, entirely unrelated to fault or behavior by the account holder. Simply put, your ability to repossess your funds is subject to bank approval. Multi-signature bitcoin addresses are not subject to requests by third-parties, including governments, and therefore funds held in these accounts are not subject to holds, freezes, or confiscation. Control lies entirely with ownership and control over the signatory keys. If you can create the necessary signatures, nothing can stop you from processing a transaction. Conversely, without the necessary signatures, no one else holds power or control over the funds. They can neither spend them, nor stop the holders of the keys from spending them. Using a Third Party to Protect Business Operations As mentioned above, banks play a hidden role, providing accessibility to funds in the event of incapacity of an account holder or authorized signer. Bitcoin accounts need similar protection but instead of running to banks for protection, we can use multi-signature technology to provide protection without unnecessary risk. Who Should Serve as the Third Party? Third party is used in this context to mean the emergency signer, not necessarily the third person on the account. What are the characteristics of someone who should serve as a third signer? Consider the “real world” model where the bank is a relatively neutral third party, who has a relationship with the company but is not involved with day-to-day operations and is constrained by their own internal practices and the legal environment in which they operate. This model can be replicated in the virtual world, without adding additional layers of complexity, by choosing a party who has similar characteristics. The ideal third party will be professional, knowledgeable about the technology and security protocols, and independent of business operations. Why are these characteristics important? Professionalism is important because the third party will be your backup to access funds in the event a signer becomes unavailable. The third party should be reliable, available upon short notice, communicative, and responsive. The third party must be knowledgeable in the technology, have a thorough understanding of how to use multi-signature accounts, and best
a good relationship with Pendleton, who is now a jockey after quitting cycling, and expressed disappointment that she was not siding with him after he helped her sporting career. hane Sutton, left, has claimed that Victoria Pendleton, right, 'capitulated' during practice He told The Times: 'I find it astonishing Vicky would wade in, given that on the journey [preparing for] Beijing, I’m up until 3 o'clock in the morning decorating her house in Wilmslow. 'The number of times I’ve held her in my arms in the track centre when she has capitulated. I was very supportive of her. I’m a bit hurt by the allegations given my relationship with her over the years.' Sutton married his wife Abbie last August and they are expecting their first child this summer - shortly before the Olympics which begin on August 5. Laura Trott, the double gold medallist who along with Pendleton is Britain's best-known female cyclist, said today that she has a 'positive' relationship with the coach. Silver medallists Jon-Allan Butterworth, Richard Waddon and Darren Kenny on the podium at London 2012 He started cycling again at the age of 30 to improve his fitness and to be a role model for his son, Brandon. Kenny went on to win six Paralympic gold medals, both on the track and the road, and was awarded an OBE in the New Year Honours List for his services to disabled sport. But he cannot bear to have the reminders of his incredible career around his home. ‘I’m not a member of British Cycling any more,’ says Kenny, who has now set up Estrella bikes, a bicycle manufacturing company. ‘In my house I don’t have any medals or trophies or pictures or anything up of my career at all, it was one of the most unpleasant periods of my life. There were parts of it, obviously, that I really enjoyed but there’s too much that I didn’t. I like that my life now is more about enjoying riding a bike again. ‘It makes it very difficult for someone like Jess when they stand up and say something because you can’t get any back-up from riders who are in the system because they’re all scared of losing their place. Then anyone that’s out of the system is branded bitter or not good enough. ‘A lot of the male riders go on to work for British Cycling after their careers have finished. I don’t know of any women or para-riders who have gone on to work for them afterwards and I think that reflects the hierarchy.’ Kenny went on to win six Paralympic gold medals, both on the track and the road, and was awarded an OBE Sutton, 58, became technical director — the highest coaching position within British Cycling — in 2014. He had previously been the No 2 for Dave Brailsford, who led Britain’s cyclists to a record medal haul at the London Olympics. Sutton came over to the UK to ride the professional circuit in the late 1980s. He is widely lauded for his coaching and motivational abilities but many of the sources Sportsmail spoke to questioned his management skills. ‘If you’re one of his favourites he’ll do anything he can to help you,’ said one source. ‘But on the other side you’ve got those who he’ll intimidate and bully and it’s excused by him being brash and Australian,’ said one. ‘I think he sees females as weaker. He’s like an abusive husband, they long for him to be nice and then when he is nice they think it’s brilliant and then he lets off again. Chief coach Shane Sutton, at the National Cycling Centre in Manchester, has been suspended ‘He’d make comments on other nations and say our athletes are too fat with disregard for how it would affect them emotionally. “People need to toughen the f*** up”, is what he’d say. He used to shout out, “The wobblies”, at the para-cyclists.’ A statement from British Cycling last night read: ‘Following the announcement of an independent review into British Cycling’s performance programmes, we are also announcing technical director Shane Sutton has been suspended pending an internal investigation into the allegations of discrimination that have been reported in the press.’“I wanna be the very best like no one ever was.” Those are the infamous opening lines to the Pokémon anime theme song. For twenty years now people have been aiming to do just that. In that time, counting each version, developer Game Freak has created eighteen main series Pokemon entries, six remakes, six different generations of Pokémon, and introduced the world to over 700 different monsters. Without a doubt the biggest monster here is the franchise itself, and for good reason. With solid turn-based gameplay, countless Pokémon to catch and train, impeccable soundtracks, and overall an astoundingly enjoyable design, everyone I’ve ever met whose played Pokémon has loved it. But which Pokémon game is the best? Putting all nostalgia aside, and attempting to review each entry in light of when it was released, here is my list in appreciating order of the best Pokémon games by generation. 6. Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald (Generation Three) By the time Nintendo’s Game Boy entered its third iteration, the Game Boy Advance, Pokémon was ready to enter its too. With the trek in to the new region, Hoenn, came some permanent new fixtures in the franchise. Generation three introduces Pokémon natures that influence, both positively and negatively, a Pokémon’s stats. It also introduces Pokémon abilities that influence battle. For example, the cover Pokémon Kyogre has the ability Drizzle, which changes the weather to heavy rain, dampening certain elemental attacks and bolstering others. These two developments in particular redefine competitive play, though that’s not all the third generation brings to the table. Pokémon Contests and Double Battles both first appear in Ruby and Sapphire. For the first time, players can also choose to play as a dark haired male character donning his signature white cap (he doesn’t actually have white hair!) or a female trainer with brunette hair. Consequently, we are left with the fan favorite line, “are you a boy or a girl?” Disappointingly, the third game doesn’t include the day-night system introduced in the second generation. Also, while expanding the total number of Pokémon to 386, with 135 new inclusions, only 202 Pokémon are obtainable in game, fewer than the 251 of the previous generation. While some of those new Pokémon have gone on to be some of the most popular Pokémon of all time, including Rayquaza and Blaziken, the rest handily compose my least favorite generation of Pokémon, especially since this set easily seems the most uninspired and imitative of all the six generations. This isn’t why Sapphire and Ruby are at the bottom of my list, however; it’s the stupendous amount of water that sinks the score for me. Let me substantiate the claim that there’s too much water in Hoenn, as its a common complaint. For starters, there’s too little variety to the wild Pokémon encountered while using the hidden move Surf. These Pokémon’s levels also aren’t scaled nearly as well as their land counterparts, and encountering low level Pokémon near the end of the game is a waste of the player’s time. Further, the only trainers that the player encounters on water routes, which make up about half of all routes, are swimmers who only use water Pokémon. Consequently, it’s exceptionally easy to level electric and grass-type Pokémon, resulting in an unbalanced grind of an experience for the rest. In direct correlation, the game is also drowned in hidden moves necessary for traversing the map, three of which are water-specific. This almost necessitates a monster in the player’s six Pokémon party being nothing more than an HM slave just so the player can get around. As yet another consequence, over one-fifth of all Pokémon introduced in this generation are water-type, resulting in a somewhat soggy situation in terms of variety. While the third generation of Pokémon is an invaluable addition to the progress of the series, its the worst Pok-entry, with or without my nostalgia glasses on. Start the countdown!Akira Toriyama has revealed the name of Goku’s mother in the latest issue of Saikyō Jump in Japan, for March 2014. Her name is Gine (ギネ)! Gine’s Story As discussed in the Kanzenshuu.com forums, Akira Toriyama provides a short explanation of Gine’s back story in the article. He says that unlike other Saiyans, Gine has a gentle nature that is unfit for war. She is part of Bardock’s squad, and after being saved by Bardock on the battlefield several times they start to develop feelings for eachother. This type of sentimentality is rare for Saiyans, who normally don’t develop such relationships except when breeding. Here is the exact quote of Toriyama, courtesy of Kanzenshuu. “As for her appearance and such, you’ll find out if you read the bonus comic in the collected release of Jaco the Galactic Patrolman. Her name was Gine, and a long time ago, she fought on a four-person team together with Bardock. Gine had a gentle personality and wasn’t cut out as a warrior, being repeatedly saved from danger by Bardock. At that time, a special emotion was born between them. Normally, Saiyans don’t have much of a notion of romance or marriage, and apart from the royal family of Vegeta, they aren’t particular about blood-relationships. Being in among all that, I suppose you could say that the pair of Bardock and Gine were those rare Saiyans who were joined by a bond other than for the purpose of reproduction. Incidentally, Gine, who was not cut out as a warrior, would go on to work at the meat distribution center on Planet Vegeta.” So there you have it! Goku’s mother will appear in a bonus manga packaged together with Toriyama’s one-shot manga titled Jaco the Galactic Patrolman when it is released in a tankobon print collection on April 4. It took 30 years for Goku’s mother to finally be revealed!! 1984 to 2014. Gine’s Name All of Toriyama’s names for his characters in Dragon Ball have a double or triple meaning. The Saiyans are named after vegetables, so what does Gine mean? The answer may not be revealed until Jaco’s publication in April, but there are some fan theories already. The most logical guess is that Gine is a rearrangement of Negi (葱), which is Japanese for Spring Onion. Gine could also be named after the English word of Aubergine, another word for Eggplant. The Japanese name for eggplant is Nasu (茄子), but Aubergine rendered into Japanese could be written as Aberugine (アベルギネ). However, this word does not exist in the Japanese language, so it’s a bit of a stretch for Toriyama to use. Toriyama has a perverted side to him, so my theory is that an additional reason she was named Gine is because the word Gine (ギネ) is the Japanese shorthand term for gynecology. She is the mother of Goku and the one who brings life to the savior of the universe through her “gine.” This use of Gine (ギネ) is a buzzword among health professionals in obstetrics and gynecology. It is derived from the German Gynecology and rendered as Gainekorojii (ガイネコロジイ). The shorthand term of Gine then emerged and was even used for the title of a recent television drama that premiered in 2009, seen here on the Japanese Gine website, with it’s URL romanized as “gyne.” Though the drama was not a big hit, it may still have inspired Toriyama to pick this particular name among all possible vegetables. We’ll have to wait and see what Toriyama says. Gine’s Appearance Gine’s appearance is unknown since the character has only just been announced, but she will be drawn in the bonus pages of Jaco. What do you think Gine will look like? Goku resembles Bardock without the scars, so maybe Gine will look like Raditz, with super long and wild hair? Exciting Mysteries What does this mean for Goku’s character? It was believed that he became good natured because he bumped his head as a child and was then raised to be kind by Son Gohan. But is it possible that his compassionate personality was inherited from his good natured mother, alongside his father’s fighting instincts?! Discuss in the comments below. Related News: Akira Toriyama says Vegeta should be the hero in the next Dragon Ball Z movie Further Reading: If you’d like to learn more about Goku’s upbringing and how it made him a kind warrior, please read my book, Dragon Ball Z “It’s Over 9,000!” When Worldviews Collide, available across the world in English and Spanish.Chatterjee is chosen for the term expiring in 2021 President Donald Trump has named his nominees for the US Energy Agency and it includes Indian American Neil Chatterjee. The President chose Chatterjee, a long-time aide to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, and Robert Powelson, a member of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, according to a White House statement. Chatterjee and Powelson are chosen for terms expiring in 2021 and 2020, respectively; and their appointments will help the agency to regain its power to rule on natural gas pipelines and utility mergers. Chatterjee, who was the man behind McConnell’s determined campaign to block President Obama’s climate agenda, began his career in Washington with the Hose Committee on Ways and Means. He also worked as a Principal in Government Relations for the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, and as an aide to House Republican Conference Chairwoman Deborah Pryce of Ohio. Recently, he was named as one of the 25 Most Influential people on Capitol Hill by Congressional Quarterly and has also been named a top energy staffer to watch by National Journal and Energy and Environment Daily. A native of Lexington, Kentucky, Chatterjee is a graduate of St. Lawrence University and the University of Cincinnati College of Law. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission lost its quorum to make major decisions in February after the resignation of the former chairman Norman Bay. According to media reports in March, Kevin McIntyre, co-head of Jones Day’s global energy practice is said to be the President’s choice as the chairman of the agency. “Shovel-ready, natural gas pipeline projects are stranded on the sideline,” Bloomberg quoted Don Santa, president of the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America. “To build this infrastructure, we need a functioning FERC.” The confirmation process of the nominees is expected to start soon; and before a confirmation vote by the full body, the candidates must be vetted by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.Kosovo President Atifete Jahjaga and Slovakia’s Deputy Prime Minister Miroslav Lajcak inaugurating the monument. Photo: Kosovo President’s Office A monument with 42 names engraved on it was inaugurated in Prishtina on Wednesday in the memory of 42 Slovak soldiers who died in a plane crash near Hungarian- Slovakian border in January 2006. Only one member of the unit survived. The plane crashed on its way home, after the Slovaks had completed their military duties in Kosovo within the NATO-led peacekeeping mission, KFOR. Slovak Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcak, who was present at the unveiling ceremony, said his memory of the tragedy remained fresh. Ten years ago, when the crash happened, he was the Slovakian ambassador to Serbia, responsible for Kosovo; Slovakia does not recognise Kosovo’s independence. “I witnessed their high spirit, resolve and passion when carrying out their duties. So I knew their routine, shared their grief and enjoyed their character. The tragedy profoundly hit my very soul and heart,” Lajcak said. The monument was erected on the initiative of Kosovo President Atifete Jahjaga who described the disaster as “the biggest loss by the NATO mission in Kosovo”. “The 42 names will become an everlasting reminder of the values and ideals that bring us together as nations and as peoples,” she said during the ceremony. Slovakia is one of the five European Union state members that have not recognized Kosovo’s independence together with Spain, Greece, Romania and Cyprus. Lajcak, who has also visited Serbia during this tour, said that his state “does not take sides. “Our position toward Kosovo is not hostile. We are a friendly state and open to Kosovo and we closely cooperate in many areas,” he told the Prishtina-based Klan Kosova TV in a statement.Recapping 2014’s First WorldTour Race When the season is in high gear I’ll only be recapping the bigger races or the blocks of bigger races (ie., the Ardennes week), but there are over thirty WorldTour-less days ahead and the six day race that finished in Adelaide on Sunday is more than worthy of some analysis. As such, I’ve compiled a few takeaways from the big January event. Any sort of retrospective on the Tour Down Under that aims to draw conclusions with meaningful predictive power ought to make a clear disclaimer before offering any emphatic endorsements of this rider or that for the new year: due to its position on the calendar, more than a month before the next race at the highest level of the sport, the Tour Down Under is not always a reliable test of rider form for a new season. Cameron Meyer, who won the 2011 edition, and Tom-Jelte Slagter, winner of the 2013 TDU, proceeded to have anonymous seasons after their bright victories in Australia to start the season. Simon Gerrans, on the other hand, went on to nab his first career Monument classic victory after he won the 2012 edition of the race. In other words, perhaps the top form exhibited again by Gerrans this week is a sign of future success (and he is targeting Milano-San Remo again this year), or perhaps it is a poor indicator of probable form months from now: the point is simply that one ought to be careful drawing too many conclusions from this race. The Narrative, and Takeaways from the Race Caveats made, on with the analysis. The GC-leading quartet of Simon Gerrans, Cadel Evans, Diego Ulissi, and Richie Porte were all particularly impressive in their 2014 WorldTour debuts. Only one second separated 1st and 2nd place, and only ten seconds separated 1st and 4th; all four won stages. Gerrans was a big favorite coming into the race (tipped by yours truly to win), and the other three were also included in VeloHuman’s pre-race top 10, so it can’t be said that there was all that much surprising at the very top of the General Classification. For what it’s worth, Gerrans looked on top form and displayed his trademark versatility, climbing with the best and sprinting for every possible second; should he maintain that form into the spring, the rest of the peloton had better watch out. Said versatility nabbed him the bonus seconds necessary to get the tiniest of legs up on Cadel Evans for the overall victory. Evans and Richie Porte both put in strong performances showing their own high level of form. Both are targeting later season Grand Tour success, and this certainly looks to have been a fine start; Porte looks to be aiming for success at the Giro this year, and after seeing potential main Giro Nairo Quintana take an emphatic win in the Tour de San Luis this week, the Sky rider will be happy to have had some success of his own in the meantime. Of the foursome that quickly become the group of real contenders in this race, Diego Ulissi stands out to me as the rider whose performance is most worthy of a place in any analysis of this race’s “takeaways.” In 2011, the Italian put himself on the map with a Giro stage win, and he went on to pick up a number of smaller Italian races over the next year or so. Last year, he appeared to reach another level with a good showing in Paris-Nice and a stage win in the Tour of Poland before a hot October that saw him nab three Italian one-day race victories, including prestigious semi-classic Milano-Torino. However, so many of his successes have come either against weaker competition or at just one step below the highest level of the sport–and while his combination of explosive climbing and fast finishing have marked him out as one to watch, but he’s also disappeared on some of the larger stages. When he was not lighting up the Italian semi-classics, he was a DNF in the World Championship race and an also-ran at Il Lombardia. In the 2014 Tour Down Under, however, he went up against some of the sport’s very best and consistently performed at the elite level. He blew past Evans and Gerrans in Stage 2 after timing his sprint perfectly, and held onto his high place all the way through to the end, managing his podium spot with a total of four top 5 finishes in Australia, and it is that day-in, day-out consistency that he has been lacking. After this, I know I’ll be more confident tipping Ulissi to hold his own for more than a flash of brilliance in future races. 24 year old Nathan Haas proved to be perhaps the biggest surprise of the race. Although he won the 2011 Japan Cup Cycle Road Race with his impressive finishing kick and claimed 2nd in the 2012 Tour of Britain to Jonathan Tiernan-Locke, Haas has not had many chances to shine at the WorldTour level against the biggest names around. Not until this past week, at least. When pain from a pre-race injury proved to be the end of GC hopes for Rohan Dennis, Garmin-Sharp didn’t miss a beat, and Nathan Haas stepped right up to the plate. While he’s obviously showed ability in the past, I think it’s safe to say that not many people expected him to finish in the top 20 of every stage in the Tour Down Under, including a second place finish at the head of the bunch sprint behind Cadel Evans on stage 3. His consistent performance landed him 5th overall in the Tour. It will be interesting to see if Garmin quickly gives him another opportunity to follow up on his stellar trip home to Australia. Hopefully, we will have a chance to watch Haas building on this week again soon. Geraint Thomas wasn’t really a surprise in the top 10, but it was nice to see him climbing at such a high level. As I said in the initial preview, I feel that much is said about Geraint Thomas despite a general lack of data, but his 8th place here, only a few seconds behind proven climber Robert Gesink, is another positive showing, especially given the fact the Sky was clearly riding for Richie Porte in this race. Daryl Impey, as well, wasn’t a big surprise in the top 10, but to land in that company while also riding in such successful support for Simon Gerrans is no small feat–Impey has really put together a fine last twelve months, and Orica-GreenEdge has surely taken note. Look to see Impey feature more as the main man for the Australian squad in races to come this year. Though his legend has grown as he has built an amazing streak of consecutive Grand Tour appearances, Adam Hansen has only claimed a few major successes in his career (most notably, a Giro stage last year). However, the Australian nabbed the King of the Mountains jersey and a spot in the top 10 overall in the Tour Down Under with a noteworthy combination of the aggressive style necessary to pick up mountain points in a break and the endurance necessary to hang on in the bunch after being swept back into the peloton. His Lotto-Belisol squad, so often a sprint-first team, has got to be pleased with the showing, and they must be looking forward to the next race knowing that Hansen has what it takes to stay out front for the long haul, proudly displaying the Lotto-Belisol logo. Speaking of Lotto-Belisol and sprints, there wasn’t really any question of competition in the two flat days at this year’s TDU. Andre Greipel blew away his opponents, and he did it largely thanks to his dominant leadout train. In stage 4, his leadout man Jurgen Roelandts was so strong that he finished 2nd behind Greipel himself and ahead of the designated sprinters of every other team in the race. Greipel’s stage 6 leadout was similarly impressive; from the moment he kicked it was clear the Gorilla would claim the day. Coming into the race, the sprints in this Tour looked to be a battle royale between Marcel Kittel and Andre Greipel, but Kittel was anonymous throughout the week, his only success in Australia a victory at the warm-up prelude, the People’s Choice Classic. At age 31, Greipel is still riding high, and his leadout only gets better with time. Astana and Movistar both failed to land any of their very talented squads in the top 10, which must be a letdown for both teams; Francesco Gavazzi and Javier Moreno both started well only to be left in the dust when Cadel Evans forced serious selection on stage 3. Trek’s Frank Schleck also had a rather forgettable trip to Adelaide, unable to hang on when the going got tough. That Katusha’s squad of unknowns could place a man in the top 10 (chapeau to Egor Silin, by the way!) must not sit well with any of those teams. Fortunately, everyone gets another shot at glory relatively soon, as, even with a fair bit of time until the next big race, the 2014 season is officially underway. The Tour Down Under gave us a first glimpse at many of the big names in the pro peloton and the early classics should be a good opportunity for guys like Simon Gerrans and Diego Ulissi to show of continued form. Don’t forget about races like the Volta ao Algarve and the Tour Méditerranéen Cycliste Professionnel during the month and a half long drought before the next WorldTour race, Paris-Nice. -Dane Cash Photos by Kym Della-Torre.Earlier this week, “The Crow” actor Michael Massee died at the age of 61 of an unknown cause. Massee was most known for accidentally killing Brandon Lee on the set of their movie “The Crow” in 1993. In 2005, he broke his silence on the freak accident, telling “Extra,” “Since then, I’m very conscious of the dangers of making a movie… What happened to Brandon was a tragic accident and it’s something that I’m going to live with.” On the scene they were filming, he said, "It absolutely wasn’t supposed to happen. I wasn’t even supposed to be handling the gun until we started shooting the scene, and the director changed it.” Michael also revealed how he coped with the tragedy. He said, "I just took a year off and I went back to New York and didn’t do anything. I didn’t work. I just spent it with close friends and family to just get through it… The only difference with this tragedy is that it happened with cameras rolling. It was a big media thing.” Massee also revealed why he refused to talk about it for over ten years. Watch.PULLMAN – Here is a difference between Colorado coach Mike MacIntyre and the casual college football fan: They look at the Washington State offense and see different things. Your average fan hears the term “Air Raid” and his or her eyes are immediately drawn to Luke Falk’s passing yards, Gabe Marks’ historic reception totals and maybe the savvy ones will remark on how few sacks the Cougars give up per passing attempt. But here is the secret that MacIntyre knows: The WSU offense works so well because its running backs are the most productive in the Pac-12. The Cougars have rushed for 200 or more yards three times in 2016, and each member of the primary running back trio of Gerard Wicks, Jamal Morrow and James Williams is averaging at least 5.7 yards per carry. “Not only are they trying to run it (more), they’re really good,” MacIntyre said. “They really make people miss so we have to tackle well in space. They get you in space with those big, wide linemen splits so our guys have to make open-field tackles. Their running backs are making plays.” WSU coach Mike Leach frequently says that running backs receive the heaviest workload in his offense, and that the position is where he wants his most athletic playmakers. He’s received his wish in 2016. The WSU running backs are not just WSU’s most productive position group – they’re the most productive position group in the whole league. The trio has emerged as group of high-hurdling playmakers and account for many of WSU’s most explosive plays. While WSU’s running backs have run for 1,400 yards, which ranks No. 8 among Pac-12 running back units, their 2,299 total yards from scrimmage lead the conference. The Cougars also lead the Pac-12 with 28 touchdowns scored by running backs. Oregon ranks No. 2 with 25 touchdowns scored. The next best teams, Stanford and Washington, have only scored 14 touchdowns with running backs each. WSU has also has superlative balance from its running back trio. Position coach Jim Mastro devised the concept of the “Nevada Back” while he was at the University of Nevada, where he became the first coach to have three running backs run for 1,000 yards in a season. The concept is to have each player be a Renaissance man, equally capable of rushing, receiving or blocking, and that the players be interchangeable. This keeps the defense off its toes, and increases competition within the unit since the players cannot rely on their specialties or varying strengths alone to get them situational playing time. And how is this for balance? Wicks has the fewest carries among the trio with 71, and James Williams leads the group with 82. But it is Wicks who leads the team with 11 rushing touchdowns, the most by a WSU junior and only five short of the school’s single-season record. Morrow leads the group with 42 passes caught, though Williams is right behind with 40. Wicks has caught 24 passes himself. So when you’re watching the Pac-12’s No. 2 scoring offense, realize that Air Raid can be a bit of a misnomer. The Cougars are putting up points thanks to their running backs.The all-pink building has also been used as a church. 2 Chainz’s freshly painted Pink Trap House in Atlanta was turned into a temporary HIV testing center as part of yesterday’s July 4 celebrations. The US rapper teamed up with Fulton County Board of Health, Test Atlanta and Atlanta Aids to offer fans the chance to get a free screening at his so-called Trap Clinic on Independence Day. Fulton County Board of Health say they pulling up today!! Come get tested and know your status! By the way this is Free99 A post shared by 2 Chainz Aka Tity Boi (@hairweavekiller) on Jul 4, 2017 at 7:50am PDT Free AIDS test at the Trap house today. #trapmusic #traphouse #2chainz #prettygirlsliketrapmusic #atl #atlanta A post shared by Jea Love (@dom_stt) on Jul 4, 2017 at 11:43am PDT The installation, which also doubles up as an art gallery, was originally set up to mark the release of Chainz’ fourth album Pretty Girls Like Trap Music, which came out last month. Last Sunday, the Pink Trap House was turned into a church, offering attendees a one-time service.Chapter Text (season 1, episode 12) In the span of a few hours, the world abandoned the bluster and roar of war machines for an exhausted, uneasy hush. The Equalist army had fled the city. Amon was nowhere to be found. Anyone who had rallied around his flag had disappeared from the streets. Asami closed her eyes, her face tilting to the sky as she breathed in sea air. The sun warmed her face, thawing the unrelenting chill from the mountains. She rocked with the gentle sway of the ferry boat. Tried to let it wash away the sound of her father’s hateful words. Her fingers scratched along Pabu’s head and the little fire ferret curled tighter on her lap. Her hand traced the downy soft rings around his tail. Massaged between his ears and down his fuzzy neck. He yapped out something between a screech and a clicking sound. The monotony of the motion was soothing for both of them, it seemed. A heavy weight shoved into her, and Asami’s shoulder buckled. Naga nudged again with a deep, resonant chuff. A glutton for attention. “Jealous?” Asami smirked at the polar bear dog, lifting her free hand to rub at the coarse white fur along Naga’s muzzle. Bolin sat down on the deck next to Asami, keeping his hands wrapped around the railing ledge. “I think she appreciates good technique,” he chuckled. He nodded to Asami’s lap. “Pabu’s enjoying himself.” “He’s got this little tuft behind his ear that he likes.” Asami smiled quietly down at the creature. “There’s a good spot just above where his tail starts, too,” Bolin nodded. “He’ll love you forever if you can find it.” Testing a few spots, Asami smirked when Pabu let out an enthusiastic, chittering purr. He unfurled and stretched beneath her hand as Naga nudged her shoulder again for attention. Asami rested her cheek against the polar bear dog’s massive skull. “The fleet’s coming in,” Bolin said. Asami glanced back to the bay. United Republic Forces ships were in sight now, cutting a sleek arrow through the water as they headed for the mainland. She and Bolin, along with the young General Iroh, had taken out the airfield and her father’s planes with barely time to spare. “Not too shabby for a day’s work,” Bolin sighed. His head rested back on the railing. The distractions that Asami had so carefully cultivated around herself faded into the background. Her hand stilled, and all she could think about was police marching her father into Republic Police Headquarters. They’d found him strapped to Naga’s back, delivered to their doorstep. Asami and Bolin had watched from several blocks away, tucked around a corner. The building had been crawling with officers darting in and out. Despite the winding down of hostilities, Asami and Bolin were still fugitives. They couldn’t risk getting recognized till tensions had blown over. “I’m so sorry about all the things my father said to you,” Asami murmured. “He was terrible.” Hiroshi had not left the airfield quietly. Slurs against benders, against the Avatar, harsh, cruel things that were designed to cut to Asami's core. Things that only a father could say to hurt his little girl. Bolin’s shrug was small. “We were toppling his boss’s evil regime. He was bound to be a bit desperate. And, you know, angry.” Bolin reached out and scratched Pabu’s haunches. “How are you doing?” “I don’t know,” she said softly. “I’m glad that it’s done, but what next? I...I don’t think I can go home.” Was there anything left of the estate for her now? How many of the staff had helped with her father’s dealings with Amon? She’d known most since she was a child. How many could she even trust anymore? If anyone was left, that was. “You don’t have to figure everything out yet.” Bolin’s voice broke through the fog of too many loose ends in her life. “Mako and I are probably going to be staying at the Temple for a while. Why don’t you stay, too? At least until all our beds stop sitting in the middle of crime scenes.” “I’ll have to deal with the police sooner or later.” “Let’s go with later,” Bolin smiled, “Definitely later.” Two air acolytes sulked across the deck past them. The tall young man and middle-aged woman carried a heavy rope between them to the other side of the ferry. They spoke low to each other. “Does she still get to be the Avatar?” the boy asked. “No idea,” the woman responded. “Apparently she managed to airbend him off the roof of the pro-bending arena.” The boy adjusted his hold on the rope. “Does that count?” “Wait,” Asami called up at them. “What are you talking about? What’s going on?” She scooted Pabu back to Bolin’s lap. At the question, the pair slowed their pace. “We just heard from the mainland before we set sail,” the boy said, “Avatar Korra was the one who chased off Amon. It turns out that he was secretly a waterbender!” Bolin whistled. “Wow. That’s crazy." “Everyone at the arena saw it,” the acolyte woman insisted, “He came up out of the bay! Straight out of the waves in a water spout.” “What were you saying about Korra?” Asami interrupted. The two looked at each other, hesitating, but the young man coughed and spoke up. “They...they’re saying that Amon took her bending away.” All the air fled Asami’s chest. Everything Amon and Hiroshi had wanted. They’d gotten it all, short of a full scale takeover of Republic City. The Equalists had succeeded in destabilizing the government. They'd torn at every prejudice and anger below the surface of their city, dragging it up to light. And now, Amon had taken the Avatar. Asami remembered the words that Korra could barely form when they’d spoken about Amon’s threat. He’d wanted to make an example of her. Make her suffer with the knowledge that she wasn’t strong enough to stop him. Korra had been so afraid of that. She had to be so afraid right now... Staring out at nothing, Asami heard Bolin’s voice. “Where is she?” he asked. “Back on the Island,” the boy answered. “Go faster.” Asami pulled herself up by the railing. They were halfway to the Air Temple pier. She couldn’t make out any figures on the coastline yet, but she had to find Korra. Bolin gently set down Pabu and stood beside
Dec. 9 will be $250 exclusive of shipping, taxes and duties. The tablets are scheduled for delivery around May. "I'm not sure that we can look at the performance of the Indiegogo campaign and necessarily understand how [the tablet's] going to fare in the market," Jeff Orr, a senior practice director at ABI Research, told LinuxInsider. "Jolla will post a benefactors list of the first 500 purchasers plus those who bought all 4,000 preproduction units, and I'm curious as to how many of them will be of Finnish descent," he continued. What's a Jolla Tablet? The Jolla tablet has a 7.85-inch capacitive 5-point multitouch IPS display with 330 pixels per inch resolution at 2048 x 1536 pixels. That's on par with the iPad mini 3 and the Nokia N1, which was announced this week, and a little better than the Nexus 9. It has a 64-bit 1.8 GHz quad-core Intel processor; 2 GB of RAM; 32 GB of memory and a micro-SD card slot for expansion. The tablet has a 5-MP rear camera that can take 1080p HD video at 60 fps and a 2-MP front camera, on par with the iPad mini 3. It supports WiFi and Bluetooth 4.0. It's equipped with the standard sensors -- an accelerometer, and light and proximity sensors -- and it supports Glonass. The Jolla Tablet's Software Jolla tablet runs v2.0 of Sailfish, a mobile OS that combines the Linux kernel with Mer and Jolla's own proprietary software. Sailfish is open source software, and Jolla has included its proprietary multitasking Lipstick graphical shell in the OS. The Sailfish OS works with gestures. It runs Sailfish native apps. The Sailfish OS also runs Android apps, through a proprietary Android compatibility layer. Since it's a GNU/Linux-based OS, it might be able to run other GNU/Linux apps. Sailfish 2.0 can be customized through its "Ambiences" feature; its "events" feature aggregates all a user's messages, calendar events and other relevant information into one view. The Sailfish has no back doors, and Jolla pledges not to share or sell users' data. The tablet offered through Indigogo will be available in the United States, the EU, Norway, Switzerland, India, China, Hong Kong and Russia. Deconstructing the Masses' Love The Jolla tablet campaign "is about selling to the technology geeks," Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle Group, told LinuxInsider. "This tablet promises the app support of Android but with a level of flexibility more in line with Linux... and at a price that reduces the risk." Still, 4,000 units is not even a drop in the bucket of tablet sales. "They wouldn't even be in the top 15 [tablet vendors] if they shipped 1 million tablets a year," Orr pointed out. "Even if they shipped 1 million units a quarter, that would be a blip." Put another way, Apple shipped 12.3 million units in Q3; Samsung 9.9 million; and Lenovo 3 million, ABI's statistics show. Nonetheless, "this showcases that there are strong markets for devices that focus on the unique needs of defined groups," Enderle said. "We are still mostly in a Model T market right now, and it appears the market wants to aggressively expand into one that has far more unique and better-focused offerings." Richard Adhikari has written about high-tech for leading industry publications since the 1990s and wonders where it's all leading to. Will implanted RFID chips in humans be the Mark of the Beast? Will nanotech solve our coming food crisis? Does Sturgeon's Law still hold true? You can connect with Richard on Google+.(image credit: Morgan Rhodes) After three straight SprintX events, Pirelli World Challenge returns to the traditional Sprint schedule with the GTS (along with TC) and GT categories all in action. The weather is looking like a perfect June weekend in Wisconsin, so we can all stuff our faces with brats and watch tons of great GT and openwheel action. The 2016 event saw Ryan Eversley and RealTime Racing dominate at their home track, but in the retired TLX GT machinery. The new-for-2017 NSX GT3 has improved steadily through the season and the team will look for the home crowd to help boost them back on the podium in Elkhart Lake. Behind the TLX it was Bentley who was strong and Adderly Fong looks to build upon his two podiums from last season to hopefully get on the top step this weekend. Patrick Long also had the Porsche working well last season and will look to overtake KPAX Racing’s Alvaro Parente in the championship standings where Parente leads 70-69 over Long. The McLaren struggled for pace at Road America last season where Parente had to fight to finish sixth in both races. The new CRP Mercedes of Ryan Dalziel will be an extremely tough competitor as the Merc will be able to stretch it legs on the long straights of Road America and fight at the pointy end of the grid. The Magnus Racing Audi of Pierre Kaffer will be an extremely competitive car this weekend as will both Cadillacs of Michael Cooper, who leads the overall GT Championship, and Johnny O’Connell. Cooper finished 7th and 3rd at Road America in 2016. World Challenge also welcomes Monaco’s Cedric Sbirrazzuoli to the grid and his Dream Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3, another car that should suit all of Road America’s features quite well. The GTA category is lead by Wright Motorsports’ Michael Schein, but just behind Schein is another Porsche competitor with James Sofronas and his GMG entry. Like in GT, look for the Bentley of Yufeng Luo to fight to towards the top of the class where the big Bentley can chug down the long straights and get through the fast sweepers of Elkhart Lake very well. Marc Muzzo returns with his R Ferri Ferrari 458, as does Mike McCann and his new Audi R8 LMS. KPAX Racing’s Mike Hedlund, who sits third in the championship, returns from Le Mans with his McLaren 650S GT3 with big expectations for this weekend. GT Cup sees three entries with two Lamborghinis, which sees 60kg of ballast added, and one Ferrari. Marko Radisic is the lone Ferrari 458 Evo entry with Rocco Shlaimoun and Yuki Hurata piloting the Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeos. GTS is being dominated by Blackdog Speedshop’s Lawson Aschenbach and his Camaro GT4, but he’ll have some very tough battles in the 23-car GTS category. Milwaukee’s Jeff Courtney brings his Maserati and will be on of the favorites at his home track, Ernie Francis Jr returns with the PF Racing Mustang GT4 and Martin Barkey, who sits second in the championship, comes with his Mantella Autosport KTM XBOW GT4. The young duo of Harry Gottsacker and Parker Chase return with their Ginetta GT4s and we’ll also see two new Ginettas from Ian Lacy Racing for Drew Staveley and Frank Gannett. One entry to watch for, although being categorized in the “Am” class for now, is Austin Versteeg, who will be in an ANSA Motorsports KTM XBOW. You can also expect big things from the Flying Lizard Porsche crew with Rodrigo Baptista and Nate Stacy who sit 3rd and 4th in the championship respectively. Ian James and his new-for-2017 Panoz will also be a tough car to beat, especially seeing how well the car performed at VIR, a category B circuit similar track to Road America. Joining the GTS class and adding a little traffic to the tarmac will be 10 TC cars in a non-points, invitation-only weekend. A slew of 8 BMW M235iRs and two Hyundai Genesis Coupes will be on the grid. Look for regulars Toby Grahovic, Gino Carini, Samantha Tan, Nick Wittmer, Jeff Ricca, Stefan Sajic and Max Fedler, but also a few new faces with Marko Radisic, who’s pulling double duty between GT Cup and TC, Jayson Clunie and Nicholas Barbato. GT, GTA and GT Cup Race 1 goes green on Saturday June 24th at 4:30pm CT with GTS/TC Race 1 starting immediately following at 5:45pm CT. Check out the weekend schedule here.Simon Solotko is a marketer and product manager who has been involved in a number of various VR-related Kickstarters including the Virtuix Omni & Sixense STEM. He first got into immersive gaming through his work at AMD, and eventually connected with Sixense Entertainment through the Razer Hydra and eventually got onto their board of directors. He sees that in the long-term, the applications that solve real problems for consumers are going to blend augmented reality and virtual reality. He started All Future Parties to incubate and accelerate VR/AR projects, but also create his augmented reality project that involves broadcasting social data on wearable screens. Simon talks about the changing market and audience for Virtual Reality as it moves from the innovators and early adopters and starts to cross the chasm into the early majority. He observes that VR is so exciting for people, and they’re really curious to try it out. But everyone who tries it, isn’t going to immediately go buy a VR HMD. He predicts that it’ll be seeded through gaming and education, and slowly expand into solving other problems from there. Finally, he talks about future integrations of social data with AR and it’s finer-grained control over the identity that you’re broadcasting to others, as well as the future of using augmented and virtual reality technology in public spaces and the social awkwardness barrier that is there. Reddit discussion here. TOPICS 0:00 – Intro. Runs All Future Parties. Helps out with Kickstarter campaigns. On board for Sixense. Helped the Virtuix Omni Kickstarter. Works on parties with similar DNA. Worked on computer vision and AR that recognizes visual markers so that people can have wearable screens to broadcast social data. Announced a VR project of Presence at SVVRCon. 1:49 – What is Presence? Connecting technology to motion to your mind. Help you feel more in the moment. Cut teeth on motion control, and working on peripheral problems 2:33 – How did you get involved with Sixense and VR? Worked with AMD. Developed processors in AMD line. Got interested in immersive gaming experiences. Use AMD booth to create a holodeck presentation at E3. Got interested in immersion, and control interfaces. Sought out Sixense team when found the Razer Hydra 4:05 – How did Oculus Rift change what you were doing? Working on MakeVR and STEM controllers for years. When the Rift came to Kickstarter, things got hot and fire started. People got a lot more interested in Sixense technology and Razer Hydra sold like mad. Got into crowdsourcing, and came to incubate VR companies. 5:40 – What is the value proposition and marketing messaging that is resonating with VR audience? Moving from innovators & early adopters to everyone. Can make a product play if you’re contributing to VR. There will be more of a fusion of AR and the cloud in the future. Gaming matters. Immersive content and great visual experiences. Solving real problems with VR has a lot of potential. How does it get broader and how will larger audience respond. 7:30 – Cross the chasm from innovators and early adopters and into the early majority? You can try out VR from people who own a VR HMD. People are excited about trying it. Trying an experience is different than owning an experience. See it, and then make a decision. Lots of people will try, but not everyone will buy it. Gaming has been a leader in new immersive experiences. 9:14 – All Future Parties – VR gives you the most sense of presence. How will you blend in AR? It’s a set of ideas. Delivering useful stuff to consumers means crossing a lot of boundaries from AR, VR to mobile. Forcing the breakdown, mobile devices will be great VR screens, but also have a camera that can provide an AR experience. Everything will have a camera and VR will be mixed with AR. 11:17 – Social networking tying in social data? Foundational ideas is that we’ll have wearable devices and screens that we can use for social signaling, which is more secure than facial recognition because it’s a personal mapping. With All Future Parties, people can choose to broadcast a certain amount of information allocated by the cloud. Do the recognition at up to 20ft 13:12 – VR potential is limitless. Walk around all day in VR where you see a video stream that you can overlay with AR, but that’s socially awkward. Starts with games and educational experiences. Eventually are going to be able to augment at any moment. 14:10 – Causal AR/VR use in public spaces. It’s a little freaky. A mobile phone provides distance, but worn displays encompass your entire field of view. Mobile phones and AR isn’t as invasive as VR. People constantly looking at their phones, and it’s going to get worse. There’s sensory distance, and it’s a big step to go from there to putting it on our face and it’s going to start with gaming. Theme music: “Fatality” by TigoolioPreliminary Alignment - The AR-88 uses a stagger-tuned IF system when in Selectivity POS. 1 and POS. 2 with two under-coupled IF transformers and two over-coupled IF transformers. This requires a sweep generator for proper symmetrical alignment. A complete description of the procedure is below, including actual photographs of the oscilloscope patterns taken during an actual sweep alignment of an AR-88D. However, before you do any sweep aligning, you need to center the entire IF section at the proper frequency, which is dependent on the crystal filter's crystal frequency. Before doing any adjustments on the IF or the RF, it might be a good idea, especially if the receiver is one that was stored in less than ideal conditions, to put a drop of thin oil on all of the threads on all of the adjustment shafts. Just a drop will do and let it soak over night before proceeding with the alignment. Input an IF signal to the Mixer grid and peak all of the IF transformers - remember you're going to sweep align this later so just peak them for now. Proceed on to the RF tracking adjustment per the appropriate manual. When this is completed, you can go on the the sweep alignment of the IF. The manual's instructions for sweep alignment are vague and assume you've performed sweep alignments many times before. Only drawings of the oscilloscope patterns are provided with some very basic directions (and these are only in the later manuals.) The following is a more detailed set of instructions that assume you've done alignments before but maybe not sweep alignments. I also assume that you are familiar with the operation of the test equipment described. Be sure to thoroughly read the later RCA sweep alignment instructions and use them along with my instructions. The RCA instructions specifically call out the component designations for adjustment for positive identification where I just refer to the function of the connection or adjustment, e.g., 4th IF transformer or 3rd IF amplifier grid, etc. Sweep Alignment - Sweep Alignments of a receiver's IF section will require a signal generator that is capable of a frequency "sweep" function. Back in the forties, it was common to find a "Wobulator" or mechanical FM signal generator. These devices used a motor to turn a variable capacitor that was in the signal generator's oscillator circuit. The effect was to rapidly change the set frequency at a rate determined by the speed of the motor. The frequency deviation, or by how much the frequency changed from a "set frequency," was based on the variable capacitor's maximum and minimum capacitance. Most of the motors ran at 1728 RPM which is about 28 Hz and this is an ideal sweep rate for alignments. Today, we generally use a modern Function Generator that has an electronic frequency sweep function built-in. There are many Function Generators available that were at one time "laboratory equipment" that are now on the "used market" and very reasonably priced. These will work fine for sweep alignments. Be sure that the sweep rate is adjustable and that a "ramp output" (or "modulation out" that is specific to the sweep rate) is provided. Also, be sure that the Function Generator will produce sine waveforms up to at least 1.0MC - most do. I use a Hewlett-Packard 3312A Function Generator for my sweep alignments. The oscilloscope is a Tektronix 475. The easiest type of Oscilloscope to use in a sweep alignment is a two-channel'scope that can be set-up to an "X-Y" configuration. Most modern'scopes have this function. Look at the Time Base control and usually just past the slowest sweep is "X-Y." This allows you to look at the receiver's IF output on the basis of just one sweep at a time determined by the "sweep ramp output" of the generator. It results in a very stable pattern that shows the IF passband characteristics. When the old "Wobulators" were used with'scopes the sweep ramp from the Wobulator had to be fed directly into the Horizontal input of the'scope to generate the "sweep" pattern. Stability was always an issue due to the mechanical nature of the signal. Modern gear is much better. The "Y" input to the'scope is connected to the output of the second detector at terminal C of the fourth IF transformer and is left there - you don't have to move it. The "X" input to the'scope is connected to the Ramp (Mod.) Output from the Sweep Generator - again, it stays put. This provides a "one sweep" look at the IF passband that is monitored by the "Y" input but since the sweep generator provides a continuous ramping sweep of about 25hz, the IF pattern appears to be stable and continuous. Your signal input to the receiver comes from the signal generator's P-P Amplitude Output which is the waveform that is amplitude adjustable and has its frequency sweeping. You may find that you have to "invert" the input of the Y channel because the output of the AR-88 detector is negative. You will have an "upside-down" or "U" shaped pattern unless your'scope channels have the ability to invert the signal input. Always use real oscilloscope probes since they don't load down the circuit. The connection from the Function Generator Ramp Output to the "X" channel of the'scope can be a coaxial cable with BNC fittings. Any loading or radiation pickup on unshielded cables will affect the'scope patterns. The alignment process depends upon always to be looking with the'scope at the 4th IF transformer (detector output,) terminal C and then work your way forward through the IF section by first injecting a sweep signal at the grids of the 3rd IF amp, then on to the 2nd IF amp, then on to the 1st IF amp, until you are finally injecting the sweep signal at the grid of the Mixer stage. You will then be viewing the sweep signal passing through the entire IF section of the receiver. This allows you to see the actual characteristics of the IF passband, including its shape and bandwidth. >>> >>> Unfortunately, there is no specific set up for amplitude, frequency deviation, X-Y gain settings or generator starting frequency that is "correct" since every receiver is somewhat different and many of the settings will interact. Some of the settings will be individual preference. So the best thing to do is to connect up the test equipment as described and experiment with what gives the best image. Be sure to keep the sweep rate low at around 25Hz or less - this is important for good stability and an accurate image of the IF passband. Also, keep the generator amplitude as low as possible that still gives a good representative image of the IF passband. Once you have experimented around with the set-up, you'll notice that the start frequency is not very critical as long as the frequency deviation is adequate to cover the IF passband. Usually 20Khz to 25Khz deviation gives a good image. The IF for the '88 series is 455kc while the '91s and AR-88LF use 735kc for the IF. You will set the sweep generator starting frequency near these frequencies depending on the receiver type. Be sure to couple the sweep generator signal to the various grid inputs of the receiver through a.01uf capacitor. Most modern generators are very low Z, usually around 50 ohms, so the capacitor will help prevent loading of the grid. Now, we are assuming that you have already aligned the receiver to its center IF with reference to the crystal filter's crystal frequency. Connect the'scope "Y" input to terminal "C" on the fourth IF transformer. Now, start with the 4th IF transformer and inject the sweep generator signal to the grid input of the 3rd IF amplifier tube. Adjust the 4th IF transformer for a symmetrical pattern but be sure that the amplitude of that pattern remains at the same level. This IF transformer is not switched so the position of the SELECTIVITY control has no effect. See photos and drawings below. Next, leaving the "Y" input connected to terminal C, inject a sweep signal to the grid of the 2nd IF amplifier tube. This brings in the 3rd IF transformers which are over-coupled in "BROAD" POS. 1 and normally coupled in POS.2. You have to switch between POS. 1 and 2 and adjust the IF transformers for the very slightly "dipped" pattern for 1 and a normal slightly "rounded" peak for 2. Symmetry is most important here. In performing all of these adjustments be sure to try to keep the IF amplitude unchanged, otherwise you are detuning the IF. Only very small changes are required to achieve the correct patterns. NOTE: The British AR-88 manuals specify only adjusting the bottom IF adjustments. The RCA manuals aren't specific. I have found that you have to adjust both the top and bottom slugs of each IF transformer to achieve the best patterns. Next, inject the sweep signal to the grid of the 1st IF amplifier tube. Now, you'll be seeing the combined 2nd, 3rd and 4th IF transformers. You may have to adjust the sweep generator amplitude a bit for a good'scope pattern. Adjust the 2nd IF transformers for a significantly "dipped" pattern in POS. 1 and a narrow-flat pattern in POS. 2. Again, try to keep the patterns symmetrical and the amplitude unchanged. Move the sweep signal to the Mixer grid. At this point you will have to increase the sweep generator amplitude for a good pattern on the'scope. Then adjust the first IF transformer for a broad flat pattern in POS.1 and and narrower but somewhat flat pattern in POS.2. See photos and drawings below. Only one IF transformer is used for the 4th and the 1st IF transformers. Two IF transformers are used for both the 3rd and 2nd IF transformers. While doing all of the manipulations to the pattern, be sure to try and keep the amplitude of the waveform unchanged. Detuning just to achieve the pattern will detune the IF resulting in reduced gain. Try to keep the patterns as symmetrical as possible. This is a time consuming process and only minute adjustments are required. IMPORTANT NOTE: Don't expect the patterns that you see on the'scope to look exactly like the drawings. See the photographs below of the actual patterns from an AR-88D alignment for an idea of what you might really see. You won't be using the same type of equipment that RCA used back in the 1940s when they made the drawings. Also, maybe when the receivers were new it was possible to get the exact patterns but, after 60+ years, the components and the IF transformers have aged enough that just getting close is about the best that can be achieved. Try to adjust for the closest appearance to the drawings with good symmetry, fairly flat tops and no loss or very little loss in amplitude. Also, remember - this is a time consuming process that requires only minute adjustments of the IF transformers. Don't expect the adjustments to easily "fall into place" - they don't. Take your time and only make small adjustments. After the 1st IF transformer is adjusted all that remains is to adjust the crystal filter section. Selecting POS 3, 4 or 5 will operate the Crystal Filter. The object of this alignment is to maintain a symmetrical pattern while progressively narrowing the bandwidth. This is very easy to accomplish with the RCA instructions and adjusting the Crystal Load L-34 and the trimmer capacitors provided.Earlier this week we noted how Janet Porter was praying that God would “take power and influence in the media of this country and of this globe from the unrighteous and give it to righteous people” so that Christians could gain total control over the media outlets in this nation. But, as it turns out, Porter doesn’t just want to take “dominion” over the media; she wants to “take dominion in every area” and that is what her upcoming “May Day 2010: A Cry to God for a Nation in Distress” prayer rally at the Lincoln Memorial is hoping to accomplish. As Porter explained recently, the rally is designed to break the curse this nation is under, as represented by President Obama and the Democratic agenda, so she is bringing together a group of Religious Right leaders like James Dobson and others to engage in a day of penitence and prayer as they beseech God to redeem America. Porter and company will also be unveiling a “Christian manifesto” which will lay out their positions on how this country ought to be run (apparently the recent Manhattan Declaration and the Mount Vernon Statement are insufficient) and yesterday she explained her ultimate purpose: We’ve heard the conservative manifesto that’s just been done; we want to declare what we believe as Christians, what we’d like to see. As the Humanists gathered and they put down their list, they’ve had undue influence in the country and the school systems ever since. What we want to do it take it back, in every area of influence and this is, well, occupy until Jesus comes, to take dominion in every area. Allow me to also point out that Porter regularly has Republican members on Congress on her radio program – in fact, right before she made this statement, she was interviewing Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyoming) about health care, and the day before, she had Senator Mike Johanns (R-Nebraska) on her program to discuss the same issue.Veterans Day 2016 came the same week as a significant and divisive election. Veterans, like other groups of Americans, were divided in their voting. We reached out to more than a thousand vets. Many offered strong opinions. Mark Schermerhorn from Murfreesboro, Tenn., texted to us: "Thank God Trump won!" Others wanted to make sure the new president does something about health care for veterans. Phil Moyart of San Jose, California, wrote, "Make America great again, reform the health-care delivery services of the Veterans Administration." There were also notes of concern. Brian McGough is a combat-wounded veteran who served in the initial invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. "I did not see the election going the way it did," he says. "It kind of makes me a little upset about how my views of America are different than the views of America that are coming out right now." McGough, who has fought for the right of women to serve in combat, worries that President-elect Trump's views might result in limiting opportunities for women in the military. "It's important to remember that there are a lot of veterans out there who are now feeling like they don't belong in this country," McGough adds. "There are veterans of color, veterans of different religious preferences, gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender veterans who now feel threatened in their own country. And for me that's very concerning." Afrita Davis is a sergeant in the Army reserve. She is a black woman, and says Veterans Day can be difficult for her. "I've been serving for almost 14 years and I've had one tour of service in Iraq," says Davis. "I'm always feeling marginalized, because 'your' veteran — the person that you know who served — doesn't look like me. And so there's always this fight to be seen and to be recognized on Veterans Day, for me, personally." But this year, the day is particularly hard for Sgt. Davis. "For this election to compound, you know, a candidate who has been so divisive against communities of color, I really don't have a whole lot of words," she says. "It's just really difficult to be in this fight and being recognized as a veteran only to be further marginalized and set aside as a black person." Afrita Davis is not alone in her concern about marginalization under the next commander-in-chief. Another vet, who wrote to us from Ellwood City, Penn., expresses bitterness. "I'm a veteran with mental health issues, and we just elected a man that thinks I need to just toughen up.... I wish I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth. I'm neither proud of my country nor my service today. I just want to wake up from this nightmare." But Dean Castaldo, an eight-year military veteran, points out that the men and women in the armed services — more than a million — represent a cross-section of America. And regardless of their differences, Castaldo says, they all work together as a team. "I think the American population can learn from that, and take that on board," he says, "and everyone should, metaphorically speaking, raise their right hand and pledge to be part of something bigger themselves, and say, 'I'm an American first, and let's just all come together and work as a team and continue to do great things.'" Castaldo says being optimistic is essential in a time of uncertainty. "If you look throughout our history, we've endured much more difficult times," he observes. "We've gone through civil wars, and world wars and great depressions that the current population — we couldn't ever even imagine. And yet, here we are. You know, we'll be OK."Gabriel R At Play in the Carceral State is a week-long series investigating play in, around, and about prisons and prison culture. Learn more here. It may sound like a strange juxtaposition: hardened, tattooed offenders donning the cloaks of fantasy characters. Yet both former inmates and correctional officers agree: D&D is more common in prison than you might imagine. Most facilities have at least one game going. Some have a player in every cell block. According to Micah Davis, a former inmate and Dungeon Master imprisoned in Texas, "We had our own table in the dayroom. That's saying something. Aryan brotherhood table, Mexican mafia table, black guy table, and D&D table." Some of the players are lifelong gamers, who would be doing the same thing if they were on the outside. Others hadn't even heard of D&D until getting locked up. But faced with a dearth of creative outlets, donning a metaphorical robe and wizard hat quickly became a welcome diversion. D&D has become so widespread, some correctional facilities even have specific rules that address it. For example, if you are unlucky enough to become incarcerated in the Idaho State Correctional Institution, you are probably not going to be passing your time rolling D20's. From the correctional institution's 2014 Handbook: The following activities are prohibited. Participation in any of these prohibited activities will result in disciplinary action. • Horseplay • Gambling or games of chance • Manufacturing of dice, dominos, chess sets, cards, or any other form of games • Role playing games (e.g. Dungeons and Dragons) Even in states where RPGs are allowed, restriction on the use of dice can complicate gameplay. In an effort to crack down on gambling, most correctional facilities in America don't allow offenders to use or create dice. Yet as they say, necessity is the mother of invention. Necessity and, as the case may be, boredom. In their efforts to circumvent the ban of dice, prison players have come up with a variety of ingenious ways to make rolls—everything from making the illicit dice themselves to designing intricate spinners out of batteries and paperclips. Dice made from paper templates. Pencil stubs and colorful plastic pieces serve as miniatures. Photo courtesy of Melvin Woolley-Bey HANDMADE DICE When plastic dice are banned, a common work-around is to simply make one's own. Depending on the resources available, there are a seemingly endless number of ways to go about it. For those with friends and family on the outside, the easiest way to get started is to ask a someone to send a dice template. A D6 template might get flagged in the mailroom, but a D20 template isn't likely to be something the CO's will recognize. Joe, a former Massachusetts inmate went for the template approach: "We had origami dice patterns mailed in along with the trial 5th rules. Not having glue we had to improvise with the things we could get on canteen. Stickers on shampoo bottles are surprisingly useful. Maps were done on cardboard boxes we would get from inmate workers. On searches they would wreck our dice for gambling, so the templates were important." "I never ran or played in a game where the PCs had to escape from jail or prison. Too on the nose. Come to think of it, we tended to avoid the trope of being in a dungeon filled with monsters as we were already in a dungeon filled with monsters." — Micah Davis When glue's not available, there are plenty of sticky alternatives that can be found in prison, like jam or toothpaste. "Jail toothpaste is cheap and turns to glue when it dries," says Joe. May Holmes-Roys, who spent time in the Washington State Department of Corrections, used a similar process: "We made dice out of card stock, toothpaste, and toilet paper. Rigorously tested, rolled right 85% of the time." Origami dice perform best when weighted, but that can be its own challenge. Table salt and laundry detergent both make great fillers, as does sand. A former inmate from Ohio who prefers to go by his Reddit handle "Pariahdog119," describes the process of making a sand-filled origami die: "You'll need the following: Cutout dice template, thin cardboard (saltine cracker boxes are OK,) fine sand (the finer the better, don't use dirt,) paints, glue, and for your hardest theft yet, clear poly coating from Maintenance. Cut out the cardboard using the dice template. Paint it and add the numbers. Fold and glue all sides but one. Let dry. Fill with sand. Tap make sure it's very very full. You don't want it rattling around. Close and glue shut. Add several clear coats to seal seams and protect your colors. Don't try to bounce the dice, you'll smash them. Roll them out the side of your hand or cup gently." There are endless materials around the prison that can be carved into dice, like soap, aspirin, and deodorant. "Trying to remember which numbers go on which side is the hard part," reflects Gabriel R., a former inmate from Pennsylvania. Your standard D6's made out of molded toilet paper. Photo courtesy of Gabriel R. During his time behind bars, Gabriel made dice using one of the most common resources of all: toilet paper. "You don't even need glue, just toilet paper," he says, "The way I did it is just by folding it into very thick square, wetting it, and then shoving it into a square corner, say a window sill. You do this over and over again, applying water when it starts to dry out, alternating corners. Eventually you have nicely shaped square. You have to continue shaping it as it dries with your makeshift corner jig. It shrinks a bit and gets quite hard." Where May was housed, "No one ever got in trouble (that I know of) just for making them. If someone pissed off a C.O [corrections officer]. they could theoretically get written up for making dice (gambling paraphernalia) but mostly the cops didn't actively harass us in closed custody. If a person lost their dice it would more likely be during a one of the big shakedowns, where the cops go cell to cell and throw almost everything out on the tier. As in the real world, folks in prison hoard random stuff. They'd go through and throw it all away once a month, once every few months, or whenever someone OD'd on meth or something. When I got to medium and then minimum custody they really stopped throwing dice away, and in fact those kind of tier wide cell tosses were much rarer." "Pariahdog119" offers the following advice: "If the prison bans D&D, play Pathfinder. They're pretty stupid and won't know it's the same thing. Never have a six sided dice. Use a d12 numbered 1-6 twice." Photo courtesy of Bryan Hibbard SPINNERS Luckily, when getting caught just isn't worth the risk, there are plenty of other ways to make rolls that don't involve dice at all. While incarcerated in Texas, Micah Davis decided not to tempt fate: "We never used dice. That was asking for problems with the cops. Each unit made its own rules regarding D&D paraphernalia. Some didn't allow the books. Others wouldn't allow character sheets. Dice however are forbidden system wide. As an alternative we made spinners." Spinners involve more parts, but are less likely to disappear in a shakedown. Jeremy George, a former correctional officer with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and a gamer himself says he turned a blind eye to the spinners. "A number of inmate gaming groups I saw used carefully crafted spinners with marked concentric rings, each ring represents a different dice. The spinner arm was usually a paper clip, which was technically minor contraband, but usually not worth confiscation." Typical spinners might come together from equipment like you see here from Bryan Hibbard, a former inmate from Florida. He made his using a paper clip and pin from a AA battery. "You can buy batteries from the canteen if you have money on the books," he says. Photo courtesy of Bryan Hibbard Formerly incarcerated in a US Army jail in Korea, Thommy "Uewneeq" Irvine describes how he
all sides," he has accepted that it is better to be able to provide for his three-year-old son than to risk barely scraping by, or worse, with a second child. "If he comes to me one day and says, 'Dad, I want to play hockey,' if I have two kids I probably couldn't afford to put him in hockey. But maybe with only one I can," Otway says. "Even that's a maybe because hockey is expensive." For Neudorf and his wife, not having to be able to have a second child is still frustrating. "We've done a lot of things leading up to this point that we thought would set us up for living the kind of life that we wanted to live," he says. Story continues below advertisement "Put it another way. What else could we have done to make this easier?" Whatever some people's objections might be – that there are already too many people on this planet, that you should be happy to have one child – the Neudorfs' situation should be deeply troubling to us all, Kershaw says. Canada is a wealthy nation and yet members of a younger demographic feel as if they can't afford to provide for the children they'd like to have, he says. "That has to grab all of us in the gut and make us wonder what's going on with the standard of living in Canada."A WWE Hall of Famer is ready to trade in the wrestling ring for the political arena. Pro wrestler Booker Huffman — who starred for decades under the name Booker T — on Tuesday announced that he is running for mayor of Houston in 2019. "I am happy to report that after great deliberation and with the counsel of my family and friends, I have decided to run for the office of Mayor in the 2019 race," Huffman wrote in a letter he posted to Twitter ADVERTISEMENT "I believe in my heart that all Houstonians, regardless of their economic circumstances, deserve the same opportunities to build a better life for themselves," he added. "I look forward to having a dialogue with the voters of Houston and if I am so privileged to serve, I will fight for them as hard as I fought for myself and my family over the last 30 years," the letter concludes. Huffman, 51, grew up in Houston. Performing as Booker T, he won pro wrestling championships in the 1990s and 2000s and battled the sport’s biggest names including The Rock and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, eventually being inducted into the WWE’s pro wrestling Hall of Fame. Since retiring from active wrestling, Huffman has worked as an announcer for WWE. Prior to his career, Huffman served 19 months in prison after pleading guilty to armed robbery at a Wendy's restaurant in Houston. Huffman will challenge Mayor Sylvester Turner (D), who took office in early 2016. It was not immediately apparent what party Huffman would seek to run under.Melbourne coffee drinkers are going crazy for non-dairy milk substitutes in their lattes, and it's driving the city's hippest baristas a little bit nuts. Soy milk – famously dropped from the menu by Melbourne roaster Market Lane – was once regarded as the main villain, because of its tendency to curdle when brewed with the lightly roasted coffee favoured by our coolest cafes. Happy Place is a new cafe in the South Melbourne Market that is gluten, dairy and caffeine free, selling turmeric lattes with almond milk. Credit:Penny Stephens Now "wellness cafes" such as Serotonin Eatery in Richmond and Matcha Mylkbar in St Kilda offer nut milks including almond, macadamia, cashew and coconut. Lachlan Ward is part owner of new wellness cafe Happy Place in South Melbourne and was a top barista at specialty coffee house St Ali, where he still works behind the scenes.I recently read Buffer’s post about ditching their office and going 100% distributed. It reminded me of a great post our own Eric Farkas wrote, where he shared his experience after working remotely at Chargify for 2 years. Chargify has been a remote team since inception, and while I may be biased, a very efficient remote team. So I sent an email to the team with one request: “Share one tip that has helped you be more productive or work more efficiently in a distributed environment.” When the responses (below) started to roll in, some common themes emerged: Work/Life Balance – It is easy to roll out of bed and immediately start working until the sun goes down (and beyond), but finding a healthy work/life balance will make you happier and help prevent burnout. Work Environment – As a remote worker you get to decide where you work! The preferred work environments for Chargify employees vary greatly from an outdoor porch to a cowork space on the beach. Communication & Transparency – Poor communication is among the biggest concerns for a remote team. But with the right tools and mindset, communication barriers almost disappear. Productivity Hacks – No matter where you work, there are always distractions! From dirty laundry to twitter, find out how the Chargify team avoids distractions and stays focused. Here are the responses… Work/Life Balance Set and keep “office hours” Michael Klett, Co-Founder & CTO My favorite thing about remote work is that your office is wherever you are. This provides tremendous flexibility but it has a cost: sometimes it is difficult to keep work life from bleeding into personal life. I think it is important to keep a fairly consistent start and end time to your day. This will help you achieve separation and balance between work and life. Also, knowing that each day has a “deadline” helps you time-box your work, and keeps you from falling into the trap of telling yourself “I can just work late on this.” That trap is a sure path to unfocused work and procrastination. Of course, work doesn’t always fit into your perfect little time-box. When I find this happening, I like to front load my day. Since there is no commute or dress code for my office, I just set my alarm an hour (or two!) early, roll out of bed and into the office in my pajamas (with a requisite stop at the coffee maker). The house is quiet and my mind is sharper. What may have taken me 3 hours the night before usually turns into an hour long task under these settings. There is also a benefit to the team when you keep a schedule. Your co-workers will learn your office hours and a natural rhythm develops that helps everyone collaborate effectively. Stick to a routine Keith Kacin, Customer Success While others enjoy working from home because of the ability to roll out of bed and get to work right away, I’ve found I need to follow a pre-work routine on work days. If I were to try to start working right after waking up, still in my pajamas, I would not be able to concentrate because it wouldn’t feel like I was “at work.” Each morning I prepare for work just as I would if I were going to a non-remote job. After waking up, I eat breakfast, shower, get dressed, get my coffee, and finally go to my desk to start working. Following this routine gets me in the mindset to start my work day. In addition to helping me concentrate throughout the day, the routine also gives me a separation between home and work. Incorporate personal wellbeing into your daily schedule Bob Orchard, Product Designer When I first started working remotely, focus and personal wellbeing got forgotten. I’ve always organized, planned, and wrote lists of things to achieve, but all too often items on my personal list got pushed down to the bottom (or forgotten). Now, I organize everything into my calendar, so that I know in advance when I’m taking time for myself. A few things in my calendar right now include “Grab a book and read,” “Sketch something fun,” “Take a Walk,” and “Disconnect.” Center yourself before you begin to work Kayla VanBaak, Customer Success Before I start working each day I like to mentally prepare myself. If you work in a ‘normal’ office setting there would be the time it takes to get up, get ready, and commute to work. When you work from home, you wake up and your office is around the corner from your bed. I like to start my morning by doing something relaxing like yoga, therapeutic coloring, or reading. Your brain needs some time to wake up in order to be efficient and have a successful work day. Stretch that noodle! Work Environment Consider joining a cowork space to get out of the house Adam Feber, Director of Marketing While remote work provides the convenience of working from home, being confined to your house day and night can lead to cabin fever. With the rise of coworking spaces across the globe, most cities have affordable options worth checking out. I have found that going to a cowork space for a few days a week has helped provide an escape from my house, allowed me to interact with other technologists in my community, and made me a happier, more productive person. Sure, it doesn’t hurt that my cowork space has a nice ocean view 🙂 Work outside David Cole, Software Developer For lovers of the outdoors like me, the fresh air, natural light, and natural temperatures will do wonders to keep your mind alert, save your eyesight, and raise your feeling of overall health. Weather permitting, I work most days on an upstairs porch where I am able to look away from my laptop, clear my mind, and exercise my eyes on a variety of natural colors and distances. I see the birds, animals, and neighbors as they are out and about. I live near a river and I sometimes see a Bald Eagle carrying a fish home for dinner. Of course, not all days or seasons lend themselves to outside work. Sometimes I head inside to escape the noise of neighbors doing their yard work or just for a change. But for me, remote work is all about not having a commute and being able to work outside. Stand up while you work Suzanne Gedney, Director of Customer Success Having worked from home for the past 6 years, I have given up my daily commute which would have included walking to and from my car, walking up and down stairs to get to the office, walking to grab lunch, etc. I found that I was becoming increasingly sedentary, so I decided to buy a standup desk. I tried a few different kinds, and ended up liking the Varidesk because I can easily adjust from seated height to standing height. I sit for video conference calls, but generally stand for most of my day. If I have extra energy to burn, I might even do some squats and lunges. Get your house in order Riki Crusha, Accounting/HR I have been working out of a home office for most of my “very long” life. I’ve found I need to have my house and workspace in order before I can really dig into work for the day. If the house isn’t in order, somewhere in the back of my mind I think “I should get that done.” If the house is neat and my desk is neat, there are no distractions. Communication & Transparency Communicate early, often, and well Eric Farkas, Software Developer Don’t be shy about using your team’s communication channels (Slack, email, etc.) to let colleagues know if you don’t have what you need to do your work, are stuck on a problem, or you don’t understand something. You have to be a self-starter in that respect. Working remote, the majority of your communication will be in writing — go out of your way to be clear and explicit. This is especially true for developers or support folks who are often describing bugs or proposing new features. If something isn’t clear, speak up. Your team should also have a #random channel in their chat room (we use Slack) so everyone can talk about non-work stuff. Sharing funny GIFs and personal stories is a great way to build team morale and keep remote workers from feeling lonely. Use video conferencing to add a human element Drew Blas, Director of Operations When you’re working remotely, you lack the in-person communication found in the standard work setting. At Chargify we’ve found that using video conferencing helps add a human element to communications. Zoom is great for one-on-one calls, daily stand-ups, ad-hoc meetings, and it can handle our entire team meeting (Google Hangouts, Skype, and GoToMeeting wouldn’t work for our entire team). Some of the other things I like about Zoom: Every video conference is easy to access via a unique URL, it supports conferencing on mobile devices, the audio is top notch, and you can schedule recurring meetings. Having one single, reliable tool that everyone in the company uses saves a lot of time and pain, plus it allows us to see each other on a regular basis. Trust and transparency Marcelo DePolli, Software Developer Whenever I mention the way we work at Chargify to my friends at “regular,” non-remote companies, one reaction seems to come up more often than others: “But how can you be sure that people are actually working?” And the answer to that is trust. Of course, that doesn’t tell the whole story. Trust is the basis for everything. Initially it gets a work relationship going, but we also need trust to help things function in the long run. And there’s nothing better in that respect than full transparency. Be open about all things good and bad — especially the bad ones. Let people know if you’re stuck or if you found problems that are preventing you from moving forward. Perhaps this is easier for programmers because we have great collaboration tools that enable everyone to see exactly what everyone else is working on at any given time. But the same principles can be applied to other areas and departments. Just be open and communicate. If you have to choose between being annoying and not being transparent, be annoying. Be mercilessly transparent. All the time. Productivity Hacks Track and improve your productivity with RescueTime Zac Clay, Operations Engineer One of the hardest things about working remotely (especially if you’re at home by yourself) is being accountable for your productivity. It’s easy to spend all day on Reddit or Twitter if you’re not careful, so I use RescueTime to help me stay productive. RescueTime is a tool that helps you track where you’re spending your time online throughout the day, and it will even send notifications if you’re spending time on something that’s not productive. If you find yourself needing some additional assistance, the tool can block distracting sites/apps after you spend a specific amount of time of them. Use Siri for reminders Wendy Smoak, Customer Success Working from home, the day is full of potential distractions. Walking into the kitchen to get a drink reminds me that I need to finish the laundry. Walking back into the office at night it occurs to me that I need to ask a coworker about something in the morning. I use Siri to schedule reminders, which allows me to stay focused. For example: “Hey Siri, remind me to ask Drew about API rate limiting at 10:05 AM” … and then like magic, just as I open Zoom for the daily standup, the reminder pops up on my screen. Whatever system you decide to use, being able to quickly add a reminder means you can remain focused on work and not worry about forgetting things. Invest in a good pair of headphones Kate Harvey, Content & Search Marketing Manager My household is a bit unique in that we both work from home. We have separate home office spaces, but when he is on the phone I’ve found a good pair of headphones are a great way to help block out his work and keep me focused on mine. One of the perks I enjoy about working remote is being able to work in different settings such as my backyard (it’s always sunny in Arizona!) or a local coffee shop. Headphones help block out noise distractions wherever I’m at. My favorite are Bose’s noise-cancelling headphones (bonus: these are awesome for travel!). Go for a walk Danielle Martin, Customer Success Take a quick break and go for a walk outside! About five minutes of walking and taking deep breaths is great for clearing out mental blocks and feeling rejuvenated. It’s even better if the sun is shining…we all need a Vitamin D boost, right? This doesn’t need to be a run or mile hike. I like to take a few laps around my cul-de-sac, specifically because my only other option is a large hill, which seems too much like midday cardio for my liking. Take quick power breaks Matt Meo, Customer Success A power break is a short break that acts as a “refresher.” The key to a successful power break is finding something meaningful that helps you relax. The beauty of working from home is that you can design your own type of power breaks. Personally, when I need a quick refresher, I pick up my guitar for a couple minutes. In a conventional work environment, I would never be able to do this. Working from home allows you to be very productive because you can take short breaks when you need to, so you can always retain maximum focus. The more focus you have, the better employee you’ll be. Do you work remotely? We would love to hear your tips in the comments below.This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form. AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. When we come back from break, we’ll be speaking to the college roommate of Kayla Mueller. But first, we’re turning to this news here in New York. Juan? JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Well, after months of protests calling for justice, a New York City police officer who fatally shot an unarmed black man last November has been indicted by a grand jury. Officer Peter Liang faces charges of manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, assault and official misconduct. Liang was reportedly carrying his gun in his left hand and a flashlight in his right hand when he opened the door to a stairwell he was patrolling in a Brooklyn housing project. His gun went off, and the bullet hit Akai Gurley, who was walking down the stairs. Police Commissioner William Bratton has described the shooting as an “unfortunate accident” and said Gurley was, quote, “totally innocent.” AMY GOODMAN: The New York Daily News reported Liang did not respond to police radio contact for more than six minutes after the shooting. Instead, he texted his union representative for advice. A neighbor ended up calling for an ambulance that rushed Akai to the hospital, where he was declared dead. All of this comes after a Staten Island grand jury declined to indict the officer who put Eric Garner into a fatal chokehold and as a grand jury in Ferguson, Missouri, chose not to indict the officer who shot and killed Mike Brown. For more, we’re joined by Vince Warren, executive director of the Center for Constitutional Rights. Were you surprised by—you know, we’re always having you on: “Were you surprised by the non-indictment? Were you surprised by the non-indictment?” Well, now this officer has been indicted. Were you surprised by this? VINCENT WARREN: No, nothing surprises me when it comes to indictments of police officers. This was a case that should have and could have been indicted. There’s no question about it. As Juan was talking about earlier, this is where the police are saying this was an accidental shooting. And the real question is: Can the prosecutor show probable cause in the grand jury, under manslaughter, to say that there was a risk, that he knew, Peter Liang knew, what the risk was and disregarded it; or, in criminally negligent homicide, did he not know that there was a risk, but should have? And anybody, you know, with any sense would say, if you’ve got a gun in one hand and a flashlight in the other hand, and you’re trying to open a door, that terrible things can happen. There’s a risk there. So this was relatively easy to indict, from my perspective. But what I think it shows is what happens when you have a prosecutor that really is willing to take those political risks of putting these cases to grand juries, unlike what happened in Staten Island or what happened in Ferguson, where the prosecutors really just punted on the whole thing. JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And, Vince, I wanted to ask you specifically about the issue of the prosecutors, because, obviously, the old adage is a district attorney can indict a ham sandwich, and if they choose not to, they generally don’t. But in Brooklyn, there’s a new district attorney, Ken Thompson, an African American, who has not only become the district attorney, but has also begun to re-examine scores of cases from the past of people who were arrested and convicted on false testimony, false evidence, and now is basically overturning a lot of those cases. So, it’s not a surprise that this kind of district attorney would take a much more active stand on an issue like this. VINCENT WARREN: No, I think that’s right. This is the type of district attorney that you want to have, particularly in places like New York, particularly with the police department acting the way that it does. This is a district attorney that is actually thinking about the entire community and what the community needs and about fairness and justice. Now, I don’t generally side with prosecutors. I have a criminal defense background. But, you know, you have to call it like you see it. A lot of prosecutors, particularly the other prosecutor in Staten Island, would not have approached this case or those other issues in the same way. And so, we don’t want to pretend that the system is fixed because they have one indictment, you know, that a broken clock even works twice a day. But this is a step in the right direction. AMY GOODMAN: Meanwhile, the young man who filmed the police encounter with Eric Garner in Staten Island has been arrested again. Ramsey Orta filmed the police placing Garner in a chokehold and pinning him down while Garner kept on saying, “I can’t breathe.” It was a film from his cellphone. After Orta’s video went viral, he and his wife were both arrested on separate charges and said they face harassment by police. On Tuesday, Orta was arraigned, along with his mother and his brother, after police say they caught him on video selling drugs to an undercover officer. A police source told the New York Daily News, quote, “He took the video. Now we took the video.” VINCENT WARREN: Deeply troubling for a number of reasons. It is almost unimpeachable to say that the police department is completely targeting this man because he got the goods on the police with respect to Eric Garner. There’s no question about that. It is easy to fabricate information, which the police may have done. It is also easy—if you follow somebody long enough, you will be able to find out that they did something wrong. The point—the question really is: Are our police resources best set forth by having the police trying to target one person that made them look bad, or are there other crimes that they should be out there trying to solve and doing it in an accountable way? This is problematic for me. JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Vince, I just wanted to ask you quickly about the relationship between the officer and the police union here, where he was actually, rather than running to see the injuries to the man he had shot, he spent six minutes— AMY GOODMAN: Or calling the ambulance. JUAN GONZÁLEZ: —or calling the ambulance—he goes to text his—the police union, the PBA, to get an idea, counsel, on what he should be doing. VINCENT WARREN: Yeah, if you believe the police narrative that this was an accident, that’s the most problematic piece, because what actually—you know, from the reports, after the gun went off, he went back up to the roof, started texting his union reps, didn’t call an ambulance. Mr. Gurley and his girlfriend went downstairs, where Mr. Gurley collapsed, and somebody else had to call the ambulance. This is a huge problem. And it doesn’t make sense to me that someone who accidentally shot someone would decide their first course of action would be “Let me get my union rep on the phone before I actually do my duty to figure out did I hit somebody, did I hurt somebody, how can I make that better.” AMY GOODMAN: Vince Warren, thanks so much for being with us, the executive director of the Center for Constitutional Rights. And of course we’ll continue to follow this story. When we come back, we’re going to Portland, Oregon, where we’ll be joined by the college roommate of Kayla Mueller, who just died in Syria. Stay with us.Before his death at 62, Christopher Hitchens, the uber-atheist and best-selling author of “God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything,” considered becoming a Christian. That is the provocative claim of “The Faith of Christopher Hitchens: The Restless Soul of the World’s Most Notorious Atheist,” a controversial new book winning both applause and scorn while underscoring, again, the divide between believers and atheists that Hitchens’ own life and work often displayed. The author is Larry Alex Taunton, an evangelical Christian who knew Hitchens for three years and, he says, had private, unrecorded conversations with him about Christianity. Those 2010 conversations, shortly after Hitchens was diagnosed with the esophageal cancer that would kill him 18 months later, took a serious turn. Once, he asked Taunton if his friend understood why he, Hitchens, did not believe in God. “His tone was marked by a sincerity that wasn’t typical of the man,” Taunton writes. “Not on this subject anyway. A lifetime of rebellion against God had brought him to a moment where he was staring into the depths of eternity, teetering on the edge of belief.” Taunton, 48, founder of Fixed Point Foundation, an organization that defends Christianity, acknowledges in the book there are “no reports of a deathbed conversion” for Hitchens. But Taunton writes that during the same time period, “Christopher had doubts and those doubts led him to seek out Christians and contemplate, among other things, religious conversion.” “At the end of his life, Christopher’s searches had brought him willingly, if secretly, to the altar,” Taunton writes at the end of the book. “Precisely what he did there, no one knows.” The book, published by Christian publishing house Thomas Nelson, is proving popular among evangelicals, winning praise from Douglas Wilson, another of Hitchens’ Christian friends and debate partners, and from Chris Matthews, a Catholic, who said during an interview with Taunton on his MSNBC show, “Hardball with Chris Matthews,” that the book is “beautifully written.” But among members of Hitchens’ inner circle, the book’s claims that Hitchens was too famous an atheist to admit his late-in-life change of heart, that he was privately “entering forbidden territory, crossing enemy lines, exploring what he had ignored or misrepresented for so long,” are getting a decidedly different reception. Steve Wasserman, who was Hitchens’ friend for 30 years, co-executor of his estate and with Hitchens’ family at his death, called the book’s claims “petty” and “appalling” when they were read to him. “I am not in the position to dispute what Taunton says were private conversations,” he said by phone from New Haven, Conn., where he is executive editor-at-large for Yale University Press. “But I really think it is a shabby business. It reveals a lack of respect. This is not a way to debate Christopher Hitchens’ beliefs — to report unverifiable conversations, which amazingly contradict everything Christopher Hitchens ever said or stood for.” Benjamin Schwarz, Hitchens’ editor at The Atlantic, where he published some of his best work, said, “That Christopher had friends who were evangelicals is testimony to his intellectual tolerance and largeness of heart, not to any covert religiosity.” And Michael Shermer, an atheist and founder of Skeptic magazine, who read the book’s manuscript and liked its description of the friendship between the two men — enough to give it a favorable jacket blurb — said Taunton’s claims of Hitchens’ flirtation with conversion were “exaggerated.” Reached by phone at his home in Birmingham, Ala., Taunton stood firm in the face of such criticism. Asked about the fairness of publishing such claims about Hitchens after his death, he said: “The things that I relate, I think by and large I substantiate. What I am saying is this: If Christopher Hitchens is a lock, the tumblers don’t line up with the atheist key and that upsets a lot of atheists. They want Christopher Hitchens to be defined by his atheism, and he wasn’t.” Taunton first met Hitchens in 2008 in Edinburgh, Scotland, where both were involved in a debate about religion. Hitchens famously said he would debate anyone, and Taunton often arranged and moderated debates between Hitchens and noteworthy Christians. The two men became friends and spoke warmly of each other in public — Hitchens once said in an interview, “If everyone in the United States had the same qualities of loyalty and care and concern for others that Larry Taunton has, we’d be living in a much better society than we do.” Taunton writes of his deep concern for Hitchens — for both his soul and his physical well-being. The two took two cross-country road trips after Hitchens became ill, and Taunton’s recollections of those trips and the conversations they had — untaped and unwitnessed by anyone else — form the heart of the book. “I would say to any would-be critics, read the book,” Taunton said. “You will see that this a gentle treatment of Christopher Hitchens, far more gentle than his (book-length) assaults on the Clintons or Mother Teresa. I’ve given him the benefit of the doubt.” Hitchens tried to ensure that anyone claiming he turned to religion at the end of his life would be discredited. In 2010, he made a video with The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg in which he said, “In the event of anyone ever hearing or reading a rumor of such a thing, it would not have been made by me. No one recognizable as myself would ever make such a ridiculous remark.”Earlier this month, Airbnb published a quantitative glimpse into the company’s New York City listings — part of the company’s push to portray itself as a good civic citizen. The press release provided borough-level statistics that the company hadn’t previously released, such as the median nights booked and revenue per listing. But the press release also promised more: “Today, we are honoring our Compact by making available more than 170,000 rows of data about almost 60,000 listings in our community in New York City.” A reader might, fairly, have assumed that “making available” meant “making available for download.” It did not. In order to examine the detailed data, members of the public would have to visit the data in person, under the supervision of a company representative. If you didn’t happen to live near an Airbnb office? Tough luck. Despite the hurdles, "many people have already had a chance to review” the data, according to a statement an Airbnb spokesperson sent BuzzFeed News. When asked for a rough estimate of “many people,” the spokesperson said “dozens.” Airbnb also forbade downloading, copy-pasting, or photographing the data, which took the form of a large spreadsheet on a laptop utterly cut off from the internet. (Its rationale: User privacy. None of the data, however, appeared to reveal any personal information.) But — and here’s where Airbnb’s approach veers from restrictive to absurd — the company doesn’t mind if you manually copy the data. So, over the course of three visits and many hours, BuzzFeed News transcribed the most interesting parts of the sacred spreadsheet. You can see the fruits of our labor here. (Warning: While BuzzFeed News attempted to transcribe the data faithfully, our version may contain typos not in the original.) Here are a few things we learned: Although Airbnb’s press release focused on the “typical” host, the outliers are just as interesting. The “typical” (i.e., median) Airbnb host in New York City rents out only one room or home, for about 41 nights of the year, and is paid about $5,110 for doing so. Airbnb, understandably, likes to highlight such figures. One possible reason: “typical” hosts draw attention away from Airbnb’s more controversial power users — the folks who’ve turned hosting into an industry. For example: As of mid-November, 46 NYC hosts each listed six or more full apartments or homes. At least 127 NYC listings had earned their hosts more than $100,000 in revenue over the previous year. And at least 793 entire home/apartment listings had been booked for more than 270 nights. Hosts with multiple rentals account for a large chunk of total revenue. Between November 2014 and November 2015, hosts with more than one entire-home listing in NYC accounted for more than 30% of all NYC revenue. (And that includes share-home and shared-room listings.) And hosts with at least three entire-home listings accounted for more than 18% of all NYC revenue. Brooklyn's Bed-Stuy/Crown Heights border is a prime location for Airbnb hosts. The median full-home/apartment listing in ZIP code 11233 earned its host $15,448 in revenue and was booked more than 120 nights of the year between November 2014 and November 2015. Both figures were the highest of any ZIP code with at least 25 such listings. Here’s a map of the median revenue for listings, for ZIP codes with at least 25 entire apartment/home listings:While writing this season preview I found myself thinking of the laughing producers in Girlish Number and their hair-brained ideas for how to create a hit in the hottest new craze. I’m pretty sure half of the anime from this season came from their think tank. There’s a bar somewhere in Tokyo with a number of them proclaiming they won! Gahahaha! Welcome to The Cart Driver’s perhaps not world famous but at the very least reliable anime season preview, winter 2017 edition! I’m fast approaching 9 years writing these things and I’ll admit in the realm of pre-season hype generator, this upcoming season ranks as one of the worst I’ve seen in a while. Not quite Winter 2013 where the only good anime was Inferno Cop, but not far off. Are you still excited? Good, because so am I! Yeah I can’t help it. It could be an entire season of idol shows and flash animated shorts and I’d still get excited. Little Witch Academia Little Witch Academia is quite the feel-good story. It started out as a one episode project as part of the Young Animator Training Project, a government scheme to provide funds to studios to train up young animators and make a short anime. Death Billiards is probably the other famous anime to come from this as that short eventually became Death Parade, but there were some other pretty excellent shorts like Wasurenagumo and Oji-san no Lamp that I highly recommend checking out. They mostly were just fansubbbed until Trigger decided to stick Little Witch Academia up on Youtube with pink English subtitles. That ended up being something of a huge success for Trigger. As Japan largely ignored the short, western fans were already quite fond of Trigger’s outreach to English-speaking fans with the debut nonsense piece Inferno Cop also featuring on Youtube as free streaming with English subs. This goodwill extended to when they decided to run a kickstarter to produce a second episode of Little Witch Academia and got 3 times more than they asked for. Out instead came a full movie, The Enchanted Parade, and now we’re getting a full 2 cours TV series. Startup studio, training young animators, government funding a notoriously underpaid position, western fandom outreach, kickstarter success. All for an anime so approachable and likable you could show it to anyone from literally age 2 and upwards and feel reasonably safe in the knowledge that they’ll like it. Even my blackened heart can find nothing cynical to say about this. Chaos;Child Can we stop giving the semi colon series the benefit of the doubt anymore? They’ve had 4 attempts so far. One of them was Steins;Gate, which was pretty great. But the other 4 anime have been Chaos;Head, Robotics;Notes, and Occultic;Nine, all of which were varying degrees of Bad. Steins;Gate happened to be a lucky coming together of a talented director with a singular vision who knew what parts to focus on, combined with an excellent lead character. Everything else about it has the ingredients to be as bad as any of the other semi-colon series. Silver Link animating it, who have been reliably poor for years. Director with nothing really notably on their resume. I don’t see anything about Chaos;Child to convince me it will be lightning striking again. Scum’s Wish When describing Scum’s Wish, it’s usually put in the same category as something like Flowers of Evil. A no-holds-bar look at teenagers in their worst state, graphic and convinced of their own terribleness. All right I wasn’t super keen on the Flowers of Evil anime, but that had more to do with the director deciding he wasn’t allowed to have more than one thing happen per episode, but I got the appeal and would love to see something similar. Honestly though, what I’ve seen of Scum’s Wish hasn’t convinced me that it will scratch that itch. The director is OK, as he did School Live which I quite liked. But particularly the trailer reminds me more of something like Ano Hana; a bad teen soap opera rather than delving the depths of depriving lurking in the teenage mind. It’s the Noitamina show next season so I’m always willing to give Noitamina a shot. Plus I’ve been hearing about Scum’s Wish for a long time, certainly long before it got announced that it was becoming an anime. But I’ll admit my hopes aren’t that high right now. Masamune-kun’s Revenge Man fuck this piece of shit. I feel like this isn’t the first time I’ve read a light novel adaptation that comes off like it came out of the pick-up artist scene, or more generally the corner of the internet that houses backwards views about women and society. Anyway, Masamune’s Revenge reads like a PUA story about a dude who reads one of those books and becomes the total babe magnet, all to show them bitches who’s boss around here. You all laughed at me once but now you are slaves to me thanks to my good looks. It reminds me of how much I loved the portrayal of body building in Mob Psycho. While part of it is he wanted to impress a girl he liked, it was
) % d 0: ret = (ret + (t[0](2^-1048)) % d) % d 1: ret = (ret + (t[1](2^-1032)) % d) % d 2: ret = (ret + (t[2](2^-1016)) % d) % d 3: ret = (ret + (t[3](2^-1000)) % d) % d 4: ret = (ret + (t[4](2^-984)) % d) % d 5: ret = (ret + (t[5](2^-968)) % d) % d 6: ret = (ret + (t[6](2^-952)) % d) % d 7: ret = (ret + (t[7](2^-936)) % d) % d... 99: ret = (ret + (t[99](2^536)) % d) % d 100: ret = (ret + (t[100](2^552)) % d) % d 101: ret = (ret + (t[101](2^568)) % d) % d 102: ret = (ret + (t[102](2^584)) % d) % d 103: ret = (ret + (t[103](2^600)) % d) % d 104: ret = (ret + (t[104](2^616)) % d) % d 105: ret = (ret + (t[105](2^632)) % d) % d Analysing this loop on double values gave me a headache, at some point I’ve switched to hexadecimal representation (Double.doubleToLongBits()). I was playing a bit with values in t[] array and watching how the output is changing. I was also printing partial results like t[i](2^n), (t[i](2^n))%d etc, virtually everything that can help me in achieving the goal. Constants passed to sr_0274() are also better looking in hexadecimal form: A = 1.112536929253537e - 308 = 0x0007FFFFFFFFFF7F B = 1.112536929253532e - 308 = 0x0007FFFFFFFFFF75 A = 1.112536929253537e-308 = 0x0007FFFFFFFFFF7F B = 1.112536929253532e-308 = 0x0007FFFFFFFFFF75 It is worth noting that both values fits in 52 bits. Double representation in Java follows IEEE 754 standard, it defines double as 64bit value, where 1 bit is used as a sign, 11 bits are used as an exponent and mantissa is stored in the remaining 52 bits. So, constants from the crackme are using only mantissa part, is it anyhow helpful? Actually yes, I’ve made a nice observation, that simplifies things a lot. Double modulo operation for values that fits in mantissa part can be freely changed to integer modulo! Thinking about previously mentioned big number addition, I’ve decided to look at a big number modulo algorithms. I’ve found this article: http://www.devx.com/tips/Tip/39012 and it confirmed my theory, that sr_0274() might by just big number modulo. Lets try to put together some initial calculations that I’ve recovered up to this moment: // sum[] -> char array produced by sr_01E1(), let's call it just sum ( sum % A ) + ( sum % B ) = 0 ; // sum is always above 0, so above can be represented as: sum % ( A B ) = 0 ; // and after further transformation sum = N * A * B ; // sum[] -> char array produced by sr_01E1(), let's call it just sum (sum % A) + (sum % B) = 0; // sum is always above 0, so above can be represented as: sum % (AB) = 0; // and after further transformation sum = NAB; sum[] is a result of an addition of a few values: bignumbers made from “Incorrect!” and “Correct!” char arrays, const value 5 and two bignumbers made from t1[] and t2[] char arrays. As I’ve described earlier, t2[] is concatenated with “I” char, to simplify the things, I’ve to represent this concatenation as a mathematical operation: t2 = "I". concat ( String. valueOf ( t2 ) ). toCharArray ( ) ; "I" -> 0x49 concat -> it works like left shift by 16 bits, or multiplication by 0x10000 t2 = ( t2 0x10000 ) + 0x49 t2 = "I".concat(String.valueOf(t2)).toCharArray(); "I" -> 0x49 concat -> it works like left shift by 16 bits, or multiplication by 0x10000 t2 = (t2 * 0x10000) + 0x49 Updating calculations: incor = bignum ( "Incorrect!" ) cor = bignum ( "Correct!" ) sum = incor + cor + 5 + t1 + ( t2 * 0x10000 ) + 0x49 // so incor + cor + 5 + t1 + ( t2 * 0x10000 ) + 0x49 = N * A * B incor = bignum("Incorrect!") cor = bignum("Correct!") sum = incor + cor + 5 + t1 + (t2 * 0x10000) + 0x49 // so incor + cor + 5 + t1 + (t2 * 0x10000) + 0x49 = NAB t1[] and t2[] arrays are results of yet unknown operation that strangely resembles bignum multiplication. I’ll not go into the details as it would probably took to much space and I’m not sure if it would be clear enough, but the algorithm used in the crackme is standard long multiplication algorithm, it is optimized to use chunks of 16bit data, but it’s just an implementation detail. t1 + (t2 * 0x10000) is the final addition for the multiplication algorithm, so calculations can be updated again: C -> bignum ( output_c1 ) Serial -> bignum ( post_serial_array ) t1 + ( t2 * 0x10000 ) = Serial * C // so Serial * C + incor + cor + 5 + 0x49 = N * A * B C -> bignum(output_c1) Serial -> bignum(post_serial_array) t1 + (t2 * 0x10000) = SerialC // so SerialC + incor + cor + 5 + 0x49 = NAB At this point there are two unknown values in the equation: Serial and N. I’ll transform current equation to the form that will calculate Serial number: Serial * C = N * A * B - incor - cor - 5 - 0x49 Serial = ( N * A * B - incor - cor - 5 - 0x49 ) / C SerialC = NAB - incor - cor - 5 - 0x49 Serial = (NAB - incor - cor - 5 - 0x49) / C Both Serial and N values has to be Integer numbers, this information allows me to write below equation: ( N A * B - incor - cor - 5 - 0x49 ) % C = 0 //it can be further transformed to the form of standard linear congruence ax = b (mod c) N * A * B = incor + cor + 5 + 0x49 ( mod C ) // a = AB // x = N // b = incor + cor + 5 + 0x49 // c = C (NAB - incor - cor - 5 - 0x49) % C = 0 //it can be further transformed to the form of standard linear congruence ax = b (mod c) NAB = incor + cor + 5 + 0x49 (mod C) // a = AB // x = N // b = incor + cor + 5 + 0x49 // c = C Solving linear congruences requires extended Euclidean algorithm, values used by the crackme are chosen in the way that it is possible to solve it. Final solution: // EGCD() - extended Euclidean algorithm N = EGCD ( A * B, C ) Serial = ( EGCD ( A * B, C ) * A * B - incor - cor - 5 - 0x49 ) / C // EGCD() - extended Euclidean algorithm N = EGCD(AB, C) Serial = (EGCD(AB, C)AB - incor - cor - 5 - 0x49) / C Correct serial number: "5876C9436400AD9AC7BA037602CD4261D2C87DB8FAA9F921A93AB2DDFA2C0215" "5876C9436400AD9AC7BA037602CD4261D2C87DB8FAA9F921A93AB2DDFA2C0215" Keygen: Crackme3Kgn.java That was quite long solution, I hope some people made it till the end. It could be even longer, but I’ve decided to skip some details for clarity. I’ve never thought that java crackmes can be as tricky as x86, but this crackme proved it. It is also a great example to learn various topics like: java bytecode level analysis and debugging, big numbers algorithms, solving linear congruences. As a bonus, last year dirtyJOE development was mainly driven by this crackme. That’s all for now.August 31st outside the GPO in Dublin and over 100 people gather to protest at the Turkish invasion of northern Syria. The invasion seems to be intended to stop the two sections of Rojava linking up - a linkup would cut off ISIS from the Turkish border. The demonstration was called by Rojava Calling and Saoirse Jin groups. Saoirse is the Irish word for Freedom and Jin the Kurdish word for women. There were speakers from the Kurdish community, political organisations including the WSM and Sinn Fein and a trade union speaker. You can hear most of these speeches in the video. The protest happened at rush hour in the city centre so thousands of people passed by. The text below is from a leaflet that was distributed to the people passing. --- Stop Turkeys war on Kurds --- Today we are here to protest against the Turkish invasion of Syria, the attack on the YPG and YPJ* forces by the Turkish army and its affiliated Jihadi partners, and to protest against the hypocritical treatment of the Kurds by her western allies. After taking Jarablus, Syria, in agreement with the Islamic State without firing a single bullet, the Turkish army has engaged in airstrikes and shelling of civilian areas, killing at least 45 in two villages south of Jarablus. Dozens of local fighters from the Jarablus Military Council, affiliated with the SDF, have been taken prisoner and tortured in front of cameras; most of them Arabs. With its latest military foray Turkey, which has tried to camouflage its regional war on Kurds by using the Islamic State as a pretext, is trying to prevent the conjoining of Rojava’s three cantons. Furthermore this is also an attempt to strengthen Sunni/Muslim Brotherhood forces, which are ideologically aligned with the Turkish AKP government. Through these proxies Erdogan hopes to revive his neo-Ottoman aspirations to have a say in Syria’s future and a longer-term influence in the Middle East and North Africa. What is at stake though, as much as Kurds’ gains, is the possibility of a progressive, secular and democratic political line and system in the region. This is what Rojava represents and this is why the Syrian regime, Iran, Russia and the USA have agreed to Turkey’s invasion. Rojava’s existence in this regard is a threat to the status quo and interests of all the nation-states and governments in the Middle East and by extension those pillaging the region. As an alternative model of governance Rojava has proven that people from different ethnicities and religious groups can organise at the local level, live, produce and struggle together without a centralised state, even during times of sectarian war. The unity between Kurdish, Arab and Turkmens against Turkey’s invasion is proof of this. The Rojava region is the South-Western part of divided Kurdistan. It falls within the borders of Syria. Rojava means ‘west’ in Kurdish. Syrian Kurds have been heavily oppressed by various Syrian regimes. The current Assad dynasty has denied Kurds basic human rights. Many Kurds were not recognized as citizens and were not issued passports. When the Arab Spring landed in Syria, the country collapsed in a bloody civil war in the course of few years. In order to fight insurgency elsewhere, Syrian forces vacated key Kurdish towns in the North of the country. Kurds quickly filled in the power vacuum and organized themselves in excellent fighter units and set up local self-governing bodies. The Rojava Revolution had begun! Various Islamic Jihadi groups financed by Gulf States and Turkey were commandeered by the masters to attack and destroy the territorial, political and military gains of the Kurds. The Turkish government has been the sworn enemy of the Rojava revolution from the very beginning. Turkey initially supported the AL-Qaida linked Al-Nusra front. YPG and YPJ fought the Jihadis in a bloody battle, defeating and driving them from many towns and villages. A splinter group was formed from the AL-Qaida, who came to be known as ISIS, ISIL or the Islamic State. This barbaric, ruthless Jihadi group, was able with foreign financial and military support to take towns, villages and military centres in Iraq and Syria. ISIS/DAESH attacked the Kurdish town of Kobani in the autumn of 2014, prompting US and other Western allies to support the YPG militarily for the first time to great dismay of Erdogan and the Turkish ruling party. YPG forces were able to defeat and drive ISIS from most of Northern Syria. Rojava leaders set up three cantons in Norther Syria and soon after united them, declaring a Federal Kurdistan inside Syria. Erdogan was alarmed by this and feared a backlash in Northern or Turkish Kurdistan. He set up a ‘red line’ with Euphrates as the border. Kurdish YPG forces were not to cross west of the Euphrates river. When the YPG did cross the Euphrates and took the key Syrian town of Manbij from ISIS, Erdogan decided it was time to go into action and ordered the Turkish army to cross into Syria, taking the border town of Jarablus. The Turkish government has never been troubled by the presence of IS at his borders and never took military action to drive them from her borders. Only when YPG was able to drive ISIS and other Jihadi groups from her borders, did Turkey decide to act militarily against the YPG. Erdogan’s problem is not the ISIS or other Jihadis but the Kurdish YPG. The so-called Western Allies of the Rojava Kurds, US, France, Britain, Germany, all turned their back to Turkey’s incursion into Rojava in exchange for political compromises by the Erdogan dictatorship. *People’s Protection Units/Women’s Protection UnitsAN off-duty nurse has been hailed a hero after saving the lives of a woman and her unborn child by performing CPR at the scene of a car crash. Keith B Ezell, 36, was there at the right place at the right time when he jumped straight into action to save a pregnant woman after he heard a horror smash in Ohio. 4 This is the incredible moment a nurse was captured saving a pregnant woman's life after witnessing a car accident on his way to work Footage uploaded on Facebook over the weekend, which has already amassed 179,000 likes, shows Keith frantically performing life-saving CPR on the unconscious woman lying who is lying on ground. ‎Danielle Nicole, who shared the video, wrote: "This is my friend and co-worker Keith B Ezell who was caught rescuing this woman, and unborn child, after witnessing a car accident on his way to work with minimal assistance." Keith told WKYC Channel 3 News, he was on his way to do shopping for his mum before he went to work, when he heard a two-car crash at Broadrock and Broadview in Parma on February 19. Facebook 4 Keith B Ezell was filmed doing CPR on a woman before he went to work Facebook 4 Keith said he worked on the woman for about five minutes before paramedics arrived Facebook 4 Paramedics then took over and was able to find a pulse When he approached the scene, he said the driver was begging for help on behalf of his passenger. Recalling the horrific moment, Keith said: "He said, 'Oh my God! She's not breathing! Help me! Help me!'" The VA Medical Center nurse assistant, who recently completed a new CPR class and happened to have a respiratory mask in his rucksack, did not hesitate to help the pregnant woman. Related Stories TUNISIA TERROR TRAGEDY Fiancé of Tunisia terror attack victim told her he loved her before trying in vain to save her HEROIN HORROR Disturbing footage shows man, 42, overdosing and turning blue behind the wheel as his girlfriend desperately tries to resuscitate him Video WEDDING HELL Bride's mum is believed to have been killed by falling TREE as shocking footage shows injured guest given CPR LIFE SAVER! Do YOU know what to do? This mum saved her baby’s life - just hours after watching TV ad about CPR Video POOCH PERFECT See the touching moment firefighter saves life of a dog by performing CPR on it after rescuing it from burning building He said he put the woman on the ground and started administering CPR. "She was turning blue. She had no pulse and I kept thinking she can't die on me," he said. Keith said he worked on her for at least five minutes before paramedics arrived and took over and managed to find a pulse. He said: "I thought, my job is done. She gets to live." Keith later called the hospital to check on her and was told she survived. It is not clear what the extent of the young woman's injuries are. The nurse assistant, who has 16 years of experience, said he was just doing his job which he describes as "second nature". After the incident, Keith said he got in his car and went straight to work at his "real" job. We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at tips@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 782 4368The Flannery Hardware store in the Bronx has been in business for 15 years. Its owner, David Flannery, says that does not happen unless you put the customer first. So, he was surprised to learn that the Better Business Bureau had given his store a grade of D-minus for "failure to respond to one complaint." Flannery says he's being punished for not joining the BBB. FLANNERY: The whole thing is a scam! EYEWITNESS NEWS REPORTER JIM HOFFER: What do you mean it's a scam? FLANNERY: They just want your money and they give little stickers to put on your storefront to say that you're a member of the BBB. The owner of Dogs and Divas in the Bronx says the Better Business Bureau is hurting his business by giving it an F because of one unresolved complaint in 36 months. It's a complaint that he says he didn't even know about. ALBERTO BAJANA : This is going to affect my business greatly, severely. REPORTER: One complaint? BANAJA: That's one complaint in 6 years. That is terrible. Horrible. Compare the "F" grade of Dogs and Divas, a non-member of the BBB, with a dog grooming shop of similar size nearby. It, too, has one complaint, supposedly resolved. They're a paying member and they have the highest grade - an A-plus. REPORTER: So what do you think the grade is based on? ALBERTO: Payment. They paid. I didn't. A flower shop in Long Island is a Better Business Bureau member. It has three complaints, but still gets an A-plus. Tuckahoe Florist, which is not an accredited member, has one unanswered complaint, but it gets an F. "Why should I have to pay to get a good grade when I know I'm a good florist and I only have one complaint?" owner Donna said. Eyewitness News found business after business with just one unresolved complaint, all receiving F grades. None of them were BBB members. REPORTER: How is that fair? CLAIRE ROSENZWEIG/NEW YORK BBB: It's a fair system in our opinion. REPORTER: How is that fair? One unresolved complaint and they flunk after 82 years in the business? ROSENZWEIG: With 17 different elements in this rating system, whether you're accredited or not, you're held against those criteria. The president of New York's BBB says the grades are earned, not paid for, and each of the 100,000 businesses they've graded have been evaluated on 17 elements from number of complaints to years in business, to licensing and advertising issues. REPORTER: It's fair to say that a business that gets an F by the BBB, in this day an age of the internet, it can be extremely damaging? ROSENZWEIG: I would say that if a company gets an F, we have lots of education programs and lots of things that we offer in terms of info so they can take a look at why they're getting an F. "If you're not a member, you do one thing wrong, you're an F student. What kind of credibility does it have?" Donna said. The New York BBB says that 48-percent of non-accredited businesses have received an A or A-minus grade. Friday night on 20/20, ABC's Brian Ross will further investigate the BBB rating system. If you have a tip about this or any other issue you'd like investigated, please give our tipline a call at 877-TIP-NEWS. You may also e-mail us at the.investigators@abc.com and follow Jim Hoffer on Twitter at twitter.com/nycinvestigatesStamkos returned for Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final in Pittsburgh. The Penguins won, 2-1. It was a step back after reaching the Stanley Cup Final 12 months earlier but, “Looking back at it, it was very important for me to play in that game,” Stamkos said on Sunday. As the NHL free-agency interview period began on Sunday, June 26, the betting money wasn’t on a return to Tampa. Most agents and executives will tell you: the closer you get to July 1, the less likely it is that someone stays. That first day, Buffalo owner Terry Pegula, GM Tim Murray and Dan Bylsma drove to Newport’s Toronto offices for a face-to-face meeting. Toronto brought the CEO of Canadian Tire and city Mayor John Tory on the Monday night. (The Toronto Sun reported Sunday that Tory’s emails indicated he knew before it was publicly announced that Stamkos declined all other options and chose the Lightning.) According to a couple of sources, Stamkos/Meehan did ask if there was room for Tampa to budge on that $8.5M figure. The Lightning, facing negotiations with Victor Hedman and Nikita Kucherov, thought about it and said no. Asked about that, Stamkos smiled and said, “There were negotiations, of course. We understood where they were coming from.” Did you ever think you were going to leave? “Yes,” he answered. “It was tough. Those thoughts definitely creep into your head….But I knew my heart was in Tampa. You’ve seen the success we’ve had the past couple of years. When your mind starts to wander a bit, you come back to those principles. If you’re happy with your decision — which I am — it makes life a lot easier.” Would you ever say which team made you think the most? Stamkos laughed at that. “No.” But he said there were teams no one considered. (The San Jose Sharks are believed to have made a very impressive pitch, but GM Doug Wilson absolutely refuses to comment on it.) In addition to his parents and agents, Stamkos said both Gary Roberts and Martin St. Louis were excellent sources of insight and advice as he went through the process. “You need that,” another player said. “Everyone thinks that week is enough time to make a decision. But it goes fast. And, if you’re conflicted, like he was, it’s even harder.” Did Yzerman ever think Stamkos would leave? He gave a lengthy pause. “You know what, I haven’t said much throughout the process and I’m not really comfortable answering that one,” he replied. “I wasn’t really sure what was going to happen. In the last week, we had no control.” “But I’m pleased to hear what he said to say. And I’m appreciative he made it work for the team.” Stamkos arrived in the Canadian capital looking tanned and relaxed. It’s a new beginning for him after a stressful season. The contract. A serious injury. He’s off the blood-thinners and feels like a new man. “I’ve been through a lot,” he said. “It helps you grow as a player and especially as a leader.” “Eight years I’ve been in Tampa. I love it there. Can’t believe its been that long.” Epilogue Will we ever see anything like that again? “It was as close as we could get to the good old days, when dollars were not as much of a consideration,” said Poile, who first became a general manager in 1982. “Huge deals were made all the time.” But Stamkos said maybe this is the new normal. “That’s the game now, especially in this salary cap world. Teams try to make manoeuvres, try to make their team better and move pieces…big pieces. That’s probably the first time we’ve seen trades of that magnitude all come out at once. I think we’re probably going to see a lot more of that in the future.”Manchester City midfielder Leroy Sane spoke exclusively to Soccer Saturday Manchester City midfielder Leroy Sane spoke exclusively to Soccer Saturday Leroy Sane says Pep Guardiola has changed his game completely at Manchester City, and insists playing with this City team is "so much fun". Manchester City currently sit top of the Premier League, five points clear of second place Manchester United after nine games. Sane has impressed among City's other attacking threats this season, and the German, who moved to the Etihad when Guardiola arrived last summer, says the enjoyment levels are high. Sane has scored seven goals this season under Pep Guardiola He told Soccer Saturday: "It's so much fun to work with this team, play with this team. I can see it also on the pitch, when we are playing we play very good football, enjoying it. It's very important for us. "I try all the time to improve in the game, training, all the time, and to help my team with assists or goals. "[Pep] helped me so much. I can say he changed my game completely, I improved so much with so many issues, and he still tries to be perfect and to give me pressure. I think I need it too. "He reminds me all the time to work more, work harder, and think about what I'm not so good at. Guardiola's City are favourites for the Premier League title "We still make mistakes, lose balls in positions where you can be better, and Pep tries to improve us more and more, to give us more advice and to help us more to get our game better." City are favourites to win the Premier League this year after their strong start, and though the 21-year-old says the English leagues are more unpredictable, Sane insists all focus is on collecting a third top-flight title in seven years. "In our team we don't talk about what happens if we lose a game, we always think about winning the game, we want to be first. Sane has impressed this season among City's other attacking threats "We want to win the league, and that's why everyone is trying to be positive, to stay focused and to try to win every game. "I think everything is possible, but it's very, very hard to do in the Premier League. Everybody knows anything can happen in the Premier League, every team can beat every team." Watch the extended interview with Leroy Sane on Soccer Saturday, Sky Sports News from middayNASL Public Relations \| Oct. 5, 2016 NEW YORK (October 5, 2016) - The North American Soccer League (NASL) has postponed the Jacksonville Armada-Indy Eleven match that was scheduled to be played at Community First Park in Jacksonville on Saturday night because of the impending weather concerns caused by Hurricane Matthew, the league office announced Wednesday. “After analyzing the information provided by the National Hurricane Center and speaking with our clubs, we have decided to postpone this weekend’s match in Jacksonville,” said NASL Commissioner Bill Peterson. “At the end of the day, the safety of our stakeholders – players, coaches, staff, and fans – is our top priority.” League and club officials are tracking weather projections and awaiting further developments before finalizing a revised date for the match. “We would like to thank everyone involved, particularly Indy’s ownership and staff, for their understanding and support as we work through this situation,” said Jacksonville Armada FC Owner and NASL Chairman Mark Frisch. “At this time, what’s most important is focusing on everyone’s safety. We’ll return to the field when conditions permit, and you can expect an announcement from us soon on the rescheduling of this match.” For further updates, visit NASL.com and JaxArmadaFC.com.The St. Louis Blues will try to stay undefeated at home when they play the Philadelphia Flyers at Scottrade Center on Thursday. At 5-0-0, the Blues are the only team unbeaten at home. They also have won four straight games, are 6-0-1 in their past seven and their 21 points are the most in the Western Conference. The Flyers, who lost 3-0 at the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday, are 1-3-1 in their past five games. Players to watch Flyers center Sean Couturier had his four-game point streak ended Wednesday but has eight points (five goals, three assists) in his past five games and is tied for sixth in the NHL with 15 points (nine goals, six assists). Center Brayden Schenn will face the Flyers for the first time since the trade June 23 that sent him to the Blues for center Jori Lehtera and first-round picks in the 2017 and 2018 NHL Draft. Schenn spent six seasons with the Flyers and had 246 points (109 goals, 137 assists) in 424 games. They said it "I thought start to finish the guys did a good job, whether it was with the group of six or the last two periods with five." -- Flyers coach Dave Hakstol on playing the final two periods against the Blackhawks on Wednesday with five defensemen after an injury to Radko Gudas "Any time a player, whether he gets traded or let go or whatever, there's always those emotions that set in that says, 'Hey, you obviously have something you want to prove.' Obviously you want to have a good game against them." -- Blues center Brayden Schenn on facing the Flyers for the first time since they traded him Flyers projected lineup Claude Giroux -- Sean Couturier -- Jakub Voracek Travis Konecny -- Valtteri Filppula -- Wayne Simmonds Jordan Weal -- Jori Lehtera -- Dale Weise Taylor Leier -- Scott Laughton -- Michael Raffl Ivan Provorov -- Robert Hagg Travis Sanheim -- Mark Alt Brandon Manning -- Will O'Neill Michal Neuvirth Brian Elliott Scratched: Matt Read Injured: Andrew MacDonald (lower body), Nolan Patrick (upper body), Shayne Gostisbehere (upper body), Radko Gudas (upper body) Blues projected lineup Vladimir Sobotka -- Paul Stastny -- Alexander Steen Jaden Schwartz -- Brayden Schenn -- Vladimir Tarasenko Magnus Paajarvi -- Oskar Sundqvist -- Beau Bennett Scottie Upshall -- Kyle Brodziak -- Dmitrij Jaskin Carl Gunnarsson -- Alex Pietrangelo Joel Edmundson -- Colton Parayko Vince Dunn -- Robert Bortuzzo Jake Allen Ville Husso Scratched: Nate Prosser, Chris Thorburn, Carter Hutton Injured: Jay Bouwmeester (ankle), Patrik Berglund (shoulder), Zach Sanford (shoulder) Status report The Flyers didn't hold a morning skate. Neuvirth could start, and O'Neill could make his NHL debut after Gudas was injured and missed the final two periods against the Blackhawks.... Husso will back up Allen. Hutton's wife was expected to deliver the couple's first child. Stat pack Elliott, who played for the Blues from 2011-16, is their all-time leader in shutouts with 25.... Schwartz is third in the NHL with 17 points (eight goals, nine assists) and was named the NHL Third Star of the month in October.The results from Pitchfork People’s List were published today, and 88% of voters were male. (12% were female, there wasn’t an “other” option, fwiw.) Since I Am The Twelve Percent and I spend a lot of my time talking about and thinking about and writing about music, I wanted to ask a couple of women who didn’t make lists why they didn’t make them, because I thought they’d have more insight about this skewed percentage than I would. So I took the very unscientific and lazy approach (which is to say: these are four individual opinions, not meant to be indicative of What Womankind Thinks About This) of emailing a couple of my closest lady internet friends and here is what they said. Friend #1: “Oh let me talk about this. [Dude Friend Of Ours] told me about [the People’s List], otherwise I probably wouldn’t have known it was a thing because I don’t read pfork too often. And I looked at his list which was like 50 albums and then this girl he’s crushing on’s list, which had like TEN only. And I was like you cant like her she ranked Spoon too high and obviously doesnt CARE about music since she only listed ten. ANYWAY the point is that I love making things like that and I went to make mine and I had 70 albums and got overwhelmed with ranking them and forgot and never published it. Honestly I think it takes some things to have the energy to make one of those: a) some degree of narcissism to assume that literally anyone cares what albums you like b) enough self esteem to believe your choices are correct or to not care if people disagree with you or think less of you because of which albums you like c) the fastidious patience to actually complete a task that is based mainly in narcissism. I have some of these things, and there are many women who also have these things, but I would say in general that men are more apt to have all of them.” Friend #2: “My issue is that I don’t listen to a ton of new music. So whenever men are like, "What are you listening to these days?” (and ONLY men ever ask that as an ice breaker), I’m like, ‘Um this album that came out in 1983.’ And then they quiz you on the artist’s entire catalog. For instance, I really like this one Mission of Burma album, but I am hesitant to bring that up to a man, because I don’t listen to ALL of their albums. I agree that men are more likely to think their opinions are Definitive and Correct. As per women not finding as much pleasure in solitary activities, maybe? But a lot of our lady friends love to read and to discuss books and articles and etc. I’m turned off from talking about music because I’ve encountered so many men who are mainsplain-y about it, while I haven’t had that same experience with books, because a lot of men are dismissive of, like, Jane Eyre, so we never have those convos to begin with.“ Friend #3: "I change my mind every two days about what my favorite record is, so that was a reason I didn’t participate, plus what others said about it being a personal thing, PLUS what [Friend #2] said. I absolutely despise musical discussions with men and when they come up in my life (rarely, nowadays) I get hostile. When I do talk about music, I talk about it with women, or with [Cool Dude Friend Of Ours Who Is A Good Listener And General Ally in Fighting The Patriarchy And Stuff]. Friend #4: "Same with everyone. I love music but for me it’s more of a personal thing that I don’t really care to spend a lot of time talking about / discussing / researching, etc. I spend most of my time doing that with books and literary things which is a bigger interest of mine. Also, it is one of those things that men in my life have been so annoying about that I think at some point I was turned off from giving it a lot of attention. I never really felt included in the conversation therefore I started to pay less and less attention to it? I also am very rarely listening to new music. i keep up with punk/garage etc. but the land of most new 'indie’ music i don’t know much about. Right now I’ve been going through all the crates of records my mom gave me ie: listening to strange handsome men’s folk music, and also listening to various radio programs I like of international music, soul/funk, etc.” Friend #1: “Sorry I keep yapping about this but it feels important for me to note that I have spent my entire life very passionately invested in learning about and enjoying music. My older brother is a professional musician, my longest relationship was with a professional musician, and my whole life I have felt constant pressure that if I wanted to participate in a conversation about music that I needed to be on this male influence's level. To be
announced his retirement last week to end a 14-year stint in the senior team at Spurs, where he spent his entire career. The defender had captained Tottenham since 2005 and Villas-Boas is set to name his replacement ahead of the new season. Opportunity Influential midfielder Scott Parker would seem an obvious candidate for the armband but the England international could miss the start of the campaign with an Achilles injury. His absence could open the door for 28-year-old Dawson, who Villas-Boas believes has the qualities to lead his side. The manager, currently in the United States with Spurs on their pre-season tour, said: "There are people who represent Tottenham's past tradition and high values and that person without a doubt is Dawson. "But it's almost more up to the group to decide than the manager. It's a difficult and sensible decision to make and I'll be consulting Ledley and Michael on it. "There's different types of characters in the dressing room. But it will affect everybody in the dressing room who have empathy with the man going to lead them on the pitch." Dawson, who has made almost 250 appearances for Spurs since joining from Nottingham Forest in 2005, would relish the opportunity to wear the armband. He said: "I've been captain before when Ledley wasn't playing, But it's in the manager's hands. "But it is certainly something I've enjoyed doing in the past and would do again." Dawson is expected to be fit for the new season after recovering from the ankle problem which hindered his last campaign. Even without King in contention, the defender will face competition at centre-back from Younes Kaboul, Steven Caulker and new arrival Jan Vertonghen, who joined from Ajax earlier this month. Move on He added: "Ledley had a fantastic career. His retirement was a sad day for everyone and he will be really missed. "But we move on now. We are all working hard under a new manager preparing for another big season. "There will always be competition for places which is healthy. We are all chomping at the bit to play."How awful of a teacher do you have to be to tell a child there’s something wrong with him because he’s an atheist? Earlier this year at Forest Park Elementary School in Fort Wayne, Indiana, a second-grader known only as A.B. was asked by his classmate where he went to church: A.B. responded by stating that he did not go to church and did not believe in God. He also stated that it was fine with him if his inquiring classmate believed in God. Good answers, but they upset the girl who asked him and she began to cry. Eventually, their teacher Michelle Meyer stepped in to find out what happened and it resulted in her punishing A.B.! Ms. Meyer told A.B. that she was very concerned about what he had done and that she was going to contact his mother — although she never did. This was very upsetting to A.B. as he was made to feel that he had done something wrong. It got worse after that: On the day of the incident and for an additional two days thereafter, Ms. Meyer required that A.B. sit by himself during lunch and told him he should not talk to the other students and stated that this was because he had offended them. This served to reinforce A.B.’s feeling that he had committed some transgression that justified his exclusion. All this because he dared to answer a question honestly. A.B. told his mother, V.S., why he was upset and it resulted in a conference call between her, Meyer, and the school’s Assistant Principal. This seemed to resolve the issue at hand, but the damage was already done: He was publicly shamed and made to feel that his personal beliefs were terribly wrong. No efforts were made to correct the damages that had been done. A.B. came home from school on multiple occasions crying saying that he knows that everyone at school — teachers and students — hate him. Even now there are some classmates who will not talk to A.B. Even now A.B. remains anxious and fearful about school, which is completely contrary to how he felt before this incident. Ugh… how horrible. I just want to find this kid, and give him a great big hug, and let him know things will get better eventually. All of this information comes from a lawsuit V.S. filed last week against Meyer. (Not against the District, by the way. Just the teacher alone — which is unusual but fair in this situation since the District didn’t do anything wrong.) The ACLU is helping V.S. with the case. This is what it’s like to be an atheist in a conservative area. The laws may protect you, but the social stigma of being an atheist can be extremely harsh, especially when you’re a child growing up without religious indoctrination. I’m not sure if the lawsuit itself has merit — it’s not like Meyer was trying to ruin this kid’s life — but the story alone speaks volumes about how tough it can be to be an open atheist in certain parts of the country. (Image via Shutterstock)The controversial statement issued by the parents and guardians association of the primary school in Oreokastro has sparked major controversy, however the association of the school in Sykies has responded to the racist statement by announced that they will accept the refugee children. “Do we want a school that gives birth to fear and hatred? Do we want a school that spreads disgust for the persecuted in the hearts and minds of our children” asks the parents and guardian association of Sykies in its statement. Furthermore the Sykies association argues that despite the economic adversities, Greek society rose to the moment and gave the entire world a lesson in solidarity and humanity. The statement continues that it is “shameful” that some are trying to mar this impression “out of ignorance or racist motives”. According to the statement, the school in Sykies will accept the refugee children that are ‘not welcome’ by the school in Oreokastro, with the parents and guardians noting that “we will embrace the children of the refugees as if they were our own. They are our children”. The president of the Sykies association Vana Papachristodoulou told the Athens-Macedonia News Agency that they felt compelled to respond to the events in Oreokastro, since the reasons cited by parents in that area are “baseless”. Mrs. Papachristodoulou explained that two children from Syria are already attending classes in Sykies without any problems.adidas recently unveiled a new white Parley edition of its pinnacle running footwear models UltraBOOST, UltraBOOST X and UltraBOOST Uncaged, injecting purpose into style and performance. The partnership between adidas and Parley sees adidas’ iconic performance-led designs re-modelled using Parley Ocean Plastic™. While the Parley collection released in May was inspired by the blue colour of the Oceans, the new colourway recalls the coral bleaching crisis threatening the oceans, and is also symbolic of the white flag humanity should raise in order to make peace with the oceans, to end marine plastic pollution with a collaborative approach: The Parley AIR Strategy which stands for ‘Avoiding’ the use of plastic, ‘Intercepting’ plastic waste and ‘Redesigning’ the plastic material itself. Reusing an average of 11 plastic bottles per pair in the upper, UltraBOOST Parley, UltraBOOST X Parley and UltraBOOST Uncaged Parley also feature laces, heel webbing, heel counter, heel lining and sock liner covers made from recycled PET material. Delivering elite performance remains integral to design, meaning that the adidas Parley collection fuses superior functionality and style with a definitive purpose – to raise awareness of marine pollution and evoke positive change. At adidas we believe that through sport we have the power to foster eco-innovation and enable our consumers to make a difference. The new white colourway we are introducing across the adidas x Parley collection aims to make not only a style statement but an environmental one too. Humanity has been waging battles against pollution of the oceans for too long, and the colourway is symbolic of the peace we need to make with the Oceans. – Matthias Amm (Product Category Director, adidas Running) The Parley x adidas ‘Coral Bleach’ pack will be available on June 28th at retailers like EndClothing.com and Sneakersnstuff.com. Share this: Facebook Twitter GoogleTime for the two-week teaching sojourn. In order to grasp cause, we need a brief, a very brief, introduction to the Aristotelian metaphysics of change. These are ancient views, largely abandoned in moderns, but becoming current one again. Philosophers like Nancy Cartwright, Ed Feser, and others are restoring a full philosophy of causation back to the sciences. This is a précis of Feser’s Scholastic Metaphysics. Full arguments are not given here; interested readers should follow up with the authors mentioned. Contingent things exist as composites of act and potency, or actuality and potentiality. A lump of clay is potentially a vase. A lump of clay is not potentially a 1965 Barracuda with a 278 (a weepingly beautiful automobile) nor is it potentially a stereo. A vase is in potentia to being a pile of shards. A vase is in actuality a vase, and a lump of clay is in actuality a lump of clay. The reader is in potentia to receiving a salary of fifty-thousand a year, unless he already possess that trait, and is therefore in actuality receiving it. And so on. Some thing or things must cause every potentiality to be an actuality, must cause every change. A potter, say, is required to turn the potential vase in a lump of clay into a vase, while a child can actualize the shards which are in potentia in that vase. Feser (p.33) : “These potentialities or potencies are real features…even if they are not actualities.” Potentialities exist. The number of numbers between 0 and 1 is potentially infinite, but not actually infinite in practice, a fact which has special consequences in measurement. Whatever is changed, is changed by another: whatever is in potential, is made actual only by something actual. Whatever cannot be changed, is not changed. (Don’t skip that sentence.) It is not the lump’s potential to be a vase that turns it in into a vase, it is an actual potter. The potter uses his power of making a vase; his hands are the efficient cause. Clearly, the potter has the power to make the vase even when he is not making it (say, when he’s taking his Barracuda out for a spin). Aquinas said “nothing can be reduced from potentiality to actuality, except by something in a state of actuality” (Summa Theologiae I.2.3; quoted in Feser). This is the principle of causality which I take as axiomatic and necessary to do any science. Things do not happen without causes. Science deals with the contingent: (p. 106) a “contingent thing is such that its existence is distinct from its essence, where its essence is in potency relative to its existence, which actualizes it…To cause a contingent thing is thus to actualize a potency…whatever is contingent has a cause…” which is everything in science. This is not to say that everything has a cause; only that contingent things do. A child throws a ball and it hits the vase. As the ball hits, the vase buckles; as the ball hits, the vase begins to break. The “event” is the ball-hitting-vase, and it is simultaneous, which is not to say instantaneous. The ball hitting and the vase buckling happen through a short period of time; they are not different events “entirely loose and separate”, to use Hume’s mistaken phrase. It is not because we “happen” to see, or “chance” upon the spectacle of ball-hitting-vase that we know the ball caused the vase to break. It is because we learn, via induction, that balls traveling at sufficient speed have the power to break vases of this certain type. It is the vase’s nature to break when hit by balls like that under these circumstances. We are back to essence. Understanding essence and powers is to understand cause. Many modern authors put this the wrong way, saying first the ball hits then the vase breaks. This is not so. There are not two separate events, but one joint event, spread through time. This point is crucial. It is difficult to find modern examples where distinctness in events and separateness in time is not assumed. The mistake leads to some curious views indeed. An example is in Roberto Mangabeira Unger and Lee Smolin’s The Singular Universe and the Reality of Time: A Proposal in Natural Philosophy which proposes the “laws” of nature change through time, but which leaves out what these causes are. Of course, that the ball-hitting-vase is spread through time, however brief, does not mean that all events are. Certain quantum mechanical events are thought to be instantaneous. But that merely confirms the view that we are not witnessing “loose and separate” events, but joint ones. Knowing the ball was the efficient cause of the vase breaking is not the whole story, though it is enough for most (it was for my mother). There are all sorts of forces involved, including the ball’s momentum, friction, elasticity of both objects, and so forth. These are not necessary to understand to say the ball caused the break. These additional forces can be investigated to form a deeper understanding of the precise mechanisms. Each of these investigations are no different in spirit than the gross (my mother’s) version. The essence and powers of the forces involved are understood to be causes. But there are limits. Let’s investigate the joint event more closely. The ball and vase are not monoliths, but composed of smaller parts. As the ball pushes into the vase, the molecules of the ball and vase are themselves undergoing change. These changes, which are actualizations of potentials, are caused by something actual, which are the atoms in the molecules. These are also undergoing change, which are again actualizations of potentials, and are also caused by something actual. This might be the interactions of the constituents of the atoms, the electrons, protons, and nuetrons, which are also undergoing change. More actualizations of potentials caused by other somethings which are actual. These may be quarks, which are themselves pushed about by (say) actual strings (or super-strings or God knows what), which themselves, perhaps, are caused to change by something below those. All of this is happening here-and-now, simultaneously, but again not necessarily instantaneously. This is called a per se times series, or a per se series of events in the here-and-now time. But you can see that this process cannot continue to infinity. It must bottom out, or nothing can ever get moving; no changes could ever be made. There must be some “first cause” or “first mover” or “changer”. This first cause must be entirely actual and have no potential. It is what makes all “bottom” potentialities actual. It is responsible for every contingent event, at base. This is the prime or primary cause, which is ever-present. Science is and must forever be ignorant of this cause. It is a handy explanation of quantum mechanical EPR-like events, or whatever is “beneath” them. All of the other here-and-now causes—string into quark into protons into etc.—are secondary causes. All have powers and essences, and it is the goal of science to understand these. There is another type of causal series, this one distinct in time, an accidental series. The classic, and really perfect, example is that a grandfather caused his son to be made and he, your father, caused you to be made. This doesn’t stop with your grandfather, naturally, but continues along a string into the past. Remove one of the knots in the string, i.e. remove one of the causes, and you would not be reading this now. Unfortunately, in practice, data analysts often compile accidental series as if they were causal. Example: yearly (or monthly or daily) average temperature (or sales figures, etc.). Last year’s average did not and could not cause this year’s average. Results? Misascribed causes and wild over-certainty. I leave discussion of these accidents until later.It is said that the birthplace of the out-of-town mall was in Grandview Heights, Ohio in 1928 with the opening of Grandview Avenue Shopping Center, designed by Don Monroe Casto Sr. It was revolutionary in the fact that it incorporated parking into the design, creating potential for developing large scale shopping opportunities away from the traditional urban core. Studies were conducted into how customers may be enticed in a controlled environment and as a result, the shopping centre included innovations like inward facing stores and the concept of anchor tenants alongside smaller scale chain stores. In 1954, accelerated depreciation laws were changed to encourage development on the urban fringe prompting further mall development. REITs, or Real Estate Investment Trusts, allowing groups of investors to avoid corporate income tax further helped the development of shopping malls. One such out-of-town shopping centre was Rolling Acres Mall in Akron in Ohio, the state which saw the true birth of the shopping mall. Plans were mooted in the 1960s about developing the Rolling Acres area of the city but it wasn’t until the early 1970s that agreement was reached on the proposal presented by Forest City Enterprises and construction began. Rolling Acres Mall opened on 6 August 1975 with Sears as an anchor and 21 smaller stores. By the end of the year, this number had grown to 50 stores. Within a few months, JCPenney opened a second anchor store and in 1977, an extension added the Court of Aquarius, bringing Montgomery Ward as an anchor tenant alongside a short lived aquarium. The rapid expansion continued into 1978 when The Promenade opened, a two storey wing which included a food court and Ohio chain O’Neils as an anchor. Rolling Acres Mall remained popular throughout the eighties. A renovation in 1986 saw the structure freshened up, while Higbee’s replaced Montgomery Ward. O’Neil’s was rebranded to May Company Ohio following a merger in 1989. Neither lasted long and they were replaced by Dillard’s and Kaufmann’s respectively in the early 1990s. This was, however, the beginning of the mall’s decline. The cinema closed in 1993 and in an effort to improve fortunes, Forest City Enterprises sought additional finance to redevelop the food court and develop a fifth anchor store for Target which opened in 1995. It did little to reverse the decline though, and a number of stores began to leave the mall. Additional competition from Summit Mall meant Rolling Acres Mall struggled to maintain footfall and both Dillard’s and JCPenney were downgraded to outlets. In 2000, Banking Trust of New York bought the mall and attempted to reverse its fortunes. The cinema reopened and there were noticeable improvements in operations and maintenance but just over a year later, it was sold again to the Whichard Family for $2.75 million, a lot less than the $33.5 million that Bankers Trust of New York had paid for it. The new owners, with a reputation for reestablishing failing malls, struggled to attract new stores. Target left in 2006 and Dillard’s followed a few months later. Invest Commercial LLC purchased the property in 2006 and saw Kauffman’s rebranded as Macy’s however this only lasted for a number of months before closing too. The writing seemed to be on the wall and in 2008, with only 8 stores remaining, the owner announced that Rolling Acres Mall would be closing for good on October 31st. The mall was sold again, this time to Premier Ventures LLC and Sears and JC Penney continued to operate from external entrances but by 2011, Sears was gone and JCPenney followed in 2013, leaving the mall abandoned. A Storage Of America outlet operated for a time in the former Target store and a recycling facility took over the former Sears site but neither lasted long. Premier Ventures found themselves in financial difficulty and efforts were made to sell the property and so ownership transferred to the City of Akron, with the exception of the anchor store buildings. JCPenney agreed to give their building to the city and deals were made with the remaining owners. By August 2017, Rolling Acres Mall had been demolished. Location: Akron, Ohio, USA Abandoned: 2008This story appears in ESPN The Magazine's April 11 Warriors Issue. Subscribe today! ON THE AFTERNOON of Game 1 of the 2015 NBA Finals, when many Golden State Warriors would normally be recharging with their usual midday naps, the team's group text thread is blowing up. Anyone get a nap? Not a chance. Same. It's the final-act opener of a season-long chain that includes every player on the roster, from 1 to 15. Someone posts a goofy Instagram pic to a chorus of ridicule. Someone else organizes a group dinner on the road. But what all season has been an outlet for running jokes and logistical planning is today a channel for collective anxiety. Not a player on the roster has set foot on an NBA Finals court, and everyone's central nervous system is making sleep an impossibility. The Finals are screwing with the Warriors. By the NBA's decree, practices typically held at their facility above the convention center in downtown Oakland have been relocated to Oracle Arena to accommodate the media. The three courts and eight baskets downtown have been contracted to a single floor. "Before Game 1, you realize it's different," says Steph Curry, whose status as the world's finest shooter is as much a product of his devotion to routine as it is to any divine gift. "Our whole routine was changed. At home, you have a specific process leading up to a game. We have shootaround at the practice facility. You go home, you go to the arena. The next day you have practice here, you watch film, do all that for the whole season. Even throughout the playoffs, it doesn't change. In the Finals, everything changes." What was once a modest media contingent of local affiliates, a couple of radio mics and a handful of beat writers has swelled to a nation-state. The Warriors are a congenial, comparatively smiley bunch, but yeesh, when did this happen? It's little surprise, then, that Game 1 turns out to be a jittery first date. The Warriors can't hit a shot in the first quarter. Klay Thompson and Draymond Green hunt for looks, but finding good ones in the structure of the offense -- and even in transition -- proves difficult. The Dubs recover, locking in defensively and inducing 38 shots from LeBron James and 31 from the Cavs beyond the arc, where Cleveland hits only nine. The Cavs' body count mounts, as Kyrie Irving goes down with a season-ending knee injury. And in OT, as the Cavs fail to score on their first 10 possessions, the Warriors escape 108-100. Still, something is off for the Warriors. And James, playing in his fifth straight Finals, plans to exploit it. "It's up to us now to look at the film, watch and make some adjustments and be ready for Sunday," James says. ADJUSTMENTS IN THE NBA exist on two planes -- tactical and mental. In LeBron's language, there's the "need to do" and the "be ready." The first requires mechanical precision -- how does a scoring point guard respond to heavy pressure, with two large defenders rushing him as he tries to get to the spot on the floor where he can exact the most damage? The "be ready" portion is often tougher, more ethereal. It's concentration amid chaos, and conquering it in the first two games of your Finals career in front of your greatest admirers is, for these Warriors, like trying to meditate on an airstrip. "When the game starts, you try to approach it as just a normal regular-season game so you can feel free, but the vibe in the arena is different," Curry says. "The celebs sitting in the front row. There are all kinds of different variables." And if the variables Curry faced in Game 1 were algebra, Game 2 is advanced calculus. As Matthew Dellavedova fights over screens to maintain contact with Curry, a second Cavs defender lies in wait. In the second half, the Cavs keep Curry guessing, switching coverage to keep a body on him at all times. Curry looks uncharacteristically befuddled and tentative. Eight minutes in, he swings around a double screen on the weakside perimeter, Cavs big man Tristan Thompson playing Wile E. Coyote in pursuit. We've seen this reel a thousand times, with Green tossing a strike as Curry clears the second pick. As Curry catches the pass, there's a good 7 feet between him and Thompson, who's still navigating around Andrew Bogut. Typical Steph would get the shot off before Thompson recovered, but this Steph pauses to examine the equation. There's a tentative jab step with his left foot, a jerky pullback. A fake with no hard sell, then a second thought. By now, Thompson has found his footing and challenges the shot, which falls short. It's Curry's second miss tonight. There will be 16 more, along with six turnovers. "There's this extra factor you have to focus on," Curry says, describing the mental static of the playoffs. "Just like normal, you have to worry about your matchup -- does he go left or right, which way does he go, how you're getting your shots off, what's the game plan. Now you have another variable, which is, How do I shut my mind off from everything else? It plays with you a little bit." Green is in the same bind as Steph -- driving into three bodies, lobbing a pair of slippery alley-oops way out of the strike zone, trying to speed-read the Cavs' defense but seemingly always a sentence behind. The Warriors drop the game in overtime, their effective field goal percentage of 44.6 percent marking only the fourth time all season they've finished below 45 percent. More than half their 3-pointers come off the dribble outside the flow of their breezy, ball-movement-centric offense. "We were caught in that first experience of the Finals," Green says. "It's different. Very few things in life do you just adjust like that... " Green snaps his thumb and middle finger as a point of emphasis. "I think we were in that adjustment period where we kind of knew what was going on but couldn't shake it right then." The series is tied at one win apiece, but the Warriors are faltering -- like a student who has studied for weeks for a final exam but freezes the minute he sits down to take it. STEVE KERR HAD seen it coming. He remembered his first trip to the Finals as a player in 1996 as overwhelming -- the scrutiny, the disruption, the glare. Pro basketball is about body memory, about routine, about applying familiarity into practice. Lose track of your routine and you can lose track of your principles. Lose track of your principles and the opponent's game plan can fill the vacuum. "LeBron, with his Finals experience, I think he had those guys ready to grind us out," Kerr says. "He knew how they had to beat us, and it was through a grind. It couldn't be a shootout, and they got us into their tempo. We were not getting good shots because they bottled us up." The Cavs tighten that vise in Game 3. Curry sticks a pull-up 3-pointer off the dribble 90 seconds after tip but is shut out for the rest of the first half. In the final possession of the first quarter, he gets a "solo": clock ticking down, his teammates staggered across the baseline like a backing band. This is by Kerr's design, but ever the collaborator, Curry wants help. He summons Andre Iguodala from the left corner to liberate him from the rugged defensive stylings of Dellavedova, who's been gnawing on Curry's ankles since the ball went up. Iguodala glides up to give Curry a route to his left, then fades to an open spot to Curry's right. That's where Steph wants him for the pass, but against the two-headed, four-armed pressure from Dellavedova and Mike Miller that pushes him back to half court like a riptide, that pass is swatted by Miller, who follows the carom with a dive, poking it ahead to Dellavedova. "I'd been trapped all season," Curry says. "But in the Finals, everything is amplified." The pressure of two defenders feels like four, and a pass Curry has made a gazillion times feels like hurling a whiffle ball against a headwind across San Francisco Bay. All night, the Cavs' assault persists, Dellavedova getting into him one-on-one, two Cavs defenders committing every time the Warriors send a pick for Curry. When the Warriors offer him a double screen up top, the Cavs commit three to Steph Patrol. This is what traffic geeks know as the Iron Law of Congestion -- build more space for vehicles and traffic will actually increase. The more lanes the Dubs try to carve out for Steph, the more Cavaliers fill them. The Cavs' defense in Games 1-2 stifled Warriors' point-forward Draymond Green, who, in 2015-2016, leads all bigs in assists per game at 7.4. AP Photo/Ben Margot Green's playmaking has served as Curry's pressure release all season, but Green is having an equally tough time with his own youthful indiscretions: poor decisions, ill-advised shots, missed opportunities. In the second quarter, Steph gets trapped by two defenders and finds Green rolling to the hole, setting up one of those signature Warriors four-on-threes that turn the court into a turbocharged game of whack-a-mole. Green has room to shoot in rhythm, space to drive and dish, a diving Bogut and two snipers on the weak side being checked only by J.R. Smith. This is a thing Green usually lives for, but now he seems paralyzed by choice. He takes a single dribble, then slows to a stop and sends it back out to Curry for a reset. Another two-man game with Steph, another contested pass to Green against pressure. With the fuse about to blow, Green clanks a 3 off the front rim. "We weren't ourselves at all," Green says. "Me catching the ball and not shooting, not having confidence, or Steph not being Steph. We just weren't being us." The third quarter ends with Cleveland up 72-55, the Warriors' lowest point total of the entire season after three quarters. The Cleveland crowd roars. Curry makes the long walk, head down, mouthguard in hand, to the Golden State bench. As Curry crosses half court, David Lee extends his arm and palm. Lee, sweat-free in a white T-shirt, has played all of two minutes and 47 seconds in the series. Curry sees him only peripherally, but they connect. EXACTLY A MONTH to the day before their flat Game 3 performance in Cleveland, the Warriors had gone down 2-1 in their Western Conference semifinal series to the Grizzlies. After the loss, Green had offered a prediction of the next-day chatter: "They're a jump-shooting team. Jump shots are flawed. All that stuff's going to come out now." Last season's grit-and-grind Grizzlies were the perfect vessel for "all that stuff." In a league in which space and speed are all the rage, Memphis was a ghost of basketball's past, when good teams exerted themselves over their opponents. The Grizz feature two honest-to-goodness big men in Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph. Their starting shooting guard, Tony Allen, converted a total of 11 3-pointers all season. Klay Thompson can find 11 3-pointers lying around in the seat cushions of the Warriors' team bus. For the prior two games, the Grizzlies had sent those big bodies at Curry as he turned the corner on high screens. Memphis would yield some real estate inside the arc but had deemed the area behind the 3-point line a no-fly zone. Curry had hit only a pair of bombs in each game, and the team had sunk only six of 26 attempts for the second straight game. And Green was right, all that stuff had come out. Like every mighty institution, the NBA has its self-appointed guardians, those who believe that experience and tradition trump all. To them, the first three games of the Grizzlies-Warriors series had exposed the callow party crashers who want to turn the NBA into a slick video game. The next morning, Phil Jackson had fired off this piece of Twitter-freude: NBA analysts give me some diagnostics on how 3pt oriented teams are faring this playoffs...seriously, how's it goink? [sic] One morning show posited that the fleshy Randolph was too big for Green. Other traditionalists lathered in I-told-you-sos. The Jurassic Period wouldn't go quietly. Everything that had made the Warriors transformative -- the reliance on new ideas, the belief that an elite defense can deploy smarts in lieu of size -- had made them fallible. That night, Green had lured Curry from his room at the Westin to join him, Festus Ezeli and Lee for a bite at the Blues City Cafe, a late-night haunt on the western end of the Beale Street drag. There wasn't much shoptalk. Green just wanted to extricate Curry from his hotel room, where, he sensed, that static in his head was buzzing hard. The next day, over coffee, Kerr asked assistant coach Bruce "Q" Fraser what message he felt the situation demanded. Fraser felt Kerr should reach into his memory as a five-time champion and offer his players a historical -- but personal -- reference point. Kerr was well aware of the old guard's orthodox position that a team has to first experience suffering and disappointment on the threshold of greatness before it can achieve it, but he didn't want the Warriors to have to endure that. And drawing on his own playing days just wasn't his thing. "He never likes to talk about himself or the Bulls years unless asked," Fraser says. "But the team needed some belief." After Kerr reeled off a catalog of moments when those championship teams had encountered adversity, he asked Fraser which episode he should recount at the team meeting later on. "All of it," Fraser replied. Kerr's pep talk, needless to say, had worked. But now, in Game 3 of the Finals, a month after the Warriors' resuscitation in Memphis, the jump-shooting neophytes are getting stiff-armed by Matthew friggin' Dellavedova. The combination of this glorified rugby player and a second defender clearly has Curry off balance. But as Curry takes the floor in Cleveland to start the fourth quarter down 17, he conjures up the Memphis series. In those final three games against the Grizzlies, Curry had made a pivotal adjustment, one that on the surface seems counterintuitive: patience through aggressiveness. To activate this plan now, all Steph needs is a dance partner. "DAVID LEE CHANGED the series in Game 3," Green says. "When he went in in Game 3, that's when the whole thing changed." Earlier that day, as the Warriors had moved from the tunnel onto the Quicken Loans Arena court for the shootaround, Kerr had sidled up to Lee. "He said, 'Hey, be ready. We're going to need you the rest of the series,'" Lee says. "He tried to overexplain it a little bit. 'In this situation --'and I just interrupted and said, 'Coach, no need to explain. I'll be ready if you call my name, and I'll go out there and take care of business.'" Between Steph's 5-for-23 Game 2 and his 4-for-11 tally so far in Game 3, the Cavs are growing even more confident in their scheme. Throughout the game, Iman Shumpert's gangly limbs have been trip wires for Curry. But now Lee's on the floor, and he sets the first high screen of the fourth quarter for Curry. Before Lee can even plant his feet, his man, Timofey Mozgov, has forgotten about him. As it's been all series for the Cavs, Mozgov is concerned only with bottling up Curry. Lee is only nominally his man. In response, Steph does something he hasn't really done since the Warriors wiped the floor with the Rockets in the conference finals: He dishes the ball before Mozgov reaches his doorstep. Use anticipation as a weapon. There's no wait-and-see-what-I-can-do-against-the-trap, no keeping options open, no contingencies of any kind. Just pass the damn ball. Now Lee has it in space, with paint underfoot. It's three-on-two basketball, Leandro Barbosa to his right, Iguodala to his left, each parked in a corner, with LeBron and James Jones the only gold jerseys between them. A single dribble by Lee, half a turn, then a kick-out to Iguodala for the wide-open 3-pointer. It's so easy, such the obviously right basketball play, so fundamentally who the Warriors know themselves to be against ball pressure. This is the pair of ruby slippers they've been wearing the whole time. "Something... changed in that fourth quarter. And afterward, a lot of us were waiting to get to Game 4 shootaround."" A minute later, it happens again: the instantaneous pass against a blitzing Mozgov, this time with Lee driving to the hole against a more cautious Cavs back line more mindful of the Warriors' shooters. It's a goaltend by Cleveland, and an and-1, and a 17-point lead is down to eight. Dellavedova returns, he being the NBA MVP's kryptonite: Curry didn't hit a shot in eight attempts against him in Game 2 and had sunk only two here in Game 3. But now the dance music has changed. Curry plays a reprise of the previous two songs -- a pass to Lee moving into open space ahead of the pressure. When Shumpert leaves Barbosa to bump Lee in the lane and Barbosa sneaks to an empty spot under the hoop, it's all over. "Steph and I had run so many successful pick-and-rolls, just as Draymond and he do now," Lee says. "We've seen [the trap] so many times, and it was something we'd had so many conversations about. 'All right, what are we going to do when it happens?' Does Steph try to dribble through and split the double-team? Do we
of field, and historically their definitions were formulated to give the same value for relative ratios in such typical cases. Thus, the following definition is used: L F = ln ( F F 0 ) Np = 10 log 10 ( F 2 F 0 2 ) dB = 20 log 10 ⁡ ( F F 0 ) dB. {\displaystyle L_{F}=\ln \!\left({\frac {F}{F_{0}}}\right)\,{\text{Np}}=10\log _{10}\!\left({\frac {F^{2}}{F_{0}^{2}}}\right)\,{\text{dB}}=20\log _{10}\left({\frac {F}{F_{0}}}\right)\,{\text{dB}}.} The formula may be rearranged to give F = 10 L F 20 dB F 0. {\displaystyle F=10^{\frac {L_{F}}{20\,{\text{dB}}}}F_{0}.} Similarly, in electrical circuits, dissipated power is typically proportional to the square of voltage or current when the impedance is constant. Taking voltage as an example, this leads to the equation for power gain level L G : L G = 20 log 10 ( V out V in ) dB, {\displaystyle L_{G}=20\log _{10}\!\left({\frac {V_{\text{out}}}{V_{\text{in}}}}\right)\,{\text{dB}},} where V out is the root-mean-square (rms) output voltage, V in is the rms input voltage. A similar formula holds for current. The term root-power quantity is introduced by ISO Standard 80000-1:2009 as a substitute of field quantity. The term field quantity is deprecated by that standard. Conversions Edit Since logarithm differences measured in these units are used to represent power ratios and field ratios, the values of the ratios represented by each unit are also included in the table. Conversion between units of level and a list of corresponding ratios Unit In decibels In bels In nepers Power ratio Field ratio 1 dB 1 dB 0.1 B 0.11513 Np 10 1⁄ 10 ≈ 1.25893 10 1⁄ 20 ≈ 1.12202 1 Np 8.68589 dB 0.868589 B 1 Np e2 ≈ 7.38906 e ≈ 2.71828 1 B 10 dB 1 B 1.1513 Np 10 10 1⁄ 2 ≈ 3.16228 Examples Edit The unit dBW is often used to denote a ratio for which the reference is 1 W, and similarly dBm for a 1 mW reference point. Calculating the ratio of 1 kW (one kilowatt, or 1000 watts) to 1 W in decibels yields: L G = 10 log 10 ⁡ ( 1000 W 1 W ) dB = 30 dB. {\displaystyle L_{G}=10\log _{10}\left({\frac {1000\,{\text{W}}}{1\,{\text{W}}}}\right)\,{\text{dB}}=30\,{\text{dB}}.} The ratio of √ 1000 V ≈ 31.62 V to 1 V in decibels is L G = 20 log 10 ⁡ ( 31.62 V 1 V ) dB = 30 dB. {\displaystyle L_{G}=20\log _{10}\left({\frac {31.62\,{\text{V}}}{1\,{\text{V}}}}\right)\,{\text{dB}}=30\,{\text{dB}}.} (31.62 V / 1 V)2 ≈ 1 kW / 1 W, illustrating the consequence from the definitions above that L G has the same value, 30 dB, regardless of whether it is obtained from powers or from amplitudes, provided that in the specific system being considered power ratios are equal to amplitude ratios squared. The ratio of 1 mW (one milliwatt) to 10 W in decibels is obtained with the formula L G = 10 log 10 ⁡ ( 0.001 W 10 W ) dB = − 40 dB. {\displaystyle L_{G}=10\log _{10}\left({\frac {0.001\,{\text{W}}}{10\,{\text{W}}}}\right)\,{\text{dB}}=-40\,{\text{dB}}.} The power ratio corresponding to a 3 dB change in level is given by G = 10 3 10 × 1 = 1.99526... ≈ 2. {\displaystyle G=10^{\frac {3}{10}}\times 1=1.99526...\approx 2.} A change in power ratio by a factor of 10 corresponds to a change in level of 10 dB. A change in power ratio by a factor of 2 or 1⁄ 2 is approximately a change of 3 dB. More precisely, the change is ±3.0103 dB, but this is almost universally rounded to "3 dB" in technical writing. This implies an increase in voltage by a factor of √2 ≈ 1.4142. Likewise, a doubling or halving of the voltage, and quadrupling or quartering of the power, is commonly described as "6 dB" rather than ±6.0206 dB. Should it be necessary to make the distinction, the number of decibels is written with additional significant figures. 3.000 dB is a power ratio of 103⁄ 10, or 1.9953, about 0.24% different from exactly 2, and a voltage ratio of 1.4125, 0.12% different from exactly √2. Similarly, an increase of 6.000 dB is the power ratio is 106⁄ 10 ≈ 3.9811, about 0.5% different from 4. Properties Edit The decibel is useful for representing large ratios and for simplifying representation of multiplied effects such as attenuation from multiple sources along a signal chain. Its application in systems with additive effects is less intuitive. Reporting large ratios Edit The logarithmic scale nature of the decibel means that a very large range of ratios can be represented by a convenient number, in a manner similar to scientific notation. This allows one to clearly visualize huge changes of some quantity. See Bode plot and Semi-log plot. For example, 120 dB SPL may be clearer than "a trillion times more intense than the threshold of hearing". Representation of multiplication operations Edit Level values in decibels can be added instead of multiplying the underlying power values, which means that the overall gain of a multi-component system, such as a series of amplifier stages, can be calculated by summing the gains in decibels of the individual components, rather than multiply the amplification factors; that is, log(A × B × C) = log(A) + log(B) + log(C). Practically, this means that, armed only with the knowledge that 1 dB is a power gain of approximately 26%, 3 dB is approximately 2× power gain, and 10 dB is 10× power gain, it is possible to determine the power ratio of a system from the gain in dB with only simple addition and multiplication. For example: A system consists of 3 amplifiers in series, with gains (ratio of power out to in) of 10 dB, 8 dB, and 7 dB respectively, for a total gain of 25 dB. Broken into combinations of 10, 3, and 1 dB, this is: 25 dB = 10 dB + 10 dB + 3 dB + 1 dB + 1 dB With an input of 1 watt, the output is approximately 1 W × 10 × 10 × 2 × 1.26 × 1.26 ≈ 317.5 W Calculated exactly, the output is 1 W × 10 25⁄ 10 = 316.2 W. The approximate value has an error of only +0.4% with respect to the actual value, which is negligible given the precision of the values supplied and the accuracy of most measurement instrumentation. However, according to its critics, the decibel creates confusion, obscures reasoning, is more related to the era of slide rules than to modern digital processing, and is cumbersome and difficult to interpret.[19] Representation of addition operations Edit Further information: Logarithmic addition According to Mitschke,[20] "The advantage of using a logarithmic measure is that in a transmission chain, there are many elements concatenated, and each has its own gain or attenuation. To obtain the total, addition of decibel values is much more convenient than multiplication of the individual factors." However, for the same reason that humans excel at additive operation over multiplication, decibels are awkward in inherently additive operations:[21] "if two machines each individually produce a [sound pressure] level of, say, 90 dB at a certain point, then when both are operating together we should expect the combined sound pressure level to increase to 93 dB, but certainly not to 180 dB!"; "suppose that the noise from a machine is measured (including the contribution of background noise) and found to be 87 dBA but when the machine is switched off the background noise alone is measured as 83 dBA. [...] the machine noise [level (alone)] may be obtained by'subtracting' the 83 dBA background noise from the combined level of 87 dBA; i.e., 84.8 dBA."; "in order to find a representative value of the sound level in a room a number of measurements are taken at different positions within the room, and an average value is calculated. [...] Compare the logarithmic and arithmetic averages of [...] 70 dB and 90 dB: logarithmic average = 87 dB; arithmetic average = 80 dB." Addition on a logarithmic scale is called logarithmic addition, and can be defined by taking exponentials to convert to a linear scale, adding there, and then taking logarithms to return. For example, where operations on decibels are logarithmic addition/subtraction and logarithmic multiplication/division, while operations on the linear scale are the usual operations: 87 dBA − 83 dBA = 10 ⋅ log 10 ⁡ ( 10 87 / 10 − 10 83 / 10 ) dBA ≈ 84.8 dBA {\displaystyle 87\,{\text{dBA}}-83\,{\text{dBA}}=10\cdot \log _{10}{\bigl (}10^{87/10}-10^{83/10}{\bigr )}\,{\text{dBA}}\approx 84.8\,{\text{dBA}}} M lm ( 70, 90 ) = ( 70 dBA + 90 dBA ) / 2 = 10 ⋅ log 10 ⁡ ( ( 10 70 / 10 + 10 90 / 10 ) / 2 ) dBA = 10 ⋅ ( log 10 ⁡ ( 10 70 / 10 + 10 90 / 10 ) − log 10 ⁡ 2 ) dBA ≈ 87 dBA. {\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}M_{\text{lm}}(70,90)&=\left(70\,{\text{dBA}}+90\,{\text{dBA}}\right)/2\\&=10\cdot \log _{10}\left({\bigl (}10^{70/10}+10^{90/10}{\bigr )}/2\right)\,{\text{dBA}}\\&=10\cdot \left(\log _{10}{\bigl (}10^{70/10}+10^{90/10}{\bigr )}-\log _{10}2\right)\,{\text{dBA}}\approx 87\,{\text{dBA}}.\end{aligned}}} Note that the logarithmic mean is obtained from the logarithmic sum by subtracting 10 log 10 ⁡ 2 {\displaystyle 10\log _{10}2}, since logarithmic division is linear subtraction. Quantities in decibels are not necessarily additive,[22][23] thus being "of unacceptable form for use in dimensional analysis".[24][clarification needed] Uses Edit Suffixes and reference values Edit Related units Edit mBm mB(mW) – power relative to 1 milliwatt, in millibels (one hundredth of a decibel). 100 mBm = 1 dBm. This unit is in the Wi-Fi drivers of the Linux kernel[64] and the regulatory domain sections.[65] Np Another closely related unit is the neper (Np). Like the decibel, the neper is a unit of level.[3] 1 N p = 20 log 10 ⁡ e d B ≈ 8. 685889638 d B {\displaystyle 1\ {\rm {Np}}=20\log _{10}e\ {\rm {dB}}\approx 8{.}685889638\ {\rm {dB}}\,} Fractions Edit Attenuation constants, in fields such as optical fiber communication and radio propagation path loss, are often expressed as a fraction or ratio to distance of transmission. dB/m represents decibel per meter, dB/mi represents decibel per mile, for example. These quantities are to be manipulated obeying the rules of dimensional analysis, e.g., a 100-meter run with a 3.5 dB/km fiber yields a loss of 0.35 dB = 3.5 dB/km × 0.1 km. See also Edit References Edit Further reading EditThe Hmong-American poet Mai Der Vang’s début volume, “Afterland” (Graywolf), reminds us what a distinctive instrument the human imagination is, no matter what tune it plays. There is a story in this book, and an important one: Vang’s family fled Laos at the close of the Laotian “secret war,” when the C.I.A. armed the Hmong people to fight against the occupying North Vietnamese. Laos fell, the C.I.A. pulled up stakes, and many Hmong families, after languishing in refugee camps in Thailand and elsewhere, were resettled in places like Fresno, California, where Vang lives today. Vang is among the first generation of Hmong-Americans born here and writing in English. She has no firsthand memory of the trauma that shaped her. These ironies, not a little bitter, sponsor her work. Vang writes strikingly, often chillingly visual poems, their images projected one at a time, like slides in a lecture, or perhaps in a trial. A woman is dragged “bleeding / by her long black hair,” her child’s “head in the rice / pounder, shell-crumbled.” The poems can feel like environments rather than narratives: they develop according to our wary movement through them, simultaneously registering both our outward point of view and our inner commentary. Here are the opening stanzas of “Water Grave,” about a river crossing: We cross under the midnight shield and learn that bullets can curse the air. A symposium of endangered stars evicts itself to the water. Another convoy leaves the kiln. The line breaks here represent the fear of what we’ll encounter next along the poem’s low-lying, cramped horizontal axis, with bullets “cursing” the air overhead and stars reflected on the water below. Inside, where the mind makes comparisons and analogies, the dissociation inheres in malfunctioning metaphors: what is a “symposium / of endangered stars” and how would it evict itself? The illogic evokes, on the page, the damaged conditions for thinking which burden these “creatures of the Mekong,” their “heads bobbing” like “ghosts without bodies” in a “river yard / of amputated hearts.” Vang’s poems are sometimes woven with Hmong phrases, which, to the reader who lacks the language, give the impression of chatter arriving by a remote, staticky broadcast. “Light from a Burning Citadel” counterpoints its eerie, ancestral first-person voice with a part-Hmong chorus: Now I am a Siamese rosewood on fire. I am a skin of sagging curtain. I am a bone of bullet hole. I am locked in the ash oven of a forest. Peb yog and we will be. A note tells us that peb yog means “we are.” The English syntax seems to approximate Hmong phrasing: its metamorphosis from another language, like the brutal self-transformations it expresses, is costly, ultimate, but also definitive. “Afterland” works its wonders with an intentionally rationed vocabulary, its counters combined and recombined in poem after poem: stars, water, hair, bones, fire. To invest this elemental grammar with such feeling is to play a game, mastered by poets from Du Fu to Louise Glück, that reminds us that the contents of the world are finite, and that the imagination obtains, often, only in combination. The style creates an atmosphere of impending marvels, and many of Vang’s poems perform, in words, the transformations that they describe: In the dove tree Corrals of your hair, A scaffold ascends The perfumed winter Where frost has hewn You into azalea. “Azalea” is a beautiful word in any context, but in this stark verbal landscape it stands out like the garish shrub it denotes, here reduced to its bare winter interest. The restraint of these poems in part reflects Hmong languages’ resistance to script; many appear to have existed for centuries without any written record. The most common script among Hmong speakers today was invented in the nineteen-fifties, by Christian missionaries. It uses the Roman alphabet, but clumsily, and with many critical effects of sound lost on the page. Around the same time, a farmer named Shong Lue Yang was said to have been taught a script, the Pahawh Hmong, by messengers from God. He attracted many followers before he was killed, a suspected insurgent, in 1971. Here are the crucial middle stanzas from a poem I believe will be read and taught widely, “Mother of People Without Script”: Paj is not pam is not pab. Blossom is not blanket is not help. Ntug is not ntuj is not ntub. Edge is not sky is not wet. On sheet of bamboo with indigo branch. To txiav is not the txias. To scissor is not the cold. When Vang reads the Hmong words aloud (you can hear her do so on the Poetry Foundation’s Web site), they sound, to me, nearly identical; and yet when you see them the distinctions are clear. Every poem is different, by a little or by a lot, when it is read aloud. Here that gap, and all the clashes of culture and power it embodies, is in fact the subject of the poem, which adopts the rote tone of a language primer. “Afterland” is, I think, two books. The one I have been describing, holding itself to its own stringent vision of verbal beauty, is among the most satisfying débuts by an American poet in some time. The book inside this book, much shorter, is replete with poignant snapshots of immigrant life; in these poems, Vang is looser, her language less monitored, the tension allayed by humor and wisdom. I like these poems slightly less. In “Matriarch,” a grandmother watches Sylvester Stallone on TV and thinks of “a man omitted,” likely a casualty of war: She points at the television as if she could translate Rocky, make sense of Rambo. She is camphor blouse, Grandmother, keeper of jars for flamed cuppings. This kind of parallelism—a current or slightly outré tic of M.F.A. workshops—always puts more weight on the second verb, and “makes sense of” is too weak to stand up to the pressure. A poetry that has elsewhere excavated its language from the communal unconscious has a hard time adopting the mode of personal anecdote. We miss the concentration, the narrowing and zooming attention to language, and, weirdly, the white space of her finest poems. A lot of silence goes into such work, if you listen carefully for it.The Burden of the Past A Foreign Policy Problem A Domestic Policy Focus STRATFOR does not normally involve itself in domestic American politics. Our focus is on international affairs, and American politics, like politics everywhere, is a passionate business. The vilification from all sides that follows any mention we make of American politics is both inevitable and unpleasant. Nevertheless, it's our job to chronicle the unfolding of the international system, and the fact that the United States is moving deeply into an election cycle will affect American international behavior and therefore the international system. The United States remains the center of gravity of the international system. The sheer size of its economy (regardless of its growth rate) and the power of its military (regardless of its current problems) make the United States unique. Even more important, no single leader of the world is as significant, for good or bad, as the American president. That makes the American presidency, in its broadest sense, a matter that cannot be ignored in studying the international system. The American system was designed to be a phased process. By separating the selection of the legislature from the selection of the president, the founders created a system that did not allow for sudden shifts in personnel. Unlike parliamentary systems, in which the legislature and the leadership are intimately linked, the institutional and temporal uncoupling of the system in the United States was intended to control the passing passions by leaving about two-thirds of the U.S. Senate unchanged even in a presidential election year, which always coincides with the election of the House of Representatives. Coupled with senatorial rules, this makes it difficult for the president to govern on domestic affairs. Changes in the ideological tenor of the system are years in coming, and when they come they stay a long time. Mostly, however, the system is in gridlock. Thomas Jefferson said that a government that governs least is the best. The United States has a vast government that rests on a system in which significant change is not impossible but which demands a level of consensus over a period of time that rarely exists. This is particularly true in domestic politics, where the complexity is compounded by the uncertainty of the legislative branch. Consider that the health-care legislation passed through major compromise is still in doubt, pending court rulings that thus far have been contradictory. All of this would have delighted the founders if not the constantly trapped presidents, who frequently shrug off their limits in the domestic arena in favor of action in the international realm, where their freedom to maneuver is much greater, as the founders intended.The point of this is that all U.S. presidents live within the framework in which Barack Obama is now operating. First, no president begins with a clean slate. All begin with the unfinished work of the prior administration. Thus, George W. Bush began his presidency with an al Qaeda whose planning and implementation for 9/11 was already well under way. Some of the al Qaeda operatives who would die in the attack were already in the country. So, like all of his predecessors, Obama assumed the presidency with his agenda already laid out. Obama had a unique set of problems. The first was his agenda, which focused on ending the Iraq War and reversing social policies in place since Ronald Reagan became president in 1981. By the time Obama entered office, the process of withdrawal from Iraq was under way, which gave him the option of shifting the terminal date. The historic reversal that he wanted to execute, starting with health-care reform, confronted the realities of September 2008 and the American financial crisis. His Iraq policy was in place by Inauguration Day while his social programs were colliding with the financial crisis. Obama's campaign was about more than particular policies. He ran on a platform that famously promised change and hope. His tremendous political achievement was in framing those concepts in such a way that they were interpreted by voters to mean precisely what they wanted them to mean without committing Obama to specific policies. To the anti-war faction it meant that the wars would end. To those concerned about unilateralism it meant that unilateralism would be replaced by multilateralism. To those worried about growing inequality it meant that he would end inequality. To those concerned about industrial jobs going overseas it meant that those jobs would stay in the United States. To those who hated Guantanamo it meant that Guantanamo would be closed. Obama created a coalition whose expectations of what Obama would do were shaped by them and projected on Obama. In fact, Obama never quite said what his supporters thought he said. His supporters thought they heard that he was anti-war. He never said that. He simply said that he opposed Iraq and thought Afghanistan should be waged. His strategy was to allow his followers to believe what they wanted so long as they voted for him, and they obliged. Now, this is not unique to Obama. It is how presidents get elected. What was unique was how well he did it and the problems it caused once he became president. It must first be remembered that, contrary to the excitement of the time and faulty memories today, Obama did not win an overwhelming victory. About 47 percent of the public voted for someone other than Obama. It was certainly a solid victory, but it was neither a landslide nor a mandate for his programs. But the excitement generated by his victory created the sense of victory that his numbers didn't support. Another problem was that he had no programmatic preparation for the reality he faced. September 2008 changed everything in the sense that it created financial and economic realities that ran counter to the policies he envisioned. He shaped those policies during the primaries and after the convention, and they were based on assumptions that were no longer true after September 2008. Indeed, it could be argued that he was elected because of September 2008. Prior to the meltdown, John McCain had a small lead over Obama, who took over the lead only after the meltdown. Given that the crisis emerged on the Republicans' watch, this made perfect sense. But shifting policy priorities was hard because of political commitments and inertia and perhaps because the extremities of the crisis were not fully appreciated. Obama's economic policies did not differ wildly from Bush's — indeed, many of the key figures had served in the Federal Reserve and elsewhere during the Bush administration. The Bush administration's solution was to print and insert money into financial institutions in order to stabilize the system. By the time Obama came into power, it was clear to his team that the amount of inserted money was insufficient and had to be increased. In addition, in order to sustain the economy, the policy that had been in place during the Bush years of maintaining low interest rates through monetary easing was extended and intensified. To a great extent, the Obama years have been the Bush years extended to their logical conclusion. Whether Bush would have gone for the stimulus package is not clear, but it is conceivable that he would have. Obama essentially pursued the Bush strategy of stabilizing the banks in the belief that a stable banking system was indispensible and would in itself stimulate the economy by creating liquidity. Whether it did or it didn't, the strategy created the beginnings of Obama's political problem. He drew substantial support from populists on the left and suspicion from populists on the right. The latter, already hostile to Bush's policies, coalesced into the Tea Party. But this was not Obama's biggest problem. It was that his policies, which both seemed to favor the financial elite and were at odds with what Democratic populists believed the president stood for, weakened his support from the left. The division between what he actually said and what his supporters thought they heard him say began to widen. While the health-care battle solidified his opposition among those who would oppose him anyway, his continuing response to the financial crisis both solidified opposition among Republicans and weakened support among Democrats.This was coupled with his foreign policy problem. Among Democrats, the anti-war faction was a significant bloc. Most Democrats did not support Obama with anti-war reasons as their primary motivator, but enough did make this the priority issue that he could not win if he lost this bloc. This bloc believed two things. The first was that the war in Iraq was unjustified and harmful and the second was that it emerged from an administration that was singularly insensitive to the world at large and to the European alliance in particular. They supported Obama because they assumed not only that he would end wars — as well as stop torture and imprisonment without trial — but that he would also re-found American foreign policy on new principles. Obama's decision to dramatically increase forces in Afghanistan while merely modifying the Bush administration's timeline for withdrawing from Iraq caused unease within the Democratic Party. But two steps that Bush took held his position. First, one of the first things Obama did after he became president was to reach out to the Europeans. It was expected that this would increase European support for U.S. foreign policy. The Europeans, of course, were enthusiastic about Obama, as the Noble Peace Prize showed. But while Obama believed that his willingness to listen to the Europeans meant they would be forthcoming with help, the Europeans believed that Obama would understand them better and not ask for help. The relationship was no better under Obama than under Bush. It wasn't personality or ideology that mattered. It was simply that Germany, as the prime example, had different interests than the United States. This was compounded by the differing views and approaches to the global financial crisis. Whereas the Americans were still interested in Afghanistan, the Europeans considered Afghanistan a much lower priority than the financial crisis. Thus, U.S.-European relations remained frozen. Then Obama made his speech to the Islamic world in Cairo, where his supporters heard him trying to make amends for Bush's actions and where many Muslims heard an unwillingness to break with Israel or end the wars. His supporters heard conciliation, the Islamic world heard inflexibility. The European response to Obama the president as opposed to Obama the candidate running against George Bush slowly reverberated among his supporters. Not only had he failed to end the wars, he doubled down and surged forces into Afghanistan. And the continued hostility toward the United States from the Islamic world reverberated among those on the Democratic left who were concerned with such matters. Add to that the failure to close Guantanamo and a range of other issues concerning the war on terror and support for Obama crumbled.His primary victory, health-care reform, was the foundation of an edifice that was never built. Indeed, the reform bill is caught in the courts, and its future is as uncertain as it was when the bill was caught in Congress. The Republicans, as expected, agree on nothing other than Obama's defeat. The Democrats will support him; the question is how enthusiastic that support will be. Obama's support now stands at 41 percent. The failure point for a president's second term lurks around 35 percent. It is hard to come back from there. Obama is not there yet. The loss of another six points would come from his Democratic base (which is why 35 is the failure point; when you lose a chunk of your own base, you are in deep trouble). At this point, however, the president is far less interested in foreign policy than he is in holding his base together and retaking the middle. He did not win by a large enough margin to be able to lose any of his core constituencies. He may hope that his Republican challenger will alienate the center, but he can't count on that. He has to capture his center and hold his left. That means he must first focus on domestic policy. That is where the public is focused. Even the Afghan war and the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq are not touching nerves in the center. His problem is twofold. First, it is not clear that he can get anything past Congress. He can then argue that this is Congress' fault, but the Republicans can run against Congress as well. Second, it is not clear what he would propose. The Republican right can't be redeemed, but what can Obama propose that will please the Democratic core and hold the center? The Democratic core wants taxes. The center doesn't oppose taxes (it is merely uneasy about them), but it is extremely sensitive about having the taxes eaten up by new spending — something the Democratic left supports. Obama is trapped between two groups he must have that view the world differently enough that bridging the gap is impossible. The founders gave the United States a government that, no matter how large it gets, can't act on domestic policy without a powerful consensus. Today there is none, and therefore there can't be action. Foreign policy isn't currently resonating with the American public, so any daring initiatives in that arena will likely fail to achieve the desired domestic political end. Obama has to hold together a coalition that is inherently fragmented by many different understandings of what his presidency is about. This coalition has weakened substantially. Obama's attention must be on holding it together. He cannot resurrect the foreign policy part of it at this point. He must bet on the fact that the coalition has nowhere else to go. What he must focus on is domestic policy crafted to hold his base and center together long enough to win the election. The world, therefore, is facing at least 14 months with the United States being at best reactive and at worst non-responsive to events. Obama has never been a foreign policy president; events and proclivity (I suspect) have always drawn him to domestic matters. But between now and the election, the political configuration of the United States and the dynamics of his presidency will force him away from foreign policy. This at a time when the Persian Gulf is coming to terms with the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq and the power of Iran, when Palestinians and Israelis are facing another crisis over U.N. recognition, when the future of Europe is unknown, when North Africa is unstable and Syria is in crisis and when U.S. forces continue to fight in Afghanistan. All of this creates opportunities for countries to build realities that may not be in the best interests of the United States in the long run. There is a period of at least 14 months for regional powers to act with confidence without being too concerned about the United States. The point of this analysis is to try to show the dynamics that have led the United States to this position, and to sketch the international landscape in broad strokes. The U.S. president will not be deeply engaged in the world for more than a year. Thus, he will have to cope with events pressed on him. He may undertake initiatives, such as trying to revive the Middle East peace process, but such moves would have large political components that would make it difficult to cope with realities on the ground. The rest of the world knows this, of course. The question is whether and how they take advantage of it.Senate Republicans introduced a budget proposal Friday that could pave the way for allowing drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) for the first time in decades. The budget blueprint asks the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, which has jurisdiction over the refuge, to develop policies that would save at least $1 billion over the next decade. Lawmakers widely expect that that gap is meant to be filled with the revenues from allowing drilling in ANWR, a federal reserve in northeastern Alaska that was protected in 1960 but has a small coastal area that Congress designated for possible oil and gas drilling. ADVERTISEMENT Through the budget reconciliation process, having a $1 billion figure in the budget would allow the refuge to be opened for drilling with a 51-vote majority. Republicans hold 52 seats in the Senate. By contrast, most legislation in the Senate requires 60 votes to overcome a potential filibuster. Sen. Lisa Murkowski Lisa Ann MurkowskiWhite House pleads with Senate GOP on emergency declaration Pence meets with Senate GOP for 'robust' discussion on Trump declaration House votes to overturn Trump's emergency declaration MORE (R-Alaska), who chairs the Energy Committee, is a leading proponent of ANWR drilling and has introduced legislation every year to allow drilling in the 1.5 billion-acre coastal area, known as the 1002 area. Murkowski applauded the budget in a statement Friday, though did not say whether she would work to allow ANWR drilling to fulfill the requirement. “This provides an excellent opportunity for our committee to raise $1 billion in federal revenues while creating jobs and strengthening our nation’s long-term energy security. I am confident that our committee is prepared to meet the instruction in this resolution,” she said in a statement. Sens. Susan Collins Susan Margaret CollinsWhite House pleads with Senate GOP on emergency declaration Cohen grilled by Senate Intelligence panel Pence meets with Senate GOP for 'robust' discussion on Trump declaration MORE (R-Maine) and John McCain John Sidney McCainGOP lobbyists worry Trump lags in K Street fundraising Mark Kelly kicks off Senate bid: ‘A mission to lift up hardworking Arizonans’ Gabbard hits back at Meghan McCain after fight over Assad MORE (R-Ariz.) have opposed ANWR drilling in the past, but it is unclear if they would support it this time around. Sen. Ed Markey Edward (Ed) John MarkeySenate Dems seek to turn tables on GOP in climate change fight Ocasio-Cortez responds to Ivanka Trump: 'I actually worked for tips and hourly wages' Overnight Energy: McConnell plans Green New Deal vote before August recess \| EPA official grilled over enforcement numbers \| Green group challenges Trump over Utah pipelines MORE (D-Mass.) called the budget provision a “poison pill.” “There is bipartisan opposition to drilling in our nation's most pristine wildlife refuge and any effort to include it in the tax package would only further imperil the legislation as a whole,” he said in a statement. “I will fight vigorously on the Senate floor to remove this extraneous giveaway to Big Oil from the budget and protect this special place.” Environmentalists also pledged a fight, on the grounds that drilling would disturb the flora and fauna of the refuge, and the oil and gas would be destructive to the climate. “Congress must reject any budget reconciliation bill that includes drilling in America’s Arctic Refuge or cuts to programs that protect health and our communities,” said Michael Brune, executive director of the Sierra Club. “We can not allow a misguided zeal to drill to override the promise of a healthy future for our communities, complete with the promise of the wild.” The Senate Budget Committee is due to vote on the budget blueprint next week. Any move on ANWR drilling would be a separate process, and would also require House approval.Members of the public enter the Supreme Court on March 26, 2013. Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images On Monday
Fr Kevin Jordan, Fr Nicholas Kavanagh, Fr Brendan Kelly, Fr Daniel M Kelly, Fr John B Kelly, Fr Michael Kelly, Fr Peter Kelly, Fr Joseph Kendall, Fr Vincent Kennedy OFM, Fr John Kennedy, Fr Ian Ker, Fr Brendan Killeen, Fr Peter Kirkham, Monsignor David Kirkwood, Fr Krzysztof Kita, Fr Peter Knott SJ, Fr Vitalis Kondo, Fr Jaroslaw Konopko OFMCap, Fr Saji Matthew Koottakithayil MSFS, Fr Wojciech Kowalski SDS, Fr Douglas Lamb, Fr Michael Lang CO, Fr Julian Large CO, Fr John Laybourn, Fr Brian Leatherland, Fr.Paul Lester, Fr Nicholas Leviseur, Fr Jacob Lewis, Canon Michael Lewis, Fr Joseph Liang AA, Fr Gladstone Liddle, Fr Christopher Lindlar, Fr Denys Lloyd, Fr Laurie Locke, Canon Bernard Lordan, Fr Christopher Loughran, Fr Roy Lovatt, Fr Robbie Low, Fr Alexander Lucie Smith, Fr John Lungley, Canon Brendan MacCarthy, Canon John Angus MacDonald, Fr Stanislaus Maciuszek, Fr Hugh MacKenzie, Canon Peter Magee, Fr Brian O Mahony CSSP, Fr Kieran Mullarkey, Fr John Maloney, Fr Aleksander Marcharski, Fr Geoffrey Marlor, Fr Francis Marsden, Fr Bernard Marsh, Fr Terry Martin, Fr John Masshedar, Fr William Massie, Fr Michael Bateman, Fr Stephen Maughan, Fr Laurence Mayne, Fr Paul McAlinden, Fr James McAuley, Canon Anthony McBride, Monsignor Canon Kenneth McBride, Fr Ian McCarthy, Fr Derrick McCulloch, Fr John McCullough, Fr.David McDonald, Canon John McElroy, Fr John McFadden CSSP, Fr Terry McGarth MSFS, Fr Brian McGilloway, Fr Denis McGillycuddy, Fr Brendan McGuinness SDB, Fr Rupert McHardy CO, Canon Patrick McInally, Fr Bernard McInulty, Fr Michael McLaughlin, Fr William McMahon, Fr Martin McPake SVD, Fr Anthony Meredith SJ, Fr Stuart Meyer, Fr Nazarius Mgungwe, Fr Jan Milcz CSsR, Fr Philip Miller, Canon Paul Mitcheson, Fr Thomas Monaghan, Fr.Augustine Monaghan MHM, Monsignor Vaughan Morgan, Fr Richard Moroney, Fr Mark Morris, Fr Stephen Morrison OPraem, Fr Frederick Moss MHM, Fr Andrew Moss, Fr Deodat Msahala, Fr Clement M Mukuka, Fr Ted Mullen IC, Fr Ghislain B Mulumanzi, Fr John Mundackal, Fr Aidan Murray SDB, Monsignor Provost Cyril Murtagh, Fr Noel Bisibu N’Tungu, Fr Bijoy Chandra Nayak CMF, Fr James Neal, Fr Arthur Nearey, Fr Roger Nesbitt, Fr Peter Newsam, Fr Ponder Paulinus Ngilangwa SDS, Fr Guy Nicholls, Fr Aidan Nichols, Fr Julius Nkafu, Fr Peter Norris, Fr Bernardine Nsom, Canon Kevin O Connor, Fr Dominic O Conor, Fr Patrick O Doherty, Fr Kevin O Donnell, Canon Vincent O Hara ODC, Fr Conleth O Hara CP, Fr Dominic O Hara, Fr Andrew O Sullivan, Fr Kevin O Toole, Fr Robert Ogbede CM, Fr Flavin Ohayerenwa CSSp, Fr Tobias Okoro, Fr Addison Opkeoh, Fr.Clement Orango MCCJ, Fr John Osman, Fr Arockia Mariadass Pagyasamy OCD, Fr Binu Palakapally IC, Fr David Palmer, Fr Fortunato Partisano, Fr John Pascoe, Fr Michael Patey, Fr Eoin Patten, Fr Sunny Paul, Fr Maurice Pearce, Fr Anthony Pellegrini, Fr Neil Peoples, Fr Leon Pereira OP, Fr David Phillips, Fr Terry Phipps, Fr.Andrew Pinsent, Fr Dawid Piot, Fr Anthony Plummer, Fr John Lawrence M. Polis FI, Fr Graham Preston, Fr James Preston, Fr Peter Preston SDS, Fr Robert Pytel, Fr Gerard Quinn, Fr Behruz Rafat, Fr N Ratu, Fr John Ravensdale, Fr David Rea, Monsignor Gordon Read, Monsignor Alex Rebello, Fr Charles Reddan SDS, Fr Alexander Redman, Fr Stephen Reynolds, Fr John Rice, Fr Graham Ricketts, Fr Jonathan Rollinson OSB, Fr George M Roth FI, Fr Andrew Rowlands, Canon Luiz Ruscillo, Fr Tadeusz Ruthowski, Fr Paschal Ryan, Fr Mario Sanderson, Fr John Saward, Fr Nicholas Schofield, Fr Alphege Stebbens OSB, Fr Francis Selman, Fr Jean Claude Selvini, Very Rev’d Fr Daniel Seward CO, Fr John Sharp, Fr Alexander Sherbrooke, Fr John Shewring, Fr Chris Silva, Fr William Simpson, Fr Bernard Sixtus, Fr Thomas Skeats OP, Fr Gerard Skinner, Fr John Smethurst, Fr Bernard Snelder MHM, Fr Pryemek Sobczak, Fr Edward Sopala, Fr Michael Spain OCD, Fr Roger Spencer, Fr.Simon Stamp, Fr Andrew Starkie, Fr Pawel Stebel, Fr Jeffrey Steel, Monsignor George Stokes, Fr Brian Storey, Monsignor Richard Stork, Fr Damian Sturdy OSB, Fr Shaun Swales, Fr Martin Sweeney MHM, Fr Mark Swires, Fr Roman Szczypa SDB, Fr Ryssard Taraszka, Fr Brian Taylor, Fr Christopher A Thomas, Fr Sean Thornton, Fr Matthew Thottathimyali, Fr Adrian Tomlinson, Fr Edward Tomlinson, Fr Dennis Touw, Fr Simon Treloar, Canon Harry Turner, Fr Andrew Undsworth, Fr John Vallomprayil SDS, Fr Edward van den Bergh CO, Fr Ian Vane, Fr Peter Vellacott, Fr Gregory Verissimo, Fr Mark Vickers, Fr Neil Vincent, Fr David Waller, Fr Gary Walsh, Fr John Walsh, Fr Joseph Walsh, Fr Patrick Walsh, Fr Victor Walter, Fr Edward Wanat SDS, Fr Peter Wareing CMF, Fr Ged Watkins, Fr Peter Wells, Fr Richard Whinder, Fr Henry Whisenant, Fr Joseph Whisstock, Fr.David J White, Fr Christopher Whitehouse, Fr William Wilby, Fr Bruno Witchalls, Fr Anthony Wood, Fr Jeffrey Woolnough, Fr William R Young, Fr Lucjan Zaniewski OFMCap, Fr Richard Mary Zeng SDS, Fr Paul Zielinski, Fr Bartholomew Zubeveil CSSpHave you run out of space on your C:\ drive? Or do you have a super-fast SSD that is too small to hold all your steam games at the same time? Then try Steam Mover. Following on from a very interesting post on the Steam forums I've created a little app to make moving the files and creating the junction points much much easier! Example Use Here I have my steam folder in the default location, and the application should find that for you. If not, select the \Steam\SteamApps\Common\ folder yourself, and a secondary hard disk D:\, where I have created a folder. Note that Steam Mover can be used to move any folder around (by changing the Source Path), but for Steam the maximum benefit is in moving individual games from the Common folder. I simply select a few games I don't play very often, and click the "Right Arrow" button. This fires off a few command line windows - please let them run to completion. It is using the built-in Windows commands: xcopy, rd, and mklink. If you want to see the exact commands it is running, tick the "I want to run the commands myself" box. Once finished, you will see that I have moved Left 4 Dead and World of Goo to my D:\ drive, but because of the Junction Points created on the C:\ drive the games continue to work in Steam. If you want to move games back to your C:\ drive, simply click on the left arrow button. Pro's You can store all your steam games on multiple drives, and they all carry on working! You no longer have to do the install/uninstall shuffle to get enough disk space on drive C:\ for that latest game. You can benefit from that fast, but small, SSD drive by only storing the games you regularly play on the SSD, and moving the older games onto a slower larger hard disk. And all games remain playable in steam. If you want to see what it's doing and run the commands from the command line yourself, tick the "I want to run the commands myself" box. Note that SteamMover runs commands one at a time, and stops if it gets an error. I actually now install steam and all games on my large D:\ HDD, and use Steam Mover to just move my favourite games to the C:\ SSD for a speed boost when playing them. Con's No warranty. Whatsoever. Things may go wrong. I accept no liability of lost files, yadda, yadda. Its moving a lot of files around, without much checking on permissions, so it may not be perfect. It does work fine for me though. If it does break you may have to copy/move files around yourself, restore from a backup, or re-download your steam games. Please leave feedback below if you get an error, and I shall endevour to fix it in the next release. Requires Microsoft Windows Vista or above (Windows 7, 8, 8.1 are all reported to work fine). It will NOT work on Windows XP. It requires NTFS formatted drives. It will not work with FAT32. Junction Points can only relocate complete folders, not individual files. So unfortunately it will not help with the massive.gcf files in the steamapps folder itself (mostly Valve games such as Counter-Strike and the Half-Life series). To those that have asked, I have tried using mklink to create hardlinks, but they do not work to link to another drive - they only provide a shortcut to a file on the same drive. Download SteamMover v0.1 1168k Please ensure you download from the above link - various "cracked" or "official" versions are hosted on other sites, which is hilarious seeing as its freeware. Version History v0.1 - 2nd April 2010 The initial release. So far, it's been so good that it hasn't needed updating. :-) Installation Its a Delphi Application, and no installer is required. Just unzip to wherever you want and run SteamMover.exe. If you get permission errors when moving folders you may need to right-click and "Run as Administrator". Uninstall Simply delete the SteamMover.exe, and if you really want you can remove the Registry keys from HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\SteamMover. Notable Mentions Hundreds of thousands of downloads, over 1000 feedback comments from users Lifehacker Hak5 Video On the sidebar of /r/steam/ Leave feedbackA man has filed a first information report (FIR) against his wife on charges of extortion and cheating after she demanded more alimony and threatened not to give him divorce if he did not cough up the extra amount. The husband, a software engineer, approached the Borivli magistrate court with a private complaint, based on which the magistrate ordered the Kandivli police to lodge a complaint. The FIR was registered on April 9 under sections 385 (extortion) and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code, and further investigations are on. He had married her in 2013, after meeting her through a matrimonial website. A few months into the marriage, the husband alleges, she started speaking very arrogantly and quarrelling over petty issues; she had smoking and drinking habits, he says.Further, she did not tend to his ailing father, he claimed; she also refused to co-habit with him in a chawl and asked for a separate house in Mumbai. He claims she allegedly threatened to implicate him in a domestic violence case, and demanded Rs2 lakh as permanent alimony, saying she'd agree to a divorce by mutual consent after a year if he did that. He paid her the sum, and signatures were obtained on a stamp paper with regard to a declaration-and-mutual consent deed. Last year, when he sent her emails reminding her to file for divorce, she did not respond. The husband then sent her a legal notice, after which her uncle called him up and allegedly demanded Rs8 lakh to sign the divorce papers. The husband then approached the police but no case was registered. He then went to the Vaastav Foundation seeking help to file a case. Subsequently, the private complaint was filed with magistrate, who ordered filing of the FIR. Amit Deshpande, president of the foundation, said, "We have had cases of women misusing laws to get alimony but it cannot be a moral way to get divorce. Laws should be set in motion only when there is a case of dowry harassment, and should not be used as an extortion tool."As for the woman, she has filed a domestic violence case against him and his family members in Pune. She also filed an interim maintenance application, after he filed a divorce petition on the grounds of cruelty. Both the petitions are pending in the Bandra family court.GETTY Nani looks to be on the way to Inter Milan The Portuguese winger only joined Fenerbahce last summer and scored 12 goals and provided 13 assists in 46 appearances. But he is set to join Serie A side Inter, according to American outlet One World Sports. Man United players promote Independence Day Tue, June 14, 2016 Manchester United players have taken on the role of jet fighter pilots as part of a promotional campaign for the new Independence Day movie, set to be released on June 22 Play slideshow Twitter•@ManUtd 1 of 8 Manchester United have shared an image of key squad members taking on the role of jet fighters as part of a promotional campaign with 20th Century Fox ahead of the new Independence Day film The report says the 29-year-old will sign a three-year-deal worth around £2.5million-a-year. A fee has yet to be agreed between the two sides, with Inter apparently reluctant to pay Nani’s £6.3m release clause.It was the series finale of Muschamp Monday as Florida Gators Head Coach met with the media for his weekly press conference. Florida is coming off a 52-3 victory over Eastern Kentucky and is in preparation for the final game of the season against Florida State at Doak Campbell stadium. The Gators are looking to be the second team in 29 games to defeat the Seminoles. The last team to do it? The 2012 Gators. Florida will also be at full strength for the game. After leaving Saturday’s game with a kneecap bruise, Muschamp said Treon Harris will be ready to play next week. Here is some of what Muschamp had to say: The importance of the 2012 win on the team’s confidence for this game: “I think so, we still got a lot of guys on the team that went up there, it was a great game, they had an outstanding football team, and we played well, got out to a fast start in the game, it’s going to be critical for us there, take care of the football, we did that, we were able to run the ball, you know, and I think that’s something that we’re going to need to be able to do, you know, come Saturday, but there’s no question that, you know, we’ve been a pretty good road team as far as handling ourselves on the road and that certainly is a very SEC-like atmosphere in Tallahassee.” Florida State possibly looking susceptible on tape: “Well, again, I think that, you know, anytime you win, it may not be exactly what you want it to look like, and certainly all the experts are taking their shots but they’ve still won 27, 28, 29 games in a row, and that’s hard to do, that really hard to do. So, you know, again, you see a very well-coached, good football team in all three phases that have talented players. They’ve won a bunch of games, they know how to win and that’s a talent too, so, again, I see a very talented football team on tape.” Any added motivation needed for this game: “They don’t need fireworks to get ready for this one. They’ll be ready to go. Our guys are excited about this game. I was concerned Saturday, I’ll be honest with you, going into that ballgame. Our guys aren’t dumb. They turn the tape on. They’re able to see. But we got some competitive young men in that locker room and they’ll turn the tape on and understand the type of team we’re going against and the preparation what’s going to take place. I told them in the locker room when the game was over. We’ve had a week to feel sorry about this, that or the other when all we can control is the controlables and that’s getting ready for Florida State, a really good football team. We need to prepare better than we did this past week. We need to practice better than we did last week and they all agreed to that. They understood that. We need to prepare much better than we did this past week.” Conversations with the staff last week: “I told the staff ‘do your job, do your job. You get hired by the University of Florida to do your job, and that’s to coach and to recruit and that’s to represent this university first class, and that’s what you do.’ I haven’t been involved in any recruiting since it happened. But our staff needs to continue to recruit and represent Florida. It’s a great place to come to school and play football and that’s what those guys are doing. They continue the phone calls and all that, and Sunday after Florida State, they’ll be out recruiting for the University of Florida and getting ready for a bowl game. You get hired to do a job and that’s your job. Go do your job.” Thoughts of DJ Durkin, who will serve as interim coach in the Gators’ bowl game: “He’ll do an outstanding job. He’s a really good football coach, he sees the big picture, he’s an outstanding recruiter, he’s got a tireless work ethic and he does a great job with our players. He will do a fabulous job.” Managing players’ emotions in the game: “Well, we talk about it and we’ll hit it again today. It’s really no different than when you go to Jacksonville and play and play in some of these games. Just play the game. All the other stuff, we don’t need that. Just play the game. Talking’s not going to help you make a play, that’s for sure. There will be high emotions. They need to manage that. They can’t let it overtake them, especially early in the game getting very emotional. There are going to be a lot of ups and downs in the game, and you’ve got to play through them. Any big game, that’s what you need to be able to do.” Their approach to slowing down Jameis Winston: “You’ve got to change things ups. He’s a guy that when he knows what he’s getting — he’s good, regardless — but he’s really good when he knows what he’s getting, whether it’s pressure or coverage, middle field or split safety. I think you’ve just got to continue to change up and have creative looks that you are playing multiple things out of. Those are some things we do anyway. You can’t wholesale changes against a really good player. And then you make a mistake and all of a sudden you cut a guy loose down the field. We’ve got to stay within what we do. We’ve got enough in our package to be able to manufacture some things.”Android is open and customizable. iOS is closed, designed for ease. But iPhone users are maturing, demanding more personalization, and Apple might give it to them at WWDC. At D11, Tim Cook said “I think you will see us open up more in the future, but not to the degree that we put the customer at risk of having a bad experience.” Here we’ll look at some Android options Apple could unlock for iOS. I agree with John Gruber when he speaks of how the average smartphone user has matured. “The design of the iPhone software was entirely informed by the fact that this was a new experience. It needed training wheels. Look around you. We all get it now. iOS-style computing is no longer novel. The training wheels can now come off.” 2007 is very different from 2013 in terms of our mobile literacy, and it’s time iOS reflected that. Apple’s concern is likely that novice users might download and install an interface-changing app and not know how to remove it — “a bad experience.” Apple would need to determine how to reconfirm configuration changes with users such that veterans don’t get annoyed but newbies don’t get stuck. If it can strike the right balance, some new capabilities iOS users might gain include: Keyboard Replacement The most commonly requested customization we hear from iOS users is the option to replace the default keyboard. Simply shrinking a typewriter keyboard down for a tiny touch screen may not be the most efficient way to type, especially one-handed. Android lets you replace the default tap-to-type version with third-parties keyboards like SwiftKey which learns how you type to predict your words, and the popular Swype gesture typing keyboard. Advanced prediction and the ability to drag your finger between letters can drastically speed up communication. Widgets The iOS lock screen and home screen have begun to look quite static. With so many real-time feeds of information out there, from weather to finance to social, staring at wallpaper or a set of dead icons and folders buries information. Android lets you pull that data out from apps and splay it across your lock and home screens for value at a glance. While Apple has sought to make the iOS interface consistent, more experienced users would appreciate the ability to deviate to their own tastes. Phone App Modifications One under-appreciated advantage of Android is the ability to change the most basic part of a phone — the phone part. Apps can allow you to block certain numbers or entire area codes from calling you or send their calls straight to voicemail — handy for dealing with insistent telemarketers or ex-girl/boyfriends. You can set up custom Do Not Disturb modes that repond to calls or SMS with a pre-written text message. There’s even crowd sourced caller ID apps that pull in what other people have named numbers so you always know who’s calling. Mr. Number was a particularly powerful phone app mod who was rewarded for its innovation by being acquired by WhitePages. Mr. Number doesn’t even offer an iOS version because none of this functionality was allowed on iOS 6 or older. Update: Apple announced at WWDC that iOS 7 will allow call, SMS, and FaceTime blocking of specific numbers. Rather than opening up the ability to modify the Phone app for developers, Apple chose to build in limited blocking functionality itself. Homescreen / Launcher Replacements Launchers have long been a favorite of Android users, but Facebook Home brought the open / closed issue to the mainstream, demonstrating how your entire phone experience can be reskinned. Home lets you read the news feed from your lock screen, while others like GO Launcher EX, LauncherPro, and SO.HO let you navigate through gestures, offer quick access to certain settings, and provide pre-made themes amongst other options. Cross-App Functionality, Data Sharing, and Defaults Android doesn’t erect boundaries between apps like iOS. Thanks to App Intents, apps can easily share information and content with each other so you can send a photo from one editing app to another. They can even run over the top of one another, like Facebook’s Chat Heads which overlays chat conversations on whatever app you’re currently using. On iOS, Chat Heads is trapped within the Facebook app. Android also lets you pick which app you’d like to default to for opening certain media types, or doing certain actions. My fellow writer Frederic calls for Apple to treat us like adults and choose if we want to use Chrome as our default browser or Google Maps for default navigation. Multi-User Support Sharing one device between many people is a huge pain on iOS. You all have to use the same instance of the operating system. That means frequent log-ins and outs of different apps, overlapping phone books, a shared camera roll, and big issues for parents who don’t want to let their kids meddle with their whole phone or tablet when they hand it over to let them play a game. Android lets each user customize their account to their liking. There are plenty of other personalization options on Android, including automation for scheduling tasks; quick controls for brightness, wifi, and airplane mode; the ability to track and manage your battery and data usage by restricting what certain apps can do; and SD cards for slotting in new data. Of course, Apple isn’t fond of just following so we’ll hopefully get some true innovation in iOS 7 at WWDC tomorrow. But adding some of these features could unlock new opportunities for the developer community, attract more hardcore tech users, and let people feel like the Apple devices they carry everywhere are truly their own. [Image Credit: OMGdroid]Philo Norton McGiffin (December 12/13, 1860 – February 11, 1897) was an American naval officer later serving in Chinese service as a naval advisor during the First Sino-Japanese War. Although primarily skilled as an instructor and administrator, he proved a talented tactician during the 1894 Battle of the Yellow Sea as well as the first American to command a modern battleship in wartime. Early life [ edit ] Born to Civil War officer Colonel Norton McGiffin and Sarah Quail in Washington, Pennsylvania, McGiffin attended local Washington and Jefferson College before transferring to the U.S. Naval Academy in 1877. When he was about 12, his older brother Thomas, got into some trouble when he shot the high school principal.[1] While Philo was at Annapolis, he gained a reputation as a practical joker. In 1884, McGiffin qualified as a passed midshipman (or ensign) but was among several classmates who were discharged with one year's pay when there were no available positions in the body of commissioned officers (in those days, several years of sea duty were required before receiving a commission. In an era of limited U.S. naval spending, only a few commissions were available to each graduating class. Unfortunately for McGiffin, when he took the exam in 1884 he did not score highly enough and so did not obtain one of the few commissions available that year). Service to Imperial China [ edit ] McGiffin as Superintendent of the Chinese Naval College, at the age of thirty-two Arriving in China soon after and seeking employment, McGiffin was able to earn a commission as a lieutenant in the newly modernizing Imperial Chinese Navy under Li Hung-chang in early 1885. In the midst on the Sino-French War, McGiffin was said to have captured a French gunboat in June before the end of the war that same year. A professor at the Chinese Naval College in Tientsin (Tianjin) for the next nine years, McGiffin was also said to have served as naval constructor supervising the construction of four ironclad warships in Great Britain before the outbreak of the First Sino-Japanese War in August 1894. Later career [ edit ] McGiffin was assigned to Admiral Ting Ju ch'ang's Beiyang fleet (literally "Northern Fleet"). The fleet was partially organized and trained by McGiffin, and he would serve as an executive officer aboard the Chinese battleship Zhen Yuan during the Battle of the Yellow Sea (1894). He was severely wounded during the battle and returned to the United States, suffering from mental instability due to his wounds. McGiffin was eventually committed to the Post Graduate Hospital in New York City where, after tricking hospital orderlies into giving him a revolver from his trunk, he committed suicide on February 11, 1897. Folk Hero [ edit ] At the United States Naval Academy, Philo McGiffin is a folk hero akin to Pecos Bill or Paul Bunyan. In the most commonly told tale, McGiffin could not sleep one evening and decided since he could not sleep, no one else should, so he collected all the cannonballs in the Academy yard, hauled them up to the top floor of the quarters (which probably would have been what was then known as the "New Quarters"), and rolled them down the stairs to the bottom floor. Since the heavy iron balls were wreaking havoc, no one could stop him until the Officer of the Watch shimmied up a drainpipe and apprehended him from behind. Only half mythical, according to Richard Harding Davidson's biographical sketch of McGiffin quoted in Real Soldiers of Fortune, the cannonballs were already in a pile on the top floor of the quarters. For this prank he was sent to the Santee (an old hulk of a sailing ship that served as the confinement barracks for Midshipmen being disciplined) where he befriended an old man-o-warsman named Mike. When Philo returned to the Regiment of Midshipmen from the Santee, Mike gave him six charges of powder, which he loaded into six of the Mexican War cannons scattered about the Yard and fired a salute on July first, shattering windows all over the Academy. Another popular Naval Academy urban legend concerns the most exacting inspection at the Academy, the inspection for the members of the oncoming Watch, traditionally held each evening in the Rotunda of Bancroft Hall. Popular lore has it that McGiffin waited, hidden on the balcony above the Watch Squad, until the very second before the Officer of the Watch left his office to inspect the Squad, at which point he stood up and dumped a bag of flour all over the Watch Squad. This is extremely unlikely as the legends place this action in the Rotunda, which did not exist in Philo's day and there is no indication that there even was a Watch Squad inspection in the late 1870s/early 80s; in fact, given the rather casual attitude toward uniforms prevalent in those days, it was quite unlikely. However, in the late 1960s an event of this nature was rumored to have actually occurred, as well as a bowling ball being rolled down the steps of Memorial Hall and out to the Rotunda where a watch squad inspection was in progress. Similar incidents occurred regularly after then, particularly during the week prior to the Army-Navy football game. Legacy [ edit ] In addition to several works which discuss his actual exploits, McGiffin is memorialized in the comic novel The Return of Philo T. McGiffin, written by Naval Academy graduate David Poyer and published in 1983 by St. Martin's Press. The book tells of the misadventures of a namesake plebe, Philo T. McGiffin, during his first year at the Academy. The Hong Kong Maritime Museum displays a number of McGiffin’s personal belongings including: his uniform jacket from the Battle of the Yellow Sea, sword and porcelain collection. In 1947, the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission installed a historical marker outside the Washington County Courthouse, noting the McGiffin's historic importance.[2] References [ edit ] Further reading [ edit ] Works related to Biographical entry in "Real Soldiers of Fortune" at Wikisource by Richard Harding Davis; from Project GutenbergJimmy Kimmel has fired back at Roy Moore after the Republican Alabama Senate candidate issued a challenge to confront him “man to man.” In the wake of Tony Barbieri — a comedian who has appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! under the stage name Jake Byrd — reportedly disrupting an event at an Alabama church where Moore was speaking on Wednesday, Moore took to Twitter to call out Kimmel. The Brief Newsletter Sign up to receive the top stories you need to know right now. View Sample Sign Up Now “.@jimmykimmel If you want to mock our Christian values, come down here to Alabama and do it man to man,” Moore tweeted on Thursday. However, the late night host was quick to deliver a response that made it clear he had no intention of making the trip from Los Angeles to Alabama. “Sounds great Roy,” he wrote. “Let me know when you get some Christian values and I’ll be there!” Moore is currently facing sexual misconduct allegations from multiple women who say they were teenagers at the time. Write to Megan McCluskey at megan.mccluskey@time.com.Obsessed: Star Trek Continues and the Mirror Universe. Star Trek Continues recently released their third episode "Fairest of Them All," which is a direct follow-up to the Original Series episode "Mirror, Mirror." It tells the story of what happened when the mirror landing party returned to the ISS Enterprise. The attention to detail in set design, costumes, lighting, and even framing of shots is so meticulous that it is easy to forget that you're watching something shot in 2014, not 1967. While the onscreen story is intriguing, what is equally fascinating is everything that happened offscreen to make "Fairest of Them All" possible. As fans watching from home, it isn't easy to get a feel for what goes into making an episode like this. But thanks to Condé Nast Entertainment and WIRED, now you can. Obsessed: Star Trek Continues is a five-part behind-the-scenes look at our return to the Mirror Universe. In this episode of Continuing Mission we're by Captain Kirk himself, Vic Mignogna, along with director James Kerwin and, from Condé Nast, Michael Prenez-Isbell for a first-hand account of the documentary project, the creation of the Mirror Universe story, impressions of the set, and why Star Trek is an obsession for the cast and crew of STC.by David Stiles A New York Times writer once asked an Amish farmer, “Why did you build your barn walls five feet thick when you only needed to make them one foot thick?” The farmer’s simple answer was, “Why not?” The same question could be asked of anybody considering timber-framing a tiny house rather than stick-building it out of 2x4s. Using only a wooden mallet, a saw, and some chisels to make the time-consuming mortise joints can take five or ten times longer to complete the building. So why do it? The answer is simple: satisfaction. Knowing that you’re building in the time-honored fashion of craftsmen from past centuries, and completing a frame that is much stronger, more durable, and uses less wood, is very satisfying. Having written several do-it-yourself books on sheds, cabins, and workshops, we were asked several years ago by an Amish community to design a shed that they could sell to the public. They invited us to visit their farms and see how they worked. The weekend that we spent with them was truly amazing; like being transported back two centuries. We saw them loading up a horse-drawn wagon with timbers for a barn-raising the next day, just like in the movie Witness. We named our design “The Perfect Shed,” it has the perfect proportions (discovered by the ancient mathematician Euclid) of the ‘golden ratio.’ Having designed sheds for 30 years, we think the size is perfect too. It is 10ft x 12ft – neither too big nor too small. The shed is insulated throughout, with electric wiring inside the stuccoed walls, a sleeping loft, and room for a small kitchen. We think it would make a perfect studio, home office, music room, hobby workshop – or even a self-sustaining ‘eco-shed’ with a wood-burning stove, composting toilet and solar electric supply. We have plans for building it using 2x4s as well. To put our design to the test we teamed up with an artist/craftsman named Toby Haynes who comes every year from Cornwall, England to help us with construction. We built our own timber-framed Tudor cottage as you can see in the photo and even had a community barn-raising where neighbors – including the children – pitched in.Vanadium ‘CellCube’ batteries could power South Africa independent of Eskom We’ve seen questionable substances used for energy storage in the past year, from hemp to used cigarette butts, but the latest breakthrough seems more traditional than others. Vanadium, a metallic element falling between titanium and chromium on the periodic table, can be used for shed-sized batteries that according to the creators, lasts forever. Vanadium is a nifty little element and is used in creating strengthened steel alloy (it was part of the Ford Model T, for example). Batteries containing the element are not rare either — the initial patent for a vanadium-based battery came about in the late Eighties, but the new take on the battery may bridge the gap between electricity surplus and demand. Canadian energy company American Vanadium alongside Gildemeister energy solutions, is looking to implement batteries throughout American cities — ones that’ll feed electricity produced by renewable resources into buildings during peak electricity usage. The system is called CellCube, and American Vanadium believes that it’s the “missing link for supporting the development of renewable energy.” Essentially, it’s a new take on green power harnessing the grunt of solar and wind power (or the main power supply at night, when the building is not being used) created during the day (or when nature is blowing its nose), and feeds it back into the grid when electricity prices peak. The system uses vanadium as both the positive and negative poles of the battery, as the vanadium “redox” name suggests. It’s, in theory, a massive UPS. A garage-sized UPS. Although American Vanadium sits on the largest reserve of the element on the planet, the benefits for Africa are also clear. South Africa is home to the largest vanadium producer in the world, which makes this development particularly interesting for the lower portion of the continent. And while nearly almost 22% of the world’s electricity comes from renewable sources — with this figure constantly growing in Africa, these batteries may play vital roles (at least in the future) storing electricity for demanding periods, or when the lights go out.From The Wrap: “There’s zero chance that this wasn’t a fan of Milo’s (Yiannopoulos),” [Randazza] said. “The other zero percent here is it’s zero percent Milo’s fault.” Also a fat goose egg are the chances that Breitbart editor Yiannopoulos — who was recently suspended from Twitter for “targeted abuse” of Jones via the social media platform — will face any legal trouble over this ordeal, Randazza said.
the act, too The new channel of communication was so useful, it didn’t take long before the numbers stations had popped up all over the world. There was the colourfully named “Nancy Adam Susan”, “Russian Counting Man” and “Cherry Ripe” – the Lincolnshire Poacher’s sister station, which also contained bars of an English folk song. In name at least, the Buzzer fits right in. It also fits with a series of arrests across the United States back in 2010. The FBI announced that it had broken up a “long term, deep cover” network of Russian agents, who were said to have received their instructions via coded messages on shortwave radio – specifically 7887 kHz. Now North Korea are getting in on the act, too. On 14 April 2017, the broadcaster at Radio Pyongyang began: “I’m giving review works in elementary information technology lessons of the remote education university for No 27 expedition agents.” This ill-concealed military message was followed by a series of page numbers – No 69 on page 823, page 957 – which look a lot like code. It may come as a surprise that numbers stations are still in use – but they hold one major advantage. Though it’s possible to guess who is broadcasting, anyone can listen to the messages – so you don’t know who they are being sent to. Mobile phones and the internet may be quicker, but open a text or email from a known intelligence agency and you could be rumbled. It only becomes a numbers station in moments of crisis, such as if Russia were invaded It’s a compelling idea: the Buzzer has been hiding in plain sight, instructing a network of illicit Russian spies all over the world. There’s just one problem. The Buzzer never broadcasts any numbered messages. This doesn’t strictly matter, since one-time pads can be used to translate anything – from code words to garbled speech. “If this phone call was encrypted you’d hear “…enejekdhejenw…’ but then it would come out the other side sounding like normal speech,” says Stupples. But this would leave traces in the signal. To send information over the radio, essentially all you’re doing is varying the height or spacing of the waves being transmitted. For example, two low waves in a row means x, or three waves closer together means y. When a signal is carrying information, instead of neat, evenly spaced waves like ripples on the ocean, you’re left with a wave like the jagged silhouette of an ECG. This isn’t the Buzzer. Instead, many believe that the station is a hybrid of two things. The constant drone is just a marker, saying “this frequency is mine, this frequency is mine…” to stop people from using it. It only becomes a numbers station in moments of crisis, such as if Russia were invaded. Then it would function as a way to instruct their worldwide spy network and military forces on standby in remote areas. After all, this is a country around 70 times the size of the UK. It seems they’re already been practicing. “In 2013 they issued a special message, ‘COMMAND 135 ISSUED’ that was said to be test message for full combat readiness,” says Māris Goldmanis, a radio enthusiast who listens to the station from his home in the Baltic states. The mystery of the Russian radio may have been solved. But if its fans are right, let’s just hope that drone never stops. -- Join 800,000+ Future fans by liking us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter. If you liked this story, sign up for the weekly bbc.com features newsletter, called “If You Only Read 6 Things This Week”. A handpicked selection of stories from BBC Future, Earth, Culture, Capital, and Travel, delivered to your inbox every Friday.Criteo chief executive officer Eric Eichmann. Criteo Criteo, the France-based ad tech company, filed a lawsuit on Monday that alleges rival firm SteelHouse ran a "counterfeit click fraud scheme" that led to "substantial injury and damage" to its business and reputation. US-based SteelHouse and Criteo directly compete in the online advertising space. Criteo is a huge public ad tech company that crossed $1 billion in revenue in 2015, while SteelHouse is a private firm that is far smaller than Criteo in terms of top website market share. SteelHouse has raised $63.55 million in funding, according to CrunchBase. Both companies place ads by "retargeting" — dropping a cookie on a user's browser when they have visited a website — usually an ecommerce website. When the web user visits other websites, the publisher can offer that ecommerce company the chance to purchase ad space targeting that user, which will hopefully result in that person returning to the ecommerce site and making a purchase. Both Criteo and SteelHouse use a pay-per-click pricing model, which means they only generate revenue when users click on the ads they have served. The amount they can charge advertisers depends on their conversion rates (how many people who saw the ad clicked on it) and by measuring whether the ads served resulted in sales. Criteo alleges in the suit that SteelHouse "counterfeited clicks to trick e-tailers into attributing sales to SteelHouse that should have been attributed to Criteo, other competitors and partners, or direct traffic." The suit also claims SteelHouse used the scheme to falsely advertise to customers that it "consistently outperformed" Criteo in head-to-head comparisons, which led to Criteo losing important business. The suit says: "SteelHouse's — or, more accurately, StealHouse's — counterfeit click fraud has irreparably harmed and continues to irreparably harm both Criteo and the online advertising industry as a whole." Criteo is seeking "millions of dollars" in damages and legal fees. Criteo also wants injunctions to be placed on SteelHouse that will prohibit it from conducting in behavior it believes is in violation of laws related to false and misleading advertising, fraud, intentional interference with prospective economic advantage, libel, and unfair competition. SteelHouse sent Business Insider this statement on Wednesday: "It is disappointing that Criteo has chosen to publicly accuse and attack SteelHouse, particularly on a topic for which Criteo repeatedly has found itself in the hot seat. Criteo's response to SteelHouse's market success is an attempt to bully a smaller company in the courtroom and make disparaging statements and allegations that are counterproductive to the industry and the advertising community." SteelHouse also released a longer statement on its blog. Criteo sent Business Insider this statement on Tuesday: "On Monday 13th June 2016, Criteo (CRTO) filed a publicly available complaint against SteelHouse in the Central District of California. In line with Criteo's Corporate Communications Policy, we do not comment on ongoing legal investigations and as such will be making no further comment on this matter." How Criteo uncovered SteelHouse's alleged "counterfeit click fraud" scheme In late spring/early summer, Criteo said it lost its client TOMS after SteelHouse made the shoe retailer perform a head-to-head comparison between the two ad tech vendors' products. The analysis showed SteelHouse as the victor, the suit says. Criteo made TOMS perform the test again between November 2015 and January 2016 and SteelHouse won again, according to the suit. SteelHouse CEO Mark Douglas. Gary Miller/Getty Images So Criteo conducted a "detailed and costly data log analysis" to assess how it could improve its performance. It was then that the company found something amiss, the suit claims: Criteo's analysis revealed that during the head-to-head comparison a large number of clicks attributed to SteelHouse landed within seconds after clicks attributed to Criteo. These clicks appeared to be fraudulent because it is highly unlikely that an internet shopper could click on an advertisement, be taken to an e-tailer's website, go to a different publisher's website, see a different advertisement for the same e-tailer placed by a different marketing vendor, and click on the second advertisement within seconds of having clicked on the first advertisement. Criteo continued to monitor the situation using web traffic analysis software Telerik® FiddlerTM. The suit says Criteo learned SteelHouse was using a code to counterfeit clicks (you can read the full, technical explanation in the full suit here: Download PDF) which made it look as though it was responsible for bringing shoppers to e-tailers websites. In essence, SteelHouse loads an invisible, short-lived web page underneath its clients' web pages that falsely recognizes clicks for SteelHouse, Criteo alleges. The invisible page then quickly closes before anyone can see it, Criteo claims. A lot of advertisers measure performance using a method called "last click attribution," which gives credit to whichever company served the last ad a user clicked on before landing at a website. Criteo alleges in the suit that SteelHouse's scheme worked by ensuring its "counterfeit" clicks occured after the valid clicks. The suit claims SteelHouse informed Criteo the method had stopped when it hadn't. After monitoring the situation and losing another large client and ad spend to SteelHouse, in April, Criteo sent an email to SteelHouse stating its findings and saying that it "was open to hearing what [SteelHouse's] CEO intends to do to immediately remedy this situation," the suit says. Criteo chief revenue officer Mollie Spilman. Criteo Later that month, Criteo's chief revenue officer, Mollie Spilman, then met with SteelHouse's chief marketing officer, Patrizio Spagnoletto, in Criteo's New York office, according to the suit. Shortly after that meeting, SteelHouse's chief monetization officer, Chris Innes, sent Criteo an email reading: "Thanks for sending the logs as well as the detailed breakout below. We are acting on the data below over the next couple of days to remove the behavior," the suit says. In May, SteelHouse said it was implementing "global" code changes that would fix the issue, but Criteo said it subsequently learned that SteelHouse was making "false statements to e-tailers in an attempt to minimize its misconduct." The suit claims SteelHouse emailed clients saying the issue was limited to "less than 4% of click-based conversions" — a claim Criteo protests — and that a "discrepancy minimizer tool" was the source of the issue, rather than, as Criteo claims, that it deliberately counterfeited clicks. Later on that month, Criteo noticed SteelHouse "was still utilizing counterfeit clicks" but was using a different method that made the behavior more difficult to detect, the suit alleges. On May 23, Criteo sent a cease and desist letter to SteelHouse, calling on the company to stop the scheme. But in June — despite SteelHouse's claims it had stopped — the suit says Criteo discovered SteelHouse was still "counterfeiting clicks," which caused it to file its legal complaint. Criteo is seeking a jury trial.Bad news about the economy could cause you to pack on the pounds. This according to a new study from the University of Miami School of Business Administration published in the February edition of Psychological Science, a journal of the Association of Psychological Science. The study shows that when there is a perception of tough times, people tend to seek higher-calorie foods that will keep them satisfied longer. When subconsciously primed with such messages, a "live for today" impulse is triggered causing people to consume nearly 40 percent more food than when compared to a control group primed with neutral words. "The findings of this study come at a time when our country is slowly recovering from the onslaught of negative presidential campaign ads chalked with topics such as the weak economy, gun violence, war, deep political divides, just to name a few problem areas," said Juliano Laran, an assistant professor of marketing at the University of Miami School of Business Administration, who conducted the research with doctoral student Anthony Salerno. "Now that we know this sort of messaging causes people to seek out more calories out of a survival instinct, it would be wise for those looking to kick off a healthier new year to tune out news for a while." Further, when the same group primed with "tough times" messages was then told the food they were sampling was low-calorie, they consumed roughly 25 percent less of the food. According to the researchers this is because if people perceive that food resources are scarce, they place a higher value on food with more calories. METHODOLOGY Several studies were conducted as part of the research. In the first one, the researchers invited study subjects to join in a taste test for a new kind of M&M. Half the participants were given a bowl of the new candy and were told that the secret ingredient was a new, high-calorie chocolate. The other half of the participants also received a bowl of M&Ms but were told the new chocolate was low-calorie. All of the participants were told that they could sample the product in order to complete a taste test evaluation form. In reality, there was no difference in the M&Ms that the two groups were given to taste. The researchers were actually measuring how much participants consumed after they were exposed to posters containing either neutral sentences or sentences related to struggle and adversity. Those who were subconsciously primed to think about struggle and adversity ate closer to 70 percent more of the "higher-calorie candy" vs. "the lower-calorie" option, while those primed with neutral words did not significantly differ in the amount of M&M's consumed. "It is clear from the studies that taste was not what caused the reactions, it was a longing for calories," continued Laran. "These findings could have positive implications for individuals in the health care field, government campaigns on nutrition, and companies promoting wellness. And, certainly beware of savvy food marketers bearing bad news."Joe Wright Activist Post The legal battle between Monsanto and farmers around the world continues unabated. On one hand, farming groups of all sizes, as well as seed businesses, are increasingly suing Monsanto for widespread genetic manipulation; and also to counter Monsanto’s own vast patent infringement attacks against those unwitting enough to have their (even organic) crops cross-pollenated by Monsanto’s GM products. However, Monsanto exerts an overwhelming amount of pressure for perceived patent infringements, constantly suing farmers for their contamination of the farmers’ own land. Aside from being a billion dollar industry with their biotechnology used in genetically engineered seeds and companion products like Roundup herbicide, they use patent infringement lawsuits to thickly line their coffers. And apparently they have the support of the legal system in doing so. A huge verdict has come down on the side of Monsanto in the absurd amount of $1 billion to be paid by competitor DuPont. While it might seem like something to almost be happy about, since DuPont is yet another mega chemical corporation which has been implicated in damage to the environment and human health, this potentially sets a bad precedent to be cited in future legal verdicts, thus giving Monsanto even more legal standing and power. Perhaps most ominous of all, this legal victory was granted for a product that was never even on the market, taking on a new dimension in the area of patent infringement. (Source) TechDirt makes the following particularly salient points about the implications of this verdict against DuPont’s never-released Optimum GAT soybean line: Normally, companies can build on top of others’ products as patents are set to expire, so they’re ready to launch once the patent has expired. But, in this case, even trying to build new offerings in a lab for use later is apparently an insane billion dollar issue. Even worse, it means that any real competition, which will create more market-reasonable prices, gets significantly delayed as no one can prepare for when the patent expires. (Source) Beyond this, however, is the aspect that this verdict highlights the lack of regulation in the genetically modified food industry. In the world of pharmaceuticals and medical devices, for example, 35 U.S.C. § 271(e) specifically offers a research exemption for companies engaged in testing other products for development of their own proprietary offerings. This is presumably done to increase competition and allow for the development and introduction of low-cost generics in a timely manner. The verdict against DuPont* stifles competition by creating a monopoly on a certain form of agriculture. This gets into the convoluted world of patent law and territoriality, which ultimately leads to potential outsourcing of research to later be brought back to the U.S. when patents hit their expiration date. For those with a strong stomach, these legal and ethical arguments can be sifted through in the comments section HERE. Regardless of the minutiae of patent law, enforcement, and research outsourcing, the central issue remains that even in the world of the mega-chemical apparatus, Monsanto currently holds favor. Furthermore, it solidifies the position that Monsanto is pursuing against the individual farmer in cross-contamination claims, which have even involved Monsanto trespassing on private property, sampling a crop, then suing for royalties. This has led to the destruction of family businesses and farmer suicides. And where does it stop? Here are some interesting questions and answers posed by commenters to the above-linked comment section at patent law blog Patently-O. I own an apartment. Someone builds a drivein movie next door. Can they charge me the price of a ticket if I sit in my apartment and watch the movie? I send you a ‘free gift’ in the mail. A note says, if you don’t return the free gift in two days, you owe me a million dollars. Can I collect? HBO broadcasts its programming into the public domain. You watch it on your TV. Can they collect a fee? A patented dog with cute fur escapes. I find the a puppy in the wild that has cute fur. I breed the dog, and sell its puppies. It turns out, the puppy has the patented genes. Am I an infringer? A hunter with dogs pursues a fox. Another man kills its and takes the fox home. Does the second man owe the first damages? Reply “I send you a ‘free gift’ in the mail. A note says, if you don’t return the free gift in two days, you owe me a million dollars. Can I collect?” Download Your First Issue Free! Do You Want to Learn How to Become Financially Independent, Make a Living Without a Traditional Job & Finally Live Free? Download Your Free Copy of Counter Markets Do you have patent on methods of opening mail, wherein the mail comprises a free gift and a note setting a deadline for returning the gift, and wherein the note is read after the mail is opened? If so, you can sue for patent infringement. Just ask suckie. Reply Next time suckie goes fishing and catches the patented fish from the river, he just might owe Monsanto or its ilk damages for patent infringement. A patented fly lands on the counter. Suckie swats it. How much does suckie (owe) Monsanto for his infringement? Suckie mows his grass; and then suckie promptly receive a notice of infringement from Monsanto telling suckie that suckie’s lawn has patented grass in it, and that Monsanto is the exclusive supplier of lawn services for patented-grass lawns. You owe $100/week, the notice intones, for Monsanto’s expert patented-lawn care services. And the beat goes on. With new verdicts like this recent one, there is a fortress being built against anyone who wishes to opt-out of this provably damaging form of synthetic agriculture. Survival Solar Battery Charger - Free Today! As some of the comments above reveal, this doesn’t stop with the patenting of one single form of agriculture; an army of lawyers at the behest of mega-corporations are arrayed on the side of patenting all life. In the most telling example, over the last 30 years there have been 40,000 patents created and accepted on genes, comprising a full 20% of the human genome. (Source) The dialogue must continue if we are to retain our rightful ownership over the food we grow and consume, as well as the entire natural world in which we live. Or are we willing to accept that this is something we simply must compromise (or sacrifice completely) for technological advancement as a species? Please offer your viewpoints below in the comments section. *This case is set for review by the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Read other articles by Joe Wright HERE You can support this information by voting on Reddit HERE var linkwithin_site_id = 557381; linkwithin_text=’Related Articles:’Buenaventura Durruti (1896-1936) was one of the leading militants of the Iberian Anarchist Federation (FAI). When armed thugs in the pay of Spanish capitalists began attacking the anarchists in Spain in 1919-1923, culminating in the assassinations of Salvador Seguí and Francisco Comes of the anarcho-syndicalist CNT in 1923 and the imposition of the Primo de Rivera dictatorship, Durruti and other anarchists retaliated, assassinating the corrupt and extremely authoritarian Spanish Cardinal Soldevila. Durruti spent many years in exile, returning to Spain in 1931, where he robbed banks to provide financial support for the anarchist movement and was involved in the FAI’s failed Catalonian uprising of January 1932. When Spanish fascists attempted to overthrow the Republican government on July 19, 1936, Durruti and other anarchists helped put down the uprising in Barcelona by successfully attacking the military barracks there. Durruti became a member of the Anti-Fascist Militias’ Committee and led the “Durruti” Column to the Zaragoza front. The Durruti column was able to liberate much of Aragon, where numerous anarchist collectives were established. It was while Durruti was fighting in Aragon that he was interviewed by Pierre van Passen, a reporter from the Toronto Star newspaper. Below I reproduce excerpts from the original newspaper article (an English translation of a French translation of the original English article can be found in Daniel Guerin’s No Gods No Masters). Durruti had no illusions regarding the Republican government and was well aware that the anarchists could not expect to receive any support from other countries. He also anticipated Nazi Germany’s involvement in the Spanish Civil War. He was confident that the Spanish working class would be able to rebuild from the ruins of civil war because they carried “a new world” in their hearts. He was accidentally shot during the defence of Madrid in December 1936, and did not live to see the crushing of the anarchist social revolution in Spain. The Spanish Revolution: A New World in Our Hearts For us it is a question of crushing fascism once and for all. Yes, and in spite of government. No government in the world fights fascism to the death. When the bourgeoisie sees power slipping from its grasp it has recourse to fascism to maintain itself. The liberal government of Spain could have rendered the fascist elements powerless long ago. Instead it temporised and compromised and dallied. Even now at this moment, there are men in this government who want to go easy with the rebels. You can never tell, you know — the present government might yet need these rebellious forces to crush the workers’ movement… We know what we want. To us it means nothing that there is a Soviet Union somewhere in the world, for the sake of whose peace and tranquillity the workers of Germany and China were sacrificed to fascist barbarism by Stalin. We want the revolution here in Spain, right now, not maybe after the next European war. We are giving Hitler and Mussolini far more worry today with our revolution than the whole Red Army of Russia. We are setting an example to the German and Italian working class how to deal with fascism. I do not expect any help for a libertarian revolution from any government in the world. Maybe the conflicting interests in the various imperialisms might have some influence on our struggle. That is quite possible. Franco is doing his best to drag Europe into the conflict. He will not hesitate to pitch Germany in against us. But we expect no help, not even from our government in the last analysis. [Van Paasen interjects: ‘You will be sitting on a pile of ruins if you are victorious.’] We have always lived in slums and holes in the wall. We will know how to accommodate ourselves for a time. For you must not forget, we can also build. It is we who built the palaces and cities here in Spain and America and everywhere. We, the workers, can build others to take their place. And better ones. We are not in the least afraid of ruins. We are going to inherit the earth. There is not the slightest doubt about that. The bourgeoisie might blast and ruin its own world before it leaves the stage of history. We carry a new world, here in our hearts. That world is growing this minute. Aragon, September 1936 AdvertisementsWhile the internet took cover from the barrage of Xbox One announcement news yesterday, some pertinent details for us PC gamers slowly rose to the surface of the TV-TV-Sports-Dog news conference. Among them were the release date for Battlefield 4, what the Xbox One might mean for PC gamers, and the hint that the Kinect 2.0 will eventually be available for Windows. Via Polygon, Microsoft's Ben Kilgore confirmed that Kinect support will be released on Windows “at some point down the line.” Since the new Kinect sensor will be shipping as a part of the Xbox One retail unit, will there be a standalone Kinect offering? Or will we have to shell out for the full Xbox One to get access to a Kinect for Windows gameplay? We don't know. The implications of a Windows-connected Kinect are intriguing, but not groundbreaking. Windows drivers were created independently not long after the first Kinect sensor released, and its usefulness is questionable—how will a desktop Kinect read players sitting about two feet away, as opposed to reading players sitting across the living room? Meanwhile, LeapMotion is working on desktop motion control that tracks hands in close proximity.Have you been practicing third eye meditation and have you tried to activate your third eye? Then here is your chance to share your third eye experiences with people with the same interest. People are different, and we all have different results when it comes to spiritual development. By sharing your results, you get a chance to discuss your experiences with other people and listen to their results. So here is what I want you to do… below in the commends field, I want you to share what third eye exercises you have been using and what results you have gotten. Below is a video on some of the most common short and long term symptoms of third eye activation. You may have had similar experiences or you may have had completely different ones. Third Eye Results Here are some of the most common opening results: headaches pressure on forehead tingling sensation on forehead Vivid dreams seeing lights while meditating seeing figures and shapes while meditating becoming more aware and alert improved creativity A popping sound from withing your head connecting with your intuition feeling part of something greater The list goes on, and spiritual development can be experienced in many different ways. The results may also vary in intensity. Some have very intense symptoms, while others barely feel anything. Keeping a spiritual journal can help you notice those subtle signs that your third eye is opening and awakening. My Personal Experience Here are some of my early experiences with third eye activation. I had been practicing meditation for a long while, and became extremely fascinated by the third eye and the chakras. After researching the topic, I decided to practice third eye meditation, as I wanted to feel more connected to my intuition and spirituality. I Started with the ancient thoh chanting meditation for 5 days, 24 hours apart, and got almost instant results. I did not know what to expect from this exercise, as I had not research the different symptoms one would get from third eye activation, as I wanted to be uninfluenced and keep an open mind. Once you are aware of the symptoms you may get, your mind can easily generate false results and you then become uncertain whether or not you actually are experiencing any symptoms at all. Pressure and Tingling After the first day of this exercise I did not feel much, but after the following days I would start to feel more and more on my third eye area. I would get a pressure on my forehead, and I would get an odd tingling sensation, like a spider was running on my forehead. I would keep trying to brush off something from my forehead. This feeling stayed for a couple for days. I did not hear a popping sound like some people do, but one night I did hear a loud sound, but was half asleep, so did not know whether it was real or a dream. The pressure I would feel would go from just being on my forehead to become an intense pressure all around my head. Whenever I would meditate, I had to stop halfway through the exercise, as it felt like my head was being crushed. It was sort of an underwater kind-of feeling… like a pressure from all around. This slowly subsided after a couple of weeks, and I could finally complete my meditations once again. Increased Awareness After I had completed the thoh chanting meditation, I continue with other types of third eye meditation. However, I did make sure to not only practice third eye meditation, but also practice other types of meditations, such as mindfulness, grounding, visualizations and so on. I also made sure to regularly practice full chakra meditations to keep a healthy balance inside my entire chakra system. I began to experience this out-of-the-blue alertness or awareness, that I couldn’t really describe. It was like my eyes would constantly detect things out of the corner of my eyes, but there was nothing to be seen. Either my eyes simply got extremely alert, detecting even the smallest movements around me, or it detected things not belonging to the physical world, as there would be noting to be seen once I turned my head. Either way, this would happen several times a day, and I felt like my vision had broadened… Like I was able to take in more information around me, because of this new alertness of my eyes. Precognitive Dreams I would also begin to get vivid dreams and precognitive dreams. I kept a dream journal to document my dreams, and each night I would get small glimpses of the next day, predicting things from the following day. So these were some of my early third eye experiences. But when I was starting with my third eye activation, I found it extremely difficult to find some clear and structured directions of what exactly I needed to do and how to do it. That is why I have created a simple and straightforward step-by-step guided plan for third eye activation. So check out my eBook “The Third Eye – A 17 Step Activation Plan” on Amazon, where I have made it as easy as possible, giving you a clear plan taking you through the preparation phase, the opening phase, and the activation phase, one step at the time. Your Experiences So leave a comment and share your own personal story, which can be a help for other people, who are in the same situation as you. Love and Light!How to Make Your Own Home Automation System For Under $40 [DIY Project] While there are tons of smart home devices available in the market, the truth is that you’ll need a big budget to invest in a sophisticated home automation setup off the shelf. For instance, a standard LIFX Smart Bulb costs $59, and considering an average home has at least 12-15 light points, you’ll need to spend a staggering $885 on bulbs. And that’s not it. If you wish to combine that with an additional temperature sensor or motion sensor, you’ll also have to buy a central automation controller, which could take the total cost to around $1000. Don’t believe the math? Have a look at the below screenshot from Amazon for the above home automation setup: But what if I told you that it’s possible to build a DIY home automation system at a fractional cost, like, as low as $40? Won’t that be awesome? Of course, creating such a setup requires a fair bit of technical expertise, but for people who are willing to climb up the learning curve, the ROI is exponentially high. What You’ll Get: By the end of the tutorial, you’ll be able to build an affordable, scalable and intuitive home automation system that has realistic home automation use-cases, and which can be controlled easily from your iOS/Android device. Using the DIY home automation setup, you’ll be able be monitor room temperature, track motion, dim lights/fans, and turn on any electrical device from your computer or smartphone. To give you an idea of how the user interface would look, take a look at the screenshot below (it’s exactly the kind of interface you’ll get, if you follow the tutorial). Stuff You’ll Need for the project: Here’s a list of all the items that you’ll need to purchase for creating a home automation setup. All the items can easily be purchased from Amazon (the links have been attached): HiLetgo New Version NodeMCU LUA WiFi Internet ESP8266 Development ESP8266 is a highly integrated chip designed for the needs of a new connected world. It offers a complete and self-contained Wi-Fi networking solution, allowing it to either host the application or... Available: In stock $8.39 9.49 Buy Now amazon.com amazon.com Tolako 5v Relay Module for Arduino ARM PIC AVR MCU 5V Indicator... The Arduino 5V relay module is suitable for SCM development, home appliance control. It is with 5V~12V TIL control signal which can control DC / AC signal. The module is perfect for common Arduino... Available: In stock $5.50 Buy Now amazon.com amazon.com TMP36 - Temperature Sensor Enter your model number to make sure this fits.; High accuracy solid state temperature sensor; Voltage Input: 2.7V to 5.5V DC; Output range: 0.1V (-40°C) to 2.0V (150°C); Temperature range: -40°C to... Buy Now amazon.com amazon.com JBtek Breadboard Power Supply Module 3.3V/5V For Arduino Board Solderless Breadboard For MB102 bread board, two way independent control, Can be switched to 0V, 3.3V, 5V. On-board Two sets of 3.3V, 5V DC output pins, Facilitate the external leads. A plastic lens is used for high... Available: In stock $6.99 Buy Now amazon.com amazon.com microtivity IB400 400-point Experiment Breadboard This breadboard is ideal for making electrical connections and for testing purposes. The breadboard has 400 point with standard 0.1" (2.54mm) pitch. Packaged in a zip lock bag. Available: In stock Buy Now amazon.com amazon.com Icstation 4 Channel UART I2C Logic Level Converter Module Bi-Directional 5V to... If you’ve ever tried to connect a 3.3V device to a 5V system, you know what a challenge it can be. This bi-directional logic level converter is a small device that safely steps down 5V signals to... Available: In stock $2.99 Buy Now amazon.com amazon.com Crunching the above numbers, the cost of running your home automation pilot project comes down to around $39. That’s freaking awesome, considering a typical automation system costs a lot more, and can’t be custom-made to suit your individual needs. DISCLAIMER: Please note that the NodeMCU based system solves a basic home automation use-case (controlling devices and monitoring environment), and it’s NOT a replacement/alternative to mass market automation products. Of course, we can build up on the basic use-case, and create more intricate setups, like IFTTT integration or inter-node communication, but they’re out of the scope for this article. We will be adding more advanced DIY home automation tutorials in the future. Setting up the Hardware Once you have all the above mentioned hardware parts, the next step is to connect them. Now, instead of showing you the exact circuit diagram of the final circuit, I thought it would be a better idea to gradually build it, so that you have a better understanding of how to connect additional components in the future. First, we start by connecting a single relay with our NodeMCU controller. Here’s the circuit diagram for it: As you can see from the above diagram, I powered up the NodeMCU from a 3.3V/5V power module. Now you might be wondering why I’m using an external 3.3V/5V power supply, when I can get the power directly from NodeMCU. Well, I know some of you might have already guessed it, here’s exactly why I went for an external power supply: The relay needs 5V input signal and has a high current drawing tendency, especially while switching. Since we would be connecting a temperature and motion sensor at later point, it makes sense to have a dedicated power supply for them. The external power module can be powered from a general-purpose 12V, 1.0A DC adapter, and can provide two different voltage levels (5.0V and 3.3V) for powering the circuitry (convenient for expanding the scope). Next, I connected the IN pin of the SMD relay to a bi-directional level shifter, instead of connecting it directly to D7 pin of NodeMCU. Again, the reason for this choice is simple. As the relay operates on 5V, we would need to level shift the HIGH signal (3.3V) coming from NodeMCU to relay’s HIGH (5.0V). Lastly, I have connected the relay in series with my bulb/electrical appliance, so that it acts as a switch (or circuit breaker!). Here’s a more simplified diagram of the connected relay circuit: Now, there are three terminals on the relay: NO (Normally Open), Normally Connected (NC) and Common (C). As shown in the diagram, the C terminal of the relay would be connected to live wire on the power supply, while the NO terminal would get directly connected to the bulb. In case you’re wondering why I have connected them in such a manner, take a look at the pictorial representation of how these terminals work: As you can see, the NC terminal is connected to the C terminal when the circuit is open, while the NO terminal gets connected to the C terminal, only when the circuit gets closed. Since we need to turn on the bulb when D7 pin gets high, we need to use the NO terminal. Connecting it to an IoT Cloud service Now that we are done with setting up the hardware, the next step is to connect the circuit with an IoT cloud service. But how do we do that? After all, in order to connect to any cloud service, we would need to be first connected to the Internet
makes you who you are. Wealth is waking up and looking around saying, “There is nowhere else I would rather be, nobody else with whom I would rather be experiencing this moment, and nothing else I would rather be doing.” Yes, the money is a wonderful tool in facilitating that but that is all it is – a tool. Alone, it isn’t enough. It will never be enough. Money should never be the most interesting thing about you. In any event, the Johnson family hasn’t had anything to do with Johnson & Johnson, at least in any meaningful sense, for decades. The $257 billion enterprise is the highest quality, most diversified health care blue chip in the world. I have little doubt that, all else equal, the probabilities indicate a decent-size block today should be worth an obscene amount in fifty years due to that structural advantage I mentioned, even if there are ugly periods in the interim. Professional non-family management has had the reins for more than a generation as the Johnson family stake continues to fall in firm importance, crowded out by the shares you, your friends, and your family hold in index funds, mutual funds, dividend reinvestment plans, and brokerage accounts. If you told me I could only hold ten stocks for the rest of my life, it would be on the list. Footnotes 1 His brother, Edward Mead, was no longer involved in operations by this point. In 1895, he started a side business called The American Ferment Company. In 1897, he left Johnson & Johnson to work on it full time, setting up shop in Jersey City, New Jersey. In 1905, he formerly incorporated as Mead Johnson & Company; the specialty product being digestive aid. A few years later, in 1910, Mead Johnson & Company developed a blockbuster infant formula that had the distinction of being the first physician-recommended breast milk replacement in the United States. The firm ended up moving to Evansville, Indiana, to get better access to the raw agricultural commodities it needed, and grew fantastically. The role of CEO passed down the line, from father-to-son, for three generations until Bristol-Myers acquired it in a buyout. The deal, announced in August of 1967, involved an all-stock purchase (both common and preferred) worth $240 million. Wikipedia, which sources Reckert, Clare M. “Exchange of Stock Set; Merger Deal Set by Bristol-Myers“, The New York Times, August 25, 1967, states that prior year sales were $131 million with earnings of $7.3 million. In 2009, Bristol Myers Squibb (as it was now known, following other mergers) conducted a two-part split-off (or “carve-out” as it is sometimes called) that involved an initial public offering for 10% of the business. Mead Johnson, which had expanded to $2.9 billion in sales by this point, raised $720 million in gross proceeds, far exceeding the $562.5 million that had been hoped. The cash helped strengthen Bristol Myers Squibb’s own balance sheet. The remaining 90% of the stock was made available to shareholders who were willing to swap their stock in Bristol Myers Squibb for stock in Mead Johnson. This facilitated what amounted to a tax-free asset exchange and a massive share repurchase. Today, Mead Johnson is a stand-alone, $18 billion nutritional behemoth. The Kennon family will forever have a soft spot for it because when my youngest sister was born, she had a case of colic so severe my parents were beyond desperate. Nothing worked. No matter how many tests were run, no matter how many physicians looked her over, they couldn’t figure out what was wrong with her; she’d scream for hours and hours on end. Finally, one suggested a specialty sub-product known as Nutramigen. My parents were broke at the time, having just survived the bankruptcy a few years prior and put everything they could scrape together into their new (now very successful) business, which was operating in a two hundred square foot garage of the house we rented at the time. The formula was several times more expensive than everything else that was available. They couldn’t afford it but they didn’t care. They were willing to try anything; to do anything. Within a few days, it was as if a miracle had occurred. The crying stopped and she was a normal baby. My dad insists it is some of the best money he’s ever spent in his entire life.Pin Flip 0 Shares One of the most beautiful, historic locations throughout England has to be York. Steeped in heritage, this city has proved to be a focal point for many major political events. Let’s start by providing a little history about York without giving too much away and spoiling your own trip to this magnificent city. In 866 York was captured by the Vikings and for many years became a port for extensive Viking trading routes throughout northern Europe until they were later driven out! In 1068, the people of York rebelled and started to build the architecture that we see the remains of today. The first York Minster was created and development of medieval city walls which are still in existence to this very day were established to help defend the city from potential attacks. So back to the present day and just having this brief knowledge gives you a sense of excitement as you approach York and enter the city centre. The first thing you will notice is the fact that much of York’s centre is still within those city walls! Driving through tunnels formed out of the city walls is unique, at least I have yet to visit another city that has these sort of features carved into their landscape. There are an abundance of attractions that you experience whilst in York, the problem is that if you are only visiting there for the day, you simply won’t have enough time to see everything. Here are just a few things you can see visit while inside the city walls of York. York Minster The dominant feature of York has to be the Minster, which still stands as one of the largest Gothic cathedrals in Northern Europe. Design and construction of York Minster began in the early 13th Century, with each wing being constructed over a period of time. Not only is the cathedral filled with history and grand architectural design but it’s place in the centre of York makes this an even more important structure. Even if exploring the interior of cathedrals is not your thing, I would certainly recommend checking out York Minster simply because of how archaic and beautifully constructed this place is. Stand outside those large wooden doors, close your eyes and think about what time would have been like back in the 13th Century or even earlier when the Vikings had control of this city. Visiting this part of the country will certainly enhance your levels of British history even if your interest levels are not particularly high. York Castle Museum Over the last nine centuries, a combination of castles, prisons, law courts and other affiliated buildings have sequentially come together to form York Castle. However, now we are left with just Clifford’s Tower sat on top of a mound, stereotypically overlooking the city as a perfect spot to defend from potential attacks. Located just inside the medieval city wall remains, the tower is in close proximity to the Tower Castle Museum which provides tourists with a great experience in learning about the full depths of historic York. During our day trip to York, we opted to purchase the annual pass which allows visitors to experience both York Castle Museum and also Yorkshire Museum which is located nearby. If you plan on visiting York multiple times in a year, this is a really great deal because you could likely visit both museums and spend at least a half day in each of them and learn something new every time. Our visit to York Castle Museum was relatively quick, but it was still long enough to learn about life in a Victorian Street (Kirkgate) which was a really cool experience as inside the museum they have a street designed with Victorian shops either side of the cobbles. The museum is actually located inside the former prison walls and this is part of the tour to explore some of the original cells. Medieval City Walls The miles of Roman walls that are still intact in York make this a must-see for any visitor. In fact, not only can you see them but you can walk up the steps and walk around the York City walls which is a great experience (though a word of caution, when they are wet they can get pretty slick and there is nothing in terms of barriers on one side so you should be cautious!). The original walls were built around 71 AD by the Romans and part of these foundations are still in place to form a section of the current day walls. The walls are punctuated by four main gatehouses or more commonly known as bars as their names suggest. These are all visible around the city, the most interesting being Micklegate Bar which is located at the southern side of York. There is not much more to say than the fact York is absolutely full of history and it’s somewhere you have to go and explore for yourself. The impressive aspect of York is how the city has developed in recent years yet has still maintained the heritage that is apparent throughout so many aspects of the city lifestyle and architecture. We had a really great time in York, our only regret is that we didn’t get to see as much as we wanted. Have you visited York before?Welcome to the coldest village on Earth where the temperature can hit -71.2C, mobiles don't work... but homes still have outside toilets Russian village of Oymyakon has lowest recorded temperature for any permanently inhabited location Nothing grows so locals live off diet of reindeer meat and horse meat but never suffer malnourishment Locals keep their cars running all day for fear of them not starting again if turned off Digging graves for a funeral can take up to three days as ground has to be thawed with hot coals Advertisement If you thought it was cold where you are at the moment then a visit to the Russian village of Oymyakon might just change your mind. With the average temperature for January standing at -50C, it is no wonder the village is the coldest permanently inhabited settlement in the world. Known as the 'Pole of Cold', the coldest ever temperature recorded in Oymyakon was -71.2C. SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO A woman walks over an ice-encrusted bridge in Yakutsk Village of Oymyakon, which is considered to be the coldest permanently inhabited settlement in the world The thick fur of these East Siberian Laikas puppies keeps them warm: Oymyakon is 750 metres above sea level, which means that the length of a day varies from 3 hours in December to 21 hours in the summer The village, which is home to around 500 people, was originally a stop-over for reindeer herders who would water their flocks from the thermal spring A Communist-era monument marking the record-breaking temperature of -71.2 recorded in the village in 1924. It reads 'Oymyakon, the Pole of Cold' FROZEN PEN INK AND GLASSES STUCK TO YOUR FACE: THE TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS OF LIFE AT -52C Daily problems that come with living in Oymyakon include pen ink freezing, glasses freezing to people's faces and batteries losing power. Locals are said to leave their cars running all day for fear of not being able to restart them. Another problem caused by the frozen temperatures is burying dead bodies, which can take up to three days. The earth must first have thawed sufficiently in order to dig, so a bonfire is lit for a couple of hours. Hot coals are then pushed to the side and a hole a couple of inches deep is dug. The process is repeated for several days until the hole is deep enough to bury the coffin. This is the lowest recorded temperature for any permanently inhabited location on Earth and the lowest temperature recorded in the Northern Hemisphere The village, which is home to around 500 people, was, in the 1920s and 1930s, a stopover for reindeer herders who would water their flocks from the thermal spring. But the Soviet government, in its efforts to settle nomadic populations, believing them to be difficult to control and technologically and culturally backward, made the site a permanent settlement. Ironically, Oymyakon actually means 'non-freezing water' due to a nearby hot spring. RELATED ARTICLES Previous 1 Next No takers for UK's biggest nudist holiday firm as owner... Is this the most ridiculous photocall ever? Freezing models... Share this article Share Most homes in Oymyakon still burn coal and wood for heat and enjoy few modern conveniences. Nothing grows there so people eat reindeer meat and horsemeat. A single shop provides the town's bare necessities and the locals work as reindeer-breeders, hunters and ice-fisherman. Doctors say the reason the locals don't suffer from malnutrition is that their animals' milk contains a lot of micronutrients. Unsurprisingly, locals are hardened to the weather and unlike in other countries - where a flurry of snow brings things grinding to a halt, Oymyakon's solitary school only shuts if temperatures fall below -52C. Farmer Nikolai Petrovich waters his cows at a patch of thermal water on the edge of Oymyakon. Despite its terrible winters, in June, July and August temperatures over 30c are not uncommon Cows walk back to their sheds after watering in the Oymyakon thermal spring Oymyakon village at dawn with a plume of smoke rising from the heating plant. Most people still burn coal and wood for heat. When coal deliveries are irregular the power station starts burning wood. If the power ceases, the town shuts down in about five hours, and the pipes freeze and crack The village is located around 750 metres above sea level and the length of a day varies from 3 hours in December to 21 hours in the summer. And despite its terrible winters, in June, July and August temperatures over 30c are not uncommon. There are few modern conveniences in the village - with many buildings still having outdoor toilets - and most people still burn coal and wood for heat. When coal deliveries are irregular the power station starts burning wood. If the power ceases, the town shuts down in about five hours, and the pipes freeze and crack. VIDEO Check out just how cold it gets with guide Bolot... click here to learn more about Yakutsk Alexander Platonov, 52, a retired teacher, dressed for a quick dash to the outdoor toilet at his home in Oymyakon. Travel companies offer tourists the opportunity to visit the village and sample life in the freezing conditions A patch of the thermal spring on the outskirts of Oymyakon. The village is known as the 'Pole of Cold'. Daily problems that come with living in Oymyakon include pen ink freezing, glasses freezing to people's faces and batteries losing power. Locals are said to leave their cars running all day for fear of not being able to restart them A view from the M56 Kolyma Highway into Oymyakon, otherwise known as The Road of Bones. The road has become a challenge for adventure motorcyclists Oymyakon lies a two day drive from the city of Yakutsk, the regional capital, which has the coldest winter temperatures for any city in the world. It is served by two airports and is home to a university, schools, theatres and museums. Daily problems that come with living in Oymyakon include pen ink freezing, glasses freezing to people's faces and batteries losing power. Locals are said to leave their cars running all day for fear of not being able to restart them. Even if there was coverage for mobile phone reception the phones themselves would not work in such cold conditions. Another problem caused by the frozen temperatures is burying dead bodies, which can take anything up to three days. The earth must first have thawed sufficiently in order to dig it, so a bonfire is lit for a couple of hours. Hot coals are then pushed to the side and a hole couple of inches deep is dug. The process is repeated for several days until the hole is deep enough to bury the coffin. Travel companies offer tourists the opportunity to visit the village and sample life in the freezing conditions. A toilet on the tundra at a petrol stop on the road to Oymyakon (left) and a young student poses for a portrait at a bus station in Yakutsk. A digger delivers fresh coal to the heating plant in Oymyakon A petrol station on the way to Oymyakon. Cars are generally left running full time by locals who fear they won't restart if turned off Oymyakon's only shop caters for the needs of the village's 500 people A man leaves his van and walks into Oymyakon's only shop as paper waste is burnt in a 40 gallon drumAs someone who teaches both history and international relations, I have one foot in each camp. I'm interested in what has already happened. And I'm interested in what will happen next. In my teaching and my writing, I try to locate connecting tissue that links past to present. Among the devices I've employed to do that is the concept of an "American Century." That evocative phrase entered the American lexicon back in February 1941, the title of an essay appearing in Life magazine under the byline of the publishing mogul Henry Luce. In advancing the case for U.S. entry into World War II, the essay made quite a splash, as Luce intended. Yet the rush of events soon transformed "American Century" into much more than a bit of journalistic ephemera. It became a summons, an aspiration, a claim, a calling, and ultimately the shorthand identifier attached to an entire era. By the time World War II ended in 1945, the United States had indeed ascended—as Luce had forecast and perhaps as fate had intended all along—to a position of global primacy. Here was the American Century made manifest. I love Luce's essay. I love its preposterous grandiosity. I delight in Luce's utter certainty that what we have is what they want, need, and, by gum, are going to get. "What can we say and foresee about an American Century?" he asks. "It must be a sharing with all peoples of our Bill of Rights, our Declaration of Independence, our Constitution, our magnificent industrial products, our technical skills." I love, too, the way Luce guilelessly conjoins politics and religion, the son of Protestant missionaries depicting the United States as the Redeemer Nation. "We must undertake now to be the Good Samaritan of the entire world." How to do that? To Luce it was quite simple. He pronounced it America's duty "as the most powerful and vital nation in the world... to exert upon the world the full impact of our influence, for such purposes as we see fit and by such means as we see fit." Would God or Providence have it any other way? Luce's essay manages to be utterly ludicrous and yet deeply moving. Above all, this canonical assertion of singularity—identifying God's new Chosen People—is profoundly American. (Of course, I love Life in general. Everyone has a vice. Mine is collecting old copies of Luce's most imaginative and influential creation—and, yes, my collection includes the issue of February 17, 1941.) Alas, the bracing future that Luce confidently foresaw back in 1941 has in our own day slipped into the past. If an American Century ever did exist, it's now ended. History is moving on—although thus far most Americans appear loath to concede that fact. Historians should be the first to acknowledge the difficulty of identifying historical turning points. In the spring of 2003, around the time U.S. troops were occupying Saddam Hussein's various palaces, President George W. Bush felt certain he'd engineered one. More than a few otherwise-sober observers agreed. But "Mission Accomplished" turned out to be "Mission Just Begun." Those who celebrated the march on Baghdad as a world-altering feat of arms ended up with egg on their faces. Still, I'm willing to bet that future generations will look back on the period between 2006 and 2008 as the real turning point. Here was the moment when what remained of the American Century ran out of steam and ground to a halt. More specifically, when Bush gave up on victory in Iraq (thereby abandoning expectations of U.S. military power transforming the Greater Middle East) and when the Great Recession brought the U.S. economy to its knees (the consequences of habitual profligacy coming home to roost), Luce's formulation lost any resemblance to reality. Politicians insist otherwise, of course. Has the American Century breathed its last? Mitt Romney, front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination, leaves no room for doubt where he stands on the matter: I am guided by one overwhelming conviction and passion: This century must be an American Century. In an American Century, America has the strongest economy and the strongest military in the world. In an American Century, America leads the free world and the free world leads the entire world.... This is America's moment. We should embrace the challenge, not shrink from it, not crawl into an isolationist shell, not wave the white flag of surrender, nor give in to those who assert America's time has passed. That is utter nonsense. Advertisement Foremost among those waving that white flag of surrender, according to Romney, is President Barack Obama. Yet Obama's expressed views align closely with those of his would-be challenger. "America is back," the president declared during his recent State of the Union address. "Anyone who tells you otherwise, anyone who tells you that America is in decline or that our influence has waned, doesn't know what they're talking about." As with most contemporary political speeches, this qualifies as pure malarkey. Among the conjurers of imperial dreams in Washington, the American Century might live on. In places like Newark or Cleveland or Detroit, where real people live, it's finished. As a member of the historical fraternity, count me among those more than content to consign the American Century to the past. After all, what's past becomes our turf—precisely where the American Century ought to be. Exploration of that myth-enshrouded territory has barely begun. Grasping what this era actually signified and what it yielded promises to be an exciting enterprise, one that may leave the reputations of heroes like John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan a bit worse for wear. From the jaded, not to say cynical, observer of international politics, the passing of the American Century elicits a more ambivalent response. I'd like to believe that the United States will accept the outcome gracefully. Rather than attempting to resurrect Luce's expansive vision, I'd prefer to see American policy makers attend to the looming challenges of multipolarity. Averting the serial catastrophes that befell the planet starting just about 100 years ago, when the previous multipolar order began to implode, should keep them busy enough. But I suspect that's not going to happen. The would-be masters of the universe orbiting around the likes of Romney and Obama won't be content to play such a modest role. With the likes of Robert Kagan as their guide—"It's a wonderful world order," he writes in his new book, The World America Made (Knopf)—they will continue to peddle the fiction that with the right cast of characters running Washington, history will once again march to America's drumbeat. Evidence to support such expectations is exceedingly scarce—taken a look at Iraq lately?—but no matter. Insiders and would-be insiders will insist that, right in their hip pocket, they've got the necessary strategy. Strategy is a quintessential American Century word, ostensibly connoting knowingness and sophistication. Whether working in the White House, the State Department, or the Pentagon, strategists promote the notion that they can anticipate the future and manage its course. Yet the actual events of the American Century belie any such claim. Remember when Afghanistan signified victory over the Soviet empire? Today, the genius of empowering the mujahedin seems less than self-evident. Strategy is actually a fraud perpetrated by those who covet power and are intent on concealing from the plain folk the fact that the people in charge are flying blind. With only occasional exceptions, the craft of strategy was a blight on the American Century. What does the passing of the American Century hold? To answer that question, inquisitive students of international relations might turn for instruction to television commercials now being aired by Allstate Insurance. The ads feature a character called Mayhem, who unbeknownst to you, hangs onto the side of your car or perches on your rooftop concocting mischief. The message is clear. Be alert: Mayhem is always lurking in your path. Throughout the American Century, Mayhem mocked U.S. strategic pretensions. His agents infiltrated the National Security Council, sowing falsehoods. Mayhem whispered in the ear of whoever happened to occupy the Oval Office. When the Joint Chiefs of Staff met in the "Tank," he had a seat at the table. Mayhem freely roamed the halls of the Capitol (although Congressional dysfunction of our own day may have rendered such efforts redundant). Having learned nothing from the American Century, present-day strategists—the ones keen to bomb Iran, confront China, and seize control of outer space as the "ultimate high ground"—will continue the practice of doing Mayhem's bidding. As usual, the rest of us will be left to cope with the havoc that results, albeit this time without the vast reserves of wealth and power that once made an American Century appear plausible. Brace yourself.Portrait of an organization in crisis and decline The AFL-CIO convention By Shannon Jones 12 September 2013 The proceedings of the AFL-CIO quadrennial convention held this week in Los Angeles underscore the deepening crisis of this moribund and bureaucratic organization and its isolation and alienation from the broad masses of working people. The union federation is hemorrhaging members. The convention convened in the wake of the passage of right-to-work legislation, barring the collection of union dues as a condition of employment, in Michigan and Indiana long considered bastions of the trade union movement. It also follows the enactment of anti-worker legislation by Republican Governor Scott Walker in Wisconsin undermining collective bargaining rights for public employees. The success of these measures, which the unions were unable and unwilling to seriously oppose, sent shock waves through the AFL-CIO apparatus. That is not because the measures will be used to further undermine the conditions of workers. On the contrary, it is because the elimination of the automatic dues check-off poses a direct threat to the lavish salaries and expense accounts of union executives. Those in the union hierarchy are well aware that hundreds of thousands of workers, repelled and alienated by the unions, will cease to pay dues once no longer required to do so. With the spread of right-to-work laws the decades-long decline in union membership is threatening to become a rout. In 2012, union membership in the private sector fell to just 6.6 percent, the lowest percentage in 100 years. Overall, the percentage of workers belonging to unions fell to 11.3 percent in 2012, down from 11.8 percent in 2011. None of this altered the mind numbing and stage managed-character of the convention proceedings. As always there was not even a hint of opposition to the pro-corporate policies that produced this disaster. Indeed, convention delegates re-elected AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka and Secretary Treasurer Liz Schuler, who both ran unopposed. However, remarks made by Trumka to the New York Times before the start of the convention testify to the pessimism bordering on despair gripping the union hierarchy. “The crisis for labor has deepened,” said Trumka. “It’s at a point where we really must do something differently. We really have to experiment.” He continued, “We’re trying a lot of things, and some of them will work and some of them won’t.” At the top of the AFL-CIO convention agenda was a proposal to shore up its income by combining with middle-class organizations such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the environmentalist Sierra Club and Hispanic advocacy group National Council of La Raza. Facing internal opposition, the AFL-CIO retreated from plans to give these organizations full membership and governing powers. However, a convention resolution titled “A Broad, Inclusive and Effective Labor Movement,” calls for AFL-CIO affiliated unions “to innovate and experiment with new forms of membership and representation.” The proposal to combine with conservative, upper middle-class organizations—which also function as adjuncts to the Democratic Party—is a further indication of the anti-working class character of the AFL-CIO. It is not a workers organization, but the vehicle for a privileged upper middle class layer, completely hostile to the interests of the workers that are compelled to pay dues to support it. In addition to these alliances the AFL-CIO is looking for new ways to expand its income off the backs of millions of non-union workers. For example, the United Auto Workers is pushing German carmaker Volkswagen to establish a German-style works council at its plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee over the heads of VW workers. The UAW, in close collaboration with the German IG Metal trade union, has been seeking to convince VW management to bring in the union as an industrial police force at its Tennessee factory where starting pay is just $12 an hour. As part of its credentials the UAW is pointing to its role in slashing new hire pay at American carmakers as well as touting the intervention of President Bob King to convince German Opel workers to revote on a concessions laden contract they had earlier rejected by a wide margin. Unfortunately for the UAW, in the event VW agrees to the deal, workers at the factory will still have to vote to ratify such an agreement. This is unlikely given the broad hostility the UAW has earned due to its unbroken record of concessions and betrayals. A number of actions taken at the convention further underscore the utterly reactionary character of the AFL-CIO. In a political boost to the Obama administration’s drive to war against Syria, Trumka uncritically accepted the unsubstantiated claims of chemical weapons use by the Syrian government, declaring “I know the international community is not responding effectively enough to help those people.” He continued, “We believe that the use of chemical weapons or any kinds of weapons like that against your own people is a deplorable act.” While holding back from an explicit endorsement of military action, Trumka indicated that was being considered, saying the executive council would “ultimately make a decision.” In a telling episode the AFL-CIO hastily cancelled an event featuring healthcare provider Kaiser Permanente after the National Union of Healthcare Workers threatened to picket and leaflet in protest. The company is demanding huge concessions from employees including the elimination of defined benefit pension plans and retiree healthcare. When asked why Kaiser had been invited to the convention Trumka arrogantly replied, “First of all, there has been a Kaiser Permanente partnership for some time and many of the unions have worked through that. Does that mean it is perfect and there are no problems? No, it doesn’t mean that.” The disintegration of the US trade unions, highlighted by the proceedings of the AFL-CIO convention, is the product of their 60-year alliance with the capitalist politicians of the Democratic Party, their undying defense of US imperialism and organic and visceral hostility to socialism. Not only are the unions in financial difficulties but as a consequence of their bankrupt policies they are rightly despised by millions of workers, who view them as little more than arms of the corporate oppressors. This underscores the correctness of the analysis made by the World Socialist Web Site of the need for the working class to break with the unions and build new organizations of struggle. Above all the working class needs a new political orientation and strategy. This must be based on elaborating an independent socialist program aimed at unifying workers internationally, abolishing the capitalist profit system and reorganizing economic life on the basis of the democratic ownership and control of the banks and industry by the working class.The Hillary Clinton campaign has released updated health information for the Democratic presidential candidate. Her doctor wrote in a letter that she had a "mild" and non-contagious form of pneumonia and remains "healthy and fit to serve as president." Read more Clinton’s doctor, Dr. Lisa Bardack, wrote Wednesday that she is recovering from her pneumonia. She is “recovering well with antibiotics and rest,” after she became overheated, dehydrated and felt dizzy at a 9/11 memorial ceremony in New York City on Sunday. The statement said she was treated with an antibiotic called Levaquin, which was prescribed for 10 days. Clinton's doctor said she is "healthy and fit to serve as President of the United States." Clinton's physician also found that the remainder of the Democratic candidate’s complete physical exam was "normal" and that she is in "excellent mental condition." Clinton's aides say she will return to the campaign trail on Thursday. Clinton’s collapse on Sunday was captured on video, which went viral. Its release followed speculation that the candidate had broader health issues, rumored to be why she spent most of August campaigning in private. There was also conjecture that the Democratic National Committee was considering replacement candidates, from vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine to current Vice President Joe Biden. Questions were also raised about how contagious her pneumonia was, as Clinton has been seen in close contact talking with others, most notably a young girl that day. The Republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump discussed his health records on The Dr. Oz Show. The segment will air on Thursday. During the segment, Trump, 70, handed Dr. Mehmet Oz, a Republican, a one-page summary of the exam, which was conducted by Dr. Harold N. Bornstein last week. Trump’s report was a few paragraphs with few details, according to USA Today. Earlier on Wednesday, campaign manager Kellyanne Conway told Fox News the results of Trump's exam would be shared publicly "this week." Trump’s personal physician, said in a letter last year the real estate mogul would be the "healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency."Like most people, I've lost my share of friends. Every move was a source of culling, intentional or not. Each time I changed schools, I left friends behind. I've lost friends when we drifted away from each other, when our interests diverged, and after unrecoverable fights. The ghosts of my friendships past still haunt me to varying degrees. The losses all hurt in some way or another, but the most hurtful time I've lost friends was after I became a mother. Losing them was painful. Depressing. Gut-wrenching. Four years later, I'm still mourning the loss, not only of my friends, but also of what those friendships represented. When we're young, many of our friends are chosen for us. Whether they're school assignments, activities, or playdates, forces beyond our control dictate which people we are surrounded by. But, as we age, we begin learn that friends are more than just people we're obligated to be around. By the time we're adults, we're able to choose our friends, for the most part. They're people who often share our beliefs and interests. Who make us laugh. Who care for us, have fun with us and make us better people. And, most tellingly, our friends reflect where we are in life. When I went to art school, I made friends with creative, uninhibited artists. In my early, carefree 20s, my friends were partiers -- we hit up bars and clubs at night; brunch was never before noon. A few years later, though, I was looking for something more substantial. I wanted to have more meaningful friendships with people I could confide in, rather than just yelling in their ear at 2 a.m., straining to be heard over the music. I began to value and cultivate friendships with women who were just as much fun on the dance floor as they were chatting over cupcakes or flea market shopping. And I was pleased when we formed a group of all-around, all-day friends. Real friends. Leaving my partying and single life behind, I got married and pregnant soon after. Everyone was happy for me and we, of course, intended to stay friends after my son's birth. I wasn't sure what motherhood would bring, but I knew what kind of mother I didn't want to be. I didn't want to lose myself to motherhood. I didn't want my son to consume both my life and my identity. After all, I was a modern, feminist, independent woman and there was no reason for a baby to change that. But then I had a baby. A baby who wouldn't sleep. And as I was swallowed by my deepening depression and an overwhelming anxiety disorder, my former life, complete with friends, ideas and goals, slipped away from me. My depression meant that I wasn't the best mother I could be. Or the best wife. Or the best friend. It's not that I didn't care about my friends anymore -- I absolutely did -- I just couldn't figure out how to fit them into a new life that revolved around nap schedules, feeding schedules, and oh yeah, crying anywhere and everywhere. Friendships without cultivation wither and die, and that's exactly what mine did. I had less and less in common with friends from my former life. They were in a totally different place in life than I was. They didn't understand what it was like to wake up 10 times in one night or get up at 4 everyday for a year and a half. My only priorities were about my family: making sure I could function on a day-to-day basis, keeping my son alive, trying my hardest to keep my strained marriage together. My friends from my pre-baby life didn't understand why I couldn't meet them for dinner, drinks, or shopping. They didn't know that being without my son made me feel like I couldn't breathe, like a physical part of my body was missing, and that I was only whole when I was with him. Even though when I was with him, I was sure I was doing everything wrong. I worried about everything and anything and felt like nothing would ever get better, nothing would ever change. He would never sleep and I would never feel like myself again. Fortunately, I was able to get help. Therapy, anti-depressants, and my son sleeping into the 5 o'clock hour allowed me to emerge from the deep pit of depression. Also of help? My "mom" friends. I am supremely, unbelievably, fantastically lucky to have made several wonderful "mom" friends over the past few years. They were able to understand my challenges as a new mom and support me through them. I'm able to be a new Jen, Mom Jen, with them as we share stories about our kids, husbands and lives. But they haven't replaced
is back as a co-author of a study getting significant play in natural and alternative medicine websites. Published earlier this year in BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine—a fringe open source journal—the article claims to document the protective effects of a homeopathic product called Digeodren, which is manufactured by the French natural products company Sevene Pharma. The study, which was funded by Sevene, concludes that Digeodren could reverse the locomotor problems and biochemical issues that arise from what he called long-term exposure to glyphosate, the active ingredient of the herbicide Roundup, which is paired with some herbicide-resistant GMO crops. Sevene, based in Cevennes, France, has been a long-time funder of Séralini’s work. According to the Genetic Literacy Project’s Biotech Profile: Séralini received significant funding from Sevene Pharma, a French company that promotes “cures” using homeopathy, which mainstream scientists consider pseudo-science. Sevene sells homeopathic remedies but is also paying Séralini to research atrazine and glyphosate risks. Sevene markets “detoxification” homeopathy products to treat the alleged toxic effects of glyphosate and atrazine “contamination”, which is the focus of Séralini’s research, a clear conflict of interest the professor has apparently been forced by PLOS to now acknowledge. Séralini is a consultant for the company, and conducts most of the company’s “research”, focusing on the alleged toxic effects or glyphosate and other pesticides. Two studies have been published in a low quality open-access journal. One focuses on how plant extracts presumably can protect the liver from toxic chemicals: Worldwide used pesticides containing different adjuvants like Roundup formulations, which are glyphosate-based herbicides, can provoke some in vivo toxicity and in human cells. These pesticides are commonly found in the environment, surface waters and as food residues of Roundup tolerant genetically modified plants. In order to know their effects on cells from liver, a major detoxification organ, we have studied their mechanism of action and possible protection by precise medicinal plant extracts. The plants used were from Sevene pharma and the formula used is that of Digeodren. The other study, almost promoted the company’s products: We wanted to test the common pathways of intoxication and detoxification in human embryonic and liver cell lines. We used various pollutants such as Roundup residues, Bisphenol-A and Atrazine, and five precise medicinal plant extracts. What about the new Séralini study? The research team, which included two employees of Sevene, took 160 male rats and divided them into four groups of 40. One group was named the control (without precisely defining what that meant); a second group drank Roundup GT Plus at 0.5 percent dilution; a third received the Digeodren product at 2 percent dilution in water; and the last group received Digeodren at 2 percent for seven days and then a mixture of digeodren and Roundup for another eight days. The animals then were tested in actimeters to determine locomotor activity and their organs were analyzed for changes. “Digeodren, without any side effect observable, presented strong preventive and therapeutic properties in vivo after a short-term intoxication by the widely used pesticide, Roundup,” the paper concluded. Scientists have been sharply critical of the study’s methodology and conclusions. The first problem was the premise. Séralini and his colleagues stated that “we have previously demonstrated that very low levels of Roundup exert endocrine disrupting effects, such as sex hormone imbalance and hepatorenal toxicities.” However, that is based on Séralini’s retracted 2014 study. Other problems revolved around the dosages used. Steve Savage, a plant pathologist and genetics consultant, told the Genetic Literacy Project in an email: The dose is absurd. They gave the animals the equivalent of what could be in the spray tank including the surfactants and the a.i. (active ingredients). If glyphosate or its AMPA metabolite ever end up in a food it is at extremely low concentrations and never with the surfactant. Unless you were a farmer or gardener who routinely drinks from the spray tank over 8 days, this study is meaningless. Other scientists pointed to a lack of proper controls, stating that the study should have had controls for the other ingredients of Roundup (which are formulated along with glyphosate, and may affect its function and other effects, as discovered last year by the German Institute for Risk Assessment). There also was some confusion between when the researchers used glyphosate alone or Roundup as a mixture. Another problem was the makeup of Digeodren. Its label includes Taraxacum officinalis/Dandelion D4, Berberis vulgaris/BarberryD5, and Lappa major/Burdock D4, but also shows it is diluted in 70 percent alcohol, which can have a number of effects on animal locomotion and other physiological processes. It’s also not clear how the researchers selected the animals for study. It would be possible to select animals with superior (or, in the case of the Roundup animals, impaired) locomotion. The paper stated that the locomotor experiments were carried about according to a paper by J.J. Lynch and colleagues at Abbott Laboratories published in 2011, which addresses conducting locomotor analysis but does not address how experimental animals are selected. Finally, the paper has no discussion on the natural variability in locomotion or physiological parameters, making it impossible to tell if anything was truly wrong with any of the animals. Plant medicinal extracts and “detox” mythology Homeopathic treatments claim to use highly diluted chemicals—what amounts to almost pure water—to cure or prevent disease. “Detox” and homeopathic treatments that purport to cure a number of existing ailments and prevent other disorders by removing “toxins” from the body are becoming increasingly popular despite a complete lack of empirical evidence supporting such claims. According to the Sevene website, Digeodren helps with “liver detoxification and digestion” and restores the health of those “feeling ‘sluggish & lethargic’ (by) stimulating the removal of environmental toxins from the liver.” These claims echo advertisements on fringe websites (like this one with detailed instructions and urging a detox once a year) and articles stating that the buildup of toxins from environmental exposures are sapping our strength and threatening our health. According to Today Homeopathy, detox is supposed to work like this: Detox, short for detoxification, is the removal of potentially toxic substances from the body. The health of every single organ in the body depends on its ability to eliminate the waste products of the life process. Detoxification is a practice of resting, cleaning and nourishing the body from the inside out that is known for centuries by many cultures. A detox program helps body`s own healing processes and everyone should do it at least once a year. These faddish “detox” methods have been universally panned by the medical community as potentially dangerous for one’s health, or at least a drain on one’s wallet. The body already has a number of ways to rid itself of toxic substances, including the skin, respiratory system, immune system, intestines and the liver and kidneys. These “cures,” which are almost never available by prescription, can lead to dehydration, deplete necessary electrolytes and impair bowel function. They also can disrupt the microbiome balances in the intestine, and could even cause metabolic acidosis, which according to Harvard Medical School can be fatal. Andrew Porterfield is a writer, editor and communications consultant for academic institutions, companies and non-profits in the life sciences. He is based in Camarillo, California. Follow @AMPorterfield on Twitter.Across the country, protesters and activists are demanding better safety for women after a young medical student was gang-raped in a moving bus in Delhi a week ago.But in Andhra Pradesh, the head of the Congress offered a shocking assessment. "We also condemn the incident. But we should consider the circumstances. They should also think that they should not go in a private bus at night. We say we got freedom at midnight but doesn't mean we can roam around freely at midnight,'' said Botsa Satyanarayana. Incidentally, he is also the state transport minister and controls the whole fleet of Road Transport Corporation buses.After a backlash of virulent criticism, he apologised and said his remarks had been misunderstood.The student who was savagely assaulted is in hospital in critical condition. Her case has motivated thousands of students and others to rally for more police patrols on Delhi's streets at night, swift trials in sexual assault cases, and safer public transport in the capital.The government has asked a judicial committee headed by former Supreme Court judge JS Verma to evaluate the response of officials after the student's attack, and to suggest changes to laws for sexual assault crimes. The Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court has confirmed that starting January 2, five fast-track courts will hold daily hearings for rape cases including last weekend's gang-rape case.Product Description Encourage your children’s creativity and imagination with the highly stimulating K’NEX 52 Model Building Set. With 618 classic and micro K’NEX pieces, this building toy for ages 7 and up gives children an outlet to learn and enjoy themselves at the same time. The K’NEX building system is composed of colourful plastic rods and connectors that snap together with a simple click. These pieces can be combined together to create real working vehicles, moving structures and just about anything your child can imagine. With 52 building ideas, the included illustrated instructional booklet guides your little engineers in constructing truly amazing creations. You’ll be astounded at how your youngsters construct a fire truck with an extended ladder, a military tank, a windmill and a four-legged animal with just plastic rods and connectors. Your kids can assemble a different K’NEX idea each week. In the process, this educational engineering toy will put your child on a path towards a better understanding of STEAM (science, technology, engineer, arts and math) subjects. A sturdy included box allows you to clean up and store the set’s plastic pieces easily. With this portable storage container, you can bring K’NEX anywhere. Let your children have fun building and sharing their creations at playdates and family gatherings. The K’NEX 52 Model Building Set also fosters kids’ growth by strengthening hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills, problem-solving skills and spatial awareness. It is proudly made in America and was tested to the strict quality and safety standards, ensuring that children will enjoy a hassle-free playtime experience. Start them young. Encourage your children’s creativity and brain development with the K’NEX 52 Model Building Set today. Safety Warning Please read the product description and specifications carefully.Former district superintendent Mike Miles, whose reforms in Dallas and Colorado Springs stirred controversy, is set to open a new charter school in Aurora this fall serving at-risk kids. The Academy of Advanced Learning will borrow strategies Miles has employed elsewhere, including keeping school doors open early and late to help ease families’ child care burden, and differentiating pay for teachers based on their roles so the school can afford extra staff. “I knew I wanted to continue to be engaged in public education,” said Miles, the school’s CEO. “Public education is the most important work of our time. I’m just convinced of that.” Others helping with the school’s launch include former state education commissioner Dwight Jones and Kevin Smelker, a former chief operations officer for the Dallas district. The Aurora school board approved the Academy of Advanced Learning in June. The charter school, which will be near 6th Avenue and Sable Boulevard in northwest Aurora, will open with kindergarten through sixth grade students and add seventh and eighth graders the following year. The school will follow a model similar to Pikes Peak Prep in Colorado Springs. The school hired Miles last year to make improvements, and he is now its CEO. The Aurora school will pay teachers different salaries based on the importance of their roles. For example, a reading teacher — expected to help students make large gains to get to reading at grade level — could make $80,000 per year while a physical education teacher would make about $45,000 annually. Most districts don’t differentiate teacher pay by subjects taught, but may give bonuses for hard-to-staff positions. Rise & Shine Colorado Get Colorado’s most important education stories delivered to your inbox daily Subscribe “Chalkbeat is my go-to education news source. Typically, Chalkbeat is the place to find out about district news before you hear about it anywhere else.” — Amy M. It’s something Miles says he knows not everyone will agree with, like many of the reforms he has had a hand in over the last decade. Miles is working to open the Aurora charter school a year after returning to Colorado after leaving his superintendent job in Dallas with two years left on his contract. During his time in Dallas, Miles made headlines for creating new evaluations for teachers and principals and for firing three principals after the district’s school board voted to keep them. “If you’re going to prioritize resources, high-quality instruction, whatever you’re going to prioritize, that’s a very political act,” Miles said. “When you prioritize you make some people feel like they’re not a priority. If you want to please everyone, don’t be a superintendent.” Before the Dallas job, Miles had been superintendent of the Harrison School District in Colorado Springs for six years. In that role, he led the district to adopt one of the first teacher pay-for-performance models in the state that tied salary and raises to annual evaluations. Tammy Clementi, a former chief academic officer for Aurora Public Schools who now works as a consultant and is on the founding board of the charter school, said she is aware of the criticisms of Miles over the years but believes they are a reaction to his drastic changes. “I’ve worked with Mike, he was my boss and anytime somebody has approached me with ‘Oh Mike Miles?’ I’ve always said, ‘If you’re working hard and you’re doing your job, you don’t have anything to worry about,’” Clementi said. “He is all about holding folks accountable. There’s nothing wrong with that.” Clementi said even though she was unsure about joining a board for a charter school, she was persuaded by a model that will focus on serving at-risk students and that won’t pick and choose its students. If more students enroll than the school has room for, the school will hold a lottery. School officials say the Aurora school will focus on at-risk students through the educational model and by providing them a reliable — and free — place to hang out before and after school. The school promises to have staff at the building from 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. every school day — as it the case at Pikes Peak Prep — so parents who work don’t have to leave kids home alone. Students can sign up for after-school activities, receive tutoring, get help with homework or just watch television. The school doors will be open on snow days when classes are cancelled. “We’ll close if Starbucks closes,” Miles jokes. Brenda Balderas, a mom of two young boys in Aurora, said the school’s hours are one of the most attractive features for parents she has talked to about the school. “That right there just opens a lot of doors for parents,” Balderas said. She helped gather parent feedback for the school and said she may send her own kids to the school when they are school-age. The school will also offer free, full-day kindergarten and will follow a competency-based model that will move students through grade levels as they prove they’ve learned certain competencies, not based on time spent in class. The school will also use personalized learning, relying on technology, such as programs on computers or tablets, that move students through lessons at different paces based on each student’s needs. By saving money on differentiating teacher pay, Miles said he will be able to hire more staff, like teacher’s assistants to get students more one-on-one help. “That’s kind of what intrigued me the most,” Balderas said. “It’s a very good opportunity for parents, for their kids, that want a little bit more attention.”Please support us by disabling your ad blocker on our site. In this week's crime log: three counts of assault and a dine and dash at Copabanana Fraud: Nov. 3: At 11:53 p.m., it was reported that three people left Copabanana without paying for their meals. Liquor Law: Nov. 5: At 1:21 a.m., a 20-year-old man affiliated with Penn was drunk at Cinemark's Rave Motion Pictures movie theater on 4012 Walnut St. When officers spoke to him, he smelled of alcohol and slurred when speaking. He was issued with a citation for underage drinking and disorderly conduct. Sex Offense: Nov. 8: At 10:17 p.m., a man exposed himself in the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Philadelphia Police is investigating the matter. Defiant Trespass: Nov. 7: At 8:48 p.m., Penn Police responded to a reported trespassing in the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. James Harrington, who is 64 years old, had no business at the hospital and was told to leave, but he returned and was issued a citation for defiant trespassing. Aggravated Assault: Nov. 5: At 9:51 a.m., an unaffiliated woman was driving southbound near the intersection of 38th and Walnut streets when someone threw a brick at her windshield, damaging the hood and windshield of her car. Assault: Nov. 3: At 12:20 p.m., a woman affiliated with Penn reported that she was on the 400 block of S. 40th St. when a youth knocked her to the ground and a larger group of nine or 10 people hit and kicked her. Nov. 5: At 1:40 p.m., a woman affiliated with Penn reported that she was on the block of 35th and Chestnut streets when someone called her a name, threw water on her, and pushed her to the ground. Nov. 9: At 12:38 p.m., a man affiliated with Penn reported that when he was on 3737 Market St., someone became angry and punched him in the face. He did not press charges. Other Offense: Nov. 6: At 10:55 a.m., an unaffiliated man was inside the Walnut Hill Apartments building without a reason. He was soon identified and arrested for a recent string of package thefts in the building. Nov. 8: At 10:00 p.m., an unaffiliated 28-year-old was stopped in the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Officers discovered that the man had a warrant out for his arrest and arrested him. Auto Theft: Nov. 8: At 9:30 p.m., an unaffiliated woman reported parking her car on the north side of the block of 34th and Spruce streets. Her car was missing when she returned the next morning. Theft Theft from Building: 7 Sign up for our newsletter Get our newsletter, Dear Penn, delivered to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up Bike Theft: 3 Theft All Other: 1 Retail Theft: 1 PennConnectsLast year at the office party, the people in charge of preparing name tags for the party hadn’t made one for my wife although she was clearly listed as my spouse in the office directory and it was my third year on the job (all three years with my spouse). Straight friends who were had been dating for a year or less had name tags for their partners, and other homosexual partners were in the same boat as me and my partner–no name tag. Fast forward one year: when RSVPing to this year’s party, I make a special request for my wife to receive a name tag and point out the discrimination last year. The person in charge of name tags writes back: “How could you attack me like this? Please don’t turn this into a ‘straight-gay’ thing. It was just an oversight.”Melania Trump modeled an orange leather pencil skirt as she and her husband President Donald Trump embarked on their first foreign trip as the first family. The 47-year-old First Lady was smiling and holding her husband's hand as they were photographed walking across the White House's South Lawn towards Marine One for a short trip to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, where they boarded Air Force One. The president's daughter Ivanka Trump is also taking part in the overseas trip, and while her stepmother donned and edgy Hervé Pierre skirt for their flight to Saudi Arabia, she opted for a ladylike floral dress. Scroll down for video Melania Trump donned an orange leather skirt and nude pumps as she joined her husband President Donald Trump on the first international trip of his presidency The First Lady was all smiles ahead of their flight to Saudi Arabia The president and his wife held hands as they walked across the South Lawn of the White House to board Marine One Melania's heels were even more impressive given she had to walk across grass part of the way President Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner joined them on Marine One, which took them to Joint Base Andrews, where they boarded Air Force One Trump, Melania, Ivanka, and her husband Jared Kushner flew out on Friday for the first leg of their nine-day journey. The president and his wife will be making stops in Saudi Arabia, Israel, Rome, Brussels, and Sicily during their first foreign tour of his presidency. Ivanka, who has an unpaid position as the president's assistant, will be with her father and her stepmother for six of the nine days of the trip, traveling with them to Saudi Arabia, Israel, and Italy. The trip also includes an audience with Pope Francis at the Vatican. For her flight, Melania paired her custom leather skirt with a Max Mara cream top and Manolo Blahnik heels, completing her look with her oversize engagement ring and Jackie O-inspired sunglasses. Ivanka was all smiles as she donned a ladylike floral dress and nude suede heels Ivanka wore her hair down, same as Melania, but accessorized with gold hoops The president and his wife will be making stops in Saudi Arabia, Israel, Rome, Brussels, and Sicily during their trip Melania tucked her cream long sleeve top into her high-waisted skirt, which featured a small slit in the front Melania turned around and flashed a megawatt smiles as she headed towards Marine One Meanwhile, Ivanka sported a figure-hugging pencil dress featuring cap sleeves. Like the First Lady, Ivanka also donned a pair of nude pumps; however, she opted for a budget-friendly pair of $135 suede heels from her eponymous fashion line. Melania announced that she would be joining her husband on the trip on Wednesday. 'I am very excited for the upcoming trip,' Melania said in a press release. 'This will not just be an opportunity to support my husband as he works on important matters of national security and foreign relations, it will also be my honor to visit and speak with women and children from different countries, with different perspectives.' Trump will be accompanied by his wife throughout each day, but the First Lady will also travel to participate in her own events including spousal programs at the NATO and G-7 summits. She is also expected to deliver remarks to the United States military personnel and families in Italy. Vice President Mike Pence escorted the couple across the South Lawn head of their flight Melania greeted Vice President Mike Pence with a kiss on the cheek Melania held on to the railings as she carefully boarded Marine One at the White House President Trump was right behind Melania as she boarded the aircraft Melania paired her outfit with nude Manolo Blahnik stiletto heels Jared, a White House senior adviser, and Ivanka continued to hold hands while walking towards Air Force Once at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland Ivanka modeled a pair of $135 suede pumps from her eponymous fashion line Ivanka accentuated her outfit with two gold bracelets Melania shielded her eyes from the sun with a pair of thick, black frame sunglasses No doubt her blanket of hair was hot on her neck in the May summer heat It's unclear who made her stylish frames Ivanka took a break from her wire frame glass for a classic cat eyed style The White House isn't releasing a comprehensive itinerary for Melania, citing security concerns. A White House official revealed on Friday that Ivanka would also be traveling with the president to Saudi Arabia, Israel and Italy. The official was not authorized to be quoted by name discussing the details of the plan in advance of the formal announcement and spoke on condition of anonymity. According to the person, Ivanka will join her father for some events, but she is also expected to hold some of her own during the international tour. In Saudi Arabia, Ivanka will take part in a roundtable discussion with Saudi women about women's economic issues. The First Daughter wants to hear about the challenges women in the country face and the progress they have made, the official said. The First Lady waved as she walked off Marine One and headed towards Air Force Once Trump and Melania are pictured with Colonel Casey D. Eaton Commander, 89th Airlift Wing Trump and Melania walked side-by-side as they boarded Air Force One together President Trump and Melania waved after boarding Air Force One together First Lady Melania announced on Thursday she will be joining Trump on an eight-day, five-stop trip on their first foreign trek since the president took office Melania is scheduled to accompany Trump throughout each day, but is also expected to participate in her own events including spousal programs at the NATO and G-7 summits In a press release on Thursday, the First Lady said she is'very excited for the upcoming trip' where she will speak with women and children 'with different perspectives' In Israel, Ivanka, who converted to Judaism when she married her husband Jared in 2009, will visit the Western Wall with the president. And in Rome, she will take part in a discussion about human trafficking with the Community of Sant'Egidio, an aid group with ties to the Vatican. She will also take part in a meeting with the Pope. The meetings build on some issues she has already worked on at the White House, as she has held meetings on both women's economic empowerment and human trafficking. President Trump and his wife, who lives in New York, kicked off Mother's Day weekend last Friday, by celebrating military mothers at the White House. She was all smiles as she watched the president address the crowd at the event, which was held on National Military Spouse Appreciation Day. The two were also joined by First Daughter Ivanka. During the event, he praised Melania saying he had become'so popular'. The president paid tribute to his wife and the 'great moms' of America before choosing to spend Mother's Day morning playing golf at one of his clubs. 'Wishing @FLOTUS Melania and all of the great mothers out there a wonderful day ahead with family and friends!' tweeted Trump, who spent Sunday morning at the Trump National Golf Club, in Sterling, Virginia. Melania had also tweeted a simple 'Happy Mother's Day'.From Paris Cardiovascular Research Center, Hôpital Necker-Enfants Malades, Hôpital Cochin, Université Paris Descartes-Sorbonne Paris Cité, Hôpital Saint-Louis, Université Paris Diderot – Paris VII, Hôpital Européen Georges Pompidou, and Paris Fire Brigade, Paris, France; Hôpital Avicenne, Université Paris 13, Bobigny, France; and Public Health–Seattle & King County and University of Washington, Seattle, Washington. Acknowledgment: The authors thank the physicians, paramedics, nurses, and ambulance attendants at each center for their valuable cooperation in the study. A list of the Paris SDEC Investigators is provided in the. Financial Support: The PRESENCE trial was supported by the Programme Hospitalier de Recherche Clinique 2008 of the French Ministry of Health and by the Research Delegation of the Assistance Publique–Hôpitaux de Paris. Disclosures: Dr. Jabre reports a grant from the French Ministry of Health during the conduct of the study. Pr. Jacob reports personal fees from AbbVie, Alere, BioPorto, and Fresenius outside the submitted work. Pr. Adnet reports a grant from the French Ministry of Health during the conduct of the study. Authors not named here have disclosed no conflicts of interest. Disclosures can also be viewed at www.acponline.org/authors/icmje/ConflictOfInterestForms.do?msNum=M16-0402. Editors' Disclosures: Christine Laine, MD, MPH, Editor in Chief, reports that she has no financial relationships or interests to disclose. Darren B. Taichman, MD, PhD, Executive Deputy Editor, reports that he has no financial relationships or interests to disclose. Cynthia D. Mulrow, MD, MSc, Senior Deputy Editor, reports that she has no relationships or interests to disclose. Deborah Cotton, MD, MPH, Deputy Editor, reports that she has no financial relationships or interest to disclose. Jaya K. Rao, MD, MHS, Deputy Editor, reports that she has stock holdings/options in Eli Lilly and Pfizer. Sankey V. Williams, MD, Deputy Editor, reports that he has no financial relationships or interests to disclose. Catharine B. Stack, PhD, MS, Deputy Editor for Statistics, reports that she has stock holdings in Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson. Reproducible Research Statement:Study protocol and data set: Not available. Statistical code: Available from Pr. Jouven (e-mail, xavier.jouven@inserm.fr). Requests for Single Reprints: Xavier Jouven, MD, PhD, Cardiology Department, Hôpital Européen Georges Pompidou, 20 rue Leblanc, 75015 Paris, France; e-mail, xavier.jouven@egp.aphp.fr. Current Author Addresses: Dr. Jabre: SAMU de Paris, Hôpital Necker-Enfants Malades, 149 Rue de Sevres, 75015 Paris, France. Dr. Bougouin and Pr. Jouven: Cardiology Department, Hôpital Européen Georges Pompidou, 20 rue Leblanc, 75015 Paris, France. Drs. Dumas, Dahan, Empana, Karam, Loupy, and Lefaucheur and Mr. Beganton: Paris Cardiovascular Research Center, INSERM Unit 970, 56 rue Leblanc, 75015 Paris, France. Pr. Carli: SAMU 75, Necker University Hospital, 149 rue de Sèvres, 75015 Paris, France. Dr. Antoine: Agence de la Biomédecine, 1 Avenue du Stade de France, 93212 Saint Denis, France. Pr. Jacob: Service d'anesthésie réanimation, Hôpital Saint-Louis, 1 Avenue Claude Vellefeaux, 75010 Paris, France. Dr. Marijon: Cardiology Department, Hôpital Européen Georges Pompidou, 20-40 Rue Leblanc, 75908 Paris, France. Dr. Jost: Paris Fire Brigade, Medical Emergency Department, 1 place Jules Renard, 75009 Paris, France. Pr. Cariou: Medical Intensive Care Unit, Cochin University Hospital, 27 rue du Faubourg Saint Jacques, 75014 Paris, France. Pr. Adnet: AP-HP, SAMU 93, Urgences, Hôpital Avicenne, 125 rue de Stalingrad, 93000 Bobigny, France. Pr. Rea: University of Washington, 401 5th Avenue, Suite 1200, Seattle, WA 98104. Author Contributions: Conception and design: P. Jabre, X. Jouven. Analysis and interpretation of the data: P. Jabre, W. Bougouin, F. Dumas, A. Cariou, F. Adnet, T.D. Rea, X. Jouven. Drafting of the article: P. Jabre, W. Bougouin, F. Dumas, A. Cariou, X. Jouven. Critical revision of the article for important intellectual content: P. Jabre, L. Jacob, B. Dahan, J.P. Empana, E. Marijon, N. Karam, C. Lefaucheur, A. Cariou, F. Adnet, T.D. Rea, X. Jouven. Final approval of the article: P. Jabre, W. Bougouin, F. Dumas, P. Carli, C. Antoine, L. Jacob, B. Dahan, F. Beganton, J.P. Empana, E. Marijon, N. Karam, A. Loupy, C. Lefaucheur, D. Jost, A. Cariou, F. Adnet, T.D. Rea, X. Jouven. Provision of study materials or patients: P. Jabre, W. Bougouin, P. Carli, L. Jacob, D. Jost, T.D. Rea, X. Jouven. Statistical expertise: P. Jabre, W. Bougouin, J.P. Empana, X. Jouven. Obtaining of funding: P. Jabre, E. Marijon. Administrative, technical, or logistic support: P. Jabre, W. Bougouin, F. Dumas, P. Carli, L. Jacob, X. Jouven. Collection and assembly of data: P. Jabre, W. Bougouin, F. Dumas, F. Beganton, D. Jost, F. Adnet, X. Jouven.Khuram Butt, 27, was claiming Jobseeker's Allowance of around £300 a month, and was also paid housing benefit for his council-owned flat in Barking as well as child benefit The ringleader of the London terror attack was bankrolled by the taxpayer, it has been revealed. Khuram Butt, 27, was claiming Jobseeker's Allowance of around £300 a month, and was also paid housing benefit for his council-owned flat in Barking as well as child benefit. Father-of-two Butt was a supporter of al-Muhajiroun and an associate of its leader Anjem Choudary, who encouraged his followers to exploit Britain's welfare system. The jailed hate preacher even used the phrase 'Jihad Seeker's Allowance'. Butt, who wore an Arsenal shirt on the night of the attack, started claiming benefits after being sacked from his job on the London Underground last October. He worked there as a trainee customer services assistant for nearly six months but was fired for poor timekeeping. He also received Jobseeker's Allowance for over a year after leaving a job at KFC and prior to working for Transport for London, the Daily Telegraph reported. Relatives of Butt said he drew inspiration from extremist videos on YouTube and wanted to fight in Syria but had his passport taken away by family. Fahad Khan, 36, the cousin of Butt's wife Zahrah Rehman, claimed his younger relative watched the hateful tirades of preachers online and supported ISIS. Butt is suspected of running mixed martial arts classes at the Ummah Fitness Centre, in Barking, in an attempt to groom teenagers for terror. The gym was raided by police on Tuesday after CCTV revealed the three London Bridge terrorists met there days before the attack. It shows Butt meeting Rachid Redouane, 30, and Youssef Zaghba, 22, five days before they murdered eight people and left dozens injured. Counter-terrorist police are building a detailed picture of the activities of the three men before Saturday night's massacre. Butt lies on the floor in Borough Market after being shot by armed police while wearing what turned out to be a hoax suicide vest The bodies of the two other men, Redouane, right, and Zaghba, left, lie in the road in Borough Market after being gunned down The aftermath: Debris from Saturday's attack in Borough Market, London, remained in the street on Wednesday They are examining their movements and communications, as well as a mass of forensic evidence, to see whether they had help. Sixteen suspects have been arrested, including three men held during raids in the early hours of yesterday. One 29-year-old suspect was dragged from a house in Ilford by armed police and two others, aged 33 and 27, were arrested in the street in a dramatic ambush. Two are being held under terrorism laws and the other on suspicion of drugs and firearms offences. Ilford and nearby Barking, where 12 were arrested on Sunday, have become the focus of the police inquiry. Neighbours said police spent more than an hour at the gym, which is in a small parade of shops. They were seen leaving with computer equipment and specialists searched under parked vehicles.Tagline Page Content This system is for U.S. orders only. NIGMS provides free copies of Findings magazine in PDF, E-PUB, and print formats. Topics include cell biology, chemistry and biochemistry, computers in biology, diseases, genetics, pharmacology, physical trauma and sepsis, and structural biology. We encourage you to use our materials online and to download them. If you require printed versions and you are an educator, you may order classroom copies of some items by using the form below. Our materials are mostly geared to high school and early college students. Some are also used at the middle school level. We do not offer anything at the elementary school level. To order print materials, follow these three steps: 1) select your publications, 2) review your order, and 3) complete your order by providing shipping information. Findings Magazine Findings showcases diverse scientists who do cutting-edge research and lead interesting lives. Each issue also contains brief research highlights, a puzzle or other activity, and online extras. Older Findings issues are out of stock but may still be viewed online at https://www.nigms.nih.gov/education/findings/Pages/All-Issues.aspx. Findings Poster To request larger quantities, please contact the NIGMS Office of Communications and Public Liaison at info@nigms.nih.gov or 301-496-7301. In your message, identify your school or other organization and describe how you will use the material. International users: This system is for U.S. orders only. Please note that most of our publications are available online. Other Ways to Submit an Order You may download and complete the publication request form [PDF, 72KB] and send it as an email attachment to info@nigms.nih.gov. You may also print the PDF, indicate the publications you wish to receive
with coaching opportunities after retirement. Obviously, badminton is a sport that is predominately popular in the Chinese market. “China is also a country of opportunities and that’s the other reason I am doing this,” Axelsen explained, according to Reuters. To learn, Axelsen takes tutoring lessons in Copenhagen and collaborates with a school in Beijing that teaches online via Skype. In addition, he also has a more hands on approach with the language by interacting with fans on Weibo and communicating with players or interviewers at different competitions. Chinese netizens have fawned over him and applauded his effort to immerse himself in their language and culture. Watch him speak below: Not bad. But is Axelsen on John Cena’s level? By Sarah Lin [Video via Facebook] Share this: Pocket Telegram PrintImage copyright Laura Dempsey Image caption Researchers say the jaw bones and teeth are unlike any they have seen before A new species of ancient human has been unearthed in the Afar region of Ethiopia, scientists report. Researchers discovered jaw bones and teeth, which date to between 3.3m and 3.5m years old. It means this new hominin was alive at the same time as several other early human species, suggesting our family tree is more complicated than was thought. The study is published in the journal Nature. The new species has been called Australopithecus deyiremeda, which means "close relative" in the language spoken by the Afar people. Image copyright Yohannes Haile-Selassie Image caption The bones were found in the Afar region of Ethiopia Image copyright Yohannes Haile-Selassie Image caption The remains belong to four individuals and date to between 3.3m and 3.5m years old The ancient remains are thought to belong to four individuals, who would have had both ape and human-like features.. Living with Lucy Lead researcher Dr Yohannes Haile-Selassie, curator of physical anthropology at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History in the US, told BBC News: "We had to look at the detailed anatomy and morphology of the teeth and the upper and lower jaws, and we found major differences. "This new species has very robust jaws. In addition, we see this new species had smaller teeth. The canine is really small - smaller than all known hominins we have documented in the past." The age of the remains means that this was potentially one of four different species of early humans that were all alive at the same time. The most famous of these is Australopithecus afarensis - known as Lucy - who lived between 2.9-3.8m years ago, and was initially thought to be our direct ancestor. However the discovery of another species called Kenyanthropus platyops in Kenya in 2001, and of Australopithecus bahrelghazali in Chad, and now Australopithecus deyiremedaI, suggests that there were several species co-existing. Image copyright Science Photo Library Image caption Australopithecus afarensis was thought to be a direct ancestor of modern humans Some researchers dispute whether the various partial remains really constitute different species, particularly for A. bahrelghazali. But Dr Haile-Selassie said the early stage of human evolution was probably surprisingly complex. "Historically, because we didn't have the fossil evidence to show there was hominin diversity during the middle Pliocene, we thought there was only one lineage, one primitive ancestor - in this case Australopithecus afarensis, Lucy - giving rise to the next. "That hypothesis of linear evolution has to be revisited. And now with the discovery of more species, like this new one... you have another species roaming around. "What this means is we have many species that could give rise to later hominins, including our own genus Homo." Dr Haile-Selassie said that even more fossils need to be unearthed, to better understand the path that human evolution took. He added that finding additional ancient remains could also help researchers examine how the different species lived side-by-side - whether they mixed or avoided each other, and how they shared food and other resources in their landscape. Follow Rebecca on TwitterWith marijuana legalization efforts complete in Colorado and Washington, advocacy organizations and lawmakers are looking to Vermont as one of the next major battlegrounds in the fight. Sam VT, a group in Vermont staunchly against the legalization of marijuana, is gearing up for the upcoming debate, which will be kicked off by a new RAND Corporation study on how much tax revenue Vermont could expect if marijuana were legalized in the state. The study will be released on Jan. 15. “As a grass roots organization we are committed to keeping our youth, our roadways, and public safe. Whenever a state looks at changing its culture by legalizing a drug, we need to think about the societal costs. VT will hopefully have a spirited discussion in 2015 that we hope will bring science, research and thoughtful discourse to a complicated topic,” Debbie Haskins, Director of SAM Vermont, told The Daily Caller News Foundation. “We hope that VT’ers care enough to have this discussion based on science, rather than emotion or for money,” Debbie said. Sam VT is hosting an educational event on Jan. 9, in order to inform legislators and other interested parties regarding the risks of legal marijuana. Medical marijuana is already approved in Vermont, but advocacy organizations are hoping for lawmakers to move the debate all the way to its conclusion: legalization. In the beginning months of 2014, Vermont lawyer Carl Lisman registered an organization called “Vermont Cannabis,” which has the express purpose of promoting cannabis products. The Marijuana Policy Project is eyeing Vermont as a prospect in 2015, as well. “Creating a legal market for marijuana would result in businesses being able to make money, hire people, create jobs, increase economic activity in Vermont, and we see it being a win for Vermont businesses,” Matt Simon, New England political director for the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), told Vermont Public Radio. MPP has placed a field director and grassroots outreach director in Vermont this past year, and the organization’s goal for 2015 is to see legislators adopt a marijuana legalization bill for consideration. Vermont Sen. David Zuckerman is currently 85 percent done with a draft of a legalization bill which would set out regulations and tax policy for the drug. An October poll found that more voters supported legalization of marijuana in Vermont than opposed it. But the prospects for a legalization bill don’t look promising, as legislators are intent on waiting to see the results in Colorado and Washington before proceeding. Vermont legislators also have their attention grabbed by a $100 million dollar budget shortfall. “I don’t think it’s going to be something of a major priority this year,” said Vermont Senate Minority Leader Joe Benning. “I think people are still waiting to see how it works.” Follow Jonah Bennett on Twitter Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org. Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.PHOENIX -- The Redskins suffered a public divorce when the team dismissed Scot McCloughan from his general manager position earlier this month. Bruce Allen, speaking with CSN in Phoenix at the NFL Owner's Meetings, explained just how hard the decision was. "It was difficult because his father and brother and I worked together for a number of years with the Raiders and enjoyed success together. When I brought [Scot McCloughan] to the Redskins obvisouly I was hoping for a good marriage. It is disapointing." Allen said his organization needed clarity once free agency opened up, and removing McCloughan provided that. MORE REDSKINS: 2017 NFL MOCK DRAFT 6.0 "I thought on the first day of the league year [March 9], the free agents we were bringing in, we needed clarity. And for our scouts to continue the good work we were doing we needed clarity for the season," he said. "The opening day made the decision." Interstingly, Allen unequiovocally explained that McCloughan can go work elsewhere in the NFL. "We hope it works out for Scot because now he can be hired by teams before the draft. He's available, and wish him the best." Allen would not comment on any personal issues with McCloughan. "I would never go into the personal conversations." MORE REDSKINS: Redskins propose exciting new rule for kickoffsThe vast majority of us like to consider ourselves decent people. We pay our taxes, hold doors open for others, stay out of trouble, that kind of thing. I certainly thought of myself this way, a 26-year-old man trying to forge a career and get on with life. So when I was arrested on 13 January at work by four police officers, it came as a bit of a shock. The reason for the arrest was a tweet I had posted on the social network Twitter, which was deemed to constitute a bomb threat against Robin Hood airport in Doncaster: "Crap! Robin Hood airport is closed. You've got a week and a bit to get your shit together otherwise I'm blowing the airport sky high!" You may say, and I certainly realise now, it was ill-advised. But it was clearly frustration, caused by heavy snowfall grounding flights and potentially scuppering my own flight a week later. Like having a bad day at work and stating that you could murder your boss, I didn't even think about whether it would be taken seriously. Call me naive or ignorant, but the heightened state of panic over terror issues was not something I considered as relating to me in any way – until I was arrested, shoved into a police car in front of colleagues, hauled off to Doncaster police station, and interviewed for the rest of the day. My iPhone, laptop and desktop hard drive were confiscated during a search of my house. It was terrifying and humiliating. I never expected to be charged, but a month later I was: not under the offence of making a bomb threat, for which I was originally arrested, but under the communications act for the offence of sending a menacing message. This first appeared to be an absolute offence, much the same as speeding: conviction does not depend on mens rea. For a stupid mistake, I was faced with the prospect of a career-ruining criminal conviction. After fresh legal advice it turned out I could argue I had no intention and awareness to commit the crime, and I could plead not guilty. Even after all the preceding absurdity and near-breakdown-inducing stress, I was confident common sense would prevail in my day in court. Unfortunately,yesterday I was found guilty and ordered to pay £1,000 in fines and legal costs, which I have to find along with my own legal costs of another £1,000. I am considering an appeal, though I have no means, having left my job due to the circumstances. The bright side has been an outpouring of support on Twitter, unexpected and overwhelming, with many users – including Stephen Fry and Jonathan Ross – offering to cover or donate towards my costs via a fund set up by a third party. Writers Sali Hughes, Emma Kennedy and Graham Linehan were among more than a thousand others who sent messages after my verdict was announced. Right now I'm unsure whether to accept their help, but I am truly warmed by the offers. Whatever happens now, I remain terrified. Terrified of speaking my mind, terrified that my life has potentially been ruined. Most of the authorities could see it for what it was, and yet I find myself with a conviction because the Crown Prosecution Service decided it was in the public interest to prosecute. It would appear we live in such a hyper-sensitive world that we cannot engage in hyperbole, however misguided, without having civil liberties trampled on by, at best, heavy-handed police. I would have fully accepted the police coming to my house to question me; it would have taken all of five minutes to realise what had happened. I would have learned my lesson and no taxpayer money would have been wasted on a frivolous prosecution. I have had some very dark days, and my family has been put through the wringer, because I made one silly joke. twitter.com/pauljchambersThe Sun on Sunday, which is of course the News of the World with a different hat on, lied about me last week. In the general scheme of things, the crumbling economy, the savaged environment, the treacherous, inept, deceitful politicians that govern us, the corrupt corporations that exploit us, it might not seem like a big deal. That's because it isn't to anyone, except me or my girlfriend. The pain, disruption and distress, that the Sun inflicted by falsely claiming that I cheated on my girlfriend, in the context of such awesome corruption, is a pale liver-spot on the back of Murdoch's glabrous claw. Still though, it's a tiny part of the demon's dermatology and as such, connected to all the other pestilence. Here's how. Storytelling is important, whether it's a ruddy and robust town crier or Homer (I mean the Greek one but the other one counts too). The manner in which we receive information can affect us as much as the information itself. There is a certain duty that comes with being the anointed purveyor of truth. Can we trust that our media is fulfilling that duty? Who do they really serve? Everyone knows papers like the Daily Mail and the Sun can't be trusted, we've come to accept their duplicity as part of their charm, and their defence, that it's only really celebrities and people that deserve intrusion who are affected, while superficially true in this case, is actually the biggest lie of them all. We all remember the worst lies, the ones where the red tops are caught red-handed, like Hillsborough, where the Sun enthusiastically heaped more pain on the grieving people of Liverpool by claiming that innocent fans had pissed on police and rifled through the possessions of their dead fellows under the front-page headline "The Truth". We remember the disgust we shared on learning that the News of the World hacked into the voicemail of a missing child who turned out to have been murdered. We all know too that they were said to have hacked the phones of dead British soldiers, victims of 7/7 and murdered Sarah Payne's mum. These people are not celebrities, they are only known through grave misfortune and then through calculated desecration. Do any of us really think that these transgressions would have been freely admitted if not unwittingly revealed? No we do not. I wonder then what abominations lie uncovered beneath the tit and glitter lacquered grime and scum they serve up daily? We will never know the true extent of their dishonesty. We are dealing with experts in propaganda who will stop at nothing to see their version of events prevail, and on the rare occasions when the truth emerges, like a hernia popping through gorged corpse, they apologise discreetly for their ignoble flatulence in a mouse-sized font for hippo-sized lies. They dispose of the truth as expertly as Pulp Fiction's "Wolf" disposed of Marvin's body, these wolves of pulp fiction. Rupert Murdoch, an animatronic al-Qaida recruitment poster, in his private letter to Sun staff, after the News of the World was briefly closed for a makeover (not through remorse, or shame, no, because they couldn't sell advertising space and because he wanted to launch the Sun on Sunday anyway because it's cheaper to run one title than two – some guys get all the luck) referred consistently to his pride in the Sun as "a trusted news source". Trusted is the word he used, not trustworthy. We know the Sun is not trustworthy and so does he. He uses the word "trusted" deliberately. Hitler was trusted, it transpired he was not trustworthy. He also said of the arrested journalists, "everyone is innocent until proven guilty". Well, yes, that is the law of our country, not however a nicety often afforded to the victims of his titles, and here I refer not only to hacking but the vituperative portrayal of weak and vulnerable members of our society, relentlessly attacked by Murdoch's ink jackals. Immigrants, folk with non-straight sexual identities, anyone in fact living in the margins of the Sun's cleansed utopia. How this stuff works can be quite subtle. I remember a few years ago they ran a front-page story headlined "Swan Bake" and a story about immigrants eating the Queen's swans. I chuckled at the gleeful vilification of the alleged perpetrators and the jingoistic reference to the swan's royal owner. More sinister though was the information not included; that if people are eating swans from a park, it's not an act of antisocial defiance, it's because they're bloody starving. What is the implicit agenda of an institution that highlights this aspect of the narrative? It is significant too (cygnet-nificant? They love a pun) that adjacent to the copy they placed a photograph of some "eastern" looking men and beneath it, the caption "Asylum seekers, like these pictured, are eating the Queen's swans" – LIKE these pictured!! It wasn't actually the culprits, merely, the Sun supposed, asylum seekers "like" them. The reason for this irresponsible approximation is that when we next see an "eastern" looking person out and about we will have a visceral, visual association with an act of antisocial barbarism. This is how the Sun wants us to see immigrants, through their lens of vindictive condemnation. They want us looking suspiciously and disdainfully in the direction of marginalised individuals; "chavs", "immigrants" and "gays," not in the direction of the institutions who actually damage our society – banks, corporations and the media. They forever print tabloid tales of benefit cheats on the swindle, which is bad – I used to do it – but the reality that we lose £1bn a year on all benefit fraud combined, and £25bn on tax avoidance and evasion by big companies and the super rich is seldom reported. Why don't we read that story in the Sun? Perhaps it's because, as Rupert said in his private email, the Sun would "continue to fight for its beliefs". Of course, the Sun believes in an easy ride for big corporations – it is a big corporation, Newscorp is one of the biggest there is. Plus they get £35,000 per page for the corporate ads they carry for Tescos, Vodafone, British Gas, O2, corporations within the incestuous family of business, media and government that grow corpulent together. It is common slither from parliament to a position on the board of a big company, or to creep from a tabloid role into a position advising leaders of a sleazy government. All operate within the cosy, loophole-laden system that advances their feudal interests and penalises the rest of us, at a time of ardently imposed austerity. More importantly these corporations, whether they're selling information or consumer goods, collude in a pervasive myth and toil to keep us uninformed on important matters such as the environment, economic inequality, and distracted by vapid celebrity claptrap. The Sun don't want an informed populace rejecting their bigoted dogma and daily objectification of women. Tescos don't want engaged and educated consumers recognising the damage that their corporate marauding does to communities, agriculture and local businesses. Their agenda is the same. These organisations want us dumb and full of junk, in our bellies and our brains. The Sun boast on their website that they give advertisers unique access to their "market", that's you and your family, because as Murdoch says, they are trusted. They gloat about their power "one in every seven quid spent on groceries in the UK is spent by a Sun reader". Actually they don't say quid, they say pounds. On the Sun's marketing site, where they address the people who really matter to them, their corporate partners, they eschew the colloquial jocundity, where stars romp in love-nests and drop tots, here the silvery nomenclature of commerce reigns, the Sun's true tongue. Should we all boycott the Sun as the people of Liverpool devoutly do to this day? Are other newspapers any better? We all enjoy a bit of gossip, it's hard to look away from kiss'n'tells or tittle-tattle whether it's about a doped-up soap star or Murdoch himself. I admit I read the story about his wife Wendi and Tony Blair in the Mail on Sunday last weekend and how they slept in the same house on numerous occasions, without ol' Digger knowing. There's no way we would be reading such a tale, even in its anodyne, sanitised form, without a tacit nod from Aussie-Skeletor. This being a story about powerful, litigious people, it was composed in befittingly genteel terms; the pair are described as having a "friendship". Imagine the pejorative bilge that they'd stir up and slap on, if it'd been a yarn not about tycoons and warlords but about people outside of the mainstream; an out-of-favour celeb, an immigrant or a gypsy. Then we'd be reading about "suspicious, nocturnal trysts" or sleazy secret liaisons. However, you want to describe it, the affair (by which I mean "matter", I've been advised by a lawyer, these words are all filtered and combed before you are allowed to see them) supposed to have caused Murdoch to give his former blood-brother the cold shoulder, hardly surprising after he got Blair elected and supported his unpopular, illegal war so vociferously. You can bet more kids of Sun readers were sent to Baghdad than of any other paper. Some friends of mine thought it dubious that the Sun's deceitful story appeared just days after I'd spoken out against the media, corporations and the government. It could be a coincidence. Or it could be that the Sun loves me when I'm a prattling, giggling, Essex boy "Shagger of the Year", when I'm in my proper place, beneath vacuous headlines, herding their flock towards dumb lingo and crap bingo, when I'm being cheeky on MTV or even unwisely invading answerphones, in a way that many would argue, is less offensive than the manner that they are alleged to have done. In my place I'm fine, but if I use my glistening podium, to talk to the people I grew up with, or signed on with or used drugs with, vulnerable overlooked, underserved, ordinary people, people that can't sue them as I am, then out come the fangs. We know they're all pals, who head up governments, newspapers and big businesses, who hobnob together and horse-ride together. Who can say what Murdoch meant in his letter to despondent and soiled Sun journalists when he ominously intoned that his empire would "emerge stronger". Certainly these are not words of contrition and the Sun on Sunday so swiftly returning to the fecund bone-yard of gossip, poison and lies indicates that they've learned nothing from the outrage they provoked with their desecration of the dead children of ordinary people. I wonder what punishment would be severe enough to make them recognise the wrong they've done to us? Maybe we should show solidarity with the people of Liverpool and the Sun's other victims. Or at least next time we skim these rags remember what they really think of us and what they really care about. Observe the companies that advertise on their tainted pages and let them know that we notice their allegiances. When they start to lose enough money, when enough of us come together and confront our real enemies, not the imaginary ones that they select, then perhaps the sun will go down and tomorrow we might see clearly, in the light of a new dawn. Russell Brand is donating his fee for this article to the Justice for the 96 campaign • This article was amended on 29 November 2013 to make explicit the wording of a Sun headline.This CD is amazing, there isn't one song there that I didn't love and that's odd occurance for me. You can feel his songs come from the heart, they have a soul, and guts and grit and they make you want to go and express how close it hits. It doesn't hurt that Brantley Gilbert had a hand in all the songs! Actually this is why you feel so connected to the songs, you know they are from him and have a real meaning and you can feel it. It shows in songs like Savin' Amy, Halfway To Heaven and Bendin' The Rules And Breakin' The Law. Now it's not all about heart, it's also about guts, some of the song are just the right kind to get you geared up, Take It Outside, Kick It In The Sticks and Hell On Wheels are perfect examples! And let's not forget about My Kind Of Crazy! I'm not gonna gush about this, but know I could, very easily. ;) Now - go buy it!Jess Phillips, the Labour MP for Birmingham Yardley, revealed three weeks ago that, in a single night, she’d received 600 messages from people discussing whether or not she would deserve to be raped. A week ago, Gavin Barwell, the Conservative MP for Croydon Central, said he’d been threatened at his office by a man with a knife. Today a man was charged over an alleged death threat left on the voicemail of Ben Bradshaw, the Labour MP for Exeter. To repeat: these are examples from the past three weeks alone. For MPs, this sort of treatment is normal, now. This is what they get. This is what comes with the job. And it doesn’t just hurt them. It will, in the long term, hurt us. Imagine a young person today, who dreams of entering politics to change things, to help us, to improve people’s lives – but then sees how an MP can be vilified and intimidated. Good people will decide not to enter politics in the first place. And we’ll all be worse off as a result. I know political debate has always been rough. MPs have always needed a thick skin. But in recent years, the hostility has intensified. This is a feature of the online age. Twenty years ago, if you wanted to send mindless abuse to an MP, all you could do was write them a letter. Bad enough, perhaps, but at least letter-writing is a solitary activity. On Twitter, by contrast, morons can swarm. They can attack together, feeding off each other’s furious glee. I doubt an MP ever received 600 rape threats overnight by post.Would you like to add or edit content here? Here's how you can have an account! From FreeThoughtPedia Overview Here we endeavor to organize a list of common theist arguments. These will be broken down into categories based on whether the arguments are general in nature (i.e. applying to a generic "god") or against specific religious philosophies. Looking for a quick summary? Take a look at the Top ten arguments for the existence of God. Notes to contributors Note to contributors: Try not to put the arguments in this page - this is mainly an index to individual pages with more details on each argument. Create a link on this page, save it, and then click on that link to set up your new page. For a good example of the format we want to present, see Argument From Design - each argument is broken into three main sections: summary, examples, problems/criticism. Theist statements representing the argument are wrapped in a bluebox template. Here's an example argument page to use as a template to cut-and-paste into new pages. Hall of Fame Arguments so amusing or erroneous they are fast becoming apocryphal. General Arguments Theist Propaganda Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed - A new movie featuring Ben Stein claims creationists are persecuted in the scientific community. When creationists attack - A montage of various creationist propaganda videos attempting to discredit evolutionary theory and people who believe in evolution. E-mail becomes a medium for various pro-god, mean-spirited or anti-atheist missives. Let's examine them. Why are atheists so angry? - Why do atheists always seem angry and pissed off? God sent me - A marine assaults a liberal college professor who demands god show himself Atheist's prayer answered by god - Here's a cute little story about an atheist being brutally murdered that Christians typically find adorable and amusing. Watch your back. Religion of Peace™ I was the biggest skeptic in the world - A classic piece of cut-and-paste Christian propaganda that's going around the net. The story of "an atheist like you" who "learned the truth" Philosophical Arguments The Secret - This self-help book/DVD and philosophy is currently all the rage, embraced by new age gurus and religious people alike The Burden of Proof God does exist - Standard Christian essay explaining why God exists Christian Arguments Scriptural/Dogmatic Arguments Bad Bible Advice - The "inspired word of God" seems to offer quite a lot of bad advice Bible trivia - Interesting claims and facts about the Bible Creationism/Intelligent Design - The most outrageous and visible battle in the war between theists and atheists. Here we examine all the arguments and details. Historical Arguments Scientific Arguments Essays A nation of Christians is not a Christian nation - Op-Ed from the NYT by the editor of Newsweek Muslim Arguments Other Religious Arguments See AlsoI was playing a game the other day, in which you have to come up with fruit that starts with every letter of the alphabet. Apple, banana, cherry…. and that is about where I hit a blank. My epic failure at this game made me do some research and what I discovered was a whole world of delicious looking fruit that I had never even known about! I was completely shocked to find that there are actually hundreds of different types of fruit (no need to include them all as omissions in the comments), most of which I had never even heard of. This list is not to rank the fruit, but rather just to inform you about them. The only fruit on this list I consider ranked is No: 1, as it deserves the spot, in clearly being the coolest fruit on the planet. How many of these exotically delicious fruit have you tried? 20 Sugar Apple Annona squamosa Sugar Apples or Sweetsop, is native to the tropical Americas, but is also widely grown in Pakistan, India and the Philippines. The fruit looks a bit like a pine cone, and are about 10 cm in diameter. Under the hard, lumpy skin is the fragrant, whitish flesh of the fruit, which covers several seeds inside, and has a slight taste of custard. Wallow in the delicious flavor of dried fruit when you buy Bare Fruit Organic Variety Pack, Gluten Free Baked Snacks at Amazon.com! 19 Mammee Apple Mammea americana Mammee Apple, Mamey Apple or Santo Domingo Apricot is an evergreen tree, native to South America, which was introduced to various other regions of the world including West Africa and South East Asia. They can also be found in Florida and Hawaii. The Mammee apple is actually a berry and gets up to 20 cm in diameter. It has a thick outer rind, with soft orange to yellow pulp on the inside. It usually had one seed in the centre, but larger fruit have been known to carry up to 4. The pulp is sweet and fragrant. 18 Cherymoya Annona cherimola Cherymoya, or custard apple, is a deciduous plant found in the high lying mountainous areas of South America. The fruit is vaguely round and is found with 3 types of skin – Impressa (indented), Tuberculate (covered in nodules) or intermediate (a combination of the first two). The flesh inside the skin is very fragrant, white, juicy and has a custard like consistency. It is said that the fruit tastes like a combination of banana, passion fruit, papaya and pineapple. Mark Twain said in 1866 “ the most delicious fruit known to men, cherimoya” 17 Platonia Platonia insignis Platonia or Bacuri is a large tree (reaching 40m) found in the rain forests of Brazil and Paraguay. The fruit become the size of a orange, and have a thick yellow peel which oozes a yellow latex when pressed. Inside there is a sticky white pulp, wrapped around several black seeds, which tastes pleasant and has a sweet and sour flavor. 16 Cocona Solanum sessiliflorum Cocona fruit is another tropical fruit found in the mountainous regions of South America. It grows on a small shrub, and can miraculously grow from seed to fruit in less than 9 months, after which the fruit will take another 2 months to ripen. The fruit is a berry and comes in red, orange or yellow. It has a similar appearance to tomatoes, and is said to taste like a mixture between tomatoes and lemons. 15 Breadfruit Artocarpus altilis Breadfruit is a large tree, in the mulberry family, found native to the Philippines and all the islands in Southeast Asia. The fruit is similar to bananas, as they can be eaten raw when ripe, and cooked when unripe. The ripe fruit is soft and sweet, while the unripe fruit is harder and starchy, which is where it got the name breadfruit from, as it tastes similar to freshly baked bread when cooked. 14 Duku Lansium domesticum Duku or lungsat are two very similar fruits found throughout Asia. They come from the same family, look and taste identical, with one difference. The skin of the lungsat contains a latex substance, which is not poisonous, but causes the skin to stick slightly to the fruit, whereas the duku has no latex and the peel is removed with more ease. Inside, the fruit has 5 segments, some of which has bitter seeds inside. It is a very sweet fruit and can be prepared in a number of different ways, including being canned in syrup or being dried like raisins. 13 Safou Dacryodes edulis Safou is an evergreen tree found in the humid tropical forests of Africa, as far south as Angola, and as far north as Nigeria. The fruits are also known as African pears and are oblong dark blue to violet fruits up to 14cm in length, with pale green flesh inside. These fatty fruits have been said to have the ability to put an end to starvation in Africa, as 48% of the fruit is made up of essential fatty acids, amino acids, Vitamins and triglycerides. The have estimated that a one hectare plantation would be able to produce 7-8 tons of oil, and all parts of the plant can be used. 12 Jabuticaba Myrciaria cauliflora Jabuticaba, or the Brazilian grape tree, is a very strange plant native to the South Eastern parts of Brazil. What makes this plant so strange is that it fruits from its trunk. No, I did not make that up, and no the picture has not been photo shopped. Initially, yellowish white flowers will appear all over the trunk and main branches, these flowers will then turn into fruit, about 3 – 4cm in diameter. Inside the thick purple skin is the soft gelatinous flesh of the fruit, along with 1 – 4 black seeds. The fruit is sweet and can be eaten as is or made into a wine or liqueur. Unfortunately, the fruit does not keep long when off the tree and will start to ferment after about 3 or 4 days. 11 Rambutan Nephelium lappaceum Rambutan is an odd fruit that looks like a furry strawberry from the outside, and much like a lychee on the inside. It is native to South East Asia, but has been spread and a smaller “wild” version can be found in Costa Rica, where it is called a Chinese sucker. The fruit is an oval shape and about 3-6 cm in diameter. Inside the slightly hard, but easily peal able skin, you can find a soft fruit that tastes slightly sweet, with a possible sour tinge. 10 Noni Morinda citrifolia Noni, otherwise known by many different names around the world, including the great moringa, Indian mulberry, dog dumpling and pace, is related to the coffee bean plant and is native throughout South East Asia and Australasia, but is cultivated throughout the tropics. The tree carries fruit throughout the year and the fruit tend to have a very pungent odour when ripening (also known as the cheese fruit or vomit fruit). Despite the smell, the fruit is high in fibre, vitamin A, protein, Iron and calcium, and is the staple diet on many Pacific Islands. The fruit can either be cooked into a stew or eaten raw with salt. 9 Marula Sclerocarya birrea The Marula is a deciduous tree native to Southern and Eastern Africa. The distribution of the tree throughout Africa, follow the migratory patterns of the Bantu people, as it was an important source of food, and they planted more trees along their way. The green fruit ripens and turns yellow, the white flesh inside is succulent and has a very distinct flavor. After falling off the tree, the fruit will start to ferment and these draw in animals, like elephants and baboons, for a slightly alcoholic treat. The fruit is also used to make a popular liqueur called Amarula, which can be found at any duty-free liquor store at airports. 8 Salmonberry Rubus spectabilis Salmonberrys are native to the west coast of North America, stretching from midway through Alaska, all the way down to California. They are found in moist forests and create dense thickets. The fruit looks similar to raspberries, but are more orange in color. They are sweet when eaten raw, but are often processed into juice, wine, candies and jams. 7 Salak Salacca zalacca Salak fruit, also known as the snake fruit, comes from a species of palm native to Indonesia. These fruit grow at the base of the palm, and gained the name snake fruit from their red brown, scaly skin. The skin is easily removed, and inside are 3 white, sweet segments that each contain a large black inedible seed. When eaten, the fruit have a slightly acidic but sweet flavor, and the consistency of apples. 6 Bael Aegle marmelos Bael, wood apple or stone apple is a species native to India, but found
popular vote by more than three million votes in 2016. Savage is apparently still citing the numbers from 2012. Moments later, the two likened the Republican party to a "prison gang," and Savage recommended that Democrats "fight dirty" as he added: <<< Please support MRC's NewsBusters team with a tax-deductible contribution today. >>> Republicans have brass knuckles on, and Democrats don't. And Democrats need to pick up the brass knuckles and play the game that's actually being played. So many Democrats think that they're in Washington to set a good example for the GOP. And we need to start fighting like the GOP fights, and even fighting as dirty as the GOP fights. Maher approvingly responded: "Okay. I'm glad you feel that way." A bit later, Savage derided voters in red states as "knuckle drag America" as he recalled: Democrats have to do a better job of turning those people out and stop chasing voters they're never going to get. Sending John Kerry out with a gun to shoot something right before the election didn't win him any votes in "knuckle drag America." Maher then claimed that, unlike Democrats, Republicans meet in an "underground lair" and plot strategy to do things like making up accusations of liberals being violent: They meet in their underground lair, their volcano, and they say, "Okay, tomorrow we are all going to say that the Left is unhinged and violent," even though it's crazy. And somebody goes, "Wait, the Left is not violent." "Yeah, but we're going to say that -- we're all going to say that." And then it's going to become true to at least half the country. Democrats need to do that, don't you think? Later in the show, after he brought aboard former counterterrorism official Richard Clarke to discuss Russian efforts to influence elections, Maher suggested that he believed the Georgia special election was somehow stolen by Republicans as he fretted: Are you confident those elections will be on the up and up? Because I'm not even sure about that Georgia election we just had because he was ahead in the polls. Once again, they're ahead in the polls, and then I guess something happened. Below is a transcript of relevant portions of the Saturday, June 30, Real Time with Bill Maher on HBO:Simon Black Sovereign Man Folks… you just can’t make this stuff up. On July 6th, just two days ago, at least a dozen busybody Congressmen sponsored the introduction of HR 2411, the “Reduce America’s Debt Now Act of 2011.” They always come up with fantastic names for these pieces of legislation… and rest assured, the better/more patriotic the name, the more ominous the bill. This one follows the pattern. HR 2411 states that every worker in America should be able to voluntarily have a portion of his/her wages automatically withheld and sent directly to the Treasury Department for the purposes of paying down the federal debt. “Every employer making payment of wages shall deduct and withhold upon such wages any amounts so elected, and shall pay such amounts over to the Secretary of the Treasury…” That’s right. Uncle Sam is so broke that he wants to give all the good little Americans out there the opportunity to contribute an even greater portion of their paychecks to finance government largess. Desperate? Hmmm…. Don’t worry, it gets better. Obviously, if an employee feels so compelled and should elect to have a portion of his/her paycheck withheld, the onus of responsibility is now on the employer to make it happen. The employer has to do all the paperwork, withhold the money, send the payment to the Treasury, maintain the account records, and probably submit to all kinds of new filing requirements. You can imagine that, if passed, the bill will result in a host of new IRS regulations, complete with a battery of penalties for employers who don’t fill out the paperwork properly, submit filings on time, or make some administrative mistake. Think about it: if a small business owner has one single employee who is dumb enough to think that it’s his patriotic duty to pay down the debt and decides to contribute $1/month, that owner will have the responsibility for all kinds of new forms and filings, plus submit to new ‘debt reduction audits.’ But don’t worry, it gets even better. So let’s say there are millions of sheep out there who elect to donate a portion of their toil and sweat so that the Chinese and big financial institutions don’t have to worry about an American default. How does Congress plan on rewarding its most patriotic citizens? By sticking it to them on their taxes, of course. Read Full ArticleAs the dust begins to settle around the guilty plea and nine-count indictments of three former members of Gov. Chris Christie’s inner circle in connection with the closing of access lanes at the George Washington Bridge in 2013, one Republican state senator — speaking out of tune with many of his colleagues — has some harsh words for the presidential hopeful. “The seeds for this entire event were planted when Chris Christie made the decision that he was going to run for reelection and basically ignore the Republican candidates that were running, including those running for the legislature,” said state Senator Mike Doherty (R-23), a ranking GOP member of the legislature. “His obsession with getting these 100 Democratic mayors led to this entire Bridgegate scandal. “He’s got no one to blame but himself for this fiasco,” he added. That fiasco — colloquially known as Bridgegate — was vaulted back into national headlines last week when U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman announced last week that criminal charges were being brought against three key players involved in the closings: former Port Authority official David Wildstein, former Port Authorty deputy executive directior Bill Baroni, and former Christie deputy chief of staff Bridget Kelly. Wildstein pled guilty to a two count information in federal court on Friday, admitting that he had conspired to shut down the lanes in Fort Lee as political retribution for the town’s Democratic mayor, who had refused to endorse the governor during his 2013 reelection campaign. Kelly and Baroni, meanwhile, proclaimed innocence during their own court appearance yesterday, calling Wildstein a “liar.” The news has also vaulted Christie — a likely candidate for the 2016 Republican nomination whose ambitions have been stymied by the scandal over these last two years– back into the spotlight. Pundits and political commentators spent the weekend speculating over all the ways the scandal might affect the Republican’s future political prospects, and the verdict, at this point, seems mixed: some observers, including many Republicans, have declared him exonerated of wrongdoing given an outcome that agrees with his previous claims about the situation, while others, mainly Democrats, consider it impossible to deny that Christie was at least partly responsible for creating a culture where subordinates thought a political payback scheme was acceptable. Christie, for his part, has defended himself with the former narrative, and prosecutors last week were careful not to fuel questions over the incumbent’s involvement in the lane closings. But Doherty, a 14 year veteran of the state legislature who’s vocally criticized the governor on other issues, said Christie’s fault in the matter is more political in nature. He points to the governor’s apparent reelection strategy in 2013, which placed a huge emphasis on bringing Democratic officials into the fold in an effort to secure a historically wide margin in his victory over former state Senator Barbara Buono and appear more bipartisan in the process. That strategy was largely successful, with Christie taking the election with some 61 percent of the vote and garnering support from demographics traditionally untapped by Republicans, including blacks and Latinos; but according to Doherty, it also forced Christie to abandon those who helped make his career possible in the first place. “I think I represent a lot of people who think he used us to get into the office, and then when it came time to use up some of that political capital that we helped him garner, he decided he was not going to expend any political capital on any of the Republican candidates, he was just going to use it for his own ambition,” Doherty said. “It’s going to be a continuing dark cloud over the state of New Jersey, it’s going to diminish the reputation of the Republican party, and good luck to somebody running in 2017.” To underscore the point, Doherty detailed to PolitickerNJ “one of the most strange political campaign events in my life,” which was a campaign stop Christie made in 2013 to Warren County, within Doherty’s home district. It was the weekend before the election, and Christie’s last visit to the county, and Doherty said the local Republican slate had gathered at Hot Dog Johnny’s, an “iconic hot dog joint” off of Route 46, he said, to greet Christie upon his arrival. Freeholder and legislative candidates mulled about the establishment with their families and supporters, excited to have the governor come and rally the team. But what they got when Christie’s motorcade finally showed up was not what they were expecting, he said. “It was just an extremely weird event, which I think is emblematic of the whole campaign,” Doherty said. “There were no speeches, none of the candidates running were allowed to speak, there was no platform or microphone, no nothing. And we just stood around, freeholder candidates, sheriff, legislative candidates, Republicans, and basically stood around with our thumb up our asses and waited for the bus to show up, and the governor got out, and he was surrounded by what I felt was an extremely large number of states troopers.” Doherty said the event was notable because it shed light on Christie’s strategy that year: “He didn’t want to be seen with Republicans or campaign with Republicans. “There was none of that. It was absolutely the contrary,” he said. “They made a purposeful decision not to have any speeches, not to have any platform, not to have any focus, not to recognize any of the elected officials there that were on the ballot with the governor. It was like an ego trip, as opposed to actually trying to help Republicans get elected. It was almost as if it was an obligation but he really didn’t want to be seen with us.” A West Point graduate who once served as a nuclear operations office in Germany with the U.S. military, Doherty said his grievances with the governor’s 2013 run in part comes down to his hallmark leadership style. Christie’s campaigning that year was, in fact, marked by a calculated design meant to win over local Democratic mayors and officials, such as Essex County executive Joe Divencenzo, and play for GOP seats in a select number of battleground districts, such as LD14, LD18, and LD38. For Christie, it paid off: political experts look on the Republican’s reelection campaign as a major turning point in the pragmatic pol’s effort to establish himself as a bipartisan power broker willing to reach across the aisle and make difficult decisions, and his overwhelming victory helped him achieve national recognition within his own party. But the governor arguably also managed to offend Republicans in the process, especially in a handful of South Jersey districts where rumors spread of the Republican cutting backroom deals with Democratic leaders like George Norcross III to avoid campaigning on their home turf in exchange for political support. In the end, Doherty insisted that his single-minded pursuit of reelection victory — and the Democratic support that helped make it so definitive — ultimately hurt Republicans in New Jersey. “One of the fundamentals of leadership is caring about your team, is not leaving anybody behind. The team goes across the goal line together, and a leader feels bad, ashamed, embarrassed when he leaves people behind. And here there was not even an effort to bring the team across the finish line. There was merely an effort for promoting himself. And we lost a tremendous opportunity,” Doherty said. Instead, Doherty said he would’ve like to see Christie settle for a smaller margin of success — 55 percent, perhaps — in order to campaign harder for those Republicans who helped get him elected in 2009. He noted that the party failed to add any seats to the legislature during Christie’s second run, despite a well-liked Republican executive finally occupying the front office. “Why garner political capital unless you’re going to expend it? You garner political capital so that by the fall election, you can tell the voters hey by the way, when you’re voting for me for reelection, vote for the Republicans too because I need them to do this and that and the other thing,” Doherty said, adding Christie “throws out compliments for Republican elected officials like manhole covers.” Doherty argued there are other governors — and presidential candidates — out there who have been successful in both garnering the popular vote but also building their own parties in the process, including Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker. Doherty said for him, “that’s more of leader, because you’re able to get a majority and actually effectuate policy changes in the state of New Jersey.” “It’s a serious character flaw that you do not care about your people,” he said. Doherty’s comments, aside from being a staunch condemnation of Christie’s 2013 campaign tactics, also underscore what many see as a slow splintering of allegiance among Republicans in Trenton. Christie swears his relationship with his GOP allies in the legislature has not weakened or wavered, but in a party that has shown in past years an almost dogged loyalty to the governor, there is evidence of growing fatigue. Earlier this month, state Senator Joe Kyrillos (R-13), a longtime friend and close Christie ally, defected to the campaign of one of the Republican’s biggest opponents, former Florida Senator Jeb Bush. Kyrillos’ departure has been viewed as an overwhelming blow to Christie’s burgeoning presidential campaign, even if the governor himself dismisses it. And the bleeding may not stop there: according a recent report in Politico, Bush is moving forward with a plan to have a majority of the state’s 16 Republican state senators endorse him, though no others have announced their support publicly. Doherty suggested Kryillos’ defection — which he thinks “says a lot”, given his long-standing relationship to Christie — could encourage others to move away from the governor in the coming weeks. But he noted that much of the GOP leadership in Trenton still stands with Christie when it comes to major legislative efforts, including a vote recently on a package of bills aimed at overhauling the Port Authority. That legislation had passed both houses unanimously last year, then was vetoed by the governor; but when it came back for an override vote in March, almost all Republicans — save Doherty himself — flipped and stood firmly alongside Christie. One of the factors that convinced several Republicans to vote down the override despite supporting the original legislation was the introduction of a separate reform package by Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean (R-21) a few months prior. Doherty said he is sometimes confused by Kean’s support for Christie’s initiatives, given Christie’s attempt in 2013 to oust Kean from his leadership post. Kean’s upset win over Christie-backed state Senator Kevin O’Toole (R-40) that year — which, for many, was the first time Republicans had defied the governor — was seen as a consequence of Christie’s restrained campaign-time presence in South Jersey, where Kean sought thanklessly to flip seats with a handful of female candidates despite the governor’s own plan to avoid doing so. “Sometimes I scratch my head, because Tom really owes no allegiance to Chris Christie and yet he seem to carry water for him from time to time,” Doherty said. Ultimately, Doherty said the party’s problems in New Jersey are likely to continue, particularly given the events of the past week. Whether or not Christie himself is able to get beyond the fallout from Bridgegate and continue on with a presidential run, Doherty argued the scandal ultimately reflects “negatively on all Republicans and our message.” “It’s going to be a continuing dark cloud over the state of New Jersey, it’s going to diminish the reputation of the Republican Party, and good luck to somebody running in 2017,” Doherty said. “It seems a longer and longer shot that a Republican is going to get consideration by the voters of New Jersey. They’re going to say, are you kidding me, we just had eight years of Republican rule and what do we have to show for it?” The governor’s office declined to comment on the senator’s criticisms, but noted a certain irony in the fact that Doherty would point to Christie’s appearance in Warren, one of the most conservative counties in the state, as evidence that he had avoided campaigning with Republicans. “We have a lot of problems, and we’ve been pulled into this storm that appears it’s going to last another couple of years,” Doherty added. “I’m sick and tired of it, frankly.”For other uses of "gun barrel" or "barrel of a gun", see Barrel of a Gun A gun barrel is a crucial part of gun-type ranged weapons such as small firearms, artillery pieces and air guns. It is the straight shooting tube, usually made of rigid high-strength metal, through which a contained rapid expansion of high-pressure gas(es) is introduced (via propellant combustion or mechanical compression) behind a projectile in order to propel it out of the front end (muzzle) at a high velocity. The hollow interior of the barrel is called the bore. The measurement of the diameter of the bore is called the caliber. Caliber is usually measured in inches or millimetres. The first firearms were made at a time when metallurgy was not advanced enough to cast tubes capable of withstanding the explosive forces of early cannons, so the pipe (often built from staves of metal) needed to be braced periodically along its length for reinforcement, producing an appearance somewhat reminiscent of storage barrels being stacked together, hence the English name.[1] History [ edit ] Gun barrels are usually metal. However, the early Chinese, the inventors of gunpowder, used bamboo, which has a strong, naturally tubular stalk and is cheaper to obtain and process, as the first barrels in gunpowder projectile weapons such as the fire lances.[2] The Chinese were also the first to master cast-iron cannon barrels, and used the technology to make the earliest infantry firearms — the hand cannons. Early European guns were made of wrought iron, usually with several strengthening bands of the metal wrapped around circular wrought iron rings and then welded into a hollow cylinder.[3] Bronze and brass were favoured by gunsmiths, largely because of their ease of casting and their resistance to the corrosive effects of the combustion of gunpowder or salt water when used on naval vessels.[4] Early firearms were muzzle-loading, with the gunpowder and then the shot loaded from the front end (muzzle) of the barrel, and were capable of only a low rate of fire due to the cumbersome loading process. The later-invented breech-loading designs provided a higher rate of fire, but early breechloaders lacked an effective way of sealing the escaping gases that leaked from the back end (breech) of the barrel, reducing the available muzzle velocity.[5] During the 19th century, effective breechblocks were invented that sealed a breechloader against the escape of propellant gases.[6] Early cannon barrels were very thick for their caliber. This was because manufacturing defects such as air bubbles trapped in the metal were common back in the days, and played key factors in many gun explosions; these defects made the barrel too weak to withstand the pressures of firing, causing it to fail and fragment explosively.[7] Construction [ edit ] A gun barrel must be able to hold in the expanding gas produced by the propellants to ensure that optimum muzzle velocity is attained by the projectile as it is being pushed out. If the barrel material cannot cope with the pressure within the bore, the barrel itself might suffer catastrophic failure and explode, which will not only destroy the gun but also present a life-threatening danger to people nearby. Modern small arms barrels are made of carbon steel or stainless steel materials known and tested to withstand the pressures involved. Artillery pieces are made by various techniques providing reliably sufficient strength.[8][9] Fluting [ edit ] In firearms terminology, fluting refers to the removal of material from a cylindrical surface, usually creating rounded grooves, for the purpose of reducing weight. This is most often done to the exterior surface of a rifle barrel, though it may also be applied to the cylinder of a revolver or the bolt of a bolt-action rifle. Most flutings on rifle barrels and revolver cylinders are straight, though helical flutings can be seen on rifle bolts and occasionally also rifle barrels. While the main purpose of fluting is just to reduce weight and improve portability, when adequately done it can retain the structural strength and rigidity and increase the overall specific strength. Fluting will also increase the surface-to-volume ratio and make the barrel more efficient to cool after firing, though the reduced material mass also means the barrel will heat up easily during firing. Components [ edit ] Chamber [ edit ] The chamber is the cavity at the back end of a breech-loading gun's barrel where the cartridge is inserted in position ready to be fired. In most firearms (rifles, shotguns, machine guns and pistols), the chamber is an integral part of the barrel, often made by simply reaming the rear bore of a barrel blank, with a single chamber within a single barrel. In revolvers, the chamber is a component of the gun's cylinder and completely separate from the barrel, with a single cylinder having multiple chambers that are rotated in turns into alignment with the barrel in anticipation of being fired. Structurally, the chamber consists of the body, shoulder and neck, the contour of which closely correspond to the casing shape of the cartridge it is designed to hold. The rear opening of the chamber is the breech of the whole barrel, which is sealed tight from behind by the bolt, making the front direction the path of least resistance during firing. When the cartridge's primer is struck by the firing pin, the propellant is ignited and deflagrates, generating high-pressure gas expansion within the cartridge case. However, the chamber restrains the cartridge case (or shell for shotguns) from moving, allowing the bullet (or shot/slug in shotguns) to separate cleanly from the casing and be propelled forward along the barrel to exit out of the front (muzzle) end as a projectile. The act of chambering a gun refers to the process of loading a cartridge into the gun's chamber, either manually as in single loading, or via operating the weapon's own action as in pump action, lever action, bolt action or self-loading actions. In the case of an air gun, a pellet itself has no casing to be retained and will be entirely inserted into the chamber (often called "seating" or "loading" the pellet, rather than "chambering" it) before a mechanically pressurized gas is released behind the pellet and propels it forward, meaning that an air gun's chamber is functionally equivalent to the freebore portion of a firearm barrel. In the context of firearms design, manufacturing and modification, the word "chambering" has a different meaning, and refers to fitting a weapon's chamber specifically to fire a particular caliber or model of cartridge. Bore [ edit ] The bore is the hollow internal lumen of the barrel, and takes up a vast majority portion of the barrel length. It is the part of the barrel where the projectile (bullet, shot, or slug) is located prior to firing and where it gains speed and kinetic energy during the firing process. The projectile's status of motion while travelling down the bore is referred to as its internal ballistics. Most modern firearms (except muskets, shotguns, most tank guns, and some artillery pieces) and air guns (except some BB guns) have helical grooves called riflings machined into the bore wall. When shooting, a rifled bore imparts spin to the projectile about its longitudinal axis, which gyroscopically stabilizes the projectile's flight attitude and trajectory after its exit from the barrel (i.e. the external ballistics). Any gun without riflings in the bore is called a smoothbore gun. When a firearm cartridge is chambered, its casing occupies the chamber but its bullet actually protrudes beyond the chamber into and touches the wall of the posterior end of the bore. Even in a rifled bore, this short rear section is without rifling, and is called a freebore. The length of the freebore not in contact with the bullet is called the leade, which allows the bullet an initial "run-up" to build up momentum before encountering riflings. The area where the rifleless bore transitions into rifled bore is the throat, where the riflings impactfully “bite” into the moving bullet during shooting, and is subjected to the greatest thermomechanical stress and therefore suffers wear the fastest. Throat erosion is often the main determining factor of a gun's barrel life. Muzzle [ edit ] The muzzle is the front end of barrel from which the projectile will exit.[10] Precise machining of the muzzle is crucial to accuracy, because it is the last point of contact between the barrel and the projectile. If inconsistent gaps exist between the muzzle and the projectile, escaping propellant gases may spread unevenly and deflect the projectile from its intended path (see transitional ballistics). The muzzle can also be threaded on the outside to allow the attachment of different accessory devices. In rifled barrels, the contour of a muzzle is designed to keep the rifling safe from damage by intruding foreign objects, so the front ends of the rifling grooves are commonly protected behind a concave crown, which also serves to modulate the even expansion of the propellant gases. The crown itself is often recessed from the outside rim of the muzzle to avoid accidental damage from collision with the surrounding environment. In smoothbore barrels firing multiple sub-projectiles (such as shotgun shots), the bore at the muzzle end might have a tapered constriction called choke to shape the scatter pattern for better range and accuracy. Chokes are implemented as either interchangeable screw-in chokes for particular applications, or as fixed permanent chokes integral to the barrel. During firing, a bright flash of light known as a muzzle flash is often seen at the muzzle. This flash is produced by both superheated propellent gases radiating energy during expansion (primary flash), and the incompletely combusted propellant residues reacting vigorously with the fresh supply of ambient air upon escaping the barrel (secondary flash). The size of the flash depends on factors such as barrel length (shorter barrels have less time for complete combustion, hence more unburnt powder), the type (fast- vs. slow-burning) and amount of propellant (higher total amount means likely more unburnt residues) loaded in the cartridge. Flash suppressors or muzzle shrouds can be attached to the muzzle of the weapon to either diminish or conceal the flash.[10] The rapid expansion of propellant gases at the muzzle during firing also produce a powerful shockwave known as a muzzle blast. The audible component of this blast, also known as a muzzle report, is the loud "bang" sound of gunfire that can easily exceeds 140 decibels and cause permanent hearing loss to the shooter and bystanders. The non-audible component of the blast is an infrasonic overpressure wave that can cause damage to nearby fragile objects. Accessory devices such as muzzle brakes and muzzle boosters can be use to redirect muzzle blast in order to counter the recoil-induced muzzle rise or to assist the gas operation of the gun, and suppressors (and even muzzle shrouds) can be used to reduce the blast noise intensity felt by nearby personnels. See also [ edit ] References [ edit ] Bibliography [ edit ]U.S. women's national team player Megan Rapinoe knelt during the playing of the national anthem of the Seattle Reign FC's Sunday night game against the Chicago Red Stars. Rapinoe said it was an intentional move and “a nod to Kaepernick,” according to John D. Halloran of American Soccer Now. She later tweeted that the action was the “least I can do.” It's the least I can do. Keep the conversation going. https://t.co/qwfHcqgV6J — Megan Rapinoe (@mPinoe) September 5, 2016 ESPN's Julie Foudy spoke with Rapinoe about the decision to kneel and shared the following on Twitter. Rapinoe told Foudy that she intends to continue kneeling during the anthem at games going forward. Rapinoe to me on taking a knee for anthem: I'm disgusted w way Colin has been treated & the fans & hatred he has received in all of this. — Julie Foudy (@JulieFoudy) September 5, 2016 Rapinoe: It is overtly racist. Stay in ur place black man. Just didn’t feel right to me. And quite honestly being gay, I have stood with... — Julie Foudy (@JulieFoudy) September 5, 2016 Rapinoe: my hand over my heart during the national anthem & felt like I haven’t had my liberties protected, so I can absolutely sympathize.. — Julie Foudy (@JulieFoudy) September 5, 2016 Rapinoe: with that feeling. The very least that I can do is continue the conversation with him by kneeling for the anthem. — Julie Foudy (@JulieFoudy) September 5, 2016 San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick has decided not to stand for the national anthem during the preseason in protest of racial inequalities and injustices taking place in America, including police-related violence. He was joined by teammate Eric Reid in the movement as both took a knee as the anthem played in Thursday's preseason game. • Support for Colin Kaepernick and his message flourishes Kaepernick started the last preseason game for the 49ers and was booed by fans as he took the field.Nusra accelerates Idlib offensive Following up on their rapid success capturing Wadi a-Deif, Jabhat a-Nusra attacked the regime military base of al-Mastumah in Idlib Wednesday, resulting in the flight of dozens of soldiers and killing an unspecified number, reported pro-opposition SmartNews. “Assad's forces withdrew from the two camps of Ariha and al-Mastumah towards Latakia in particular, afraid of a repeat of the Wadi a-Deif scenario,” Abdullah Jadaan, Syria Mubasher correspondent, told Syria Direct Thursday. He added that Nusra fighters saw more than 40 armed vehicles fleeing the camp. As of publishing, Nusra fighters have not stormed the camp, but are paving the way for an assault by striking the site with Grad missiles. In related news, a regime officer in al-Mastumah detonated a hand grenade he was holding under unclear circumstances, possibly by accident, igniting surrounding ammunition caches and killing a number of fellow officers and soldiers, reported pro-opposition Siraj press. Mainstream regime news outlets have not commented on the al-Mastumah battle. Al-Mastumah is a gathering and launching point for regime forces headed to nearby checkpoints, and sits on the supply route from Latakia to Idlib. SOHR: 11,000 regime dead over 5 months Approximately 11,000 regime soldiers have been killed in battle over the past five months, reported the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights Wednesday. A total of 5,600 dead were soldiers and officers in the Syrian army, 4,500 were from the National Defense Forces (shabiha) and other pro-regime militias, and 730 were foreign fighters of various nationalities in addition to 90 fighters from Hezbollah. The precision of these numbers could not be independently verified. The rising death toll among regime ranks is reflected by a recent series of protests among Syria's pro-regime, and particularly Alawite, community. Earlier this month, pro-regime residents of the village of Basnada in Latakia province engaged in a firefight with security forces during a funeral for a Basnada soldier. Protestors raised signs demanding an end to mandatory conscription and the pushing of young men into open fronts, reported pro-opposition news channel Al-Aan TV. Mass grave contains 230 more Shaitat tribesmen killed by IS Residents of Syria’s eastern Deir e-Zor province on Wednesday uncovered a mass grave containing the bodies of more than 230 members of the Shaitat tribe, bringing the total number of Shaitat tribesmen executed by the Islamic State to 900 since August, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, with an estimated 1,800 still missing. The figures could not be independently verified. UNSCR extends resolution on cross-border aid The United Nations Security Council unanimously agreed Wednesday to renew authorization for UN agencies and implementing partners for a period of one year to deliver cross-border humanitarian aid into Syria, even without the Syrian government’s permission. The agreement extends UNSC resolution 2165, which in July authorized aid convoys to enter Syria through the Bab a-Salama and Bab al-Hawa crossings along the Turkish border and the Ramtha and al-Yarubiya crossings on the Jordanian and Iraqi borders, respectively. The UN and its partners have struggled to reach more 12 million Syrians in need of relief aid, with both the Syrian government and the Islamic State imposing restrictions on aid convoys. The UNSC expressed that it is “gravely concerned” with the ineffective implementation of past resolutions on humanitarian access and called on all parties to facilitate humanitarian access. Telbisa residents receive humanitarian aid. Photo courtesy of Telbieseh Mobasher Network. For more from Syria Direct, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.On Friday, Nov. 3, eight pedestrians were hit by motor vehicles in Toronto before noon — one of them a 2-year-old child, another in a hit and run, yet another was a woman taken to hospital in life-threatening condition. On Tuesday night, Oct. 31, a 14-vehicle crash resulted in a fiery explosion on Hwy. 400 killed three people, apparently after a fuel tanker truck “approaching the area where traffic had slowed appeared to have crashed through other vehicles, setting off a chain reaction.” So, naturally, a public debate about road safety is in order. And for much of the past week, we’ve been having one, centred on... well, let me see. Ah, right, here it is: Recently, public debate has focused on whether to ban distracted walking, but it misses the real reason there has been carnage on our roads, Ed Keenan writes. ( Bernard Weil / Toronto Star ) We’ve been debating whether Ontario should follow Honolulu’s lead in adopting a “Zombie Law.” I gotta say, I honestly don’t know if the undead will be deterred by the threat of a provincial offences fine, though anything that will slow their relentless march through the hellscape of the post-apocalypse is worth a — hold on. Right. It seems what we’re talking about is not literal zombies, but instead those who text or use their phones while walking, especially while crossing the street. One Hawaiian city has banned the practice, and there are those who think we should follow suit. “Distracted walking” is the less apocalyptic term, and I see I’ve addressed it before, one year ago this week, actually. But apparently it needs addressing again, because this is kind of a “zombie idea,” in that it keeps resurfacing from the grave, and periodically feasts on the brains of decent, otherwise reasonable people. Article Continued Below Like Liberal MPP Yvan Baker, who proposes a private member’s bill to formally ban texting and walking, and Premier Kathleen Wynne, who may be entertaining supporting it. And like my esteemed colleagues Emma Teitel and Martin Regg Cohn, who have written supporting the idea. These latter two, at least, are smart people and good writers, though in this case they are wrong. Let’s take Teitel’s argument first, since it is so amusing and fun, as arguments go. She writes that a ban on texting and walking would help us all avoid the “soul-crushing looks of disapproval from old people that no one should ever have to bear.” I would just point out that applying this things-some-stereotype-of-our-grandparents-disapprove-of principle more broadly would, if the chatter down at the Country Style is any indication, also mean banning “that noisy rap crap” from the radio, require most of us to hike up our pants and stop hiking up our skirts, and force us to get out of bed early on the weekend to “catch the worm.” This isn’t a legislative agenda I would welcome, really. But Teitel’s other argument, and one Cohn focuses on, is that a fine for looking at your phone while crossing the road is a useful nudge because it is “exceedingly dangerous.” The thing is, this seems intuitively right — it’s a good idea to pay close attention to your surroundings when crossing the street. And yet there’s not really any evidence that the obviously common practice of phone use in the streets is all that dangerous. At least not to the degree that ought to prompt legislative action, as the Star’s editorial board recently argued. A new Honolulu ordinance allows police officers to ticket pedestrians who look at a cellphone or electronic device while crossing a city street. The National Safety Council says Honolulu is the biggest city to pass this type of ordinance. (The Associated Press) As I observed last year, the vast majority of accidents are attributed to driver error. The only studies that ever cite pedestrian distraction as a factor in even a small percentage of accidents include things like walking dogs and supervising children as distractions. As Oliver Moore of the Globe and Mail reported recently, the Toronto Police Service’s Clint Stibbe could not recall a single instance of a pedestrian being struck because they were distracted by their phone in the five years he’s served as the force’s traffic spokesperson. More pedestrians are struck and killed while standing on the sidewalk, Moore observed on Twitter, than when distracted by their phones. Shall we ban the more dangerous practice of sidewalk use as well? (“If only one life could be saved!” you can imagine the MPP proposing forbidding ever leaving your home on foot saying.) Still, Cohn writes, a small fine, probably rarely enforced — what’s the problem? It’s a law, he implies in his column, that will function as a bit of a friendly reminder. “Just as jaywalking laws are aspirational (and barely enforceable) so too a ban on distracted crosswalking could be educational (and rarely adversarial).” In my experience, laws that are “educational” or “aspirational” and rarely enforced are vulnerable to being selectively enforced, employed as a means of harassment or intimidation, or as pretext for a stop and search, or as a way of filling quotas — and employed most against certain groups of people authorities may want to target. The Star’s pages have been filled with examples of such selective enforcement for more than a decade. This is especially a potential problem with something like phone use, where whether a person was looking at the phone in their hand or not
a tyrant. He was a killer. He was a liar." - @TomLlamasABC, whose parents fled Cuba. https://t.co/ukoRAvyomD — Good Morning America (@GMA) November 26, 2016 I'll leave you with this as a response to all of the absurd moral equivalency portrayed in the statements, lack of reality and absence of historical record above.A UNION of Kilmarnock supporters groups has stated its intention to bid for the club – if they become debt-free. Kilmarnock have a debt of more than £9 million but chairman Michael Johnston is reported to have held negotiations with the club’s bankers over a deal. A group calling itself the Killie (Community) Working Party hopes to establish a Community Interest Company, in conjunction with Supporters Direct Scotland, to purchase the club. A representative of the group, Gary Torbett, said: “We would like to acknowledge the work being undertaken by the chairman of Kilmarnock Football Club to make the club debt-free and would positively encourage him to make every effort to come to an agreement with the club bankers and other significant lenders to reduce the debt to zero. The Killie (Community) Working Party would like to make an offer to purchase the chairman’s entire shareholding if this can be achieved.” Torbett added: “We see this move as a genuine step forward as we prepare to get our club back. Unfortunately there remains concern amongst supporters with the long-term position of the club and we firmly believe that fan and community ownership is where that lies.” The groups represented in the collective are the Killie Trust, the Kilmarnock FC Supporters Association, Minority shareholders in Kilmarnock FC, the Business Club and Young Kilmarnock.The Israeli military's "pinpoint strikes" on houses in Gaza have killed whole families and children but few of the wanted men they are meant to target because they have long made themselves scarce, Palestinian residents say. After five days of cross-border barrages between Gaza militants and Israel's air force, at least 81 of the 121 Palestinians killed have been civilians, including 25 children, according to Palestinian medical officials. Early Saturday, two disabled women were killed and four other people seriously wounded when an Israeli tank shell struck a rehabilitation center in the eastern part of Gaza City, Palestinian medics said. An Israeli military spokeswoman said she was checking for details on why the center was targeted. The Gaza Interior Ministry told Reuters that over 200 family homes had been targeted since the Israeli campaign began, many belonging to police officers and militants but only around 15 housing high-ranking commanders. The Israeli military described a strike on the home of the Kaware family in which eight people died as a "tragic mistake," saying residents had not heeded their warning. A rushed voice crackled over the Gaza police radio frequency Friday, reporting an airstrike on a family house in Beit Hanoun. Israel's military says it has aborted planned attacks when neighbors gather in numbers to defend homes. ...- A former Plano Senior High School teacher is out on bond after facing charges for sexually assaulting one of her students and sending nude photos of herself to him. Alaina Ferguson, 23, was engaged to be married. But now, the wedding has been called off and is out of a job. According to Plano ISD, Ferguson only taught at the school for two months as an algebra teacher before she quit in October. But it was in that short time that detectives say Ferguson met a 16-year-old student in one of her classes and began an inappropriate relationship with him. According to an arrest affidavit, the relationship began around the start of the school year after the 16-year-old student wrote his Snapchat username on a test and handed it to Ferguson. Shortly after chatting online, the reports state the two met up in Lewisville and had sex on a park bench. Two weeks later, she reportedly assaulted him again at a McKinney apartment that belonged to Ferguson's fiancé, who was out of town. The affidavit says the two had intercourse at the apartment several times and that Ferguson provided the teen with alcohol. The detective who wrote the arrest warrant noted that Ferguson told the teen “she knew it was not the right thing to do, but it felt right at the time. And that she was going to break it off with her fiancé because she didn’t feel anything with him.” The arrest warrant says the last time the two had sex was in early November in the back of the student's pickup truck following a football game. Youssef Badawi didn't have Ferguson as a teacher but says word of her arrest has been the topic of conversation at Plano Senior High. “A friend of mine told me, and he heard from his friend. And his friend knew the guy who had relations with this teacher,” the student said. “It’s kind of crazy. It’s scary that this could happen between a teacher and a child,” another student said. “That’s very concerning to hear you're sending your child somewhere you think is safe,” said James Bishop, whose kid attends the school. “You want them to learn and get a good education but not that kind.” Ferguson's bond is set at $100,000. As part of the terms of her release, a judge ordered that she must wear an electronic monitoring device, deactivate all of her social media sites and is prohibited from using the internet.Last year at this time, Verizon — by many accounts, the leading voice communications service provider in North America — selected Mesosphere DC/OS (which didn’t have the slash back then) as the orchestration platform for its data center services. So it should come as some comfort to Verizon, and other Mesosphere customers that cohabit the rarefied air of the upper reaches of the Fortune 100, which Apache Mesos — the platform upon which commercial DC/OS is constructed — officially issued the final production-ready version 1.0 into general release. So does the declaration of Mesos 1.0 actually mean anything, besides a ding of the proverbial egg timer? After all, Mesos and the commercial products based on Mesos from Mesosphere have already made their way into many of the world’s major organizations, and not just on the experimental side of the fence. “The introduction of the 1.0 API is really going to be beneficial for all the frameworks that run on top,” declared Ben Hindman, Apache Mesos’ co-creator and Mesosphere’s founder and chief architect, in an interview with The New Stack. “Because we’ve introduced the 1.0 API, Mesosphere is actually going to be able to iterate much, much faster on the frameworks.” Conversion The challenge with versioning in the past, with Mesos as well as many other software platforms throughout history, has revolved around the synchronization of dependencies, including libraries. With new versions of platforms often come new libraries, which overwrite and supersede the old libraries. But that supersession can have a detrimental impact on older versions of the platform which must co-exist alongside new versions, especially in multi-tenant environments. So the big deal with Mesos 1.0 is that it rolls everything up into a nicer, tighter package. “We recognize that, in the world of open source projects these days, people don’t really adhere to versioning very well,” said Hindman, “especially around API versioning. And we just really wanted to do that. We thought it was really important to put out an API, and version it appropriately. We’ve seen a lot of other projects in the open source space, both in the container space as well as the big data space, that have abused that, and it’s really a giant pain in the butt for users and developers.” Mesos’ new HTTP API — which Hindman promises, from this point forward, will be properly versioned — is intended to enable developers to write frameworks (Mesos’ term for an application running on its platform) using any language. Previously, a developer usually had to make use of one of a handful of Mesos libraries, a few of which were written in Go, but others in more classic languages like Java and C++. Ironically, this made a version change to one of the greatest catalysts for agility ever to emerge in the data center, painfully slow. So Hindman and his fellow Mesos engineers developed a remote procedure call protocol around HTTP, similar to the GRPC protocol developed for HTTP/2. The syntax of the call itself is either Google’s protobuf or simple JSON. Now, evolving the API can more of a sensible, iterative affair. Hindman says Mesos does plan to support GRPC directly in a future release, now that “future” can be carved into more near-term intervals. “I think at the end of the day, the idea is that it’s a much more consistent API across all the different endpoints that we currently have,” said Hindman, “and it’s just better for our users. We just wanted to get that out before we called it ‘1.0,’ not because 1.0 is about stability and maturity for us, but because it’s really about the users, and giving them an API that they would feel comfortable with, through the 1.0-to-2.0 cycle.” The Unified Containerizer Only in an industry like ours can something be named a “containerizer,” and a good number of its practitioners know exactly what it means. Since the beginning of Mesos — which was many, many weeks behind Docker on the scale of evolution — it accomplished partitioning of processes by way of a component Mesos called the “containerizer.” Although Mesos provided its own, beginning with version 0.20.0, it allowed for operators to substitute an external containerizer — which was necessary for Mesos to support Docker images. “Back in 2009 when we first started, containerization was a big premise of what we were doing,” Hindman told us. “The idea was, we could do lightweight resource isolation through the containerization technologies that existed in things like Solaris, and which were coming into maturity in Linux at the time. So we had to do containerization ‘ourselves,’ in quotes, where we were directly using the underlying technologies from Linux — control groups and namespaces — to containerize applications that we were running.” When Docker arrived on the scene, it introduced its own daemon for containerization, followed soon afterward by its own container image format. “So we clearly weren’t going to throw away all of the existing containerization runtime that we had,” he continued, “because we had some users who were going to keep using it no matter what — the Apples, the PayPals, the Netflixes, and the Twitters. We couldn’t just say, ‘Hey, guys, you all have to move to this Docker daemon now, because we’re going to stop doing containerization.’ They would have been up in arms.” Thus Mesos added support for Docker’s format as well as CoreOS’ appc and plans to support the final OCI standard immediately once it’s published. In each of these cases, Mesos does not require the native daemon of the container engine associated with the format — which, he explains, can be non-deterministic, and therefore difficult to automate. Mesos 1.0, explained Hindman, makes support for Docker images official without invoking the external containerizer. Another new feature of the unified containerizer is the ability to shut down the Mesos agent without shutting down the containers it had already launched. This will prove valuable, he said, when Mesos or DC/OS is being upgraded, as the process can happen now without shutting down currently running tasks. Nested container support has also been added — meaning, the ability for the application within a container to serve as a platform in itself that spins up its own container, under a subordinate level of control. Before 1.0, Hindman pointed out, a container under Mesos could indeed spin up another container, but as a sibling. But that process was beginning to pose serious security concerns. “The minute that you start bringing sibling containers, you run into all sorts of architectural issues,” he explained, “that include things like, what happens if your container dies? How do you properly know to clean up the sibling containers? How many resources should be restricted in that sibling container? If you can just arbitrarily launch sibling containers, can you overwhelm the machine?” A nested container, by contrast, will only have access to the same resources granted to the parent. This, we’re told, will make the use case of running Jenkins in containers much more feasible, as well as more secure. Day Two Hindman then told us the story of one major Mesosphere customer who adopted the universal containerizer, and soon discovered that it could not deploy one of its apps on the Mesos platform — one that had run just fine using the external containerizer and the Docker daemon. After an extraordinarily long round of debugging, Hindman and his colleagues traced the bug to the kernel of the specific Linux distribution this customer was using. This bug would prevent the container from being properly created, and while it would report that message back to Docker, the daemon would ignore that report and attempt to execute the container anyway. Mesos would fail the same container that Docker would happily run on its own. Though this bug is now resolved, Hindman said the experience revealed to him the differences in methodology between the two platforms. “We’ve been very focused on stability, correctness, resource isolation — the components that we really cared about when we run this at big scale,” he remarked. “I think the Docker daemon still is getting some of that maturity, so you’ll see it in examples like this. You might say you’d prefer the Docker daemon experience, which is just, ‘Run my application anyway.’ But it’s one of those things where, maybe you get the app up and running, but what happens later down the line when things start really breaking, and then you’re like, ‘Why is this breaking? I don’t understand!’ And then you realize, oh, it’s because you weren’t being properly isolated and so you ran into this issue, whereas we were catching this thing ahead of time. “I think it funnels into, generally, the way that we really think in the Mesos community about what we’re building. We really think about the operators, and what’s going to give the operators the best experience?” he said. Hindman calls this methodology “Day Two Operations,” and explained it to us as the difference between purely configuration-driven automation, such as the original style of Chef and Puppet, to the broader concept of real-time cluster management accomplished through DC/OS, as well as Kubernetes and Docker Swarm. “It would be nice if we didn’t just move the deployment responsibility, but we also enabled new opportunities and new value-adds for the operators,” he continued. “To me, the specific ones we want are around Day Two Operations. It’s actually operating these things, not the very first time we deploy them, but when you want to upgrade them, to do maintenance in your cluster, and these other things. That’s something that we’ve really thought carefully about as we built in containerization features.” Mesosphere is a sponsor of The New Stack.(Newser) – Parents outraged by Common Core can at least be glad their kids aren't being schooled in North Korea. The Telegraph reports that middle school and high school teachers there have been issued a manual to use while teaching a new subject for 2015: "Kim Jong Un's Revolutionary Activities." The manual contains details of Kim Jong Un's childhood—specifically, the amazing story of how he was driving by age 3, per YTN TV. It also notes that Kim is an awesome artist, pens musical scores, and was acing yachting races before puberty. "At the age of 9, Kim Jong Un raced the chief executive of a foreign yacht company who was visiting North Korea at the time," one of the passages reportedly reads (he won that race "despite the odds," per Metro). This inherent ability to win at life apparently runs in the family: The Telegraph brings up old claims that were made about Kim's father. Kim Jong Il supposedly walked at 3 weeks of age, talked at 8 weeks, wrote six operas, and penned 1,500 books during his three-year college tenure (take that, L. Ron Hubbard). But a professor at Tokyo's Waseda University thinks the new curriculum is less about genealogical bragging rights and more about panicked propaganda. "Not many people in the North have respect for Mr. Kim, so children are being taught how great and powerful he is," Toshimitsu Shigemura tells the Telegraph. "The children believe it, of course, but the teachers have no choice but to believe it." (In other just-like-dad news, Kim Jong Un is reportedly recruiting new talent to what has become known as the "pleasure squad.")I was reminded of this one a couple days ago. I believe it was Greg Hamilton of Insights Training that said your choice in how to behave in a self-defense situation, often involving the question if you should get involved, if you should draw your gun, etc., should be based around your ability to maximize your beer and TV time. Let’s say you’re at home. You hear a noise outside and see someone breaking into your car to steal your stereo. Even if your local laws would allow you to go out there and use (deadly) force to defend your property, is that the best course of action? Perhaps. According to the maxim, perhaps not. If you ran out there with a baseball bat or with guns blazing, you might stop the theft. You might end up with a lot of bullet holes in your car, which now you have to repair (and explain). You may end up with a mess of a legal situation on your hands (look at Joe Horn). You may end up being arrested. All sorts of things could happen that could be rather a mess to deal with. Or, you could take a picture or video, get a description of the perp, if they’re in a car perhaps describe it and get a license plate number, and report it to the police. You do have insurance on your car for just such an occasion. And then, you can go back to watchin’ the game havin’ a Bud. Let’s say someone comes up to you and your wife on the street. They ask for a cigarette, you don’t have one. They glance around, then out of nowhere they grab your wife and someone else comes out of the shadows to grab you. Yeah, you probably want to draw your gun… because coming out of this alive instead of being found dead at crime scene #2 is probably what’s going to maximize your future enjoyment of TV and beer. As you think through scenarios, as you consider yourself in situation and ask “What would I do?” “Would this be the right place to act in such-and-such a way?” consider using the ability to maximize your TV and beer time as a guideline. It may not be appropriate in all cases, but it should help you along the decision-making process.Proposed cuts to ESA of as much as £30 – so it is effectively worth the same as jobseeker’s allowance – are being considered, DWP confirms The government is considering cutting the value of the main employment and support allowance (ESA) sickness benefit by as much as £30 so that it is effectively worth the same as jobseeker’s allowance, internal documents seen by the BBC suggest. New claimants, judged to be capable of work with appropriate support, could be given only 50p more per week than people on jobseeker’s allowance (JSA). The Department for Work and Pensions said the ESA proposals were not government policy, but that they reflected ministers’ search for a solution to the backlog of claims for ESA and its higher than forecast cost. George Osborne, the chancellor, has said he is seeking a £12bn cut in the welfare bill, and has so far identified a quarter of these cuts, mainly through freezing the value of most benefits for two years. The DWP has been struggling with ESA ever since it replaced incapacity benefit. The main contractor, Atos, quit the contract for assessing claimants after a massive backlog built up and criticism grew of the way in which the medical assessments were made. The backlog of assessments is currently running at more than 600,000. It is thought an American firm, Maximus, has been selected to replace Atos. Government officials will be looking at cutting the value of ESA, partly because of concern that JSA claimants are moving off JSA to claim the higher value ESA. The government will be focusing on the differential paid to ESA recipients in the “work-related activity group” (WRAG) – individuals who have to prepare for employment. Those in the WRAG group currently get £28.75 more per week than people receiving JSA who are aged 25 or over, who currently get £72.40 per week. The ESA is paid to approximately 2 million people. Claimants have to undergo a work-capability assessment to determine whether they are eligible and at what level. As ministers focus assessments on new claimants, recipients who should have been reassessed under the terms of the benefit are not being seen, creating much of the backlog. Most of those receiving incapacity benefit, who should also have been assessed, are also not being tested. The Office for Budget Responsibility said in a report earlier this month: “Early evidence suggests there may be some recycling of those found fit for work into jobseeker’s allowance and then back on to ESA. The design of ESA means that more people are moved around the benefit system, while the backlog of applications encourages claimants previously not found eligible for ESA simply to reapply. Moreover, the backlog of applications encourages claimants previously not found eligible for ESA simply to reapply.” The OBR forecasts spending on incapacity benefits to rise from £13.4bn in 2013-14 to £14.5bn in 2018-19. The caseload is due to fall, but the value of the average award is due to rise from £5,300 per year in 2012-13 to £6,000 in 2018-19. GDP is forecast to grow faster than that in cash terms, so spending is expected to fall from 0.8% to 0.7% of GDP over that period. Claimants applying for ESA initially go into the assessment group, during which time they receive a basic rate of ESA and must undergo a work-capability assessment. There are three possible outcomes from this assessment. An individual can be: • Found to be fit for work, in which case they will cease to be eligible for ESA. • Judged to have limited capability for work, in which case they are placed in the work-related activity group. This group is able to claim up to £101.15 a week – for a period of up to one year on contributory ESA, but with no time limit on income-based ESA. Those in the work related activity group must attend regular interviews with an adviser, with failure to attend triggering a sanction process. • Judged to have limited capability for work-related activity, in which case they are placed in the support group. This group is able to claim up to £108.15 a week with no time limit on contributory ESA and £123.70 without time limit on income-based ESA. A spokesman for the DWP said: “We are committed to supporting those people who are able to work to make the positive move into employment. “The current work capability assessment contract was inherited from the previous government – and we have taken numerous steps to improve it. No one should doubt our commitment to ensuring that people who need an assessment get the best possible service and are seen in the quickest possible time.” Maximus Health and Human Services will take over the ESA work capability assessments from Atos, Iain Duncan Smith, the work and pensions secretary said: “Maximus runs healthcare programmes in Australia, Canada and the United States and is one of the largest occupational health providers in the UK. They employ large numbers of doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals and bring years of experience conducting independent health assessments”. Alison Garnham, chief executive of Child Poverty Action Group, said: “The proportion of people in absolute poverty in families living with disability has gone up each year since 2009 and now stands at a shocking 22%. Any cut in support would make it very much harder for families already reeling from austerity blows and would surely fail any credible family test.”Exploring Strategies for Training Deep Neural Networks Hugo Larochelle, Yoshua Bengio, Jérôme Louradour, Pascal Lamblin; 10(Jan):1--40, 2009. Abstract [abs] Deep multi-layer neural networks have many levels of non-linearities allowing them to compactly represent highly non-linear and highly-varying functions. However, until recently it was not clear how to train such deep networks, since gradient-based optimization starting from random initialization often appears to get stuck in poor solutions. Hinton et al. recently proposed a greedy layer-wise unsupervised learning procedure relying on the training algorithm of restricted Boltzmann machines (RBM) to initialize the parameters of a deep belief network (DBN), a generative model with many layers of hidden causal variables. This was followed by the proposal of another greedy layer-wise procedure, relying on the usage of autoassociator networks. In the context of the above optimization problem, we study these algorithms empirically to better understand their success. Our experiments confirm the hypothesis that the greedy layer-wise unsupervised training strategy helps the optimization by initializing weights in a region near a good local minimum, but also implicitly acts as a sort of regularization that brings better generalization and encourages internal distributed representations that are high-level abstractions of the input. We also present a series of experiments aimed at evaluating the link between the performance of deep neural networks and practical aspects of their topology, for example, demonstrating cases where the addition of more depth helps. Finally, we empirically explore simple variants of these training algorithms, such as the use of different RBM input unit distributions, a simple way of combining gradient estimators to improve performance, as well as on-line versions of those algorithms.The Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU) Nubar Library in Paris recently announced the launch of its website, offering a wealth of information, photos and documents about Armenians in the Ottoman Empire and the Armenian diaspora. The library’s collection primarily concerns the nineteenth and twentieth century and is a vital resource in the preservation of Armenian cultural heritage. The website, which will continue to be updated with digitized materials, is already home to a photo collection of prominent Armenian leaders and of Armenian life in the Ottoman Empire and early diaspora: portions of the Andonian archive of Armenian Genocide testimonies as well as portions of the archives of the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople, the Armenian National Delegation and AGBU; digitized copies of the French-language Constantinople-based journal Renaissance published from 1918-1920; a virtual tour of the exhibit Arménie 1915, held in Paris in 2015; and a digitized collection of the library’s journals Revue d’histoire arménienne contemporaine and Études arméniennes contemporaines. The Nubar Library houses more than 43,000 printed works, 500,000 archival documents, 1,500 periodicals and 10,000 photos as well as hundreds of manuscripts from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It is also home to a large collection of unpublished materials and gathers historical documents of great value in understanding contemporary Armenian history. “I am delighted that our months of work has resulted in a website that I hope people the world over will find useful in their scholarly and personal research. The collection at the Nubar Library is tremendously rich and we are working to make it as accessible as possible to as many as possible,” said Boris Adjemian, director of the AGBU Nubar Library. The AGBU Nubar Library was established in 1928 by AGBU founder and president Boghos Nubar. Over the course of its history, the library has become one of the main research centers in the Armenian diaspora. In its early years, the library was directed by Ottoman Armenian writer and journalist Aram Andonian under whom the library’s collection expanded dramatically thanks to major donations by Armenian politicians and men of letters in the first half of the twentieth century. Conceived of as a center for Armenian and Near Eastern studies and as a site for Armenian intellectuals to exchange ideas, the library has sought to develop a diverse archive on Armenian affairs and remains an indispensable resource for scholars, journalists, documentarians, researchers, students and individuals interested in Armenian history. To access the digitized collection of the AGBU Nubar Library, visit www.bnulibrary.org. Established in 1906, AGBU is the world’s largest non-profit Armenian organization. Headquartered in New York City, AGBU preserves and promotes the Armenian identity and heritage through educational, cultural and humanitarian programs, annually touching the lives of some 500,000 Armenians around the world.On my head, they keep falling 2014-10-16 - Okulo It’s been a while since the last update, so you’re probably curious what has happened in the meantime. Well, we’ve got 108 closed issues on the 0.33.0 tracker now and many more bugs have been fixed that did not appear on there. Let’s look at a few. One particularly interesting bug left Dagoth Ur dead. In Morrowind you were supposed to defeat seven of Dagoth Ur’s cronies before facing the big bad himself. A script would be running that lowered Dagoth Ur’s health by 50 points every time you killed one of them, making for a total of 350 points of damage to the Sharmat. In vanilla Morrowind, this script was broken so the damage was not done. However, OpenMW didn’t have this bug in the first place, so the script ran as instructed. The result was that Dagoth Ur, who only had 300 health, would already be lying dead in his cavern before you had even reached him. Ironically, the effects of the bug needed to be replicated to make the game function as intended. There was also an issue with the rain, a visual effect that is actually all smoke and mirrors. You wouldn’t (or rather shouldn’t) notice, but when it rains in-game, it doesn’t rain everywhere. There’s no reason to, really; it would be unneccessarily taxing your system for little (visual) gain. Instead, it only rains where the player, you, is walking. In first person you wouldn’t see the difference anyway. But once you switched you third person, you could see how extremely local the rain actually was. That’s been fixed now. Rain will fall wherever your camera is positioned, not wherever your character is. Another issue was with followers. When teleporting or traveling via silt strider your follower would be sent to your destination first. After that, you would go. This happened almost simultaneously, so normally you’d never notice. But since your follower has the exact same destination as you, you would be placed on top of your follower’s head. In outside areas that was silly at best, but if you were transported to a destination inside a building (such as one of the Mages Guild halls), you would end up not just on top of your follower, but with the top part of your body clipping through the ceiling. That is fixed now, too, so no more Philadelphia Experiment-esque fusings in the guild halls. Some news from the OpenCS corner, too. Terrain rendering has been included, which means you can now properly view the terrain from OpenCS. Those squares with text you see on the screenshot are the x,y-coordinates and the name of the cell. This way you know exactly where you are as you are flying over the terrain. cc9cii has spent some time cleaning up code and Lazaroth has been playing around with shaders. He wondered what it would look like if water changed its behaviour based on the weather. For example, when it rains, that should be reflected in the water, right? He has already replicated the effect, but right now only one such effect can be applied to the water itself. Right now it is not possible to apply different effects to the water surface depending on the current weather, but Scrawl mentioned that with some work that should not be a big issue. It’s definitely work that is worth doing, because not only does it allow developers to change the shape of the water surface, it also allows for other cool effects, like streets getting a nice sheen from the rain. Speaking of Scrawl, he has started a blog of his own. This blog will not only chronicle the more technical sides of OpenMW, but also that of other projects he’s working on. As of now, his most recent post is about porting OpenMW to Ogre 2.0, which should give OpenMW a nice performance boost. If you’ve got a little background in software development, this is bound to interest you. Check out Scrawl’s blog for more of his coding (mis)adventures. That’s it for now. Version 0.33.0 is making good progress and the sheer amount of fixes has prompted talk of another release soon, so stay tuned. Like this: Like Loading...This article is from the archive of our partner. What is so awesome about the baby-kissing tradition in American politics is that presidential candidates are required to kiss babies but babies are not required to conform to any social norms. They're babies, after all! Babies do not always smile back at the very people most deeply invested in getting a high quantity of baby smile photos. In Springfield, Virginia, on Thursday, Mitt Romney encountered a baby deeply unhappy with the state of American politics outside American Legion Post 176, as seen above. The screamer inspired us to browse Romney's history with the campaign trail babies who both love and fear him. What we like most is that no matter what these babies are feeling, the intensity of emotion is real amidst a staged campaign event, which is pure artifice. Keep acting like a baby, you babies. A Fairfax, Virginia, baby is fed up with politics on August 13. (Photo via Reuters.) This baby was initially kind of into it in Chandler, Arizona, February 22, 2012. Before he got so over it. (Photos via Associated Press.) A little baby listens to Romney in Rosemont, Illinois, March 16, 2012. (Photo via Reuters.) Romney worries a Birmingham, Alabama baby March 10, 2012.IN the world of higher education, we professors like to believe that we are free from the racial and gender biases that afflict so many other people in society. But is this self-conception accurate? To find out, we conducted an experiment. A few years ago, we sent emails to more than 6,500 randomly selected professors from 259 American universities. Each email was from a (fictional) prospective out-of-town student whom the professor did not know, expressing interest in the professor’s Ph.D. program and seeking guidance. These emails were identical and written in impeccable English, varying only in the name of the student sender. The messages came from students with names like Meredith Roberts, Lamar Washington, Juanita Martinez, Raj Singh and Chang Huang, names that earlier research participants consistently perceived as belonging to either a white, black, Hispanic, Indian or Chinese student. In total, we used 20 different names in 10 different race-gender categories (e.g. white male, Hispanic female). On a Monday morning, the emails went out — one email per professor — and then we waited to see which professors would write back to which students. We understood, of course, that some professors would naturally be unavailable or uninterested in mentoring. But we also knew that the average treatment of any particular type of student should not differ from that of any other — unless professors were deciding (consciously or not) which students to help on the basis of their race and gender. (This “audit” methodology has long been used to study intentional and unintentional bias in real-world decision-making, as it allows researchers to standardize much about the decision environment.) What did we discover? First comes the fairly good news, which we reported in a paper in Psychological Science. Despite not knowing the students, 67 percent of the faculty members responded to the emails, and remarkably, 59 percent of the responders even agreed to meet on the proposed date with a student about whom they knew little and who did not even attend their university. (We immediately wrote back to cancel those meetings.)Oregon Ducks quarterback Marcus Mariota (8) celebrating with the special team against the Tennessee Volunteers. (Photo11: Scott Olmos, USA TODAY Sports) Story Highlights No. 2 Oregon hosts No. 11 UCLA on Saturday, in full pursuit of the BCS championship The unquestioned catalyst for the second-ranked Ducks is starting quarterback Marcus Mariota In Mariota's 20 games as a starter, Oregon is 19-1 and he hasn't thrown an interception in 2013 EUGENE, Ore. — Only one significant goal remains unachieved, all of these years later, from the class assignment produced by the fourth-grader at Nuuanu Elementary in 2003. Marcus Mariota eventually became the quarterback at Honolulu's St. Louis School, just like he said he would. TOP 10 HEISMAN CANDIDATES: Mariota leads the pack He's the quarterback at Oregon – and for the assignment, he projected himself as a college quarterback (his preferences then: USC or Oregon). But he has not yet taken the Dallas Cowboys to the Super Bowl. "Obviously, that's still (out) there," he said, laughing. At this point, is there much reason to doubt it might one day happen? Mariota, a third-year sophomore for the Ducks, led the initial survey of Heisman voters by USA TODAY Sports this week. He's being projected near the top of various 2014 NFL mock drafts. But Mariota hasn't written those achievements on any future-focused lists. A more immediate goal exists. And as No. 2 Oregon hosts No. 11 UCLA on Saturday, in full pursuit of the BCS championship, the unquestioned catalyst is a second-year starter who won't turn 20 until next Wednesday. "Marcus Mariota is the engine that makes this thing go," Oregon defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti said. "We would not be as good as we are without Marcus. No offense intended to anybody, we just would not be." This might be the best, most complete Oregon team in the program's recent rise to elite. Aliotti's defense, annually underrated, shouldn't be overlooked. But the impact of one player on an already potent offense shouldn't be underestimated, either. Mariota's dual-threat capability – and his poised decision-making – has elevated the Ducks to another level. Consider this, from a frustrated coach after Oregon had beaten Washington 45-24 on Oct. 12: "We just unfortunately had a hard time containing Marcus Mariota," Steve Sarkisian said. "He threw the ball extremely well and when we covered them, he ran. We tried to catch him, we tried to spot him, we tried to blitz him and we tried to contain him, but he played a tremendous game." EXPERT PICKS:
of the seedy side of the city. "I tore my room apart looking for that thing," Commodore said. "Live and learn — but I was really pissed off for about two hours." Hamilton is the latest in a long list of moves for the journeyman defenseman, who is currently with the Bulldogs on a professional tryout contract. He started last season with the Detroit Red Wings of the NHL and was dealt to the Tampa Bay Lightning at the trade deadline. Then the lockout hit. He gave himself until American Thanksgiving to be back at the rink with an NHL team — and clearly that hasn't happened. "If I took the year off and I wasn't playing, I think my NHL hockey career would've been over," Commodore said. "I didn't want to take that risk." He started weighing his options, and thought he'd be heading overseas. "But then Hamilton called — they wanted an older guy around here," Commodore said. The 33-year-old former Stanley Cup winner brings experience, toughness and grit to a relatively inexperienced Bulldogs blue line. Head coach Sylvain Lefebvre says Commodore will take some pressure off on the team's back end when he makes his debut on Friday against the Abbotsford Heat. "Mike will bring size and experience — and he's won a cup," Lefebvre said. "He knows what it takes." He weathered the last lockout too, as a prospect in Calgary after their 2004 Stanley Cup run. "But this time is a little different," he said. "I'm not a prospect anymore." That suits him just fine though. Commodore says he's all for slipping into a mentorship role with his new team, much like veteran players did for him when he started out with the New Jersey Devils. "I had some of the older guys in the NHL looking after me and showing me some things," Commodore said. "They were great to me, and I'd like to do the same." 13 teams in 13 years The defenseman is no stranger to playing in new cities. A self-proclaimed "gypsy," right now Commodore is calling the downtown Sheraton Hotel his home. "And honestly, all I've seen of Hamilton so far is the Sheraton and the rink." Though the vagabond life has treated him well, he feels like it's time to start putting down some roots. "I just turned 33 a couple of weeks ago," Commodore said. "As much as I love having my stuff in storage all over North America and moving around, shipping my car and being a total gypsy … it would be nice to try and stay put for a bit." "I'm single with no kids still — 13 teams in 13 years will do that to you." But he doesn't think he's finished with the NHL just yet. "I don't think I'm done," Commodore said. "I'd like to take another run or two at the cup."Photo: The Herald Patrick Zhuwao. Zimbabwe has given foreign firms just over a week to cede majority stakes to locals or face closure. Critics say the move will discourage foreign investment in an economy which is struggling. Zimbabwe has said it will cancel licenses of foreign firms which have not complied with legislation forcing them to hand over majority stakes to local shareholders. The government adopted thet legislation in 2008 to compel foreign firms to cede at least 51 percent to promote black ownership and correct imbalances from the colonial era. However, this law is often not adhered to. This latest move to implement the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act was announced on Wednesday (23.03.2016) by Empowerment Minister Patrick Zhuwao. Some companies have "continued to disregard" the law prompting the government's order to close non-compliant firms, Zhuwao said. "It's either you comply or you close your shop," he added. Foreign companies in Zimbabwe include mining operations, such as platinum producers Anglo-American Platinum and Impala Platinum and banking groups Standard Chartered and Barclays. The two platinum producers have previously submitted empowerment plans to be considered by President Robert Mugabe's government. Zhuwao said he did not have details of which companies had complied with the law and would therefore not be banned. Foreign direct investement Critics say the indigenization law scares away much-needed foreign investment. "It is a decision that is most likely to affect the Zimbabwean economy very negatively," economist Prosper Chitambara told DW. He was referring not just to the prospects of attracting foreign direct investment, but also to the loss of output by companies that would be forced to close and shed jobs. Foreign direct investment refers to investment made by a company in one country into a company or entity in another country. Zhuwao denied there was a link between this and Zimbabwe's economic problems. "This argument that says this country is crying for foreign direct investment is not true," the empowerment minister said. "We are a market driven economy and when there is a vacuum others will come in," he added. The International Monetary Fund (IMF), from which Zimbabwe is expecting its first loan in 17 years in the third quarter of 2016, said in early March that any implementation of the controversial indigenization scheme needed to be "consistent and transparent." Mugabe has threatened in the past to nationalize foreign companies that refused to comply with the scheme. Privilege Musvanhiri in Harare contributed to this report.Card Price Monthly Fee (No fee in TX, NY, VT) Cash Back Unlimited 1% Cash Back on purchases ** * Cash Reloads Direct Deposit Add Money from a Bank Account ATM Withdrawals ATM Transaction Decline Online Bill Pay Send and Receive Money Set Aside Money in Reserve Subaccounts Card Replacement 24/7 Customer Service Purchase Protection♦ on Eligible Purchases Foreign Transactions Mobile Check Capture by Ingo™ Money5 Cash Pickup Powered by Ria® Serve Money Transfer Powered by Ria® $0 Online Up to $3.95 in retail locations $0 Online Up to $3.95 in retail locations $0 Online Up to $3.95 in retail locations $6.95 - or - $0 when you Direct Deposit $500+§ $6.95 $7.95 – – Unlimited 1% Cash Back on purchases, no annual cap** $0 Up to $3.95 (fee varies by retailer) $0 at over 45,000 locations including CVS/pharmacy®, Dollar General®, Family Dollar®, Rite Aid®, Walmart® and participating 7‑ELEVEN® locations ^ § Up to $3.95 (fee varies by retailer) $0 $0 $0 $04 $04 $04 $0 at MoneyPass® ATMs Up to $2.50 at non-MoneyPass ATMs.x ATM operator fees may apply. $0 at MoneyPass® ATMs Up to $2.50 at non-MoneyPass ATMs.x ATM operator fees may apply. $0 at MoneyPass® ATMs Up to $2.50 at non-MoneyPass ATMs.x ATM operator fees may apply. On and after February 1, 2019, $0.75 per ATM decline† On and after February 1, 2019, $0.75 per ATM decline† On and after February 1, 2019, $0.75 per ATM decline† $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 On and after February 1, 2019, $5xx per Card On and after February 1, 2019, $5xx per Card On and after February 1, 2019, $5xx per Card $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 2.7% after conversion to US Dollars 2.7% after conversion to US Dollars 2.7% after conversion to US Dollars $0 for Money in 10 Daysyz For Money in Minutes a 1% fee on payroll or government checks with preprinted signatures or a 5% fee on other checks; $5 minimum fee applies $0 for Money in 10 Daysyz For Money in Minutes a 1% fee on payroll or government checks with preprinted signatures or a 5% fee on other checks; $5 minimum fee applies $0 for Money in 10 Daysyz For Money in Minutes a 1% fee on payroll or government checks with preprinted signatures or a 5% fee on other checks; $5 minimum fee applies Up to $9.49‡ per withdrawal Up to $9.49‡ per withdrawal Up to $9.49‡ per withdrawal Send up to $2,500 for $16.99 per transaction#y Send up to $2,500 for $16.99 per transaction#y Send up to $2,500 for $16.99 per transaction#yA Time Pirates Theory (SPOILERS) [Now ‘Same Coin’] (…AKA, Stan is not what he seems. Again.) I have a theory based on the secret page of the new Time Pirates book, the one with the axolotl that Bill invokes in the finale for the show - who gives Dipper and Mabel some very interesting information about our favorite floating triangle and the terms of his resurrection (included under the read more.) Basically: I have a cool idea about how Bill is going to come back. Or should I say, came back? ((I would love to hear what y’all think. Also, a big thanks to everyone I rambled to about this spoiler [most of whom I ended up tagging below ayy] as well as @fordtato for walking me through general spoiler theory post etiquette!)) I’m going to start with my evidence first, because it is kind of a really crazy theory puts on tinfoil hat First of all, here is the actual page of spoilers: There are several things in here that I found interesting. First, the terms of Bill’s resurrection: “One way to absolve his crime.” The axolotl isn’t a malevolent being, as we see in Journal 3, it’s an extradimensional power of good (it reminds me of the Turtle from ‘It’ by Stephen King, really.) Bill is allowed to return as a way to redeem himself for his actions (read: trying to end a world. Whether that is his world or the GF world is up for interpretation.) So in Bill’s new existence, he will be doing something that will make up for his crimes. But what can he do in order to make up for something as big as destroying dimensions and starting Weirdmageddon? “A different form,” Bill will be returning not as a floating triangle, not as a dream demon, not as anything he was before. And somehow, I don’t think this is just referring to a stone statue. So what will he be? “A different time.” And now it gets interesting, because the emphasis is odd. There’s two possibilities here. The first is that he comes back in the future. The thing is, Bill isn’t returning immediately, we know that. So if he does make a return chronologically, no matter what, he’ll be coming back in the future. It’s generally assumed, and it doesn’t really have an effect on the Gravity Falls canon as we know it. So why would Alex mention Bill’s future redemption arc? For post-canon fic and shenanigans? Possibly. But I had a different idea: what if Bill comes back in the past? We know time has no meaning for Bill and creatures like him, like the axolotl. This way, Bill’s return and redemption does have a confluence with the events of the show as we know it. (And I know this part is a bit weak, but just accept that he could come back in the past.) The big question now is, if Bill came back in a different form to absolve his crimes, where is he now? This leads on to my next point of interest: I found these two bits of description familiar. Very, very familiar. In fact, without context, I would say those two lines describe someone else entirely. “Misses home and can’t return.” “Says he’s happy. He’s a liar.” Then comes the fire motifs: Or maybe the question should be, who is he now? The only thing that could make up for trying to end the world for the most selfish of reasons? Saving it for the most selfless of reasons. What is Bill when he isn’t a triangle or a demon? The best con man in the world. We have the many, many Stan and Bill parallels we’ve seen throughout the show, that for the sake of length, I’ll just briefly mention highlights: We have the ‘STAN IS NOT WHAT HE SEEMS’ cipher, with emphasis on the /what/. We can accept the cipher as just being given by Alex Hirsch, but with the existence of the fourth-wall breaking axolotl (its ‘free-form poem’ seems pretty similar to the end-of-episode ciphers, huh?) we might have an in-universe explanation for the cipher as well. Not to mention, the axolotl is also the one behind Bill’s return (and so would definitely know this information, which is something Bill - or any other entity in the GF verse - would not know.) We know that Bill’s laughter in the Last Mabelcorn shifts into Stan’s cackling, and for ‘_____ is not what he seems,’ in the original show in which it appears, Twin Peaks, the phrase refers to the show’s main villain (both credits to @renmorris!) There’s the similarity in dress and in speech (”Buy gold!”, “Eeny meenie miney you!”), and even the way Bill and Stan both immediately like Mabel for her weirdness and takes every opportunity to mess with Dipper. There’s how Bill and Stan are grouped together in every piece of merchandise, and how Alex Hirsch offers us, “THESE TWO KNUCKLEHEADS TOGETHER AT LAST.” (…Knuckleheads? Hm.) And then… there’s the fact that, over the course of those thirty years, Bill never made a deal with Stan. Even when Stan was desperate and would have taken any deal, even when Bill would have gained enormously it. It doesn’t make sense that Bill wouldn’t seize the opportunity, unless… There’s something that would and also have the power to protect Stan from outside meddling - the Axolotl. (Which, according to Journal 3, is often invoked for protection by the extradimensional locals.) (And didn’t Stan keep an axolotl as a pet in the fish tank in the Shack… which mysteriously disappears in the Inconveniencing and the absence is highlighted throughout the rest of the series (even being shown in the finale!) and in the season finale, Bill finally gets access to Stan’s mind, meaning the protection was lost. In addition, we now have the clues in the Cipher Hunt to find the Bill Statue - first with the phone calls in Stan’s voice and identity, then the ‘FILBRICK’ written in invisible ink behind every Stanbuck in bag. Not to mention, now a Grunkle is missing! Stan is involved, some way, somehow. COINCIDENCE? In a show like Gravity Falls? I THINK NOT. In short, my theory, or crazy guess is - in some way or another, Stan is Bill. Or rather, he was at some point and has grown to be much, much more. Some way, somehow - maybe Bill’s hitching a ride and auditing the college class of humanity, or maybe Stan is just a clean slate who made different choices. I can already see the question now - is this heading towards an edgy, ‘Bill possesses Stan and makes the Pines family miserable again’ idea? (No offense BTW, for anyone who’s read my writing, you know how much of a sucker I am for that trope.) No. Just the opposite. See, this is Bill’s redemption. He returned, in a completely different form, in a completely different time, for the purpose of absolving his crimes - with, and we can be pretty sure about this, no memories of his past existence (at least, until the stable time loop closes.) Not to mention, in this new identity, Bill really can make it up to the specific people he has hurt the most (thank you, @eregyrn-falls!) Stan had plenty of opportunity to go off the rails over the course of his life, from the ten years as a criminal and con man, to his thirty years of pretending to be his brother, even to the deal that Bill offers him (fame! riches! the galaxy!) He is put into the same situation Bill presumably once was (the earlier parallels of ‘misses home’ and ‘says he’s happy, he’s a liar’) and he’s all set up to make Bill’s mistakes. But he doesn’t. He gives up power and fame and money, all for the sake of his family and his home. He destroys the original Bill, sacrifices himself, and saves the world completely selflessly. Because the thing is, Bill’s crime isn’t Weirdmageddon. Not exactly. His real crime (according to the Oracle in Journal 3) is choosing power over his family, and causing the destruction of his dimension and everyone he knows. But Stan, put in the same situation, under the same circumstances… chooses his family instead. That is how Bill absolves his crimes. In return, Stan gets to go back home and be with his family. He doesn’t have to lie about being happy anymore. He’s going to live a long, long life (how long depends on your interpretation) and spend every day of it loved by and loving his family. It fits with the show’s whole theme of family and redemption, and Bill’s getting out of the experience fundamentally changed, if he even gets out at all. Stan has already earned his own happy ending. And he’s keeping it. (And the Cipher Hunt? To keep with the optimistic approach, maybe the whole family’s working together to root out Bill cultists [a la @thesnadger‘s post] using Stan’s returning memories following the closing of the time loop. After all, Stan does seem more like he’s reading from [Mabel’s?] cue cards than actual possession, right?) [addendum/clarification post. PLEASE READ]Captain America: Civil War is now available in Digital HD on iTunes. The movie comes with a host of special features exclusive to iTunes, and Forbes reports that Marvel and iTunes Movies worked together to create a new "immersive" set of bonus features for the release.The iTunes edition of the movie comes with a feature titled "Choose Your Side," which lets viewers choose whether they're on Team Cap or Team Iron Man. Choosing a side unlocks a series of exclusive photos, videos, posters, comics and more for each team. According to Forbes, every actor in the film gets an in-depth filmography that includes the actor's photos over the years and quotes from other actors about what it's like to work with them.iTunes movies typically include cast filmographies so users can easily purchase or rent other films a certain actor may have starred in, and they sometimes include exclusive bonus features like audio commentary.In addition to the iTunes-exclusive bonus content, Civil War comes with deleted scenes, audio commentary, a gag reel, a preview of Marvel's upcoming film Doctor Strange and two behind-the-scenes extras. The first is a two-part making-of documentary called "United We Stand, Divided We Fall," and the other is "The Road to Civil War," which charts the journey of Captain America and Iron Man from the beginning of the Marvel Cinematic Universe to their stand-off in Civil War.Apple has also added Team Captain America and Team Iron Man pages to the iTunes Movies carousel. Each page lists movies, comics, music, apps and TV shows tied to the members of that specific team.Captain America: Civil War is available on iTunes now for $19.99 in Digital HD. [ Direct LinkUkrainian authorities say they have retaken the main government building from pro-Russian protesters in the eastern city of Kharkiv. They say 70 people were arrested in an anti-terrorist operation. Russia meanwhile has said Ukraine should avoid military preparations that could spark a civil war. On Monday, Washington warned Moscow against moving “overtly or covertly” into eastern Ukraine, saying there’s evidence that pro-Russian protesters are being paid. Separatists are holding out in two other Ukrainian cities, Donetsk and Luhansk, in what Kyiv has called a Russian-led plan to dismember the country. In Donetsk, the Russian flag still flew above the regional government building on Tuesday morning. Rebels have called for a referendum on secession from Ukraine. One pro-Russian protester said: “We hope people watching now will be loyal, because we will not leave this place until we make a referendum happen.” Another man had a different vision: “I hope that we will have a united Ukraine, but as a federal state,” he said. Reports quoting Ukrainian authorities say they have promised not to storm the Donetsk government building. After overnight talks, protesters reportedly gave up some weapons, and agreed to withdraw their earlier declaration of a “people’s republic”.Monday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” Nicolle Wallace, the former communications chief for George W. Bush’s 2004 re-election campaign and adviser for Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) 2008 presidential bid suggested Republicans beyond social conservatives, particularly those with a focus on foreign policy, should consider Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton. “The conversations happening in private with Republican, is that if you are not a social conservative there is less and less rationale for hardened opposition to Hillary Clinton. If you’re a social conservative there’s no way you get there, if you care about that bucket of social issues, pro-life, what not, you can’t make the leap to Hillary Clinton. But if foreign policy is how you vote, if that is your central concern, if counter-terrorism is what worries you, how do you not consider Hillary Clinton in November?” (h/t Newsbusters) Follow Jeff Poor on Twitter @jeff_poorThe Obama administration ran afoul of environmentalists Wednesday by approving a new oil well in the Gulf of Mexico, even as millions of gallons of oil continue to gush from BP’s Deepwater Horizon rig and the British oil giant struggled with its latest effort to cap the well. The new drilling permit, awarded to Bandon Oil and Gas, is the first granted by the Minerals Management Service since the BP rig exploded April 20, killing 11 people. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar extended a moratorium recently on deepwater drilling, such as that of the Deepwater Horizon, which was drilling about a mile beneath the water’s surface when the rig exploded. At the same time, however, the administration quietly allowed a ban on drilling in shallow water to expire. The Bandon Oil permit is for a site about 50 miles off the coast of Louisiana and 115 feet below the surface, which qualifies as a shallow drilling site. Peter Galvin, conservation director of the Center for Biological Diversity, said his organization was outraged by the decision to grant the permit. “We’re very upset by it,” Mr. Galvin said. “There have been a lot of terrible, terrible disasters in shallow water. Shallow-water drilling has many of the same risks as deepwater drilling.” Mr. Galvin called on the administration to reinstate its moratorium on shallow-water drilling, and blamed political considerations for Wednesday’s decision to grant the permit. “It’s obviously a political calculation, to be seen as responding to the disaster, but not upsetting the apple cart with industry,” Mr. Galvin said. “We see it as a really disingenuous act.” Interior Department spokeswoman Kendra Barkoff released a statement Wednesday noting that the administration had increased safety standards for shallow-water drilling. “All operators who are drilling or intend to drill in shallow water must first meet applicable interim safety standards announced last week by the president,” Ms. Barkoff said. “Those operators who are already drilling must stop at a safe place and implement the safety requirements before continuing. A formal Notice to Lessees will be issued shortly that outlines the required actions.” Meanwhile Wednesday, BP ran into more trouble in its bid to contain the Deepwater Horizon leak as the diamond-tipped saw that was supposed to shear off the well pipe got stuck. The company was able to free the blade late Wednesday afternoon and preparations were being made to resume cutting, but it was unclear when the effort might resume. A successful clean cut would enable crews to then fit a cap snugly over the pipe that could contain much of the spewing oil. “I don’t think the issue is whether or not we can make the second cut. It’s about how fine we can make it, how smooth we can make it,” said Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen told reporters. The Deepwater Horizon site is pouring as much as 800,000 gallons of oil per day into the Gulf of Mexico. The disaster has polluted about 125 miles of Louisiana coastline, and is expected to reach the Florida Panhandle in “a day or two,” said Florida Gov. Charlie Crist. The governor confirmed Wednesday that a sheen of oil from the spill and tar balls were spotted 9.9 miles from the shores of Pensacola. More than 257,000 feet of boom have been laid on the Pensacola coastline, and Mr. Crist said he has requested an additional 66,000 feet for nearby coastlines. Federal and state governments also closed more fishing grounds Wednesday; more than one-third of federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico are now off limits to fishing. The spill is about a mile underwater, which has made all BP’s efforts over the past several weeks extremely difficult. If this cap effort fails, the last hope is probably drilling a relief well to relieve the pressure on the leaking well. That will not be finished for another two months. Mr. Salazar had announced a six-month moratorium on deepwater drilling May 27 and called for “aggressive new operating standards and requirements for offshore energy companies,” according to an Interior Department press release. He also canceled a pending lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico, a proposed lease sale off the coast of Virginia, and suspended proposed exploratory drilling in the Arctic. “As we marshal every resource in support of the massive response effort for the BP oil spill, we must take appropriate action to prevent such a disaster in the future,” Mr. Salazar said in a statement. “We are taking a cautious approach to offshore oil and gas development as we strengthen safety and oversight of offshore oil and gas operations.” The Bandon Oil drilling permit is located far to the west of the Deepwater Horizon rig, but the timing of the permit approval sends the wrong message, Mr. Galvin said. “It’s bad timing and just a bad policy move,” he said. “We’re in the middle of the worst industrial disaster in U.S. history. So why is the Obama administration persisting with this policy to allow offshore oil drilling?” Also Wednesday, two U.S. senators wrote a letter to BP Chief Executive Officer Tony Hayward saying the company should not give its shareholders their share of the company’s earnings. “We find it unfathomable that BP would pay out a dividend to shareholders before the total cost of BP’s oil spill cleanup is estimated,” wrote Sens. Charles E. Schumer of New York and Ron Wyden of Oregon, both Democrats. “We are concerned that such action to move money off of the company’s books and into investors’ pockets will make it much more difficult to repay the U.S. government and American communities that are working around the clock to stem the damage caused by this devastating oil spill,” the two senators wrote. BP is legally required to pay cleanup costs and has pledged to pay all legitimate claims of economic damages. The company already has lost about $1 billion and its stock values have taken a huge hit in the past few weeks. BP has told its shareholders that the spill could cost the company $37 billion. Other Democrats in Washington continued their assault on BP on Wednesday, with Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. raising again the possibility of criminal charges against BP, a prospect the Justice Department already had said it is investigating. “My guess is that there are all kinds of discussions about whether or not they pushed the envelope with the rig operator beyond what it should be pushed to safely pursue,” he told Charlie Rose in an interview for Mr. Rose’s PBS interview show. In a speech in Pittsburgh, President Obama called for the repeal of oil company tax breaks and more spending on alternative forms of energy. c This article is based in part on wire service reports. Copyright © 2019 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.CHELSEA FOOTBALL CLUB Results and Statistics 2nd September 1905 - 24th February 2019 Match Details 2018-19 2017-18 2016-17 2015-16 2014-15 2013-14 2012-13 2011-12 2010-11 2009-10 2008-09 2007-08 2006-07 2005-06 2004-05 2003-04 2002-03 2001-02 2000-01 1999-00 1998-99 1997-98 1996-97 1995-96 1994-95 1993-94 1992-93 1991-92 1990-91 1989-90 1988-89 1987-88 1986-87 1985-86 1984-85 1983-84 1982-83 1981-82 1980-81 1979-80 1978-79 1977-78 1976-77 1975-76 1974-75 1973-74 1972-73 1971-72 1970-71 1969-70 1968-69 1967-68 1966-67 1965-66 1964-65 1963-64 1962-63 1961-62 1960-61 1959-60 1958-59 1957-58 1956-57 1955-56 1954-55 1953-54 1952-53 1951-52 1950-51 1949-50 1948-49 1947-48 1946-47 1945-46 1945-46 War 1944-45 War 1943-44 War 1942-43 War 1941-42 War 1940-41 War 1939-40 War 1938-39 1937-38 1936-37 1935-36 1934-35 1933-34 1932-33 1931-32 1930-31 1929-30 1928-29 1927-28 1926-27 1925-26 1924-25 1923-24 1922-23 1921-22 1920-21 1919-20 1918-19 1917-18 1916-17 1915-16 1914-15 1913-14 1912-13 1911-12 1910-11 1909-10 1908-09 1907-08 1906-07 1905-06 Players Details Aa-Az Ba-Bd Be-Bl Bm-Bo Bp-Br Bs-Bz Ca-Ch Ci-Co Cp-Cz D'-Di Dj-Dz Ea-Ez Fa-Fl Fm-Fz Ga-Go Gp-Gz Ha-Hd He-Ho Hp-Hz Ia-Jz Ka-Kz La-Le Lf-Lz Ma-Mb Mc-Md Me-Mi Mj-Mo Mp-Mz Na-Nz O'-Oz Pa-Pe Pf-Pz Qa-Rz Sa-Sh Si-So Sp-Sz Ta-Tz Ua-Vz Wa-We Wh-Wi Wj-Zz Season Summaries 2018-19 2017-18 2016-17 2015-16 2014-15 2013-14 2012-13 2011-12 2010-11 2009-10 2008-09 2007-08 2006-07 2005-06 2004-05 2003-04 2002-03 2001-02 2000-01 1999-00 1998-99 1997-98 1996-97 1995-96 1994-95 1993-94 1992-93 1991-92 1990-91 1989-90 1988-89 1987-88 1986-87 1985-86 1984-85 1983-84 1982-83 1981-82 1980-81 1979-80 1978-79 1977-78 1976-77 1975-76 1974-75 1973-74 1972-73 1971-72 1970-71 1969-70 1968-69 1967-68 1966-67 1965-66 1964-65 1963-64 1962-63 1961-62 1960-61 1959-60 1958-59 1957-58 1956-57 1955-56 1954-55 1953-54 1952-53 1951-52 1950-51 1949-50 1948-49 1947-48 1946-47 1945-46 1945-46 War 1944-45 War 1943-44 War 1942-43 War 1941-42 War 1940-41 War 1939-40 War 1938-39 1937-38 1936-37 1935-36 1934-35 1933-34 1932-33 1931-32 1930-31 1929-30 1928-29 1927-28 1926-27 1925-26 1924-25 1923-24 1922-23 1921-22 1920-21 1919-20 1918-19 1917-18 1916-17 1915-16 1914-15 1913-14 1912-13 1911-12 1910-11 1909-10 1908-09 1907-08 1906-07 1905-06 Pre 1905 Head To Head 1st Grenadiers A.C. Milan A.S. Monaco A.S. Roma Accrington Stanley Anderlecht Apoel Nicosia Aris Salonika Arsenal Aston Villa Atletico Madrid Atvidabergs FF BATE Borisov Barcelona Barnet Barnsley Barrow Basel Bayer Leverkusen Bayern Munich Benfica Besiktas Birmingham City Blackburn Rovers Blackpool Bolton Wanderers Bordeaux Bournemouth Bradford Bradford City Brentford Brighton Bristol City Bristol Rovers Burnley Burton United Bury CFR Cluj CSKA Moscow CSKA Sofia Cambridge United Cardiff City Carlisle United Charlton Athletic Chester Chesterfield Club Brugge KV Colchester United Copenhagen Corinthians Coventry City Crewe Alexandra Crystal Palace DWS Amsterdam Darlington Derby County Doncaster Rovers Dynamo Kiev Everton Exeter City FK Austria Wien Fenerbahce Feyenoord Frem Copenhagen Fulham Gainsborough Trinity Galatasaray Genk Gillingham Glossop Grimsby Town Hapoel Tel Aviv Hartlepool United Helsingborgs Hereford United Hertha Berlin Huddersfield Town Hull City Inter Milan Ipswich Town Jeunesse Hautcharage Juventus Lazio Leeds City Leeds United Leicester City Levski Sofia Leyton Leyton Orient Lincoln City Liverpool Luton Town MOL Vidi MSK Zilina Maccabi Tel Aviv Macclesfield Town Malmo Manchester City Manchester United Mansfield Town Maribor Middlesbrough Millwall Milton Keynes Dons Monterrey Morton Napoli Newcastle United Newport County Nordsjaelland Northampton Town Norwich City Nottingham Forest Notts County Oldham Athletic Olympiacos Olympique de Marseille Oxford United PAOK Salonika Paris Saint-Germain Peterborough United Plymouth Argyle Port Vale Porto Portsmouth Preston North End Qarabag Queens Park Rangers Reading Real Betis Real Madrid Real Mallorca Real Zaragoza Rochdale Rosenborg Rotherham United Rubin Kazan Scarborough Schalke 04 Scunthorpe United Shakhtar Donetsk Sheffield United Sheffield Wednesday Shrewsbury Town Skonto Riga Slovan Bratislava South Shields Southampton Southend United Southern United Sparta Prague Spartak Moscow Sporting Lisbon St Gallen Steaua Bucharest Stockport County Stoke City Sunderland Swansea City Swindon Town TSV Munich 1860 Tottenham Hotspur Tranmere Rovers Tromso Valencia Valerenga VfB Stuttgart Vicenza Viking FK Viktoria Zizkov Ville de Belgrade Walsall Watford Werder Bremen West Bromwich Albion West Ham United Wiener Wigan Athletic Wimbledon Wolverhampton Wanderers Workington Worksop Town Wrexham Wycombe Wanderers York City Greatest Appearances Sequences Opposition Managers Trophies Season League F. A. Cup League Cup Europe Your browser does not support inline frames or is currently configured not to display inline frames. This website has no connection with The Chelsea Football Club who have an excellent Official Site at ChelseaFC.com. The site has been created from data and information acquired over many years, and I have tried to ensure that all data is as accurate as possible. However, mistakes do occur, and if anyone spots one, please contact me so that I can make amendments if necessary. All dates and fees in the player's transfer information should be treated with caution. Sources sometimes do not agree, and fees are often estimated. I do not wish to infringe any relevant copyright or intellectual property rights, if you are a copyright owner and wish to contact me concerning anything on this site, please do so. Contact me hereThere are fewer wolves living in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. State wildlife biologists report a slight dip in the wolf population following last fall’s controversial hunt. The Department of Natural Resources has just completed a census of wolves in the Upper Peninsula. The DNR admits the count is more of an estimate than an accurate head count. The DNR claims there are 636 wolves roaming the U.P. That’s down from 658 in 2013. But given the inexact nature of trying to count animals that usually avoid humans, state wildlife biologists say the census actually shows the wolf population is stable. “We are using an estimate rather than counting all individual wolves on the landscape. In addition, wolf numbers vary greatly within a single year due to the birth of pups in the spring, and deaths from many
the same phone number. However if you want to or have to change to a different NBN provider, it’s important to: a) let them know you want home telephone in your NBN package b) get the NBN provider to request a transfer of your current home phone number before the transfer takes place. If you don’t follow this procedure first, you may lose your old number and be issued with a new one. Will my home telephone service work in a blackout? As with most things to do with the NBN, the answer is – maybe. If you use Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) you can request a backup battery that will keep the NBN controller going. If you use a corded telephone (the old style that isn’t powered) you should be fine. However if you want to use a cordless phone, you need to choose a model that has its own backup battery such as those in our cordless phones review that operate in a power outage. Priority assistance customers are often provided with the appropriate safeguards to continue operation for communication services in the event of a power outage. If you are registered as a priority assistance customer (offered to customers with life threatening medical conditions), contact your NBN provider to make sure you carry your priority assistance status over to your new nbn-based service if you are considering changing providers. What about Fibre to the Node (FTTN), Fibre to the building (FTTB) or HFC (cable)? Home telephone and internet services won’t work if there is a power outage on any of these NBN delivery options. Restoring power to your home or your phone will not help. If your NBN is provided through any of these methods and you are concerned about communication in case of a blackout you would be advised to keep a charged mobile phone handy. To find out more visit the NBN Co site for information. Do I need a new phone and router? The answer depends on what type of connection comes to your place. You should be able to keep your existing phone number when moving to the NBN, but do check with your ISP. Existing fixed wireless or satellite connections : you shouldn't need to upgrade your equipment for the NBN. If you're getting a new fixed wireless or satellite connection, check with the ISP about what equipment you may need. : you shouldn't need to upgrade your equipment for the NBN. If you're getting a new fixed wireless or satellite connection, check with the ISP about what equipment you may need. Fibre to the premises (FTTP), where you're getting fibre direct to your house: you'll need a new router, but you shouldn't need a new phone. Your existing phone should plug into the NBN connection box in your house. , where you're getting fibre direct to your house: you'll need a new router, but you shouldn't need a new phone. Your existing phone should plug into the NBN connection box in your house. Fibre to the node (FTTN): you'll need a new gateway (modem/router) from your ISP, but you should be able to plug your existing phone into the gateway. If you don't want the internet and just require a phone service, you'll still need the ISP gateway to connect to your existing phone to use the VoIP phone service over the NBN. Do I need to do anything about internal cables? You may need or want to upgrade internal cabling to connect entertainment, communications and medical or assisted-living devices. Medical alarms and emergency call services connected to the copper phone line may not continue to work after the 18-month NBN transfer window has closed. Firstly, you should register your alarm at nbn.com.au/medicalregister or by calling 1800 227 300 well before the cut-off date. Then call your emergency or alarm service provider and check if it will work on the NBN; and finally, tell your ISP if you need priority assistance service levels. When will I get the NBN? This is the question that plagues many of us when we're watching the spinning ball on the screen while attempting to download or stream our favourite shows. The NBN is scheduled to be completed by 2021, but that doesn't tell you when exactly your place is earmarked for connection. You can enter your address online to check on the NBN rollout but the most it will tell you is what stage the rollout is at for your address: not available, build preparation, build commenced, or available. Unfortunately scammers will sometimes use major government programs like the NBN to trick people into handing over their money or personal details. They pretend to be from Nbn™, a government agency or a telecommunications provider to sound legitimate. Nbn™ will never ask for your banking or financial details. If someone rings you or comes to your door saying they're from Nbn™, we don't recommend sharing any of your personal details or paying for any equipment. Ring your own phone company or find one on the NBN website (see above) to get information about the NBN plans, so you know you're dealing with a legitimate service provider. Contact your financial institution immediately if you think you've given your details to a scammer. What do all the acronyms mean? The NBN has become something of an alphabet soup – there are acronyms and abbreviations aplenty. Most of us haven't studied networking 101 and so it can be hard to get our heads around all the jargon. We'll hopefully explain it simply so you know what connection you'll eventually get when the NBN comes to your place. Here are the different technologies used in the multi-technology mix network. Fibre to the node (FTTN) Unless you live in a unit, new development or rural area, you're likely to get fibre to the node (FTTN) NBN. This technology will form the largest part of the NBN. Fibre optic cable runs to a local node (connection cabinet) in a street in your area, and then connects to the existing copper phone lines to your place. The cabinet handles connections for up to 1000 premises. The node system uses VDSL (vectored or enhanced DSL) technology that improves ADSL connections on existing copper phone lines. VDSL is able to cancel the interference, or crosstalk, between the copper lines from the telephone exchange in order to speed up the transfer rate of internet traffic. You'll need a new VDSL modem, but no new hardware needs to be installed in the home. Your existing home phone should plug into the VDSL modem, which is connected to the existing phone port inside your house. If you don't want the internet but you do want a phone service, you'll need a new VoIP phone that plugs into the existing phone socket because the calls are now carried via the internet over the copper line. Fibre to the curb (FTTC) Fibre to the curb (FTTC), also known as FTTdp, has recently been included in the technology mix of the NBN where fibre is run right to the telecom pit at the front of the premises. Nbn recently announced that a further 300, 000 premises will get the newer FTTC instead of FTTN. FTTC does away with the need to dig into driveways, lawns and yards but uses less copper than FTTN and does not require a powered cabinet. The FTTC services using VDSL technology for the copper section are expected to launch in 2018. Fibre to the distribution point (FTTdp) Fibre to the distribution point (FTTdp) is sometimes also called 'fibre to the driveway' because fibre runs to a local distribution point such as the street pit at your front fence and then connects to copper to your premises. It means that much shorter lengths of copper are used, making speed enhancements via technology, such as G.Fast, possible. It does away with the need to build, power and maintain the node cabinets, reducing this cost. Nbn™ trialled FTTdp in areas where the copper run is too long to use vectored, or enhanced, ADSL – known as VDSL – to deliver speed improvements. It is also known as fibre to the curb (FTTC) in Australia. 'Skinny' fibre There's been a bit of talk in the media about'skinny fibre'. No, it's not a new breakfast cereal, but rather an optical fibre that is thinner than conventional fibre because there are fewer strands of fibre in the casing. It's easier to physically pull skinny fibre through the street-level pipes and ducts, which in turns means it's easier and cheaper to run fibre closer to premises. Nbn™ has been trialling skinny fibre in local neighbourhood loops, which is also known as a 'local fibre network'. It's reduced the NBN connection cost by $450 per premises and the construction time by four weeks. Skinny fibre could potentially be used with a FTTdp model that does away with nodes to bring fibre to the driveway. HFC (pay TV network) Foxtel and Optus pay TV is delivered to homes through hybrid fibre coaxial (HFC) cable, which is getting a makeover and being brought into the NBN. The existing HFC network needs to be upgraded and newly installed in some unit blocks that don't currently have an HFC connection. Nbn™ has been running trials to test the speeds achievable on the network and plans to use a technology specification called DOCSIS (Data Over Cable Service Interface Specifications) to improve the speed of the HFC connections. There's expected to be some four million homes and businesses that will connect to the NBN in the HFC footprint. If your place gets the NBN via HFC, a new DOCSIS modem will be needed. Fibre to the premises (FTTP) Once upon a time, the network for all fixed-line (not fixed wireless or satellite) connections was going to be all fibre. This was changed when the current government came into power and decided to use existing technology such as copper phone lines and pay TV cables that are already running to almost every residence and building. Fibre to the premises (FTTP) NBN, as the name suggests. runs fibre optic cable right to the dwelling. This full-fibre connection requires an 'NBN utility box' to be fixed to the outside of your premises, and an 'NBN connection box' installed inside your premises that will connect to your computer, router and phone. There's also an optional back-up battery box for inside the premises. A new NBN modem and router may be needed and your existing phone and internet services will be disconnected 18 months after the new service is active, but you'll get notification from Nbn™ and your ISP. The existing ADSL and phone connections in the house will no longer work after the cut-off. Your landline phone number can be retained if moved before old network switch-off. Mobile, wireless and satellite services will not be disrupted. Home security services may need to be upgraded so check with your supplier and you'll need to add your medical alarm to the NBN register. If you're a pensioner, check if you qualify for a discount for phone and internet services with your ISP. Telstra is required to offer phone services for low-income households and priority assistance services on the NBN. Fibre to the building or basement (FTTB) If you live in an apartment, then you'll probably see FTTB. Fibre to the building or basement (FTTB) runs fibre to the connection point in multi-dwelling units such as office blocks and apartments and then links to individual connections to each unit. Nbn™ has launched some services already and is planning to connect one million homes and businesses using FTTB services. Wireless The NBN is expanding the fixed wireless network for those in rural and regional areas. The wireless service requires an external antenna on your roof and an internal connection box inside your house that's connected to the power. Your roof antenna connects to the NBN wireless tower that is connected back into the network with fibre cable. You need a modem/router with Wi-Fi for internal household connections. Satellite If you live in a remote area, you're probably already using a satellite service, which uses a satellite dish on the premises to receive the internet from a ground transmitter in another location. Last year saw the launch of the first of two satellites that will boost internet access for people living in rural and remote areas. The Sky Muster satellite should bring faster broadband services to 400,000 homes and dwellings, and retail ISP plans are now being offered. Nbn™ is promising wholesale speeds of 25Mbps upload and 5Mbps download. The Interim Satellite Service is due to shut down in late February which means that any premises still on that service need to move to a new service themselves because the transition is not automatic. Can I elect to pay for fibre to my house? Nbn™ has a program that enables people to switch the technology that will be connected to their premises. Individuals or small groups of people can apply to have a FTTN connection upgraded to fibre to the premises (FTTP), although it's subject to certain conditions. The switch can only be carried out once the original technology has been deployed, is subject to Nbn™'s design and construction plan and cannot bring forward the construction schedule. The cost is $330 for the application plus $330 for the design quote plus the build payment, which covers the actual construction cost and can only by specified by paying for the design quote. You will need to pay the difference between the cost of the originally planned technology and the cost of the new technology chosen for the switch. There's more information available at on the Nbn™ website. How is NBN pricing set? A rather complicated arrangement is used to set the wholesale pricing for access to the NBN. Service providers are charged a cost that consists of two parts – AVC and CVC. The AVC, which stands for access virtual circuit, is the price paid to Nbn™ by the service provider for every customer based on the connection speed. There are different AVC prices for each speed tier. The second component, CVC, which stands for connectivity virtual circuit, is a usage charge. As of June, Nbn is changing the way it prices the wholesale network capacity that it charges retail service providers, which should mean plans with higher speeds and large or unlimited data allowances become cheaper. To do this, NBN will charge average bandwidth by individual retailers, instead of across the industry, and it will reduce the average cost of bandwidth of each user as usage increases. The bandwidth or CVC (Connectivity Virtual Circuit) is a wholesale charge based on the amount of network capacity shared across a retail provider's users. Who gets what connection? The NBN uses a mix of technologies which involves replacing some cabling, repurposing some other cabling and installing brand new cables, node boxes and other equipment. It's also boosting wireless capacity with new satellites. The network mix should look like this: Satellite to 400,000 rural and remote premises. Fixed wireless to 600,000 premises in regional areas. FTTN/B to 4.5 million premises, or 38% of premises. HFC to 3.3 million premises, or 34% of the network. FTTC to 700,000 premises from the HFC footprint. FTTP to 2.4 million premises, or 20% of the network. Why is the NBN so hotly debated? The NBN is essentially a bunch of cables and wires. But the zeal with which it's been both attacked and defended is almost of religious proportions. Yes, it represents a large chunk of the public purse, but so do submarines and they don't attract quite the same fervour. The government NBN plans have divided the two major political parties because they've had different approaches to the future of Australia's national network. The point of contention is around the make-up and extent of fibre in the wired network – whether it's all-fibre to the dwelling, or part-fibre to a node and phone line to the dwelling. The politicians, experts and many internet users have argued about the merits of the different plans for the NBN. In pollie-speak, it didn't get bipartisan support from the get-go, which is another way of saying the two sides didn't agree on the plan for our national network and have been slugging it out ever since in parliament and parliamentary committees, and in the press through countless articles, political and tech blogs, and press releases. The NBN even has its own lobby group, NBN Defenders, and a Change.org petition that implores Malcolm Turnbull after the last election to retain the all-fibre network gained 272,000 signatures – the highest number of supporters for any single petition on the site. Case for the current MTM model The government and supporters of the current MTM model argue that it provides speed improvements sooner and for less money, and that this is a more prudent path to take. Their view is that it's better to re-use existing infrastructure using technological enhancements for as long as possible to deliver an incremental service improvement and that new innovation will continue to bring faster speeds to existing copper networks without the need to re-wire every premise and only expand fibre at some unspecified point in the future when there's sufficient demand and a business case. Case for the original all-fibre model The all-fibre proponents argue that you 'do it once, do it right, do it with fibre'. They say that the NBN is a nation-building project that will deliver economic benefits into the future through innovation and significant cost savings for e-health, telecommunications and telecommuting, among others, and that fibre is the best choice for a truly national, high-speed, future-proof network. They say an all-fibre NBN won't require upgrades, is less technically complicated, requires less power and maintenance and is expandable in terms of speed and data consumption. They argue that an MTM network will be out of date when it's complete, but there'll be little money left to upgrade and expand the fibre footprint. Furthermore, they say that innovation such as skinny fibre is reducing the complexity of constructing the NBN, bringing the cost and time of building an all-fibre network closer to that of the part-fibre network, but delivering an exponentially better NBN.Mood-o-Meter — Employee Surveys Made Different Benjamin Nadland Blocked Unblock Follow Following Sep 22, 2016 Conducting employee surveys every few months is a common and effective way to evaluate employee satisfaction. But we thought we could spice up this feedback process by providing our staff with an additional feedback channel that is fun to use and delivers practically up-to-the-minute results: the Mood-o-Meter. Press a button, express your mood and see company-wide results on a daily basis. Besides the hardware involved, we also needed a place to aggregate the data and to display the daily results. So we decided to build a small prototype app using Meteor, which would even allow for a mobile app later on. For the hardware part, we decided to use an ESP8266 with a couple of buttons and LEDs in a box. The ESP8266 is a pretty neat microcontroller that offers built-in WiFi support, has a great community with the NodeMCU platform and is extremely affordable (between 2 to 10 euros depending on where you source it). Our Mood-o-Meter runs on the NodeMCU firmware, which uses Lua as a scripting language and provides an https client, WiFi negotiation and LED helpers out of the box. We started out by getting the WiFi access working. With its enduser setup module, the firmware provides an easy-to-use system for that purpose. Once it was all set up, the next step was to send an API POST to the Meteor endpoint we implemented earlier. Since our app was supposed to use https exclusively, we now needed to execute an https request. Unfortunately, this step took us longer than expected. According to the documentation, the firmware’s http module supports https. But due to a bug or a mistake on our part we weren’t able to use it. To complete the prototype, we decided to go with the bare TCP module and implemented an http call instead.Ultra-modern minimalism, cozy luxury, and astounding views – these are a dozen of the most architecturally striking homes in Israel. The Galilee house This house overlooks the Hula Valley, the Golan mountains and Mount Hermon, but its planning and design are far from "rural" and are unusual in their modernism compared to the other large buildings in the area. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter The owners - a couple with grownup children - wanted the house to match its landscape, and it integrates into the view harmonically. In order for them to optimally enjoy the view, Architect Arnon Nir created as many open spaces as possible. Photo: Amit Geron Photo: Amit Geron A resort building on Tel Aviv's promenade The 10-story house on 48 Herbert Samuel Street is one of the old luxury buildings on Tel Aviv's shorelines. In 2008, it was purchased by three Jewish entrepreneurs from Europe who had originally planned to renovate the apartments and put them on sale. Eventually, they decided to turn the building into a "town house" they could use during their visits to Israel. The 10 floors became four apartments: A triplex on the upper floors and three duplexes. The lower floor serves as a shared living room, and the pool on the roof serves all tenants as well. The huge windows overlook a view which will make you believe that the apartment is located directly on the sea, although the promenade road separates the building from the beach. Photo: Shiran Carmel Photo: Shiran Carmel The hidden villa in Jerusalem's Mamilla Mall This is probably the house with the most beautiful view in Israel. Stretching over 900 square meters at the edge of Jerusalem's Mamilla compound, it has a huge roof overlooking Jaffa Gate and a pool hiding behind the arches on the street level. The most special place in the house appears to be the walk-in closet, where the tenants - a couple in their 60s and their two grownup sons, who divide their time between Europe and Israel - can watch an unstoppable flow of people of different religions walking to the capital's holy sites - the Western Wall, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre or the Al-Aqsa Mosque - as less than 50 meters separate between the window and the Old City walls. Photo: Ilan Nachum Photo: Ilan Nachum A mega villa in the city At first sight, it looks like a regular four-story apartment building in the Old North of Tel Aviv. A closer look reveals a six-story villa measuring 650 square meters (about 7,000 square feet) in size, which houses one four-member family. The three main floors overlook the street with large windows. The swimming pool is located on the roof, separated from the urban rooftop landscape by a transparent glass rail. Photo: Amit Geron Photo: Amit Geron The most splendid view in a communal Galilee village This house belongs to a full-time working couple with two small daughters, who wanted a practical home which would not require intensive maintenance. They found what they were looking for in the communal village of Mikhmanim, where they got their hands on a house with the most splendid view in the community, with large windows overlooking the Beit Hakerem Valley and Karmiel. Photo: Luciano Santandreu Photo: Luciano Santandreu A fashion designer's home in Old Jaffa Clothes and shoe designer Irit Blinder's original plan was to purchase a small apartment. After searching for two years, she found "a place with character" and decided to invest in it. It took a long time and cost a lot of money, but the result - a three-story apartment on Jaffa's Yefet Street - combines the old and the modern while respecting the past. In order to deal with the high expenses of her apartment, she often rents out the second floor to flatmates, with whom she shares the living room and kitchen. Photo: Assaf Pinchuk Photo: Assaf Pinchuk Living in a poster of the good old Land of Israel This two-story house in Moshav Hayogev in the Jezreel Valley features huge windows overlooking the fields, a dining room leading to a garden, halls securing privacy in the bedrooms and eclectic, convenient furniture. It belongs to a couple who returned to the cooperative settlement with their two small children after years of living in central Israel. Simple and beautiful, the house integrates very well with its surroundings. Photo: Shai Epstein Photo: Shai Epstein A living room facing Mount Tabor Shortly before turning 40, with two toddlers, this couple decided to move back to northern Israel after living for more than a decade in a small apartment in central Tel Aviv. They purchased a 500-square-meter (5,380-square-foot) plot in Kibbutz Ein Dor and built a two-story villa planned by Architect Yair Herman. The big bonus they received is the amazing view of Mount Tabor which can be seen from their living room windows. Photo: Shiran Carmel Photo: Shiran Carmel Front row tickets to the best show in town The tall buildings surrounding Tel Aviv's famous Rabin Square were never considered attractive from the outside, but Architect Ilan Halachmi fell in love with the urban view of the square and Tel Aviv Municipality building and bought an apartment on the fifth floor overlooking "Israel's main performance stage". "A new show is presented every day, and I have front row tickets from my living room sofa," he says. Halachmi lives in the apartment, which was completely renovated, with his wife the lawyer and their 18-month-old son. Photo: Shai Epstein Photo: Shai Epstein Inviting the Haifa Bay into your house This duplex apartment is located on the fourth and fifth floors of a building which was built on a Mount Carmel slope about 16 years ago. It measures 340 square meters (3,660 square feet) in size and was bought by a couple in their 50s with three children. When two of the grownup children left home, the parents decided to move from their private home in Haifa to an apartment on the street with the most beautiful view in the city. "When I first entered the apartment, I was amazed by the view of the bay it overlooks," says Architect Rona Levin. "I realized that we must bring the bay into the house and that it would be impossible to plan the apartment without integrating the surroundings into it." A spiral staircase located at the entrance was moved to the side of the living room, making space for air and light, which entered the flat together with the sea. Photo: Amit Geron Photo: Amit Geron A surprising penthouse in southern Tel Aviv The New Central Bus Station, crumbling houses, asylum seekers, a car parts garage, dustbins and a piece of the sea peeking from between the skyscrapers along Tel Aviv's shoreline - this is the view from Ofer Shahak's penthouse in a new apartment building in Neve Sha'anan, the neighborhood with the worst reputation in Tel Aviv. The colorful apartment with the unusual landscape measures 100 square meters (1,076 square feet) in size and is surrounded by balconies on three sides: One can go out of the living room, walk around the apartment and enter through the bedroom. Photo: Itay Benit Photo: Itay Benit A 500-year-old house in Jerusalem's Jewish Quarter The walls of Architect Mordechai Ben Horin's holiday apartment hide the evolving story of Jerusalem's Jewish Quarter over 2,000 years, although the house itself is "only" 500 years old. Photo: Tal Nissim Photo: Tal Nissim The small 70-square-meter (753-square-feet) apartment has seen so many people and events over the years: From Titus' command post through an important family of Jews expelled from Spain, a murder in the 1938 riots and a female terrorist who planned to blow up a cinema to a couple who still lives here during the weekends. The house hardly has any windows, yet the flow between its different parts integrates into the Old City alleys. The design created by the couple, which bought the property in 1980, reinforces the apartment's connection to the Arab atmosphere surrounding the house. The roof has a magnificent view of the Judea Mountains, and one can nearly touch the Western Wall plaza, the Dome of the Rock and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.Britain said the incident was an 'innocent misunderstanding' Archbishop's reaction Gillian Gibbons, 54, from Liverpool, has been sentenced to 15 days in prison and will then be deported. She escaped conviction for inciting hatred and showing contempt for religious beliefs, and will now appeal. Foreign Secretary David Miliband has expressed "in the strongest terms" the UK's concern at her detention. The Sudanese ambassador, Omer Siddiq, was called back to the Foreign Office to explain the decision. Officials said that during his 45-minute meeting Mr Miliband also spoke to the Sudanese acting foreign minister for 15 minutes on the telephone. "There will be further contacts overnight and tomorrow in the search for a swift resolution of this issue," the Foreign Office added. I have called in the Sudanese ambassador this evening to explain the decision and to discuss next steps Foreign Secretary David Miliband Reaction to verdict Before the meeting, Mr Miliband said he was "extremely disappointed" the charges had not been dismissed and repeated his view that it had been an "innocent misunderstanding by a dedicated teacher". "Our priority now is to ensure Mrs Gibbons' welfare, and we will continue to provide consular assistance to her," he said. "I have called in the Sudanese ambassador this evening to explain the decision and to discuss next steps." Meanwhile, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams said he could not "see any justification" for the sentence, calling it an "absurdly disproportionate response" to a "minor cultural faux pas". Officials at the Foreign Office say the mood has changed as a result of the verdict. Staff complaint The prime minister, Sudanese embassy officials in London and UK Muslim organisations all expressed the hope that Mrs Gibbons would be released. But Sudan's top clerics had called for the full measure of the law to be used against Mrs Gibbons and labelled her actions part of a Western plot against Islam. She could have faced up to 40 lashes if found guilty on all three charges against her. In September, Mrs Gibbons allowed her class of primary school pupils to name the teddy bear Muhammad as part of a study of animals and their habitats. The court heard that she was arrested on Sunday after another member of staff at Unity High School complained to the Ministry of Education. The BBC's Adam Mynott, in Khartoum, said Mrs Gibbons apologised to the court for any offence she may have caused. The school's director, Robert Boulos, told the AP news agency: "It's a very fair verdict, she could have had six months and lashes and a fine, and she only got 15 days and deportation." He said Mrs Gibbons would only serve another 10 days in prison, having already spent five in custody since her arrest. Prosecutor general Salah Eddin Abu Zaid had said Mrs Gibbons could expect a "swift and fair trial". But Catherine Wolthuizen, chief executive of Fair Trials International, said Mrs Gibbons' treatment was excessive. She said: "It was a very speedy justice process. Although she has been found guilty of all the counts of causing offence, she has thankfully not been subjected to 40 lashes. "Having said this, 15 days in a Sudanese prison for an innocent misunderstanding is a serious and harsh punishment indeed."Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play. Advertisement By Alex Hudson BBC News The United States may be the home for Sir Richard Branson's space tourism venture Virgin Galactic, but, even though flights are not scheduled to take off until at least 2013, is he already looking for a European base? Almost 500 people have bought tickets for the 190-minute journey offering about five minutes of weightlessness in space for $200,000 (£127,000), taking off from a bespoke spaceport in the New Mexico desert. Despite there being a number of legislative and contractual conundrums to be solved before commercial services can begin, the excitement about the possibility of a holiday - albeit a short one - in space has already taken hold. WHAT IS SPACE TOURISM? Space tourism is space travel for leisure or recreation rather than for scientific purposes Dennis Tito, aged 60 at the time, paid $20m (£14m) in 2001 to become the first paying passenger to go to outer space Current commercial plans focus on "sub-orbital" flight, allowing the feeling of weightlessness for short periods Vehicles reach heights of just over the 100km (62 miles) line above the Earth - the Karman line - where space is commonly agreed to begin While primarily an American venture, there are rumours that Virgin Galactic is already looking to expand. And the UK wants the place of expansion to be in Scotland. The Department for Business says that the UK is keen to attract commercial operations to the country and that Scotland remains a potential base for space tourism in the UK. RAF Lossiemouth, the largest and busiest fast-jet base in the Royal Air Force, is seen as the leading site for any space tourism in the UK to take place. With science minister David Willetts telling the Daily Telegraph he wants Virgin Galactic to launch in Europe and former Virgin Galactic president Will Whitehorn saying that space tourism flights could take off from Scotland - at one point said to be as early as in 2013 - all looked well for the Scottish Highlands to reach for the stars. "One of the reasons that places like Lossiemouth have been mooted as possible launch sites is because it is relatively far away from centres of population," says Jeremy Curtis, of the UK Space Agency. The UK space industry has a turnover of £7.5bn a year and is growing. It contributes £3.6bn to the British economy and employs - either directly or indirectly - nearly 85,000 people. By 2030, the UK government wants to increase revenues to £40bn, about 10% of the forecasted £400bn global space industry. But there are no firm plans for a spaceport in Scotland and there is one European country in particular that is trying to get a jump on the rest of the pack. It already has a functioning spaceport - Sweden. "There are a few places in the world trying to establish this but none has come as far as we have," says Karin Nilsdotter, chief executive officer of Spaceport Sweden. Virgin hopes to be transporting paying customers into space in late 2013 "We also want to build on our existing infrastructure and tourism and business we have here. "Spaceport Sweden wants to offer you and me the opportunity to go into space but already now we are offering space adventures." An adventure involves flying to high altitudes to get a clear view of the Northern Lights without any risk of cloud cover getting in the way. "Spaceport Sweden is potentially a great place to fly from," says Stephen Attenborough, commercial director of Virgin Galactic. "They've got the ice hotel, it's a great destination and you get a great view - different from New Mexico. "But one step at a time." Commercial space race Despite all this optimism, the attention given to a service from Virgin that is quite literally out of this world could be premature. Initial plans from Virgin said that paying customers could be in the exosphere by 2007. The first customers will now not take their trip until at least 2013 and Virgin is not the only competitor in the commercial space race. Several services are competing to the be the first to take paying customers into sub-orbital flight on a regular basis. Some, like XCOR Aerospace, are offering similar services for less than half the price of Virgin. The most recent predictions from their sales team RocketShip Tours are plans for launch from Curacao in the Caribbean in the first half of 2014. There are already eight licensed spaceports with the Federal Aviation Authority in the US, though Virgin's is the first dedicated commercial spaceport. Forecasts say by 2020, 20,000 people per year will be flying in to space and cost will come down considerably Karin Nilsdotter, Spaceport Sweden But as yet, like Virgin, not one of these projects has been truly successful. And in the rush to turn space tourism into a global business, comparatively little work has taken place outside the US. "The US is a little more relaxed on experimental, early-stage development," says Professor Sa'id Mosteshar, director of the London Institute of Space Policy and Law "Their approach is slightly different from the European one because they look primarily at ensuring the safety of passengers and people on the ground." Only one venture, Project Enterprise, is currently looking at European launches and little news about a confirmed date is available. Original plans stated that European trips would begin in 2010. And, even after a lot of "ifs" and "whens" from Virgin, it looks like it will not be Europe that gets the second base after all. "As and when we do think it's the right time to think about [expansion] more seriously, the first place we're likely to look at is Abu Dhabi," says Attenborough. "We have now a substantial minority shareholder [in Abu Dhabi] who has made no secret of the fact that, through their investment, they would like Virgin Galactic to develop a centre of commercial space in the region. "There's a lot of desert area and you've got a market." About 500 people have been in space since Yuri Gagarin became the first The market is one thing that Virgin is confident of. After raising nearly $65m in deposits from their US operation and being heavily backed by private investors, it sees a global market and a global industry way beyond what is currently being planned. While investors in Abu Dhabi could be willing to spend big money for the kudos of having the first working spaceport outside the US, many believe that the UK is not interested in investing in a "trophy" of space travel. "The UK tends to take a fairly hard-nosed view on activities [which just] create a prestigious centre that creates attention," says Curtis. "The government's approach tends to be much more business-like. If there's a strong case - whether the UK economy is taken into account - then the government could invest in something." Although space tourism is the thing grabbing all the headlines, there are variety of uses for sub-orbital flights. These include high-speed transportation from one point on Earth to another and launching satellites much more cheaply. This activity could lead to economies of scale that sees prices plummeting as soon as a service is proven and begins operation. "Forecasts say by 2020, 20,000 people per year will be flying in to space and cost will come down considerably. That is $200,000 today but, maybe in 2015, it will be $50,000 (£30,000)," says Nilsdotter But, for the moment at least, countries preparing for
possession with intent to distribute cocaine. More than 36,000 federal prisoners have requested volunteer legal advisers to help them prepare clemency requests, and the Clemency Project 2014 said more than 1,500 petitions have been submitted to the Office of the Pardon Attorney, with more to come. “Today’s action will bring hope to so many worthy individuals and their incredible and heroic pro bono attorneys from across the country awaiting a decision by the president on their clemency petition,” said Cynthia W. Roseberry, project manager for Clemency Project 2014. Deputy Attorney General Sally Q. Yates said the move “is yet another step in the administration’s efforts to restore proportionality to unnecessarily long drug sentences.” “In just the first eight months of 2016, the president has more than doubled the number of commutations granted in all of 2015,” she said. “But we are not done yet, and we expect that many more men and women will be given a second chance through the clemency initiative.” The president’s action comes amid simmering tensions in the U.S. over policing in minority communities and assassinations of police officers. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has pledged to restore “law and order.” Mr. Eggleston said the administration evaluates each clemency application on its merits to determine the appropriate relief, including whether the prisoner would be helped by additional drug treatment, counseling or educational programs. He called on Congress to pass pending criminal justice reform legislation for “lasting change to the federal system.” Most of those receiving commutations will be released Dec. 1. Copyright © 2019 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.It would be a jaw-dropping stunner if an NFL team had Vernon Adams wedged between Carson Wentz and Jared Goff in their assessment of the 2016 NFL Draft's top three quarterbacks. But Adams, the former Oregon quarterback, says that's where he belongs in the draft's QB hierarchy. Adams told The Dan Patrick Show on Monday that he's better than Goff. "If I'm not as good as (Goff), then I am better than him," Adams said. "I'm not going to sit here and say he's better than me because there's nothing that he's doing that I can't do.... So, yeah." Patrick then asked the undersized Adams if he was better than Wentz, as well. "He's the only quarterback in this draft that I can literally say, 'He's better than me.' I've seen him at the (NFL Scouting Combine), he made every single throw. I've been watching him since we were both freshmen. He's legit. He's a legit quarterback," Adams said. Goff and Wentz are expected to be the first two picks of the draft; projections for Adams are nowhere near that range. He told Patrick he's been advised to expect any number of draft outcomes, from a fourth-round selection to going undrafted. NFL Media draft expert Mike Mayock sees Adams as a potential third-day (Rounds 4-7) choice. "I like what I've seen, but there's always going to be that challenge when you're talking about one year, as you know, he's a transfer, one year at Division I and a 5-10 quarterback. At the end of the day, does he even get drafted? I don't know," Mayock said Friday during a media teleconference. "He's the kind of guy I'd love to get in the sixth (or) seventh round and try to develop without any pressure on him and see what you had. If all that doesn't happen, he's a perfect fit for the CFL.... I'm not denigrating the kid at all. I'm a supporter of Adams." Adams' pre-draft highlight was an MVP performance in the East-West Shrine Game in January. Adams starred at FCS Eastern Washington until transferring to Oregon for his senior season in 2015. He overcame a broken finger and a few missed games to lead the Ducks to six consecutive regular-season wins to close the year. Over that stretch, he threw 22 touchdown passes to just four interceptions. Follow Chase Goodbread on Twitter @ChaseGoodbread.In the late 1930s, the Waldorf Astoria in New York became the first hotel in the world to offer an in-room dining service. At the time the concept was ultra-lux: guests could order a variety of food and have it delivered to their doorstep in 30 minutes. In 1969, the Westin hotel chain took the concept a bit further and began offering a 24-hour room service; customers could order caviar and lobster at 4AM if they were so inclined. Today, room service has become a standard at most four-star (and up) rated hotels; Smith Travel Research estimates that about half of America’s 51,214 hotels offer some variation of room service. A report released by the American Hotel and Lodging Association delineates that about 40% of all hotel guests travel on business, and that these customers (as opposed to those traveling for leisure) are the most prolific room service connoisseurs. But a Quora user poses a pertinent question: “Why is room service so ridiculously expensive?” Furthermore, how is it that even with sky-high prices, this service operates at a loss for most hotels? Why Is a Club Sandwich $40? Last year, travel website TripAdvisor conducted an experiment. The company’s TripIndex report analyzed the top 10 ranked 4-star hotels in a variety of U.S. cities and compared the price of a club sandwich delivered through room service. The results may not come as a surprise to anyone who’s ordered in-room-dining: Data sourced from TripIndex Out of the 150 hotels (10 in each of the above 15 cities) surveyed, the average club sandwich runs about $16 -- a fairly aggressive price for essentially a BTL with turkey. But wait, there’s more: these prices don’t include the requisite fees that come with all room service meals. Typically, a 15% service fee and an “in-room dining” charge ranging from $5-12 will be added automatically to the bill. Add in tax, you’re suddenly looking at a $25+ sandwich. If you’re in Honolulu, think closer to $40. Exorbitant room service fees don’t just apply to club sandwiches: a bagel and cream cheese at a high-end hotel runs anywhere from $12-$30; mac and cheese made with Velveeta (essentially a $2 box of Kraft) is often $23; a few cookies and a glass of milk might set you back $20. Why are items that typically only cost a few dollars so expensive on a room service menu? One reason is that hotels exercise price discrimination. Pricing room service above cost allows a hotel to charge more to those who have more money to spend; if a guest is willing to shell out $400 for a night in an opulent room, they are probably willing to also pay above market price for eggs and toast if offered the convenience of delivery. Those who value saving time enough to order room service are likely also people who make a lot of money with their time, and have the cash to spend on the service. Another factor that plays into this is consumer myopia, or the underestimation by a consumer as to how much additional services will cost for a purchased good or service. That is, when a guest sees a $12 sandwich on a room service menu, they don’t take into consideration the additional charges that will make it much more expensive (usually, these stipulations are in minuscule print at the bottom of the menu). But the biggest factor is that there is a willingness to pay. People often arrive at a hotel tired and hungry, and don’t have the energy to venture out into unfamiliar territory to go meal-hunting. Americans are also more likely to splurge on luxuries while on vacation. How Profitable is Room Service for Hotels? With numbers like this, you’d think hotels would make a killing off of late night hunger pains. On the contrary, most hotels actually lose money on the service; for major chains, it’s neither practical nor lucrative. Robert Mandelbaum, director of information services for PKF Hospitality Research, says room service only accounts for 1% of the typical hotel’s revenue. In addition, room service is on a rampant decline: in 2007, average yearly revenue per room was $1,150; today, it’s only $866 -- about $2.37 in room service charges per room per day. While the number of hotel guests overall has risen in the last six years, room service use has fallen off 25 percent. Mandelbaum likens room service to other hotel offerings, like a pool: "Ninety percent of people will say they want to stay at a hotel with a pool, even though only 10 percent will actually use it." But room service isn’t just an economic non-factor for hotels -- it’s grossly inefficient. Services that are offered 24/7 require a full kitchen staff to be ready and prepared around the clock. Taking this into consideration, it costs more to produce each item of food that it would for a restaurant operating during dining hours with a steady flow of customers. Sustaining room service clerks’ salaries alone sets back the average hotel more than they make in nightly revenue For this reason, Jacob Tomsky, who used to work at a high-end hotel in New Orleans, says hotel room service is trending toward nonsensical: “The money has never made sense. The cost of keeping a kitchen active through the night, of paying the attendants to stay awake and caffeinated, has never been covered by the three drunk guests who order fries at 4 a.m.” So why do hotels even bother offering room service if it’s clearly a dying art form? In short, it’s the norm. One guest at a posh Chicago hotel voices an opinion on the matter that summates exactly why hotels remain locked into this model: “There are so many hotels to choose from. If everyone is offering room service, I don’t know why I would pay the same rate with no service.” Since becoming standard fare for nice hotels over the last 40 years, room service has now become a matter of keeping up appearances and staying competitive. Many travel guides and rating systems even require a hotel to have room service to merely qualify for a four or five-star rating. What the Future Holds for In-Room Dining Last year, New York’s Hilton Midtown -- the city’s second largest hotel -- discontinued room service to all 2,000 of its rooms, citing high staff costs and inconsistent demand. They cut 55 employees from their room service staff, and implemented “Herb n’ Kitchen,” a refrigerator stocked with grab-and-go items. Though Omni Hotels executive David Morgan says he “[doesn’t] see room service going away any time in the near future,” there is definitely a wind of change in the industry. Several other large hotels have made efforts to scale back menus and cut round-the-clock hours; many newer hotels opening now have foregone the service altogether, touting methods which utilize new technologies. One such alternative, Moving Menus, allows hotel guests to order off of an in-room menu from a variety of local restaurants, who then deliver the food to the room. The company’s website appeals to hotels vexed by costly kitchens: “There’s no cost to you -- yet you can offer your guests a complete in-room dining service.” Other food delivery mobile applications -- GrubHub, Seamless, Eat24, Caviar, et. al. -- are gaining similar traction with hotel guests looking for alternative local options. Whatever the future holds for traditional hotel room service, one thing is certain: there's got to be a better option than a $40 club sandwich. This post was written by Zachary Crockett. Follow him on Twitter here, or Google Plus here.Democrats in Washington are winning headlines and pleasing their noisy base with an all-out push to oppose, obstruct and resist Team Trump. But what’s the long-term strategy? What plays to lefties and liberals on the coasts won’t work so well in the rest of America. Case in point: A new Reuters poll shows 49 percent support for Trump’s executive order on immigration, vs. just 41 percent opposition — which is surely concentrated in Blue America. And when the drive to slow (not stop) confirmation of President Trump’s cabinet picks is over, Dems will face real votes where it won’t be so easy to posture (or boycott). Democrats from areas Trump carried face a real dilemma — especially the 10 red-state Dem senators up for re-election in 2018. How many will heed the headlong rush to war declared by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi against Neil Gorsuch, Trump’s Supreme Court pick? Within moments of his nomination, Pelosi called Gorsuch “a very hostile appointment” to women, children with autism and pretty much anyone who eats, drinks or breathes. Hmm. Those voting to confirm his 2006 appointment to the US Court of Appeals included then-Sens. Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden — and Chuck Schumer. Nor is the opposition limited to Gorsuch. While Rex Tillerson finally was confirmed Wednesday as secretary of state (with three Democratic votes and one independent’s), Dems boycotted hearings on three other Trump nominees. In two of those cases, the Senate Finance Committee moved ahead anyway, breaking the boycott by suspending the rule that at least one member from each party be present. Unusual, but not when that party is intent on staging empty theater. As Sen. Lindsey Graham notes, the Dems’ childish antics are only “going to make their comeback harder — if they can have a comeback.”Its started already hasn't it? We are happily being told that Slavens outstanding team with their string of brilliant results are on the brink of the best season in our history. Utter nonsense, and nothing is certainly to send me off on a rant when someone, somewhere mentions the words, 'Premier League records'. Aaaah! It is lazy, clumsy journalism prompted by the PR people at the Premier League who never stop churning our information suggesting something is the best since well 1992! PL records were invented for Sky, to give them something to prattle about that they actually had footage to back it up. The Premier League was nothing more than a rebranding of a much-loved institution for the benefit of moneymen. Back in the old black and white days we actually won a European trophy. How does that square with the headlines now? For the record sorry our best performance since the Premier League was invented by the marketing men is fifth in 98-99. But its just the best in 24 seasons. The Football League started in 1888 and I have been delighted to hear an old mate, Alan Green, ridicule the whole concent of Premier League records on BBC Five Live recently. Brilliant, well done. Now lets move on. If the season ended now, with us fifth and in the FA Cup quarter-finals, it would be pretty damned close to our best-ever season. Its good, but not its not quite Carling! There is the need, though, to come up with a definitive best season because the way Slaven Bilic is going, we will need to know pretty soon. For me, it will always be the 1964-65 season when we lifted the European Cup Winners Cup at Wembley, and we finished ninth in the First Division that season. The domestic cups were not so good, we lost our hold on the FA Cup in the fourth round, losing 1-0 at home to Chelsea, while getting to the second stage of the League Cup. West Ham and Chelsea players observe a minute's silence for former PM Winston Churchill ahead of a January 1965 FA Cup tie at the Boleyn I remember that Chelsea defeat like it was yesterday. Only because the night before me and my mum and dad, had queued for hours alongside a bitterly cold Thames to file past the coffin of Winston Churchill, as he lay in state. Me and dad had only a couple of hours sleep before heading off to the Boleyn. Funny how things stick in your memory.Anyway, I feel, and its only my criteria which I am sure many of you will want to shoot down, that a best season must take into account the rest of the campaign, rather than the one major achievement.So there is a case for the 85-86 campaign when we managed third place in the top flight, and reached the FA Cup quarter-finals, still our best-ever league performance.But back to the 60s. A season before the European triumph, we won the FA Cup for the first time, finished 14th in the league and reached the League Cup semi-finals before being beaten 6-3 on aggregate by Leicester, also has a shout.So the current debate has prompted me to get the record books out and waffle on about the past. (I can see my son and his mates diving for cover as I speak!)I was searching for something that might compete with 64, 65 and 86. Its tough, but I believe that trio is already the best bet.The pre-First World War seasons were regional and obviously not really in contention either as Thames Ironworks or West Ham. The 1922-23 season saw us figure in history as taking part in the first FA Cup final at Wembley, but we still lost and were runners-up in the second division.From then on, until relegation in 1931-32, our best league position was sixth. You can see where I am coming from, now.The Second World War robbed us of a great team, with Len Goulden, my dads favourite player, the key. He was probably a comparison with Trevor Brooking, and that War Time Cup Final-winning side would almost certainly have got us promotion.All this new-found knowledge is not me, its thanks to another fine book by Brian Belton, War Hammers Two. It has filed a huge gap in my West Ham historical library, and given me the chance to read about the Irons of my late fathers youth.He was a teenager during the war, bombed out twice and reduced to a nervous wreck by the day and night bombing of the Blitz. He was tongue-tied and had a terrible stutter by the end of the war, but recalled his days at the Boleyn.I can still hear my mum finishing sentences for him when I was a kid. I look at the youngsters around me sometimes and wonder whether they realise how lucky they are not to have gone through that.OK, weepy bit over. From then until 1957-58 when we won promotion back to the top flight, there had been nothing but very ordinary mid-table second division rubbish.The 60s take some beating. There was also the 65-66 season when we defended the Cup Winners Cup until the semi-finals, finished 12th in the league and got to the League Cup Final.I dont consider the 75 and 1980 Cup winning seasons being better than the 60s. In 75 while beating Bobby Moores Fulham in the final, we were only 13th in the league and out of the League Cup early, We were ECWC runners-up the following season, but finished 18th in the league, winning only one of our final 21 league matches.In 1980, as a Second Division side, we also reached the League Cup quarter-finals. Mind you, the following season we won the Second Division title, were League Cup runners-up and got to the European third round.It was all the forerunner to 85-86. Third is still the pinnacle, but we also beat Manchester United on the way to the FA Cup quarter-finals. An omen for the weekend, I hope.From, then on it was all pretty ordinary until 2005-06 and that Cup Final defeat by Liverpool, and a ninth place finish.So to my mind, 1965 was the best, 86 second, and 1964 third. Nothing else that the Premier League PR people can throw up will better that. Until Slaven really gets stuck in.The way this season is going, it may well be our fourth best season in history. Still an amazing achievement. OK, rant over! Please note that the opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, nor should be attributed to, KUMB.com.Women wearing marijuana leaf masks at the 4/20 marijuana holiday in Civic Center Park in downtown Denver, Colorado. Reuters/Rick Wilking This year saw support for medical and recreational weed grow all over the country. The smoke is still clearing on what it all means. It's been a blazingly successful year for marijuana advocates. The use of marijuana for medical purposes is now legal in 23 states and D.C., with Maryland, Minnesota, and New York passing their own legislation on such use this year. Maryland, Missouri, and D.C. decriminalized possession of small amounts of pot, and all that happened in the wake of Washington state and Colorado fully implementing their legalization laws this year, too. (Alaska and Oregon also passed legalization laws this year, which won't go into effect until later.)* It would be understandable, of course, if certain specifics of the year's marijuana-related highlights remain cloudy. In case anyone has some blank spots, here’s a handy recap of 2014’s high points: California True to the city’s style, San Francisco saw a number of app-based delivery services for medical pot emerge this year, including Canary and Eaze. The services have struggled to stay within the bounds of changing regulations, such as whether they can accept debit cards. (The Treasury and Justice Departments have since issued guidelines for banks servicing legal-weed sellers, and more than 100 banks currently do such business). Colorado The year’s biggest bud-related change came out of Colorado, a mild-mannered state shaped like a square that has turned out to be anything but. On the first day of 2014, after 55 percent of voters greenlighted the sale of recreational pot back in 2012, Colorado began retail sales to those 21 or older. True believers in national legalization are taking notes on Denver’s remarkably functional system. Purchases are limited to one ounce at a time to residents; out-of-staters can buy a quarter of an ounce. It is taxed heavily: a 25 percent state tax on top of a standard 2.9 percent sales tax. That’s expected to bring in $67 million a year for the state, with more than $27 million earmarked for schools. The licensing process for shops is extensive, and there is a waiting list. Unlicensed individuals who happen to have copious amounts of marijuana can also legally “give” up to an ounce to a friend, but no money can be exchanged in the process. Colorado legalized medical marijuana in 2000, but the state’s recreational-use laws are drawing new residents in need of pot as a medical treatment who cannot access it in their home states, like these 17 Georgia families. In June, New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd made the most rookie of pot mistakes and ate an entire chocolate-caramel-weed candy bar alone in a Colorado hotel (possibly containing enough THC to stone 16 people; it was unlabeled). Unsurprisingly, Dowd had the worst time ever: I strained to remember where I was or even what I was wearing, touching my green corduroy jeans and staring at the exposed-brick wall. As my paranoia deepened, I became convinced that I had died and no one was telling me. Dowd redeemed herself in a September column where she chatted about edibles and vaporizers with “marijuana Miyagi” Willie Nelson: “When Willie Nelson invites you to get high with him on his bus, you go.” Nebraska and Oklahoma Just this month, Nebraska and Oklahoma asked the U.S. Supreme Court to declare Colorado's legal-weed laws unconstitutional—on the grounds that their own states’ residents are bringing it over the Colorado border. The Justice Department said in August that it won’t crack down on Colorado or any other state with legal-weed laws. But the states say that Colorado’s law conflicts with federal pot-enforcement laws, and that federal law must win out according to the Constitution—especially when a substance illegal in their states is making its way easily across state lines. Cities are changing fast. Keep up with the CityLab Daily newsletter. The best way to follow issues you care about. Subscribe Loading... New York New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed his state's controversial medical marijuana bill into law in July. The law, which won't go into effect until 2016, is one of the most rigid in in the country, allowing only certain strains and tincture-based delivery systems to be used for treatment. Activists are disappointed that there is no fast-track for patients currently in need of the drug. In September, Cuomo appealed to the DOJ for permission to legally import marijuana for medical use on a restricted-case basis. Washington state Washington voters legalized recreational use of marijuana in 2012—also decriminalizing the possession and personal use of up to an ounce of pot by anyone over 21—but retail sales did not begin until this July, when the state opened more than 20 shops selling legal pot to adults 21 and older and with a taxation system in line with Colorado's. The two states are currently the only ones selling plain ol' retail weed in the country. State law enforcement has since expressed concern over “buzzed driving,” which is harder to identify and police than drunk driving. In November, Washington State University researchers continued work on a breath test police could use to determine whether a driver is under the influence of marijuana. A proposed law would set the legal limit at 5 nanograms of active THC per milliliter of blood, and police could start testing as early as January of this year. In November, the family of reggae legend Bob Marley and a Seattle-based company announced the development of Marley Natural, a range of cannabis-packed buds, oils, and concentrates branded by the same folks who handled New Balance and Starbucks Coffee. “It was unruly for them to call it weed or drugs,” Marley’s widow, Rita Marley, told NBC News. “We saw it as a spiritual thing, given to us by God.” Washington, D.C. In July, Washington, D.C. decriminalized possession of up to an ounce of marijuana, replacing possible jail time with a $25 civil fine. The same law changed some police-search guidelines: The smell of marijuana is no longer a legal reason for cops to search your home or person. However, this changes only city law, not federal, which in a city littered with federal property (including the National Mall and most parks inside the District) makes this law a particularly tricky one to navigate. In November, D.C. voters went one step further and approved a full legalization referendum by a wide margin. It allows for the possession of up to two ounces of marijuana for personal use by those over the age of 21. Adults can give up to an ounce of marijuana to another adult, but no money can change hands. Residents may also grow up to six mature plants, but no more than 12 total in one house or apartment. After the customary D.C.-isn't-a-state congressional review period, the law was expected to go into effect sometime in the first quarter of 2015. However, its fate is currently unclear following a rider tucked into the so-called "cromnibus" spending bill by Maryland Republican Andy Harris, which in theory blocks the District from spending any money on implementing the law. D.C. officials are currently exploring their options.11 double-yolk eggs. (Photo: Shelbyc/CC BY-SA 3.0) Occasionally, hens lay eggs with two yolks in them. It’s relatively rare: it happens when a chicken ovulates twice in quick succession, and the chances of finding a double-yolked egg are about one in 1,000. But in one kitchen in Teddington, UK, a suburb of London, a 17-year-old found double yolks in every single egg in a carton of a dozen: Tom Tosetti says he bought this box of eggs at Tesco, and based on the video above, either he’s a very good actor or he was as surprised as everyone else. It is a remarkable occurrence: The odds of finding 12 eggs with double yolks are one in a thousand trillion.* Double yolks have a certain portend associated with them: in folklore, they’re associated with fertility and good fortune. Some people believe finding a double yolk foreshadows pregnancy or even twins; others believe it’s just a sign of general good luck. There’s less folk wisdom about what it means to find 12 double yolks in a row. There are a few other stories of crazy runs of double-yolk eggs: in the past few years, one person found six in a row, and another found 10. There’s even another story of 12 double-yolked eggs in one carton. It’s also possible for a hen to lay an egg with more than two yolks. The record is 9. Tosetti seems to feel pretty good about his find. We’ll give the last word to the “yolksman from Tesco,” who spoke to the Kingston Guardian: “This is cracking news for Tom; he’s clearly got eggsellent luck.” Every day, we highlight one newly found object, curiosity or wonder. Discover something amazing? Tell us about it! Send your finds to sarah.laskow@atlasobscura.com. *Update: This estimate came from here, and was basically an extrapolation from the 1 in 1,000 figure. But it is not necessarily quite so rare to find 12 double-yolk eggs in one carton, because of how eggs are packaged, by weight. A couple people emailed to say that they’ve had this same experience. There are a couple of factors that might bring up the odds of finding a run of double-yolked eggs. First, some breeds are more likely to lay them then others. Second, young chickens, new to laying, are more likely to produce such eggs. Third, these eggs are on the weightier side and are more likely to be packaged all together—it would be much more surprising to find a run of double-yolked eggs in a carton of medium eggs than in a carton of jumbo eggs. One reader points to this BBC story as a good run-through of how to calculate the odds of finding a run of double-yolked eggs. The sad truth is that to calculate the true odds would require much more data. However, it’s still pretty rare. If people do occasionally find double-yolked runs, it’s in part because of the massive number of eggs that are produced—just in the U.S., chickens produce billions of eggs each month. Gastro Obscura covers the world’s most wondrous food and drink. Sign up for our email, delivered twice a week.Black Desert Growth of Kamasylve Tree Event Guide Black Desert Online Growth of Kamasylve Tree event guide. This event will run from June 14 to June 21 and feature daily quests. Step 1:Sacred Energy of Spirit Talk to Cartima in Heidel. He is right outside the inn on the south side. This will start the Sacred Energy of Spirit quest. After taking the quest, follow the quest objective and talk to Herawen in Kamasylve Temple in Mediah. Make sure you have 10 energy on your character and click this option to complete the quest. Step 2: Young Kamasylve Tree Talk to Herawen again and get the Young Kamasylve Tree quest from her. There should be a tree nearby you can interact with (Use the navigate option from your quest tracker to quickly locate it). Interact with the tree and use the Plant energy option to complete the quest. You are done for the day. Once the reset happens, come back to Cartima in Heidel and start it al over again. Open your Gift of a Spirit Box and see what kind of items you will get. Note that the tree apparently has 5 growth stages. Once the 5th growth stage has been reached on your channel, you can no longer do the daily quest there and must find another channel with an incomplete tree.One of Vancouver's biggest developers is suing the city for trying to sell off a piece of land that was originally intended for a low-rise housing project when Concord Pacific turned it more than 20 years ago. The land 601 Beach Cres. was one component of millions of dollars' worth of community benefits Concord provided through negotiations with the city as part of the company's massive redevelopment on the north shore of False Creek. The site, which the city put up for sale in May, is in a formerly derelict part of town, next to the Granville Bridge. Story continues below advertisement However, it is now positioned directly across the bridge from an eye-popping development under construction, Ian Gillespie's Vancouver House. That cantilevered tower, designed by Danish architect Bjarke Ingels and marketed as a high-end residence, is expected to transform the neighbourhood. But Concord says that the site, which is made up of half Concord land and half land from another source, was supposed to be used for charitable, community purposes. Related: B.C. real estate reform: What you need to know As well, the suit says, the sale will cause Concord "irreparable commercial harm." "It was an expressed and/or implied undertaking of the city that the Concord Lands would not be used for development of high-rise market housing, a use that would compete with Concord's own development plans for its other lands," says the suit, filed by Concord's lawyer, Howard Shapray. The lawsuit also asks for an immediate injunction to prevent the sale. Concord has offered to buy back the land at a fair market price. Story continues below advertisement Story continues below advertisement The city was accepting offers for the land until last week. City planning documents say that a building as high as 425 feet could be allowed. City of Vancouver officials declined to comment on Thursday because the issue is now before the courts. Concord Pacific also issued a statement saying it was limited in what it could say because of the legal case. "The proceeding involves issues regarding building densities owned by Concord and agreements from 17 years ago that may be affected by the process," the statement said. "There are certain legal technical interpretations that need to be made to give certainty to the issues. We cannot comment further as the issues are being determined by the court." Story continues below advertisement The notice of claim, filed earlier this week, also objects to the city's offer, in its memorandum to potential purchasers, to sell of almost 60,000 feet of unused density that is left over from what is known as Area 1 of the Concord lands. The land is currently assessed at $8.1-million but would likely be worth more to bidders at high density. Concord Pacific is the company that has been developing former industrial land on the north shore of False Creek since 1987, when the provincial government decided to sell the 67 acres after Expo 86 was held there. It has since built about 10,000 units of housing that accommodate a population of more than 13,000. As part of the redevelopment, the company was required to provide land for schools, daycares, parks and social housing. According to city policy, all mega-projects are supposed to incorporate 20-per-cent social housing, with the developer providing the land and other levels of government providing the money for construction. That arrangement has been under stress since 1994, when the federal Liberal government ended its support for new social-housing projects. Since then, several sites on the Concord lands, designated for social housing, have sat undeveloped. The land at 601 Beach is one of four parcels set aside just in Area 1, one of six designated sectors of the Concord lands.New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio both flew to San Juan over the past 72 hours with promises of help, acting as de facto representatives for Puerto Rico. \| Getty Puerto Rico's allies in New York, Florida push for aid Top lawmakers in New York and Florida are rushing to champion aid for Puerto Rico in the wake of Hurricane Maria's devastation — a sign that even as the island territory lacks power in Washington, its diaspora wields growing political clout in major states. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio both flew to San Juan over the past 72 hours with promises of help, acting as de facto representatives for Puerto Rico. It’s a tacit recognition that political leaders from the states with the two largest and most influential populations of Puerto Rican descent are essential to keeping Washington’s attention on the unfolding disaster, which follows the implosion of the island’s economy and an ugly fight over financial assistance in Congress last year. Story Continued Below “They could be left with the scraps in Congress,” said Rep. Darren Soto, a Central Florida Democrat who last year became the state’s first member of Congress of Puerto Rican descent. “It’s something that we as the Florida delegation, New York and others are going to be pow-wowing about to make sure the devastating damage in Puerto Rico is taken care of.” It’s also a political necessity for officials in both states. Rubio, a bilingual member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has repeatedly said the federal government needs to stand by its territory — and last year, he was the only Republican in the GOP presidential primary to visit Puerto Rico. He won all 23 of its delegates. After flying to San Juan Monday, he got a hug on the tarmac from the island’s non-voting member of Congress, Jenniffer Gonzá lez-Colón, who posted the picture on Twitter and thanked him “for being our voice in the Senate.” Cuomo, a Democrat who is positioning himself for a possible presidential bid in 2020, got there even earlier; he flew to San Juan on Sept. 22 along with emergency supplies, power grid experts and legislators including Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez of Brooklyn and Assemblyman Marcos Crespo of the Bronx. “We are family,” Cuomo said during a press conference next to Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló. “You don’t have to ask family for help. Family shows up, and we are family.” Velázquez said New York’s 27-member House delegation would push for assistance and called for the immediate suspension of the Jones Act, a nearly century-old law that limits which ships can dock on the island. Velázquez and Cuomo then held a rally in Manhattan Sunday to raise supplies and donations; the governor was introduced by Jennifer Lopez and stammered a few lines in Spanish about unity. On Monday he called out President Donald Trump for tweeting about the NFL but not speaking up about Maria’s aftermath — and did no fewer than four radio and television interviews about Puerto Rico. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called Monday for more aid for Florida, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. Puerto Rican voters have long been a critical bloc in the Empire State. Political consultant Evan St
memory, the Blues have been able to limit opponents to an average of 2.03 goals a game – a number that ranks second best (Boston) in the league. However, the Blues ability to limit an opponent’s offense is due to a cast of characters and not just the men between the pipes, which brings us to the … Defense The St. Louis defensive unit may be the most underrated in the league. Composed of Barret Jackman, Roman Polak, Alex Pietrangelo, Kevin Shattenkirk, Kris Russel (pictured right) and Carlo Colaiacovo. The unit combines Jackman’s and Colaiacovo’s experience (10 years Jackman, 9 for Colaiacovo) with the young talent in Pietrangelo, Shattenkirk and Russel. The unit also features Roman Polak, one of the strongest defenders in the league that is now playing in his 6th year. This group of six is a perfect balance of experience, youth, speed and aggression. Jackman and Polak handle the size and muscle, while Russel handles the speed and Pietrangelo, Shattenkirk and Colaiacovo dish quick passes and shots from all over the ice. Pietrangelo, a player straight from the team’s system, plays with experience well above his years. Skating in just his second full season, you’d never guess it if you’ve ever watched him in action. In his first full year, Pietrangelo tallied 43 points in 79 games and though his pace has slowed in 2011-12, he still has 10 points in 31 games. Pietrangelo’s intelligence and vision on the ice allows him to generate space, generating chances for the team’s offense while nimbly stripping the puck from nearly every forward that comes his way. Kevin Shattenkirk, one of the most fun names to say on the St. Louis roster, arrived in 2010-11 when the Blues acquired him and Chris Stewart in exchange for Erik Johnson and Jay McClement. To date, Shattenkirk has skated in 103 games and already has notched 60 points – a true testament of the solid shot he has and the ability he has to squeeze timely passes in areas most defenseman wouldn’t be able to. Finally, the newest piece of the puzzle is Kris Russel, a defender that arrived during the 2011-12 season from Columbus in exchange for Nikita Nikitin. While both teams have benefited from the deal, Russel has proven to be a valuable piece of the puzzle in the team’s push to the top. With speed and timely pinches along the boards, Russel has formed a solid partnership with the fiery Roman Polak forming a perfect combination of solid defense and potent offense. However, while plenty of credit should be heaved on the St. Louis goaltenders and defenders, none of this would be possible without … Ken Hitchcock When a club makes a coaching change, they dream of a leader that shapes their band of misfits into a cast of champions. The Blues got that miracle when Hitchcock joined the system and his reformation of the Blues was immediate. Wasting no time, Hitchcock somehow cut out all of the squad’s poor habits they had been practicing in the past couple seasons under Davis Payne. Loafing on shifts, failing to bring intensity and playing incomplete games. These three traits summed up the majority of the St. Louis 2010-11 season as well as the early stages of 2011-12. The cliche term of “Play a hard 60” rarely applied to the Blues under Payne, as they often came out flat in the first period or disappeared late in games, allowing leads to slip and points to be foolishly given away. Now, under Hitchcock, the Blues new style is literally a reversal of what we’ve seen from the Blues for the past few years. The Blues dictate the pace of the game, for the entire 60 minutes, forcing the opposition to adopt their style to combat the Blues. Before, the Blues would struggle to exit their own end, let alone be able to set anything up in the offensive zone while resorting to an endless game of dump and chase. Now, the Blues dominate the offensive zone nearly every night, hemming in their opponent while wearing them down with a series of cycles, pinching from the points and massive checks. What’s in Store? The real question that remains is of course, can the Blues maintain this style and pace of play for the remainder of the 2011-12 season? Will the Brian Elliott of old make an appearance or is this new one here to stay? If this team’s offense starts clicking, the NHL should take serious notice. The Blues have climbed a huge mountain without regular offense and with arguably their biggest weapon, Chris Stewart, failing to make an impact. If Stewart and the offense starts rolling, the playoffs may be more of a certainty in St. Louis than we all think. While we will have to wait to have those questions answered, a few things are certain. The Blues are a force to watch in the Western Conference and have quickly become a genuine threat to not only make the playoffs in the West but become an elite club in the NHL. Photo credits: Top photo: Brei Bird Photography Other photos: TSN PhotographyThomas "Uptown T" Stewart doesn't have the widespread name recognition of Kermit Ruffins or Pete Fountain. But Stewart, a shucker who has been drawing diners to Pascal's Manale's restaurant barroom for 21 years, embodies New Orleans' endangered oyster culture as surely as Ruffins and Fountain embody its music. "I'm the character at that bar," Stewart said of his perch at Manale's, where he patterned his trademark banter after stand-up comics Redd Foxx and Richard Pryor. "I'm not a comedian. But if I can say something and make (customers) laugh, that's when I know I'm the man." On July 1, "Uptown T" shucked oysters and talked smack for what appeared to be the last time. Manale's had secured delivery of Gulf oysters to serve raw just one day since. Stewart has otherwise been exiled to Manale's kitchen, beyond the view of the customers he draws in with his twinkly grin and, if they're lucky, this short, orally delivered resume: Uptown T, the one and only one beneath the Son! Often imitated, never can be duplicated! That's 3-D, Uptown T! "I'd like to have the oysters back so I can see all the familiar faces," Thomas said, "all the people who come in and make me feel like a million by saying, 'Hey, we were afraid you weren't going to be here!'" That fear has undoubtedly been felt at countless New Orleans area restaurants known for both raw Louisiana oysters and the repartee customarily served up by the shuckers who open them. The local oyster supply has been unsteady since late April, when the Gulf of Mexico oil spill triggered the precautionary closure of oyster harvesting areas and the opening of freshwater diversions, which can degrade the quality of oysters and, in some instances, kill them. Fishers have had unreliable access to oyster beds ever since, prompting many of them to seek employment with BP cleaning up the oil spill. In recent weeks, the unpredictable opening and closing of commercial fishing areas has combined with the reduced fleet of oyster boats to nearly suffocate the supply of Gulf oysters. Some restaurants known for raw Gulf oysters, such as Drago's and Dockside Seafood and Oyster Bar, have quit serving them altogether. "We're down to nothing," said Lisa Halili, vice president of Prestige Oysters Inc, a Texas oyster processor and distributor that is one of the largest oyster lease holders in Louisiana and Texas. "Ninety percent of our beds are closed." Lenny Minutillo, New Orleans sales manager of Louisiana Seafood Exchange, said most of the restaurants that he services have stopped selling oysters on the half-shell. When John Rotonti, owner of Felix's Restaurant and Oyster Bar, called the distributor on Tuesday, Minutillo answered the phone, "No Oyster Lenny." "I told him, 'Well, you answered my question already,'" said Rotonti, who in the past several weeks has grown accustomed to coming up empty in his efforts to keep Felix's raw bar stocked with Louisiana oysters. The restaurant received 10 sacks on Wednesday, not enough to last a day under normal circumstances, and Rotonti figured it was "probably my last delivery for a while." Rontonti stood behind the bar that greets customers entering Felix's, which has been serving raw Gulf oysters on the half-shell since the early 1900s, and insisted he has not given up the fight to continue the tradition. But not knowing where his next batch of oysters will come from has forced him to reduce the hours of his shuckers, some of whom he said have filed claims to be compensated by BP. Keith Chancley, 51, Felix's head shucker, is working four days a week instead of five -- and fears that his hours, and thus his income, could decline further. Chancley has been shucking oysters for 22 years. The father of five could pursue other employment options should his occupation become unsustainable. "I can cook, but I'd rather not," he said. "This is what I do." ****** Evidence of the diminishing Gulf oyster supply can be found nearly everywhere they're served, and not just raw. RioMar is substituting shrimp in a signature dish that normally features oysters baked with chorizo, spinach, bread crumbs and manchego cheese. Last week, the oysters Clancy's chefs fried to serve under melted brie came from Oregon. On Friday, chef Scott Boswell started serving West Coast oysters exclusively at Stella! and Stanley, his two French Quarter restaurants. Parkway Bakery & Tavern took oyster po-boys off its menu more than two months ago. On Tuesday, Dickie Brennan & Co. marketing director Wesley Noble said, "Right now we're sitting on 30 sacks of (Louisiana) oysters on the half shell. On an average day we go through 20-30 sacks, and we didn't get a delivery today, so we don't know what will happen tomorrow." This uncertainly is particularly problematic for restaurants like Brennan's Bourbon House, where a large oyster bar occupies a significant chunk of its French Quarter interior. Restaurateurs have seen the price for Gulf oysters roughly double since the oil spill, souring the unique economics of the local raw oyster trade in a way that can't be rectified by importing oysters from elsewhere. Oysters vary in size, taste and texture depending on their habitat and the time of year they're harvested. This can be true even of oysters plucked from beds within miles of one another. But the species that grow plentifully in the warm waters of the Gulf, particularly off the coasts of Louisiana and Texas, are generally larger, often milder in flavor and considerably less expensive than oysters found in the colder waters of the country's other coasts. Local diners are fond of Gulf oysters' singular qualities, including a price point that makes New Orleans a place where raw oyster consumption remains, as A.J. Liebling wrote more than 50 years ago, "a solace to the man of moderate means." The differences are unmistakable when you compare the raw Gulf oysters served at Acme Oyster House last week with raw oysters from Washington state and eastern Canada offered as a special at Lilette. Acme's oysters were plumper and juicier than the imported varieties, which were comparatively tiny but richer in flavor. Acme's went for $10.99 a dozen; Lilette's were $15 for six. Al Sunseri, co-owner of P&J Oyster Company, the country's oldest oyster distributor and processor that ceased regular operations last month, recently tried to interest some of his local customers in oysters he brought in from Washington state. Even when faced with the prospect of having no oysters at all, he said, "No one wants them. They're different. They're too expensive. That has been our experience." ****** Felix's shucker Keith Chancley learned his craft from childhood friend Michael "Hollywood" Broadway, the flamboyant shucker at the French Quarter Acme Oyster House across the street from Felix's. The two men grew up together in the former Desire public housing complex. "People think it's just about opening oysters," Chancley said. "It's about the people you talk to when you're opening them. That's how you keep clientele coming. My friends got two customers, I got 10 waiting for me, because (his regulars) know they're going to be nice and clean, and they're going to be cold. You got to make them feel you." When customers ask him why he taps each oyster with his knife before opening it, Chancley tells them, "You got to let them know you're coming into their house. They're my little friends. I've been doing it so long, I got to respect them." If the availability of Gulf oysters continues to dwindle and restaurateurs remain resistant to imports, shuckers such as Chancley, Broadway and Stewart could be forced to put their alter egos on ice, at least for a while. It's possible their time away from the bar will be fleeting. When Manale's unexpectedly received two sacks of Gulf oysters Wednesday, Stewart returned to the bar, albeit temporarily. Even if Manale's should go an extended period without serving raw oysters, owner Mark DeFelice said he is considering "just putting (Stewart) out here anyway to do his thing." Dickie Brennan's was told to quit expecting Louisiana oysters a month ago, "but we continued to get them," Noble said. Acme has been able to meet the demand for Gulf oysters at its five locations, said Paul Rotner, Acme's director of operations. That's a testament to the buying power of a company that he said typically serves 6-1/2 million raw oysters, and 2-1/2 million fried, per year. "Fortunately for us, our vendors (have) gone out of their way and worked very hard to get us oysters," he said. Terrance "Dino" Lawson, for one, has been thankful for their efforts. The shucker works the oyster bar at Acme's outpost in Metairie. On Monday, he greeted one customer with a signature, "What's happening, Captain?" He cautioned a woman who had dropped by for a meal en route to the airport that rain could cause her flight to be canceled -- and then thought the better of it. "You'll bring the sunshine baby," he told her. "You'll be all right." Lawson said he has found customers even hungrier for Gulf oysters since the oil spill cast doubt on their existence. "People want to be sure they get that last one," he said, cradling an oyster in one hand. "And I'm going to shuck it for them." Restaurant writer Brett Anderson can be reached at banderson@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3353.Rails Functional Testing Controllers for Beginners - Part 2 This article is continuing on from Part 1 and dives further into writing functional tests for your controllers. Here are the common tests that I use when writing functional tests for my Rails controllers. First make sure you have some form of automated testing setup as per my previous article. This will allow your tests to automatically run whenever you modify your test or model file. This will save a lot of time. If you have notifications setup, even better, you can just wait for the alert to pop up. NOTE: The following versions were used for this setup: Rails: 4.1.5 Ruby 2.1.2 MiniTest 5.4.0 Testing for Divs in Views Generally you will probably have views that will be showing different content on the same page depending on what actions are taken. In this case its great to be able to check for the presence of unique ID's that should or should NOT be there. The trick is to use unique ID tags for your divs in your views so you can easily check for them in your tests. Here is an example of the ID tag. <div id = " product_admin " > Admin Content goes here. </div> <div id = " product " > Regular Content goes here. </div> This is also great for testing to make sure that admin content only appears to an admin and not a regular user. Here is how to do the functional test: test " should get show as regular user " do sign_in users( :regular ) get :index, product_id : 1 assert_response :success assert_select " #product_admin ", count : 0 assert_select " #product ", count : 1 end test " should get show as admin user " do sign_in users( :admin ) get :index, company_id : 1 assert_response :success assert_select " #product_admin ", count : 1 assert_select " #product ", count : 1 end Simple AJAX Javascript testing As you can see, this is a simple little test that can be very handy to verify the presence of certain elements on your page. While javascript testing is a whole chapter by itself, there is a basic test that you can do to ensure that your javascript views are at least being sent to the browser without any errors. test " update product via javascript " do xhr :get, :product_update, format : :js, product_id :'77'assert_response :success end Testing the actual content of views As you can see, an effective way to test that your.js views are responding correctly. If you are going to do a refactor of the logic in your application views, then you can check the actual rendered content of views is still correct using assert_select. Here is the view: <div id= " post_content " > <p> <strong> Name :< / strong> <%= @product.title %> < / p> <p> <strong> Description :< / strong> <%= @product.description %> < / p> < / div> Here is the test of the view contents: test " should show content of product page correctly " do get :show, id : products( :one ) assert_response :success assert_select'#product_content ', html :'<p> <strong>Name:</strong> MyString </p> <p> <strong>Description:</strong> MyText </p> ' Where to start Now you can refactor your view/controller and be assured that the final output is unmodified from what it was originally. If you already have a Rails application working and don't have any tests, its easy to get started. The basic scaffold tests for your controllers are a great way to get started and you can slowly build up from there. Your own tests As you can see, it is easy to get started writing tests that you can rely on to ensure your application is working. You can slowly build up your test suite over time. Hopefully this has helped you to get more confident with writing tests that you can rely on. Resources RailsGuides for Testing - The Rails Guides guide to testing applications. Assert Select Documentation - For a deeper dive into assert select and what it can do. Rails Automated Testing Setup for Beginners - The first article on how to setup automated testing in Rails. Rails Unit Testing with MiniTest for Beginners - Getting started testing your Rails application with Unit testing using MiniTest. Also includes fixtures. Rails Functional Testing Controllers for Beginners - Part 1 - The previous article on how to setup functional controller tests in Rails. Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. DisqusChelsea's on-loan forward Alexandre Pato has spoken out about his future plans, revealing that he wants to stay at Chelsea after his loan from Corinthians expires. The once-prolific Brazilian has found first-team opportunities a rare occurrence this season, playing just twice in the Premier League and scoring once against bottom-club Aston Villa. However, the lack of playing time hasn't deterred Pato, who claims he has never given up. Speaking to ESPN Brazil, the 26-year-old said: "In every training session I was visualising what it would be like in a match. I never gave up and always wanted to train more. "When Guus gave me the chance to play I was very happy. Scoring that goal was a weight off my shoulders. "I know that I still need more games to show my value. I feel that my body and mind are strong. My aim is to stay here in Europe and continue at Chelsea." Chelsea announced this summer's arrival of Italy manager Antonio Conte, who will be taking over at Stamford Bridge from Guus Hiddink before the start of next season. And Pato is confident that the Italian manager can bring success to West-London. "Conte will do very well here. He's a guy who has a real desire to win. He revolutionised Juventus, winning a lot. I am sure that it will be the same here", he told reporters. "He will sign the players Chelsea need." Pato will be hoping that one of those players is himself, as he seems to be enjoying Premier League football despite a lack of immediate playing time.A few months into 1987 (surprisingly I can’t remember the exact month), I biked over to Desert Hobbies in Tempe AZ (long since defunct) to see if there were any new release for BattleTech. I had the 2nd Edition Box Set, CityTech, Technical Readout: 3025, Fox’s Teeth and Tales of the Black Widow Company. What would the next thing be? I was excited! Much to my shock that next thing I found was a novel: Decision At Thunder Rift. What, a novel? For a universe I was already rapidly falling in love with? No…way…dude (said in a drawling, 15-year-old’s 80′s-style voice). I devoured the thing almost in one sitting…and well…I’ve pretty much devoured every novel since. For Shadowrun, it was a significantly different experience, but no less impactful for its lasting measure of my enjoyment of the universe. The big exposure to those novels came when I started working at FASA Corporation in 1996. I wanted to be as helpful as I could to Mike Mulvihill (the then SR Line Developer), and so I borrowed 20 some SR novels from the FASA library and read one-a-night until I polished them off inside a month (didn’t have kids yet, so I could do that sort of stupidly-awesome marathon sprint). Personally, professionally, in every way you can name, the BattleTech and Shadowrun novels have been woven indelibly into my life. And I’ve talked and read and discussed at endless game nights and cons with so many of you…the same applies to tens of thousands of people all over the globe. For those that have been following us for a good long time, you might remember that three years ago we were in the process of releasing into epub the entire back catalog of BattleTech and Shadowrun novels when we had to pull them down at the request of our licensor. Three long, long years of work and negotiationsand we just posted an announcement surrounding the return of these fantastic stories, rebranded as Legends. (Monster kudos to Loren Coleman for never giving up and for dealing with piles of legalities that makes my skin crawl; Blaine Pardoe for the crack in the armor; Matt Heerdt for Herculean cracking of old files and endless epub generation; Aaron Cahall for crazy reviewing and reformatting of some of the truly ancient files; David Kerber for a pile of cover graphic layouts.) In additional to Alex Iglesias brilliant re-imagined Double-Blind cover above, we’ve got Victor Moreno slaying it with his re-imagined Shadowrun Secrets of Power Trilogy, as well as some additional new art and some great art pulled from the archives for our initial launch titles. So whether you’re brand new, coming back after a hiatus, or just looking for epubs to read on your e-reader of choice of books still on your shelf, it’s a brilliant time to leap in and grab these wonderfully, seminal action adventures! Enjoy! RandallThe Pokémon company have confirmed that the eagarly anticipated Pokémon Developer E3 Roundtable will be live-tweeted. Since its announcement earlier this year, we've not heard too much on the massively anticipated Pokémon X and Pokémon Y. The starter, region and legendaries have been confirmed but there are still many questions remaining ahead of launch this October with many rumours circulating over the last fortnight. Director Junichi Masuda will be sitting down with the Game Freak team on Tuesday 11th June to discuss the game in an in-depth roundtable. Updates from the discussion will likely spread like Charmander's scorching flames as the Pokémon Twitter account has confirmed that it will be live-tweeting the updates during the roundtable. Tomorrow is a big day for Pokémon X and Pokémon Y news! We're live-tweeting the Nintendo Developer Roundtable. Who's joining us? #PokemonXY — Pokémon (@Pokemon) June 10, 2013 The Pokémon Developer E3 Roundtable takes place between 6-7pm PST (1am 12th June GMT). You can catch all the Pokémon X and Pokémon Y updates here on Cubed3 after the roundtable. What are you hoping to learn from the Pokémon Developer E3 Roundtable?SIOUX FALLS (AP) – The number of speeding tickets issued by South Dakota state troopers has gone up since the state's top speed limit increased from 75 mph to 80 mph nearly two years ago. According to an analysis of ticket data by the Argus Leader, in the nearly two years before the speed limit increase, troopers wrote 12,585 speeding tickets on interstates and state highways. For the same period following the change, troopers wrote 18,227 citations. The surge began on day one. During the month of April 2015, a total of 1,012 tickets were issued. That's more than double the 465 tickets issued in April 2014. The newspaper reported that while the numbers show the Highway Patrol is more aggressive at enforcing the speed limit, they don't show whether troopers are writing more tickets to speeders who were only slightly speeding, or whether they were giving motorists more leeway before the speed limit changed. That's because the Highway Patrol wouldn't release the speeds of motorists cited. Argus Leader Media filed an appeal, which is pending. In a statement, Department of Public Safety spokesman Tony Mangan said troopers are free to use discretion when they stop motorists, and he credited the increase in tickets to hard-working, self-motivated troopers. He said the Highway Patrol does not have a quota system. "The Highway Patrol has always provided direction to its troopers on the application of the law as it pertains to speed enforcement in an effort to provide a consistent and equitable policy," he said. "This is to ensure all officers perform their duties in a similar manner. This direction does not take away officer discretion or common sense." The Argus Leader Media's analysis of ticket data also found that men received 66 percent of the tickets written since 2013. While the majority of tickets were issued to motorists on Interstates 90 and 29, the number of tickets written on back roads and state highways more than doubled since the limit went up. The data also shows the busiest days for tickets fall around Independence Day, Memorial Day and Labor Day. The busiest day was Friday, July 3, 2015, when troopers wrote 165 tickets. The National Safety Council reports that highway traffic deaths increased nationwide in 2016. But in South Dakota, fatalities were down to 115 last year, the lowest since 2011.After the high-concept gloss of their terrific JG Ballard adaptation, High-Rise, film-making partners-in-crime Ben Wheatley and Amy Jump go back to their grungy roots with a very different vision of the dystopian 1970s. In a deserted Boston warehouse, a gaggle of variously incompetent weapons buyers and sellers take random real-time potshots at each other after a volatile arms deal falls apart. Less an extended riff on the final standoff from Reservoir Dogs than an absurdist expansion of the close-range gunfight from The Naked Gun 2½, Free Fire is a delirious descent into choreographed chaos. As an exercise in stripping away narrative in favour of “pure cinema” sensation, it’s breathtakingly bold; the ne plus ultra of nihilistic screen showdowns. In terms of slapstick comedy it combines a silent movie visual sensibility with a Looney Tunes symphony of cacophonous ricochets and recoils – “Ba-Ding-Dang-BONG!” Continuing their genre-bending experiments, Wheatley and co-writer/editor Jump return to themes familiar from their earlier work – men behaving like children; people trapped in confined spaces; the insane consequences of violence. Gleefully, they set Cillian Murphy’s IRA bagman Chris and Sharlto Copley’s South African gun-runner Vernon at odds, thanks to an explosive feud between Sam Riley’s black-eyed degenerate Stevo and Jack Reynor’s hot-headed, shaggy-haired Harry. Caught in the crossfire are Brie Larson’s deal-maker Justine, Armie Hammer’s suave Ord and Michael Smiley’s increasingly pissed-off Frank, with Patrick Bergin’s Howie sniping from the rafters and Babou Ceesay’s Martin taking one in the head. “I’m not dead,” explains the ex-Black Panther. “I’m just regrouping…” When I interviewed Wheatley for the Observer last year, he spoke of the affectless “scale of destruction” of modern movies, and his longing for more intimate injuries on screen: “being hit by rocks or banging your fingers; small-scale stuff that we all know about”. Despite the endless rounds of ammo expended in Free Fire, it’s the masonry falling from above or broken glass crushed underfoot that does the real damage. There’s a touch of the DIY Straw Dogs siege-mentality at work here (Wheatley cites Sam Peckinpah as an influence), not least when Reynor shakes his pained knuckles after a flying crowbar dangs noisily on the barrel of his warm gun. When a pile of junk tumbles down a staircase over one poor unfortunate, you half expect a cartoon bowling ball to follow in its wake and crack someone on the head. Wounds are painfully peripheral, with ankles, knees and ears bearing the brunt of the bashes. When Savile Row dandy (and “international asshole”) Vern gets shot in the shoulder, he’s told: “You’re gonna be OK – it’s mostly the suit.” And what suits! There’s a carnivalesque quality to the wardrobe, hair and makeup, with wide collars and ostentatious curls (“Charlie’s missing an angel”) lending colourful swagger to the performers’ movements, while neck scarves become eye-catching tourniquets. Free Fire’s sharp jukebox choices chime with Martin Scorsese’s role as executive producer. With the Real Kids’ Do the Boob, which accompanies the opening overhead views of Boston (although the film was almost entirely shot in Brighton), and the use of John Denver’s Annie’s Song to provide Stealers Wheel-style counterpoint to the carnage, the 70s vibe is snappily evoked. But it’s Ex Machina composers Geoff Barrow and Ben Salisbury who add musical light and shade, moving from a plaintive western-inflected Spanish guitar theme through squishy keyboard arpeggios to punch-drunk percussive jazz beats as the rhythm of the gunfire increases. Once the shooting starts, cinematographer Laurie Rose keeps his head down, the cameras crawling, crouching and scampering with the protagonists, occasionally leaping on to a gun barrel or an exploding gas canister to crank up the ante. From this raw front-line footage, Wheatley and Jump work editing wonders. There’s a real quilt-like beauty to the construction of Free Fire, creating a kinetic mosaic which imposes architectural order even as characters and storylines criss-cross like stray bullets. The dialogue, too, has a sharp-shooter ring that the cast clearly relish, whether it’s Copley’s Afrikaans-accented puns (“watch and Vern”) or Murphy’s super-dry asides (“You should go [to Ireland]; they’d love you over there…”). When Ord is told he smells of perfume, Hammer injects real outrage into the manly retort “It’s beard oil!” As for Larson’s Justine, she’s not FBI but “IIFM – in it for myself”. Best seen in a packed cinema, Free Fire cements Wheatley and Jump’s reputation as the UK’s most vigorously anarchic film-making duo. Unlike their hapless protagonists, they actually hit their targets. You’ll laugh, you’ll wince, you’ll duck. Bullseye!A total of nine players were ejected after a brawl in the second inning on Saturday night between Triple-A Albuquerque and Reno. The action happened after shortstop Erisbel Arruebarrena struck out looking to open the top of the second inning. Arruebarrena, who homered on Friday, was apparently unhappy with being thrown at during his at-bat by Aces starter Mike Bolsinger, and began the brawl by shoving Reno catcher Blake Lalli. Isotopes infielder Erisbel Arruebarrena not happy about being thrown at. A few pitches later he struck out, then shoved Aces' Blake Lalli — Ben Ross (@BenjaminARoss) July 27, 2014 Benches cleared, dozens of players involved right behind home plate. Brawl went into the net and pushed net right into first row of crowd — Ben Ross (@BenjaminARoss) July 27, 2014 The bad blood stemmed from Arruebarrena's three-run home run on Friday that gave the Isotopes an 11-0 lead. Arruebarrena took his time rounding the bases (nearly 30 seconds to reach home), much to the chagrin of Reno announcer Ryan Radtke. Your browser does not support iframes. "By the time our game starts tomorrow, Arruebarrena might be around the bases. This is a joke," Radtke called. "Arruebarrena has not yet reached home plate!" Here is video of Saturday's fight per KOLO TV in Reno: Arruebarrena threw his helmet in the fracas, and was finally tackled by multiple Reno players. In all, the Isotopes ejected were Arreubarrena, infielder Walter Ibarra and pitchers Carlos Frias and Pedro Baez. Reno players ejected were Lalli, pitcher Kameron Loe, pitcher Andrew Chafin, left fielder Aaron Cunningham and first baseman Mike Jacobs. Aces manager Phil Nevin was also tossed. Multiple suspensions are likely to follow from this, especially for Arruebarrena. In 2013, the Isotopes were involved in a brawl with Memphis that saw six Albuquerque players suspended. The Pacific Coast League allowed the teams to stagger the suspensions so the teams wouldn't lose so many players at once.Wikipedia developers have sketched out designs for a Wikipedia Search Engine, which would give users a one-click replacement for Google search. The search engine could also be embedded in devices such as the Kindle, or smartphones. It’s an fascinating strategic option, and an aggressive one. Google’s site scraping algorithms and front page Info Box have made visiting Wikipedia’s page superfluous, if all the user wants quick facts, or a factoid. Instead of finding Wikipedia through Google, you could bypass Google completely. The concepts were revealed after much sleuthing by Andreas Kolbe, board member of Wikipedia’s Signpost and occasional Reg contributor. Most of the staff employed by the cash-rich Wikimedia Foundation work in software development, a fact acknowledged by the appointment of an experienced software exec, Lila Treitkov, to run the non-profit outfit. In recent years, the unpaid Wikipedia volunteers who create the content had complained about the tools WMF produced for them, even going so far as to reject them. One of WMF’s responses is controversial; the Knowledge Engine project, described by Kolbe. It’s shrouded in secrecy, and Knowledge Engine was cited by former community board member James Heilman as being the cause of disagreements between himself and the WMF board. Heilman was dismissed from his post during the Christmas holidays. It’s also caused disquiet because it was funded not from donations, but by a restricted grant from the Knight Foundation. WMF has not published the grant application in full, only excerpts. From these some “deliverables” have been made public, in which we can find "an improved search engine and API for Wikipedia searches” – but a more ambitious search is explicitly denied: Are you building a new search engine? We are not building Google. We are improving the existing CirrusSearch infrastructure with better relevance, multi language, multi projects search and incorporating new data sources for our projects. We want a relevant and consistent experience for users across searches for both wikipedia.org and our project sites. In 2008, Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales attempted to create a for-profit search Google rival that cashed in on WIkipedia’s brand – called Wikia – but it failed to achieve scale, and was shut down after a year. The new designs show how Wikipedia.org could be "reimagined", incorporating the Knowledge Engine, to provide a Google-style search engine. But what would Wikipedia actually search? With more than five million articles, WMF developers have a wealth of content. So would a Google-style Wikipedia search page or app need to index anything else? Perhaps not. Since all the world is contained in Wikipedia (or a peculiarly warped representation of the world, at least) then its map is as good as the territory. And there’s more on Wikipedia than many people think. Wales is currently debating with contributors the merits of embedding the entire porn movie Debbie Does Dallas in the Wikipedia entry for the film. Jimbo isn’t keen. He warns: "It is very easy to imagine a really stupid press story or campaign against us about this. 'Wikipedia embeds porn movies in article content' gives people entirely the wrong impression of what we are about. Why invite that?,” asks Wales. But he hasn’t been paying close attention, it turns out. It already is. "The movie was embedded in Debbie Does Dallas so that readers could choose to play it right in the Wikipedia article. For reasons I do not understand, an edit war broke out...,” explains contributor ‘Right Hand Drive’. "Readers of an article about a pornograohic [sic] movie should not be surprised to see a pornographic movie on Wikipedia,” he continues. "Did you take a look at A Free
by name. The website, Mediapart, said it had a recording of a phone conversation between Mr Cahuzac and one of his aides in which the minister allegedly expressed concern about the UBS account which was reportedly used to siphon funds to Singapore. He has dismissed the reports as "crazy claims" and launched a defamation suit against Mediapart. "I have never had an account in Switzerland or any other place abroad," said Mr Cahuzac in December.Nest ferch Rhys, born around 1085, was the daughter of Rhys ap Tewdwr (Rhys ap Tudor Mawr), king of the Deheubarth in South Wales. Nicknamed ‘Helen of Wales’ she was renowned for her beauty; like Helen of Troy, her good looks led to her abduction and civil war. Princess Nest led an eventful life. She was born a princes’ daughter, became a king’s mistress and then a Norman’s wife; she was abducted by a Welsh prince and bore at least nine children to five different men. She was the grandmother of the celebrated cleric and chronicler Gerald of Wales and through her children’s alliances, is related to both the Tudor and Stuart monarchs of England as well as Diana, Princess of Wales and US President John F. Kennedy. Nest was born into a turbulent period in British history. The Battle of Hastings in 1066 had resulted in the Norman invasion of Britain, however the Normans had struggled to make headway into Wales. William the Conqueror had established an informal Norman frontier along the line of Offa’s Dyke with Norman barons controlling the lands there. He had also made alliances with the tribal chiefs of Wales. One of these rulers was Nest’s father Rhys ap Tewdwr who led the Deheubarth in the west of Wales. William’s death in 1087 changed everything. William’s successor, William Rufus sent his Marcher barons into Wales to plunder and loot the lands of the Britons. During a battle against the Normans outside Brecon in 1093, Nest’s father was killed and South Wales was overrun by the Normans. Nest’s family was split up; some like Nest were held hostage, some were captured and executed and one, Nest’s brother Gruffydd, fled to Ireland. As the daughter of the last king of South Wales, Nest was a valuable asset and taken as a hostage to William II’s court. Although only about 14 years old at the time, there her beauty caught the eye of Henry, William’s brother, later to become King Henry I. They became lovers; a medieval manuscript in the British Library shows them embracing, pictured naked except for their crowns. Henry was noted for his womanising, apparently fathering over 20 illegitimate children both before and after his marriage and coronation in 1100. Nest gave birth to his son, Henry FitzHenry, in 1103. King Henry then married Nest off to Gerald de Windsor, an Anglo-Norman baron much older than his new wife. Gerald was Constable of Pembroke Castle and ruled Nest’s father’s former kingdom for the Normans. Marrying Nest to Gerald was a shrewd political move, lending the Norman baron some sense of legitimacy in the eyes of the local Welsh people. Although an arranged marriage, it appears to have been a relatively happy one and Nest bore Gerald at least five children. Constantly threatened with attack by the Welsh, Gerald built a new castle at Carew and then another at Cilgerran where Nest and her children went to live around 1109. Nest was now in her 20s and by all accounts a great beauty. The Welsh prince of Powys, Cadwgan was one of the leading Welsh rebels. Cadwgan’s son Owain was Nest’s second cousin and having heard tales of her stunning looks, was anxious to meet her. At Christmas 1109, using his kinship as an excuse, Owain attended a banquet at the castle. Upon meeting Nest and struck by her beauty, he apparently became infatuated with her. Owain is said to taken a group of men, scaled the walls of the castle and started a fire. In the confusion of the attack, Gerald escaped down a privy hole while Nest and two of her sons were taken prisoner and abducted by Owain. The castle was sacked and plundered. Cilgerran Castle Whether Nest was raped or succumbed to Owain of her own accord is unknown, but her abduction incensed King Henry (her former lover) and the Norman lords. Owain’s Welsh enemies were bribed to attack him and his father, thus starting a minor civil war. Owain and his father fled to Ireland, and Nest was returned to Gerald. However this was not the end of the unrest: the Welsh rose in rebellion against the Normans. It was not just a conflict between the Normans and the Welsh, it was civil war as well, pitting Welsh prince against Welsh prince. Owain returned from Ireland on the orders of King Henry, ostensibly to help him defeat one of the strongest Welsh rebel princes. Whether he was betrayed is uncertain, but Owain was then ambushed and killed by a band of Flemish archers, led by Gerald. Gerald died a year afterwards. After his death, Nest sought comfort in the arms of the Sheriff of Pembroke, a Flemish settler named William Hait with whom she had a child, also called William. Shortly afterwards, she married Stephen, the constable of Cardigan, by whom she had at least one, maybe two, sons. The eldest, Robert Fitz-Stephen became one of the Norman conquerors of Ireland. It is thought that Nest died around 1136. However some say that her spirit still walks the ruins of Carew Castle today.Charter of Quebec Values Brief of the Marxist-Leninist Party of Quebec on Bill 60 Submitted to the Commission on Quebec's Institutions - December 20, 2013 - [PDF FORMAT] The following is the brief presented by the Marxist-Leninist Party of Quebec's (PMLQ) on Bill 60, formally known as the Charter affirming the values of State secularism and religious neutrality and of equality between women and men, and providing a framework for accommodation requests, submitted to the Commission on Quebec's Institutions December 20. The Quebec government tabled Bill 60 on November 7. The Minister responsible for Democratic Institutions and Active Citizenship, Bernard Drainville, said the bill sets out how the government intends to realize its aim of "rallying Quebeckers around common values" and "clarifying the social contract." The Marois government gave a December 20 deadline to receive briefs and requests to make interventions on the bill, and stated that a public consultation would start on January 14, 2014. Bill 60 contains 12 chapters and three annexes which are said to detail "the rules, considerations, powers and modalities through which to affirm rights." Chapter I: Religious Neutrality and Secular Nature of Public Bodies Chapter II: Duties and Obligations of Personnel Members of Public Bodies Chapter III: Obligation to Have Face Uncovered Chapter IV: Rules of Application Chapter V: Handling of Accommodation Requests on Religious Grounds Chapter VI: Implementation Policies Chapter VII: Rules Applicable to the Educational Childcare Services Sector Chapter VIII: Responsibilities and Accountability Chapter IX: Powers and Functions of the Minister Chapter X: Powers of the Government Chapter XI: Amending Provisions Chapter XII: Transitional and Final Provisions Schedule I: Public Bodies Schedule II: Persons Considered Personnel Members of a Public Body Schedule III: Bodies, Institutions and Offices Made Subject to this Charter by the Government -- Applicable Provisions -- Terms and Conditions The explanatory notes for the bill state that its aim is, "to establish a Charter affirming the values of State secularism and religious neutrality and of equality between women and men, and providing a framework for accommodation requests." It goes on to say that a further purpose is "to specify, in the Charter of human rights and freedoms, that the fundamental rights and freedoms guaranteed by that Charter are to be exercised in a manner consistent with the values of equality between women and men and the primacy of the French language as well as the separation of religions and State and the religious neutrality and secular nature of the State, while making allowance for the emblematic and toponymic elements of Quebec's cultural heritage that testify to its history." When the bill was tabled, Premier Pauline Marois explained that, "Our draft charter permits the affirmation of common rules that we want to give ourselves so we can live in diversity and harmony. We affirm that our desire is to build a Quebec in which we can better live together." Minister Drainville for his part stated, "There are lessons to be drawn from history. What divided us in recent years is the lack of clear rules." He continued: "There must be clear rules in which to frame requests for religious accommodation, and that is what we will do [...] The best way to ensure respect for all religions is for the State to have no religion." Three further objectives were given for purposes of inviting public comment on the website nosvaleurs.gouv.qc.ca: 1. Define clear rules for everyone: "Since 2006, there have been many well-publicized cases of religious accommodation that revealed a profound malaise in Quebec. To preserve social peace and encourage harmony, we want to avoid leaving tensions to build-up. Clear rules concerning religious accommodation would contribute to integration and social cohesion. There would be benefits for all Quebeckers, including newcomers. We would be better served by a state that treats us all equally." 2. Affirming Quebec values: "The contribution of Quebeckers of all origins has permitted the building of an open society with shared fundamental values. These values define Quebec society and constitute a contract of adhesion, notably, the equality between women and men, the religious neutrality of Quebec's state institutions, and recognition of a common historical heritage. What we are proposing today, with the affirmation of these values, is to build a strong Quebec identity, whether one is born here or elsewhere." 3. Establish the religious neutrality of the state: "The state has the duty to neutrality which follows implicitly from the freedom of conscience and religion. The best means by which to respect the beliefs of each person, is for the state to remain neutral and not have any religion. This principle favours pluralism by ensuring the equal and just treatment of all beliefs." PMLQ Brief Introduction Overall, the PMLQ thinks this bill is fundamentally flawed and should be withdrawn in toto. The identity of any people, Quebecois or any other, is not merely a legal category. The identity of a people emerges historically according to the economic, social and other conditions of those who live in a definite territory in a relationship of mutual dependence in the modern sense of the word. An identity exists for everyone to see and to recognize. In the case of Quebec, it exists in its concrete reality. Despite the fact that the Quebec nation has yet to constitute itself as an independent nation-state, its identity exists as an act of being. It can be strengthened only by promoting modern practices consistent with the demands of the times. This is what will truly strengthen social cohesion and the integration of all citizens and residents within a society created to suit their needs as human persons living in the complicated world of the 21st century. The word identity signifies, "A characteristic of two beings or things that are but two different aspects of a single reality, which constitute one and the same being" (Larousse Dictionary). How does one protect and strengthen Quebec's identity? What is it amongst Quebeckers that constitutes this sameness, this Quebec being? Speaking objectively, they share a territory, an economic system and a political system. Their main language of communication is French. They also at present share a citizenship of the country called Canada, live in North America and so on. A citizenship or membership in a definite body politic imparts sameness to all in the political sense of providing all with the possibility of enjoying the same rights and duties. All of these shared elements forge a sameness, which over time gives rise to a common psychology conditioned by time and space. It evolves and changes according to the involvement of the people at any particular historical juncture. In the 21st century, at a time of global interaction at an increasingly rapid rate, Quebec's identity can only be forged by recognizing the rights of Quebeckers by virtue of their being human and members of the particular body politic that exists as Quebec. The values of Quebec society are based on a modern identity forged by Quebeckers themselves and informed by the experience of other peoples, which recognizes the rights of all. The implementation of the values Quebec society espouses may require regulations to guide those responsible for leading at all levels, but it does not require more laws. Regulations must be based on objective criteria carefully developed to avert Eurocentric or any other considerations not conducive to modern nation-building. Eurocentrism is a form of ethnocentrism, which is the belief in the inherent superiority of one's own group and culture accompanied by a feeling of contempt for other groups and cultures. It is a tendency to view and evaluate other groups or cultures in terms of one's own. A Eurocentric viewpoint believes in the inherent superiority of the Europeans and their cultures accompanied by a feeling of contempt for non-European groups and cultures. It is a tendency to view and evaluate other groups or cultures in terms of the dominant European cultures. Human rights legislation should be directed at the actions of governments not individuals. Furthermore, governments must be neutral and represent the temporal authority not an ecclesiastic one. Members of the public service and public school system must not proselytize. They must carry out their duties as per the requirements of their jobs or as assigned by government curricula. That is understood. Not to do so is already grounds for hiring and firing. It does not require special legislation. The requirement to show one's face in public service is one thing, but interfering with how the human person dresses is entirely another. It must not be subject to laws. Normal workplace regulations are sufficient to regulate what constitutes decent or indecent, and therefore acceptable clothing at a place of work. Clothing which is too revealing is not considered an acceptable standard of dress, just as head coverings suited for outside wear not inside wear are also not considered normal work wear. Evening or sleeping clothes are not considered normal work wear either just as informal clothes even when accepted on specially assigned days like funky Fridays are not expected to be full of holes or beyond a certain pale. Why should these matters now be taken up as a matter of law, especially using essentially Eurocentric criteria? At what point will a hairstyle, the presence of a beard, or a certain kind of beard, or the use of certain colours or body piercings or tattoos become causes for the criminalization of individual conduct? It is unacceptable. At no time has Quebec identity been forged by attempting to make all members of society identical in thought or in reality. Instead, the fundamental law of the land should proclaim that the basis of unity as well as diversity is the quality of being human and that all people have rights by virtue of being human. On this basis, political rights, cultural rights, the rights which belong to women by virtue of their womanhood, the rights belonging to the youth and children by virtue of their position as the younger generation who will have the responsibility to take society into the future, the rights of the elderly, of workers, of the indigenous peoples and others will be guaranteed. Such rights can neither be given nor taken away nor forfeited in any way. Today, there is no need to issue an endless number of formal declarations. The necessity is to ensure that the right to conscience, which is the quality that makes us human, exists in fact and not as a mere formality. The right to conscience has to be an integral, essential feature of the conditions in which people work and live, and not a footnote with no relevance to life. This is achieved by upholding the rights of all based on a public authority that provides the rights of the people with a guarantee. At no time should the state infringe on the right to conscience or interfere with the human person. Identifying with something that constitutes an infringement on one's own right to conscience is the essence of a model of integration based on privilege in lieu of rights and, by virtue of this, the acceptance of a higher authority that has privileges over the citizenry. If a person misbehaves, the privileges can be taken away. Put another way, if a person does not behave in a certain way dictated by a higher authority with privileges over the citizenry, the privileges are taken away or not given. The laws enacted by the National Assembly should not be mechanisms to deprive people of rights or infringe on their right to conscience by making it a privilege to work in the public service and demanding certain behaviour dictated by a higher authority with privileges over the citizenry. In this regard, the PMLQ notes that despite the government's claim that Bill 60 was put forward to strengthen secularism, promote the equality of men and women and defend the Quebec identity, a widespread perception persists that the PQ's main purpose is to isolate its adversaries in the National Assembly and gain an electoral advantage in the coming election. Despite denials, the government has not successfully combated this perception. This is not conducive to furthering the fundamental stated aims of the bill. At each stage of Quebec's development, Quebeckers have hailed from other lands and established a very definite identity for themselves in the course of life itself. Today, Quebec brings together people who come from all corners of the globe and myriad circumstances. Together they will continue to forge the Quebec identity consistent with the requirements of the times affirming their rights by virtue of being human and building a society that provides those rights with a guarantee. To establish a Quebec identity based on guaranteeing the enjoyment of those rights within the concrete Quebec reality would be an honourable act. Together, all members of society will make their contribution to building a truly modern nation. Said another way, today the condition of being within a truly modern nation demands that everything be judged based on the extent to which the conditions permit the actualization of human rights. The Secular Nature of the Quebec State A fundamental purpose of Bill 60 is "to establish a Charter affirming the values of state secularism and religious neutrality." The PMLQ sees no need to repeat once again the secular nature of the Quebec state. In Quebec, no danger is apparent that the public state authority will become ecclesiastic, a form where priests run the state, not governments elected by the people. A real danger for the public authority comes from the stranglehold the monopolies exercise on political decisions. To suggest the state may become an ecclesiastical authority diverts from the existing danger. Also, people have profound and legitimate concerns that the rule is not of, by and for the people. The system of government called representative democracy, and the electoral process do not transform the popular will into the legal will. Instead, the electoral process brings political parties to power that represent sectarian interests. Those parties vie for power to serve their sectarian interests. The deficiencies and antiquated nature of representative democracy and the electoral process require democratic renewal and fundamental reforms. However, they do not signify a danger that priests will once again run the state. In Canada at the federal level certainly, people are concerned over the influence of an evangelical sect called dominionism on the decisions taken by the Harper government. But this too is at heart a political problem of lack of an effective electoral process that transforms the popular will into the legal will. The current system brings political parties to power that are not representative of the popular will. At the federal level, similar to Quebec, the real danger comes from the takeover of public institutions by private monopoly interests. The danger is not of a takeover by an ecclesiastic authority but the serious collapse of the public authority and its replacement or domination by private monopoly interests. Explanation The issue of the separation of church and state was first settled in Quebec by the English in the 1870s. At that time, the Privy Council in London, England ruled against the Catholic Church under Montreal Bishop Ignace Bourget who was acting in concert with the Papacy in Rome under Pope Pius IX. The ecclesiastic forces made a bid to become the authority in all matters of a temporal nature when they challenged where Joseph Guibord could be buried. Guibord had been excommunicated because he was a member of the Institut Canadien and espoused beliefs the Church considered heretical. On November 21, 1874, the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council ruled Guibord would be buried in Cote des Neiges Cemetery whether or not the Church agreed. This ruling put an end to the pretence of the Church as the supreme authority in Quebec over temporal affairs. However, the Privy Council did not deprive the Church of the privileged position historically granted by the empire, as a "reasonable accommodation," to keep the people in check. The Catholic Church continued to play a major role controlling public responsibilities such as education and educational institutions, hospitals, orphanages and institutions for the poor and aged, amongst other functions. The conscience of the Quebec people during the Quiet Revolution was directed in large measure against the state of oppression and backwardness imposed on them by the Church. The people took a firm stand against any control by the Church of public institutions in Quebec and turned their backs on the Duplessis era. Today, the main problem as far as public authority is concerned, comes from a state authority being usurped by the dictate of the global monopolies. The problem today is not separation of Church and State but separation of private monopoly interests and State. Dress Codes The section of the bill entitled Restriction on Wearing Religious Symbols reads: "5. In the exercise of their functions, personnel members of public bodies must not wear objects such as headgear, clothing, jewelry or other adornments which, by their conspicuous nature, overtly indicate a religious affiliation." In the opinion of the PMLQ, this attempt to have the state monitor the clothing of individuals working for the civil service or public schools at any level constitutes state interference with the human person. As is already the rule, dress code instructions are warranted by the conditions of work for safety reasons or when uniform dress codes are mandated based on the professional service. When it comes to what is acceptable to wear at a place of work, this should be determined by the institutions and workplaces themselves, as a matter of regulation. Dress codes should not be legislated by the National Assembly. Guidelines on the matter must adhere to the rule of law and must themselves be neutral and apply to all equally, and not be based on subjective criteria. Explanation In history, coercion of the human person in all kinds of ways has always been rejected, including the prescription of what the people can and cannot wear. This interference is not acceptable in any modern society, especially when a Eurocentric approach is taken to determine what is and what is not acceptable clothing, ornamentations, hair styles, beards etc. In the days of black slavery, enslaved women were often forced to wear turbans on the plantations. Now that many women have adopted turbans as a specific statement of their own, is society to dictate once again to them what they can and cannot wear? The proposal is a very backward step. Already, the culture in Quebec's public school boards permits a high level of tolerance when it comes to dress as well as piercings and tattoos amongst not only students but also teachers and education support staff. Is this cultural tolerance now to be subject to laws passed by the National Assembly? Many people have tattoos including the youth. Once they become adults, are they to be prohibited from becoming teachers because they have tattoos? Must they be forced to undergo surgery to remove their tattoos as a condition of employment? Will the National Assembly dare pass laws on such matters? We do not think so. Such actions are not acceptable because the National Assembly has no business interfering with the human person. When it comes to the manner of dress, more often than not, the line between what constitutes normal clothing for peoples of different national origins and what constitutes specific religious symbols is barely discernible. Even within and between religious sects, what is a religious symbol and what is normal wear is often a matter of great dispute. Even within communities, there is a dearth of general knowledge and people are not of one mind as to the significance of various articles of clothing. For instance, according to some adherents of the Sikh religion, the turban is mandated by the 10th Guru to keep the hair clean and orderly. Yet according to the historical record, long hair, along with a comb normally kept on the head, the steel bracelet, the kirpan, and boxer shorts are considered Sikh symbols and the turban is but an article of clothing. Who will rule what turbans are articles of religious clothing and which are not? Non-religious Sikhs may consider a turban an article of clothing, which they have worn their entire lives and justly feel it an affront to be identified as religious or not because of a turban or that they cannot dress as they please. A dangerous precedent is set when the state starts to identify and tell people who is and who is not religious. The role of the state is to focus on citizenship rights and duties and its own responsibilities, not anything else. How many Czechs, French, Germans, Austrians, Poles and other citizens of Europe found out they were Jews only when they were forced into the death camps by the Nazis? Who but oneself is entitled to define who one is? Similarly, many atheists object to being listed as Catholics, Protestants, Muslims or Jews due to the use of categories inherited from the past that are clearly no longer socially relevant. In a similar vein, Bill 60 draws unwarranted conclusions about people based on a false consciousness of what determines religious criteria. To make decisions about people based on how they dress is not a modern practice. Many families in society do not consider religion to be their identifying factor. People wear clothes, not religions. Furthermore, false consciousness of religions is commonplace. For example, Sikhism arose as a secular movement against the Hindu caste system. Sikhism came into being to level the playing field. Besides other things, it targeted symbols that contributed to maintaining the oppression of the poor by the rich, the oppression of women, the separation of men and women and the creation of so-called untouchables. People of different religions joined Sikhism to oppose the caste system and other forms of oppression. Whereas formerly, turbans might be worn by kings and their retinue, entire male populations began wearing turbans as one measure to eliminate a distinguishing feature of the discriminatory hierarchy of the caste system. Turbans were thus adopted as an item of clothing for Indians of many national origins whose traditions were linked to the Sikh enlightenment movement irrespective of whether they were religious or not. So too is the shalwar kameez an article of clothing, often accompanied by a shawl or scarf worn over the head, as with the hijab in certain cultures. They are not religious symbols but items of clothing linked in culture with modesty. We ask the members of the National Assembly: If they consider turbans as religious symbols when worn by Sikhs, should Sikhs take off their turbans when they come to work in the public domain and sport their long hair tied in a knot above their heads? Will they then be asked to cut off their hair, if they are to keep their jobs? And what of beards, should all men be clean shaven to work in the public service? Where does all this dictate end? The fact remains that turbans of all kinds are worn all over Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and certain parts of South and Central America as well as Europe and North America by both men and women. In many cultures, beards of all styles are worn by men. They carry all kinds of connotations, but largely they are fashion and personal statements and not primarily religious symbols. Who is going to decide what objects "overtly indicate a religious affiliation"? Who will decide who wears these objects out of religious belief and those who wear them out of other concerns or because they like them for their appearance or find them practical? Will those who wear a head scarf because they have lost their hair due to illness be accommodated, although singled out, and thus made to feel conspicuous? Again, where does all this end? The Quebec government says the Bill is going "to facilitate social cohesion and the integration of children without regard to social or ethnic origin or religious affiliation." Far from it, these provisions can only lead to endless litigation to defend people subjected to discipline and job loss for refusal to comply with an interpretation that defies their own considerations for what they are wearing. The government should understand that these arguments and measures are being used worldwide by those who refuse to build modern societies in which the rights of all are recognized. Religious neutrality cannot be cited as a pretext to justify Eurocentric notions of what constitutes acceptable clothing and what does not. Can the government cite examples where wearing what the bill calls "objects which, by their conspicuous nature, overtly indicate a religious affiliation" have caused problems for users of public services and prevented them from receiving the services they need or from being served in a professional manner? Surely, any example of too much zeal in choice of clothing at a place of work is best dealt with by the local management or administration based on objective criteria of what is and what is not permissible dress. Has this method of dealing with problems not been sufficient in the past? When should a government pass laws to mandate dress codes targeting individual persons? Never! It is not the duty of government to target individual persons and their culture or religious practices. [1] Equality of Men and Women Bill 60 says that a purpose of the bill is to specify that the fundamental rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Charter must be exercised in a manner consistent with the value of equality between men and women. Nonetheless, how Bill 60 uses equality of men and women to guide decisions upholding Quebec values is problematic and discriminatory. The Bill advocates depriving women of their jobs in the public sector because they wear a hijab, especially in childcare. This it claims will be a step towards their emancipation. First, is it not insulting to women to assume that wearing a hijab or other clothing has been imposed on them by men? Women who wear a hijab do so for all sorts of reasons -- as a cultural norm, a personal choice, an act of defiance against Eurocentrism, or because it is considered a religious duty. And where women are being forced to dress a certain way against their wishes, how will it assist their emancipation to deprive them of employment and an income, and force them to stay at home? As Quebec women and women all over the world began working in factories and other workplaces and were no longer dependent on the income of their spouses, they started winning their freedom. So too today, it is very important for women to hold their own jobs and make their own incomes. Only with economic independence can they become less prone to all the forms of oppression and indignity based on dependence. They are also much better prepared and in a better position to escape domestic violence, poverty and other problems, as well as follow their own choices and not those imposed by others. In the case of women and girls in families from all backgrounds where backward notions of father right or husband right prevail, economic independence is an acute need. For the government to dictate how women must not dress to work in childcare or lose their jobs is a truly backward step. We are told the Taliban does not permit women to work and forces them to wear a burqa and stay at home and to oppose the backward beliefs of the Taliban, we are to force women not to work because they wear a hijab? Who is the "we" telling women what to do and not to do? Certainly it is not a characteristic of the Quebec identity to tell women and families how to live their lives. Why did we get rid of the interference of the priests and the Church if this is the case? To repeat. Today, one should worry that due to increasing economic insecurity, domestic violence is increasing on an alarming scale. Insecurity and violence are a detriment to women and children no matter what their national origin may be or what they wear. An antidote to this is to ensure that women and children are economically independent. They must be guaranteed a standard of living that permits them as human persons to sustain themselves independently of others who may harm them, whether they may be fathers, partners, husbands or anyone else. Women must also know that their children and parents also have independent means to sustain themselves. With economic independence, problems of overt oppression of women, children and the elderly can be sorted out. This process is not helped by creating conditions where some women may be forced to quit their jobs and become isolated once again within their homes because the government is making how they dress a matter of law. Targeting women for their dress in no way sorts out problems surrounding the equality of men and women, the neutrality of state institutions, or social cohesion and integration. It will only make matters worse. In the past, first the Church and priests would dictate what women could and could not do. Then came the turn of colonial governments comprised of white men of property, followed by so-called responsible governments doing the same. They would dictate what women could and could not do. Women were not even considered persons until well into the twentieth century. Because governments today are comprised of both men and women, must the people accept that those men and women in positions of authority have the right to dictate what men and women of certain national backgrounds can and cannot do, including even what they wear? Is that what the equality of men and women has come to mean? Dietary Restrictions The PMLQ also has a problem with Section 30.3 on dietary restrictions. Bill 60 says: "30. In order to facilitate social cohesion and the integration of children without regard to social or ethnic origin or religious affiliation, the policy must provide, among other things, that: "[...] 3. a repeated activity or practice stemming from a religious precept, in particular with regard to dietary matters, must not be authorized if its aim, through words or actions, is to teach children that precept." Many diets, dietary restrictions and lifestyle eating philosophies abound in the world today, which includes Quebec. A modern society researches and understands the basic principles behind diets, dietary restrictions and other eating practices. Research and education are part of making sure modern nutritional needs are met and that society upholds not only nutritional standards but also adequate standards of food inspection, safety and hygiene in food preparation and food security. Understanding the nutritional make up of various foods, their content as carbohydrates, minerals, fats and proteins; gaining a knowledge of the basic fundamentals behind food allergies, restrictions and diets; and making sure the immune systems of the population are healthy, all form important aspects of the social responsibilities modern governments must take up as a priority. Why is the National Assembly diverting from its social responsibility to guarantee the health and well-being of the population and food security by targeting individual habits regarding this or that diet? Who can argue that the distinction between clean and unclean meats, which various cultures have adopted, is based on anything but health concerns? For instance in the past, many so-called clean meats were clean because they came from animals that fed on clean foods, such as certain grasses and grains also considered good for human health. But nowadays many grasses and grains are themselves no longer considered good for human consumption. Many people, not just Muslims or people from the Middle East, today purchase halal meat because of health concerns. Why does the government of Quebec not put its energies into making sure all food available in Quebec is grown in a scientifically verifiable manner making it completely safe for human consumption? The basic problem in food production today is the stranglehold of monopolies on food production, preparation and sales, whose aim is not social responsibility but their narrow private interest for a good return on their investments. For example, fast food outlets promote obesity. A lack of recreational sports and other organized physical activities in the schools for all without user fees contributes to the non-encouragement of healthy habits including proper eating. Poverty denies families the right to a nutritious diet forcing them to rely on processed foods high in sugars, sodium and all kinds of filler products not good for health. The contamination of the environment makes even water unsafe to drink, without mentioning all the other risks this contamination poses to the food chain and human health. Today we also have a serious increase of allergies to foods due to many factors not widely understood because of monopoly control over food production and distribution. Lack of public control and research has led to a marked increase of production methods and distribution outside the purview of public authority such as genetically engineered food products, the use of chemicals and fertilizers and the importation of food from afar consumed out of season. Independent research has shown that certain bad practices weaken immune systems, give rise to allergies and block the development of local food production and distribution, which is a serious threat to food security. Also, the relaxation of standards of food inspection and hygiene contribute to the transmission of illnesses that should be easily kept in check. Rather than concern itself with its own duties towards the safety of the food chain, the government is amongst other things prohibiting, "(30.3) a repeated activity or practice stemming from a religious precept, in particular in regard to dietary matters." This "must not be authorized if its aim, through words or actions, is to teach children that precept." Are we not entitled to question the reasons for its preoccupations and priorities? A note to this brief is provided listing the reasons some foods are considered clean and some unclean and some of the dietary restrictions for whatever reason. It is important to research and recognize the reason for the dietary restrictions, which the government so casually labels as religious. Most of those dietary restrictions have their origins in the codification of rules and laws practiced by various societies to ensure the protection of health and hygiene amongst increasingly dense populations. To say they have religious precepts is misleading and leads to unwarranted conclusions. [2] Can all members of the National Assembly honestly say they have studied dietary matters, their origins and whether or not what they call religious precepts stem from health concerns? What purpose is served by prohibiting dietary restrictions, practiced by various cultures not just religions, by claiming they come from religious precepts? In fact, they are codified in all kinds of texts, not just religious texts, as practices designed to promote good health and public hygiene. A feature of the codification of dietary restrictions is the positive delineation of dietary principles intended to ensure the physical well-being of the individual and the nation alike through a consistent preventative approach. Today, people in their wisdom or possible lack thereof still follow these instructions. If modern society were to promote modern knowledge and food instructions through the primary and secondary school curricula so that they become general knowledge, and people have the perception and confidence that those instructions are trustworthy, would that not be a far better way to treat this problem than to criminalize people who follow their conscience? The fitting response to culinary habits, which have been handed down through the ages within definite geographical and climactic conditions, is proper public standards of what is good for those who live and work in the climactic conditions of Quebec while not interfering in the likes and dislikes of people from different cultures and regions. Most important is to make sure all members of society have the economic wherewithal for good
there forever, and David my servant shall be their prince forever. I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will set them in their land and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in their midst forevermore. My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord who sanctifies Israel, when my sanctuary is in their midst forevermore.” Ezekiel 37:24-28 After generations of conflict, the land will return to the same peace which exists now only in the imaginary land of a narrator’s story. This story of God’s people objects to the western ideal of ordered laying-down-of-arms which is its substitute for Shalom (peace). The language of Ezekiel is concerned with the understanding of the people of the time, who could conceive of the new covenant between God and humanity in terms of their nation-state. However the fulfilment of this turned out to be a covenant which does away with nations and tribes under a King so much less glorious than the great David with his wealth and power. David lies in a tomb whilst Jesus was raised from the dead, convincing me that his way has far more to offer than the way of armies and arms and nations-against-nations. The beggar-King taught this new humanity how to pray. Perhaps he still has the same prayer for Syria: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Matthew 6:9-13 Jeremiah 29:11 Psalm 30:5 AdvertisementsA new transfer rumor has emerged for Los Angeles Football Club, with Portuguese outfit La Bola reporting over the weekend that the expansion team is looking at midfielder Andre Horta. The youngster, 21, currently plays for Braga in his native country, on loan from Primeira Liga power Benfica, who he joined in 2016. Prior to that he got his professional start with Vitoria Setubal, making his first-team debut in 2014. Horta is also a Portuguese youth international, having played from the U-18 to the U-21 level, and he’s played at both Vitoria and Braga alongside his older brother Ricardo. According to the report from La Bola, LAFC have offered €7 million for Horta, which would absolutely make him a Designated Player, albeit a Young DP for their team cap charge, like the already signed Diego Rossi. The report also indicates Horta is interested in the move, as he wants to actually play and he’s only getting minutes sparingly at the moment. So, is this real? Horta is the second young Portuguese player to be linked to LAFC this offseason, alongside Francisco Geraldes. It’s not entirely implausible they would go this route to fill the third DP slot, but with Rossi already a youngster on a Designated Player deal, the expectation would have to be that LAFC would get a player ready to make an immediate and consistent impact with the final slot in their complement. And while I applaud the team, should they choose to go a route like this, in not simply getting the most famous player available for the DP slot, team chemistry be damned, I was expecting a player with more name recognition in getting that last slot. Still, we’ll see. This could be legit or an agent trying to drum up interest for his player in the press. At any rate, LAFC will most likely have their third Designated Player nailed down in the coming weeks, so we’ll hear much more on that front moving forward. What do you think? Leave a comment below!Welcome back, Tony Almeida! After two years away, Carlos Bernard steps back into the role of Tony Almeida in Monday’s 24: Legacy episode. For Bernard, returning to the role he played for six seasons was a strange yet familiar experience. None of his original castmates were there, but he knew many of the crew members and was given the same gun he used on 24. “I had a great time working on it. I was a little nervous about coming back to do it, to be totally honest with you,” Bernard tells EW. “I’m pretty happy with the way it went. I’m really glad I did it.” RELATED: EW’s 25 Best TV Shows in 25 Years The last time we saw the disgraced CTU agent, he planning his escape from solitary confinement in 24: Solitary, a special DVD extra included on the 24: Live Another Day box set. When we catch up with Tony in Monday’s episode, he’s out of prison and working for former CTU director Rebecca Ingram (Miranda Otto). As teased in the promos for “6:00PM-7:00PM,” Rebecca recruits Tony to grab her husband John Donovan’s (Jimmy Smits) shady father Henry (Gerald McRaney), who had a role in leaking the names of Eric Carter’s unit to the terrorists, for some “enhanced interrogation.” Below, Bernard explains why he was nervous to reprise the role and previews where Tony’s head is at when we meet him in tonight’s episode. ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: How did it feel to step back into Tony Almeida’s shoes? CARLOS BERNARD: It’s a strange thing, you know? It’s been awhile. It’s a very strange thing because when we shot this DVD extra a couple years ago on the Live Another Day DVD, I had a very similar experience where I was wondering, “It’s been a long time. Is this character still there?” And pretty immediately it just kinda comes of out. Without getting into sort of artsy-fartsy actor talk about the process, it just really kind of comes out. I think the biggest thing is sort of altering where he’s at right now after what he’s been through over the years. But, it’s funny, it’s there and it just kind of comes out. What made you excited about returning to the show after all of these years? One of the fun things about playing this particular character is that it is a span of all the years and everything that he’s been through. So, to play a character where you get to take all of that trauma and baggage that he’s been through and sort of load it up and take it onto the next season is always really interesting, to again figure out where he is emotionally, psychologically, and physically and then carry it onto the new story. And this show is like my baby. For those of us who were there from the beginning, it’s kind of like your child in a way. You’re very protective of it and you want it to go well and obviously it’s always an important project for me when I get involved in it. I love the people that work on it — the writers, [director] Jon Cassar. Even though there are different actors on the show, there’s still people behind the scenes that have been there for awhile, so it’s kind of like family in a way. Was it weird coming back to the 24 universe without Kiefer [Sutherland] and Mary-Lynn [Rajskub] there? Yeah, without James Morrison…It was a little strange. It was kind of like going to your class reunion, but you wind up in a different school. What’s funny is that you have these other characters that these people are playing and they’re stepping right into it and talking to the character as if they have — I don’t know how to say this, [but] they’re kind of up to speed. They’re like, “Oh yeah, Tony Almeida!” For instance, Miranda’s character Rebecca has this history with Tony and so she’s right there in step with Tony suddenly being there. So, it was little strange. Guy D'Alema/FOX Do you remember what your first day on set was like? The first day on set was really the kidnapping scene. That kidnapping scene was the very first scene that I shot. Jon was actually directing that episode, which was great, and Jeffrey [C. Mygatt], the DP, worked on the original 24. It kind of felt like, “Oh this like 24, except Jack is off doing his thing and I’m just doing this over here,” because that’s kind of the way it was with our storylines [in the original series]. They would sort of go off in different ways and then meet at the end or whenever. It kind of felt like old-school 24. When I came back to shoot the other scenes, I was like, “Okay, this is a little different. This is a different character. This is a different world,” which I think was kind of good for that character, actually, to sort of deal with all of that. This is where he’s at, actually. He’s a gun for fire and going into different situations where he doesn’t necessarily know people. Can you tease where Tony’s head is at when he shows up on Monday? He’s a damaged individual. He’s been through what he’s been through, not the least of which was watching his wife get blown up right in front of him. Then going through what he went through to find her killer and winding up in solitary confinement and being in solitary confinement, which can certainly mess with a person mentally and physically. So, he’s been through the ringer and he’s kind of a loner. 24: Legacy airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on Fox.Scientists at the University of Arizona and in California have completed the most challenging large astronomical mirror ever made. For the past several years, a group of optical scientists and engineers working at the UA Steward Observatory Mirror Laboratory underneath the UA’s football stadium have been polishing an 8.4-meter (27 ½ feet) diameter mirror with an unusual, highly asymmetric shape. By the standards used by optical scientists, the “degree of difficulty” for this mirror is 10 times that of any previous large telescope mirror. The mirror surface matches the desired prescription to a precision of 19 nanometers – so smooth that if it were the size of the continental U.S., the highest mountains would be little more than a half-inch high. This mirror, and six more like it, will form the heart of the 25-meter Giant Magellan Telescope, providing more than 380 square meters, or 4,000 square feet, of light-collecting area. The Giant Magellan Telescope will lead a next generation of giant telescopes that will explore planets around other stars and the formation of stars, galaxies and black holes in the early universe. Buell Jannuzi, director of the UA Steward Observatory and professor of astronomy, said, “Making this first GMT mirror required all the expertise and experience that the University has built up over 25 years of making telescope mirrors and a great deal of innovation to push beyond previous limits in optical fabrication and testing. In achieving this remarkable milestone, the team built and demonstrated all the equipment and techniques that will lead to efficient production of the remaining mirrors for the GMT.” The mirror was cast at the mirror lab from 20 tons of glass, melted in a rotating furnace until it flowed into a honeycomb mold. Once the glass had cooled and the mold material was removed, scientists at the lab used a series of fine abrasives to polish the mirror, checking its figure regularly using a number of precision optical tests. The mirror has an unconventional shape because it is part of what ultimately will be a single 25-meter (82 feet) optical surface composed of seven circular segments, each 8.4 meters (27 ½ feet) in diameter. “We need to be certain the off-axis shape of this mirror, as well as the other six that will be made for GMT, is precisely right, to an accuracy of 1/20 of a wavelength of light,” said Buddy Martin, polishing scientist at the Mirror Lab. “Only then will the seven large mirrors form a single, exquisitely sharp image when they all come together in the telescope in Chile. We have now demonstrated that we can fabricate the mirrors to the required accuracy for the telescope to work as designed.” The testing techniques, developed by Jim Burge, professor at the UA College of Optical Sciences, and his team, are a key part of the innovation enabling these giant off-axis mirrors. The second of seven mirrors for the GMT was cast at the mirror lab in January of this year; the third will be cast in August 2013. The Giant Magellan Telescope will be located on a remote mountaintop in the Chilean Andes where the skies are clear and dark, far from any sources of light pollution. At the Carnegie Institution for Science’s Las Campanas Observatory in northern Chile, earthmovers are completing the removal of 4 million cubic feet of rock to produce a flat platform for the telescope and its supporting buildings. Wendy Freedman, chair of the GMT board, said: “The technical achievements at the UA’s mirror lab and the dedication and commitment of our national and international partners will allow us to open a new window on the universe. An exciting future of discovery awaits us.” The telescope, slated to begin operations late in the decade, will allow astronomers and students across the U.S. and from around the world to address critical questions in cosmology, astrophysics and planetary science. Matthew Colless, director of the Australian Astronomical Observatory, said, “The Giant Magellan Telescope has the potential to transform how we see the cosmos, and our place in it.” The GMT partner institutions are the Australian National University, Astronomy Australia Limited, the Carnegie Institution for Science, Harvard University, the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, The Smithsonian Institution, Texas A&M University, the University of Arizona, the University of Chicago and the University of Texas at Austin.In the United States, it is known as the dot bong boom. And although in Australia cannabis does not - yet - flow as freely, the first medical marijuana company is about to list on the Australian Securities Exchange. Perth-based PhytoTech Medical will lodge its disclosure document in late November, with the aim of raising $5 million through 25 million shares at 20¢ each. The float will be fully underwritten by BBY. Phytotech Medical founder Ross Smith. At its helm is Ross Smith, 51, who rode the highs and lows of the dotcom boom and who has a long and colourful history with both marijuana and sharemarket floats. Mr Smith, Israeli-based, smoked and sold cannabis as a teenager and young man, and was convicted and fined $15,000 for possessing and cultivating marijuana in 1989. His online sharetrading company daytraderHQ was all over the headlines in 2000 and 2001 as its stock price rollercoasted - from 50¢ to $2.10 to 1.5¢ - amid legal action from former employees over their termination. Pilbara Mines - of which he was managing director - endured an even more dramatic run, its shares going from 5¢ to $8.07 to 19¢.Kevin Nolan – A great loss to Newcastle United? Posted on November 10th, 2012 \| \| Of course, Newcastle United’s game against West Ham on Sunday will see the return to St James’ Park of two ex Magpies, Kevin Nolan and Andy Carroll, and also an ex manager, Sam Allardyce. In this piece I intend to concentrate on one of those, Kevin Nolan, who has received much undeserved flak from the less “gifted” sections of Newcastle United’s fanbase since his departure. Though Carroll has almost certainly received even more, that is undoubtedly a whole story on it’s own and as a Newcastle United blogger, I am still suffering from Carroll fatigue, and possibly you are too? Getting back to Nolan though, below is one example of the kind of thing I’m writing about from so called “fans”. It is from the commments section below a story on the midfielder in local rag, the Chronic. “Yes kevin Nolan, one word springs to mind that actually rhyms with “Fishbowl” when talking about the south….”*ithole” Thank you for your service, but sorry, you wouldn’t get into this squad ahead of Ben Arfa or Cabaye, get your head out of the smogg air son, big clubs have demanding, passionate fans, that’s why so many can’t handle the pressure up here and depart for debt laden clubs willing to overpay on salaries, smaller crowds, less expectation, and poorer playing standards installed by useless fat Sam!” Sadly, it is but one of many since the player left the club for West Ham in June, 2011. Another one was “What a piece of business replacing this fatty with Cabaye.” However, it may have escaped the attention of those writers that Nolan has scored as many goals, and as many assists as both Hatem Ben Arfa and Yohan Cabaye put together this season. Lets take a look. Nolan vs Ben Arfa and Cabaye (All competitions) Apps Goals Assts Shots S.o.G. MinsPl M.P.G. Kevin Nolan 11 4 3 34 11 965 241 Hatem Ben Arfa 10 2 2 20 5 886 443 Yohan cabaye 12 2 1 23 5 841 421 Assts – Assists, S.o.G. – Shots on Goal, MinsPl – Minutes Played, M.P.G. – Minutes per Goal. Dear reader, please don’t get me wrong. I am not trying to use this as a stick to beat both Ben Arfa and Cabaye, who are seen as replacements for Nolan and Joey Barton as top midfielders in the side. They are indeed great players and great signings who are undoubted assets to the Newcastle United team. There is also the consideration that they all diferent kinds of player, though both Nolan and Cabaye could be described as “box to box” midfielders, they both live up to this description in different ways. However, without going into too much analysis of these statistics it does give the lie to some of the “slower” fans’ assertions that Nolan is some kind of fat old has been that we are well rid of. Of course though, this season alone is great for looking at the players’ current form, but ten or eleven games isn’t that much to go on, so lets look at their all time Newcastle United records. I have not included any of Nolan’s games in the Championship, as that would be an unfair comparison. Here goes! All time Newcastle United record (excluding Championship) Apps Goals Assts Shots S.o.G. MinsPl M.P.G. Kevin Nolan 47 13 5 74 29 3831 295 Hatem Ben Arfa 44 9 8 41 14 2934 326 Yohan cabaye 50 7 7 85 30 4052 579 Assts – Assists, S.o.G. – Shots on Goal, MinsPl – Minutes Played, M.P.G. – Minutes per Goal. (Stats from ESPN and Transfermarkt) So there you have it. All have now had a roughly similar amount of time bearing in mind that we are not counting Nolan’s season of Championship games. Nolan was more prolific in terms of goals, with the team scoring noticeably fewer goals from midfield since he left. This is especially so since Nolan’s attacking game was transformed by Chris Hughton after he took over from Iain Dowie and Alan Shearer as manager. Though undoubtedly less of a “playmaker” than either Ben Arfa or Cabaye, Nolan’s record for assists doesn’t look too bad. One thing Cabaye has undoubtedly brought to the team though is his defensive qualities. The Frenchman has made far more tackles in the Premiership than any other player this season with 117. To put this in perspective, Fabricio Coloccini, Mike Williamson and Steven Taylor have only made 111 collectively and Check Tiote has only made 67. But I won’t get bogged down in stats again. In Nolan’s favour of course, there was also his excellent leadership qualities as Captain. In the run up to our game with West Ham, his current manager, the abovementioned Sam Allardyce had this to say on Nolan’s leadership qualities: “As far as Kevin is concerned, the most tricky decision was to make him Bolton captain at the age of 23. It was a massive risk, asking him to handle much older and more experienced players. Once or twice in those early years, I thought his game was being affected and wondered whether to take the captaincy off him but I’m glad to say that, since then, he has developed into the captain I thought he’d become. “Kevin enjoys his responsibilities on and off the pitch. If the lads want something he will go out of his way to help them. He sees me when he needs to but he never comes telling tales. I was the same. I was a captain as a player but when a manager asked me to tell tales, I told him: “You don’t want a captain, you want a snitch. There are fewer Kevin Nolans about these days, I’m sad to say.” Which is a far cry from the smear stories spread by Mike Ashley and Derek Llambias to discredit both Nolan and Chris Hughton in the wake of Hughton’s controversial sacking due to not being “horrible” enough for Derek Llambias’ tastes. The story went that it was actually Kevin Nolan and a core of older players such as Joey Barton and Alan Smith were actually running team affairs more than Hughton. Perhaps this is part of the reason for the resentment felt towards our ex-Captain by the more basic section of the fanbase, or perhaps it was further tales of Nolan’s “greed” for turning down a two year contract which, allegedly, would only be activated IF the club achieved a top seven finish in the club’s second season in the Premiership. This when Allardyce was wanting to take his old captain back to West Ham with a four year contract offer for around £55,000 per week. One thing which is certain is that Nolan has not deserved the censure, or the derision at his considerable abilities from alleged Newcastle United fans who seemingly know less than nothing about football if they think that Nolan was no great loss to the side. I sincerely hope they keep their traps shut tomorrow and give Nolan the welcome he deserves rather than fall once again for the culture of dishonesty in the Newcastle United boardroom. Now I’ve got that off my chest, I will finish with a comment from yesterday by site user “toontony.” It was about Nolan in response to a comment I made when I was thinking of writing this piece, and I thought summed things up rather well. “He was a great player and captain for us in some very difficult times, and he still is a great player. Can’t blame him for wanting a better contract after what Ashley wanted to give him.” But what do you think? Please let us know your thoughts in our comment section and Nolan poll below. Finally, I have also included a video tribute from YouTube by Toon fan ““Welzyyy,” made when Nolan left the club. “Kevin Nolan – Goodbye” Poll NUFCBlog Author: workyticket workyticket has written 1057 articles on this blog. Related Posts:When I finally realized that I was an atheist, after months and months of reading, listening to lectures and debates, and countless conversations, I had never felt more relieved or liberated. Arriving at atheism was the “rebirth” of my mind that Christianity had always failed to deliver; for the first time in my life, I realized that the absence of a divine plan meant that I was completely in control. Every action I took, every decision I made was suddenly subject to a completely new framework for interpreting the world, a framework that required me to seek out an objective reality rather than grope in the dark searching for one given by an invisible, unknowable deity. That honeymoon phase is long over. I’m no longer in any transitional phase — atheism has become as much a part of my identity as my blonde hair and mad pie-baking skills. The initial novelty has long worn off. If I were still a Christian, with as much passion for those beliefs as I currently have for atheism, I would probably be well-established with my role (whatever it would be) in the movement. But in the atheist world, I’m not well-established at all. I would love nothing more than to be able to devote time and energy into the atheist movement in meatspace, in groups and organizations, in real life and online, but there are several obstacles that have frustrated me. This series isn’t a simple whine-fest about the things that I simply dislike about atheist spaces but about actual barriers that inhibit or discourage my participation. It’s not about venting, or getting blog hits, or creating divisions about what atheism “should” be about. I simply want to point out some legitimate concerns that affect many people besides just myself, and, in the long run, do a disservice to the movement as a whole by limiting what we can do and how we do it. Let’s get down to it. Atheism is too often expensive. Last summer, I lost my job, which effectively killed off any possibility for my husband and I to have extra spending money. Through budgeting and home-cooking, we managed well enough, but there was rarely enough money at the end of the month to justify conference fees, travel expenses, food bills, and so on. Even most local groups stage meetups at restaurants and bars, and it was unicorn-rare for us to A) have the money on hand to foot a bill for both people or B) be convinced that spending our already-tight money on jalapeno poppers in order to converse with other atheists is a good investment, rather than putting it into savings in case of emergencies. It’s not that these events, in and of themselves, make participating in real-life atheist groups a problem; obviously many people enjoy them. The problem occurs when all or most of the activities are structured this way. For example, I was on a swing dance kick in college, but I was also a full-time student, working a part-time job, and was responsible for paying for my own recreational stuff. I was able to afford dues for lessons and weekly dances, but I didn’t really make friends because all of the people who were really involved had the money and time to go to out-of-town dance exchanges on the weekends. Money didn’t prevent me from being “involved” in the organization, but I couldn’t cultivate friendships without being able to devote the time and money that others had. The people who spent more time together and more time developing the skills were naturally the ones who eventually became friends. In the same way, I have felt disheartened, frustrated, and very much alone since de-converting (which carries an awful lot more bad baggage than, say, slowly choosing not to participate in a swing dance club). At the time when I most needed support and the ability to meet like-minded folks, I felt that my circumstances prohibited me from making the connections I needed. At the same time, my early impression of the still-developing movement is one that is far more concerned with issues than with people. Wanna go to an atheist event? Ok, how about a lecture on how silly homeopathy is, or ten reasons the Bible isn’t a good moral resource, or an evening in the pub with some neighborhood skeptics, where you can discuss the above lecture topics? Already aware that homeopathy and the Bible both are a heap of nonsense? Under the legal drinking age? Have kids? Not interested in the topic? Well…there’s always the Internet. Where are the picnics and hikes and movie screenings? We know that the demographics of the movement are diverse, and, therefore, it’s likely that the needs of the individuals are quite varied as well… so why is raising awareness about the historicity of Jesus (usually a ticketed event) always more important than delivering casseroles to the non-theist first-time parents? Where are the low-cost, easy-access events that tie us together as people, simply for us to get to know one another and organically create support networks? (The free Skepticon conference is a wonderful example of what’s possible, but the events I’m talking about certainly don’t need to be that extravagant.) This is not to imply in any way, shape, or form that the work that is already being done in the atheist movement is not worthwhile, or that events like pub nights, conferences, lectures, and panels are “bad” or a poor investment of our limited resources. I am certain, if I had an extra $500 just hangin’ around, I would certainly spend it on tickets for my husband and I to go to the AAA’s Ascent of Atheism conference in Denver, and I would enjoy the crap out of that weekend. Unfortunately, the operative word in that sentence is “if,” and I’m sure I belong to a large-enough population of atheists who would like to participate but simply can’t. We talk an awful big game about Christianity in particular, but ultimately religions have cornered the market on human emotional connection, and so far it seems that the atheist movement is content to ignore it altogether. A major reason it’s hard to leave the church is because of the wealth of social and emotional support you must leave behind. Learning about evolution and archeology are awesome, mind-opening opportunities that are great for everyone, but a lecture about evolution won’t pick your kids up from practice if your car breaks down. Or take you out for coffee if you’re having a rough week. Or play a pickup game of raquetball. Or come to your open mic night. Or whatever it is that you do. And the connections that make those interactions possible aren’t easy to create when you don’t have the money to join in. This isn’t about seeking to replace the things we do well with the things I, the Queen Overlord of the Atheist Agenda, have deemed “need improvement,” but to augment our strengths and close our deficits. Events are not a zero-sum game. You can have lectures on the role of secularism in the states and potluck dinners, and conferences and board game nights, and pub nights and picnics. What negatives are there in expanding the scope and access of our movement to include minorities, low income groups, and families? None at all. A better question may be: What are we doing to make those low-cost events happen? (Image via Shutterstock)In Texas, Perry's Vaccine Mandate Provoked Anger toggle caption Win McNamee/Getty Images The most dramatic moment of the GOP debate in Florida last Monday revolved around Gov. Rick Perry and his 2007 executive order mandating that all 11- and 12-year-old girls in Texas get the HPV vaccine. The human papillomavirus vaccine protects women and teens against a sexually transmitted disease that causes cervical cancer. During the debate, presidential candidate Michele Bachmann called Perry's executive order an example of crony capitalism. "The governor's chief of staff was the chief lobbyist for this drug company," Bachmann said. "The drug company gave thousands of dollars in political donations to the governor. This is flat-out wrong. Was this about life, or was it billions of dollars for a drug company?" Back in 2007, the first reaction to Perry's executive order was mystification on both sides of the political aisle. Jim Dunnam, the Texas House Democratic leader at the time, says he went around the House floor and asked senators if they had heard about it. It came out pretty quick that Toomey had been paid several hundred thousand dollars to lobby for Merck and as soon as we heard that it was like, 'OK now we know what's going on.' "I sit next to someone who's very, very involved in health care, has been for 20 years, and I said, well, 'What's this all about?' And no one knew," Dunnam says. While the Republican representatives and senators who controlled the Legislature were dumbfounded and getting angry, Democrats were just dumbfounded. Perry was going to make every girl in Texas get a shot to prevent a sexually transmitted disease? From a political party that was all about abstinence, this didn't compute. But then the name Mike Toomey came up. Toomey had been Perry's chief of staff and was one of his closest political allies. "It came out pretty quick that Toomey had been paid several hundred thousand dollars to lobby for Merck, and as soon as we heard that, it was like, 'OK, now we know what's going on,' " Dunnam says. Toomey's career is emblematic of the revolving door between business and the Texas government. Toomey was elected to the Texas House, left government to become a lobbyist, took a job as Perry's chief of staff, then left the governor's office to lobby for the drug company Merck. Merck was the maker of Gardasil, the HPV vaccine that the young girls in Texas would receive under Perry's executive order. Though the Legislature knew nothing of it at the time, this executive order actually had been months in the planning. But once revealed, Dunnam says there was a widespread perception that Perry was trying to make an end run around the Legislature. "We had strong Republican majorities in both chambers," Dunnam says. "I do think that anybody that thought about it ahead of time would have felt that they couldn't have gotten it through the Legislature." Enlarge this image toggle caption Harry Cabluck/AP Harry Cabluck/AP Since Democrats were in the minority, they were less resentful of being cut out of the process than they were wary of the order's backroom-deal appearance. It emerged that Merck's political action committee had donated $5,000 to the governor's campaign at the same moment their executives were negotiating with the governor's staff. Merck would eventually donate nearly $30,000 to Perry and more than $377,000 to the Republican Governors Association, which Perry chaired. Inside Texas' evangelical and abstinence communities, the reaction to Perry's order was anger and dismay. Tonya Waite, director of the East Texas Abstinence Program, says she didn't think it should have been mandatory. "I always thought that it should have been the parents' choice," says Waite. "I was upset that there wasn't more time for me to get my facts together so that my schools and educators were comfortable, and we were all on the same page." A group of Texas families quickly sued to stop Perry's executive order, and the backlash on the right became a tidal wave. In May 2007, the Legislature overwhelmingly passed a bill vacating the governor's executive order by a veto-proof margin. Perry was furious. He held a press conference and surrounded himself with women who'd gotten cervical cancer. Perry said that the future deaths of Texas women and teens who succumbed to cervical cancer would be on the heads of the legislators who'd voted against him. Perry's staff did not respond to requests to comment for this story, but Monday night Perry bristled at Bachmann's insinuation of corruption. "It was a $5,000 contribution that I had received from them," Perry said. "I raise about $30 million. And if you're saying that I can be bought for $5,000, I'm offended." Perry says his executive order was motivated by his devotion to life. "Texas, I think, day in and day out, is a place that protects life," Perry said. In politics, it's said that every action has a reaction. In this case, Perry's executive order may have had the unintended consequence of rallying the right to attention on the issue. Only Virginia and the District of Columbia have passed a mandatory HPV vaccination bill. More than 12,000 American women each year are diagnosed with cervical cancer.Update: Scale improvements have been rolled out for Office 365 announced in 10x increase in Public Folder limits. It has been about two months since I was in Austin at my first Microsoft Exchange Conference. I must say Austin left quite an impression on me, partly because of the wonderful people and great music, but mostly because of the immensely passionate public folder customers I got a chance to meet. Public folders are one of the oldest living artifacts in Exchange Server and MEC was a reconfirmation that they continue to serve some critical and unique collaboration scenarios for our customers. MEC allowed me to meet with some of our largest and most complex public folder customers to discuss in great detail how some companies’ entire business processes rely on public folders. At MEC, customers asked us for higher scale and more functionality in Exchange modern public folders. The 3 top asks in the order of priority for the public folder team included: Scale improvements OWA support for calendar and contacts Better public folder reporting tools What's new on scale? As discussed at MEC, scaling up modern public folders is a priority for us. We have already made significant strides towards improving public folder scale. We have removed the design limitation which was the root cause for the hard limit of 10,000 total folders - this opens up new doors for scale. Synchronization of public folder hierarchy was a major component responsible for the 10,000 folder limitation. Full hierarchy sync has been improved to the point where it can scale linearly as folder count grows within the environment. There have also been storage optimizations which will provide better performance in operations on public folders in run state. What does this mean for public folder counts? The good news is that with these recent changes you can expect to see higher limits on public folders rolled out in the next few months. Office 365 customers should see the total folder limit increase to 100,000by early July. For our large on premises customers, we are targeting to increase this limit further with the CU6 release. As we get closer to the CU6 date we will publish an update on how far we were able to push the limit for on premises customers. This is just the first round in the public folder scale improvements we are working to deliver. As we move forward with these improvements, our goal is to scale to at least 1 million folders. We are also looking into making improvements to migration as well as store more bytes in more public folder mailboxes with more users accessing them. Why CU6? Scale updates is complex business. Investigating and working through fixes on scale required a significant lead time and these updates didn’t fit into the CU5 timeline as work from multiple teams with features dependent on each other were involved. So we plan to roll in the above mentioned scale improvements in CU6 for our on-premises customers. Office 365 customers however will see these updates as soon as the code containing all of the necessary public folder scale improvements rolls out into service. This service update is targeted for early July, but as with all Office 365 updates some tenants will see it sooner than others until the service update has been deployed world-wide. We will be publishing another blog around the CU6 timeframe to share news about the next round of public folder scale updates.
confirm your conviction that you could do something special with film? Friedkin: The feeling I got was that film was so powerful that even a couple of amateurs making a film, that if it had a powerful meaning and mission, could succeed. I kept that feeling when I first went out to Hollywood. There’s only rare occasions of stuff like that happening. It doesn’t happen. There was one film, I guess, that did change the course of the world, which was the Al Gore documentary, An Inconvenient Truth. Nobody but Al Gore was out there speaking about global warming and fossil fuels and stuff like that. That film fostered—especially with his book—that movement. It had to be the film more than the book, because more people saw the film, and it won an Academy Award. The Dissolve: What keeps you excited about making films now? Bug and Killer Joe are among the better movies you’ve made, and they don’t feel like the work of an old master; they feel like they could have been made by someone half your age. Friedkin: I appreciate that. I can’t say what attracts me to stuff like that. Something pulls me in that direction. Tracy Letts and I have a similar worldview; that’s what drew me to those. I’ve only made 17 films in 50 years of doing it, and I’ve abandoned a lot of projects because I couldn’t achieve my vision of them. I never thought I could get past how I saw them when the ideas first came to me. But Tracy Letts’ work and my views coincide. That’s why I made those two films. He’s written, I guess, five plays. I directed another of them on the stage in La Jolla. The other three plays he’s done are not anything I’d be interested in filming. I think they’re all wonderful, but the only ones that appealed to me as possible works of cinema were Bug and Killer Joe. I liked August: Osage County. The Dissolve: I don’t think anybody would ever watch August: Osage County and Bug and Killer Joe and think, “Oh, those must have been written by the same person.” Friedkin: I think you’re right. For Tracy, August was kind of a breakthrough, in that he reached a mass audience and became comparable to someone like Eugene O’Neill. There is no one comparable to Eugene O’Neill today. Or Tennessee Williams, or Arthur Miller. But Tracy got over with August: Osage County.Ever find yourself in the middle of something so engrossing, you just have to finish it before acknowledging anything or anyone in your immediate surroundings? That's what happened to a 36-year old man driving down a highway in Macomb County, Michigan, only his "I simply can't tear myself away from this" distraction was a joint that was apparently too delectable to waste. Unfortunately for the driver, Stravansky Nycassio Hinds, state troopers had been trying to pull him over for several miles due to improper license plates. Hinds saw the troopers but gave them the "Gimme a minute" hand gesture so he could, according to police, " finish his marijuana joint and call his family before he headed to jail." Once he was finally successfully pulled over, Hinds was arrested without incident. He acknowledged that he had a warrant out for his arrest in Florida, said he had cannabis in his vehicle, and "knew he was going to jail." Police obliged and arrested him on suspicion of operating under the influence. Hinds, meanwhile, is really pushing the limits on the expression, "Going out in a blaze of glory."Police say they have found 3-month-old Dakota Grimes safe after she was inside a vehicle that was stolen outside of a party store on Detroit's east side around 1 a.m. Dakota was found on the porch of a home with a blanket and bottle in the 9150 block of Lakepointe. The homeowner tells 7 Action News he brought the baby inside, confused as to why she was dropped off on his property. After seeing the Amber Alert, he called police. The baby has been taken to a nearby hospital for evaluation. Earlier this morning, police say the child's father pulled up to the store in the 16600 block of Harper and went inside, leaving his car still running and the doors unlocked. When the father returned, his white 2006 Chevy Impala was gone and there was no sign of his baby. Police say three men stole the vehicle with the baby inside. There was an Amber Alert issued for Dakota before she was located. Police are still searching for the suspects and stolen vehicle. STAY WITH WXYZ.COM FOR UPDATES ON THIS DEVELOPING STORY.Blood-red water is a bad sign, reminiscent of horror films and shark attacks. When the citizens of Fort Myers, Florida saw that the creek near the high school was running crimson, they feared the worst. In this case, though, it just meant someone dyed. According to NBC2, nearby Lee Memorial Hospital hired a contractor, NALCO Water Treatment Company, to test for leaks in their cooling towers, which they did by tinting the water red. “In the process, gallons of the dye were dumped into the drain pipe, making its way into the creek,” they write. This is, of course, also bad. Although the hospital insists the dye is 99% water, residents are not pleased. “They should be a little more cautious,” Cynthia DeJesus told NBC2. The drain pipe has since been plugged, and the hospital and contractor are working together to clean the creek. No word on whether this orange alligator is heading down to help. Every day, we track down a fleeting wonder—something amazing that’s only happening right now. Have a tip for us? Tell us about it! Send your temporary miracles to cara@atlasobscura.com.Tuesday night's PBS Makers documentary on feminist history was powerful, inspiring, infuriating and hilarious. Watching the fabulous feminists of the 1960s and 70s raise hell, often with more than a wink of humor and creativity, and seeing how quickly they toppled institutions and shifted social mores felt electric. Then came the galvanizing moments of Anita Hill's bravery in testifying against Clarence Thomas, of Geraldine Ferraro accepting the vice-presidential nomination, of Hillary Clinton declaring that women's rights and human rights are one and the same – I was alternately cheering and yelling at the TV. The details of the abortion rights movement, with 5,000 women dying every year before Roe and hundreds of thousands more injured, and the endless post-Roe violence at the hands of "pro-life" activists who still scream at women, picket clinics, stalk doctors, bomb buildings and murder health care providers, was sobering. As was the recognition that domestic violence wasn't generally recognized as a real crime until the early years of my own existence on this planet – being beaten up by your husband, Gloria Steinem noted, didn't have a name; it was just called "life". There are not enough words for all the "thank yous" I want to extend to the many feminists who shaped the 20th century. But then the documentary came to the present day. Although women today rose to our positions on the shoulders of giants, female leaders like Marissa Mayer of Yahoo, who also recently cut the telecommuting policy at Yahoo that particularly benefits working parents, declared herself not a feminist, as she isn't "militant" and doesn't have a "chip on her shoulder". Rebecca Traister (@rtraister) Hey, Marissa Meyer, I happen to love my militant drive and the chip on my shoulder! #MAKERSchat Michelle Rhee cheerily said she likes doing all the laundry and packing her husband's lunch. A few women – Sheryl Sandberg, Oprah, Katie Couric – proudly staked feminist ground, with Sandberg saying men need to pitch in at home, and Oprah declaring: "You've got to beat the drum loudly. Nobody listens to you if you go quietly into the night." But others lamented the state of modern feminism, noting the lack of feminist action and saying women now won't care about their rights until those rights are gone. There was a sole young feminist face, the wonderful organizer Shelby Knox. Shelby does incredible work and I'm glad she was included. But she's far from the only young feminist in the game, as Shelby herself regularly emphasizes. Steph Herold (@StephHerold) Oh, here's the, "let's shame young women" section of #makerschat. WHERE ARE THE YOUNG FEMINISTS? Right here: pinterest.com/shelbyknox/fem… While young feminists may not be taking over Fifth Avenue or the offices of Ladies' Home Journal, we are taking over the internet (and, by the way, we have taken over more than a few streets in our day). It's nearly impossible to go on a liberal-minded blog and be more than a click or two away from a dedicated feminist one. Feminism has so infiltrated the women's internet that I'm hard-pressed to think of a women's website – the kind of online properties that have largely replaced traditional women's print magazines – that doesn't have both a strong undercurrent of feminism and at least one explicitly feminist writer on staff. Many of the top blogs – Buzzfeed, Mashable, Jezebel, Gawker, Boing Boing – regularly include feminist content and employ feminist writers. Hundreds of thousands of smaller ones also feature feminist thought. Anna Holmes (@AnnaHolmes) Seriously, I can think of about 50 young feminist writers whose work has DRAMATICALLY influenced the narrative in America. Feminism online is entirely normalized. It's pervasive. A generation of young women are growing up with feminism as the default in women's online spaces, and explicitly feminist blogs and communities at their fingertips. That's a revolution. Computer screens and typing fingers don't make the most compelling documentary imagery. But as it turns out, they do change a lot of minds. Women online are beating the feminist drum, and loudly. And it's helping to carry feminism forward. If PBS were to make another documentary focused exclusively on modern feminists, who would you want them to include? Use the comments to share the names of women who are making women's issues a public priority today – online, in politics or in corporations. Are there writers you particularly admire? Activists you see making headway? Who are the women you think should be acknowledged? We'll collect and feature your responses in a piece on the GuardianThe cr.yp.to blog 2016.03.15: Thomas Jefferson and Apple versus the FBI When Prohibition began, anti-alcohol crusaders demanded that the St. Louis Public Library burn every book that explained "the home production of alcohol for drinks". The librarian insisted on keeping the books but agreed to hide them from the "general public". Instructions have always been a target of censorship. The censors say that it's bad, or that it might be bad, if people follow the instructions. Censorship of other types of information almost always follows this pattern: the censors say that information must be banned because of what might happen when people receive and act upon the information. However, centuries of experience have taught us that the benefits of free speech are vastly larger than the benefits of censorship. This judgment is enshrined in the First Amendment. Narrow, carefully defined exceptions A few well-established categories of communication are so clearly undesirable for society that they don't have First Amendment protection. For example, the First Amendment doesn't protect intentional solicitation of criminal activity: "I'll pay you $1000 to steal that car for me." The Supreme Court is careful to define these categories narrowly, so that the categories don't threaten free speech. For example, imagine someone saying "To discourage terrorism we should torture suspected terrorists and behead terrorists' families." Can the government throw the speaker in jail for advocating violence? Answer: The speaker is protected if he isn't advocating imminent lawless action. Society has time to calmly discuss, and dismiss, the speaker's bad ideas. As another example, the First Amendment usually doesn't protect false information. Contract law limits your freedom to make false promises. Fraud law limits your freedom to deceive people for profit. However, publishers would be terrified to say anything if they were exposed to libel lawsuits for innocent mistakes. That's why incorrect statements about public figures are protected by the First Amendment unless they're made with reckless disregard for the truth. Libraries stay open even though they might help criminals In Tom Clancy's 1994 novel Debt of Honor, a terrorist pilot armed with a knife seized control of an airplane loaded with fuel and flew the airplane into the United States Capitol. It's easy to respond emotionally to this: obviously 9/11 was Clancy's fault; all books describing violence or other crime should be banned. Eventually common sense kicks in. Burning books isn't going to stop terrorists and other criminals from coming up with their plots. On the contrary: the bad guys are perfectly capable of spotting security weaknesses on their own. Public discussion of security weaknesses has always been society's most effective tool for getting those weaknesses fixed. Instructions that are specifically intended to aid criminals do lose First Amendment protection. For example, the First Amendment doesn't protect a murder-manual publisher who "intended to provide assistance to murderers and would-be murderers". But criminal intent is critical here. The government can't censor the Clancy books. It can't censor the Bond films. It can't censor a "Build Your Own Secret Bookcase Door" book, even though some readers might be criminals hiding from the police. It can't censor a "How to Fish" book, even though some readers might be terrorists who don't deserve to eat and who would be more easily caught if they were starving. Demystifying software "Divide year by 100 giving result. Add 1 to result giving century." These two sentences are the start of a few dozen instructions for calculating the date of Easter. You can understand these instructions. These instructions are software; this means that a computer can understand them too. Our computers are extensions of our brains. They're often faster and more reliable than our brains are. That's why we tell our computers to run software, rather than following the same instructions by hand. That's also why we delegate to these devices our memories, the intimate details of our lives. Have you heard the government arguing that it wants new powers to censor software? Think about what happens when you remove the computer from the picture. Could the government state the same rationale for censoring instructions followed by people? Does the First Amendment protect publication of the instructions despite this rationale? Usually the answer to both questions is yes. Let's try an example. Apple is providing software for millions of people to encrypt their private files. If this software is doing its job then nobody else can understand the files. But a few of the people protected by this are criminals. The government claims that it's "going dark". Should Apple be allowed to publish this software? Let's remove the computer from the picture. Fact: Thomas Jefferson was a cryptographer. He distributed instructions that James Madison used, by hand, to encrypt private files (such as the partly encrypted letter back to Jefferson shown on the left). The effect of the encryption was that nobody else could understand the files. Should a modern-day Jefferson be allowed to publish a "How to Encrypt" book? What if the FBI says that Jefferson is helping criminals? Answer: The publisher is fully protected by the First Amendment. The publisher doesn't intend to help criminals. Sure, publishing encryption instructions might occasionally help criminals, but it does much more to stop criminals and to protect human rights. Exceptions, revisited If I were a lawyer trying to scare courts into creating a First Amendment exception for software, what would I do? Answer: I would talk about bad software. Imagine software for destroying navigational systems on airplanes. Imagine a malware app that pretends to be a legitimate app for buying stocks but that, when you run it, ends up giving your money to a thief. Clearly the government needs to be able to make laws regarding software! To demystify these examples, let's eliminate the computer. Imagine a book called "How to Destroy Navigational Systems on Airplanes". The courts already know how to handle this: intentional "aiding and abetting" of criminal activity isn't protected by the First Amendment. It doesn't matter whether the criminal who destroyed the navigational system was following instructions by hand, or was having his computer follow instructions on his behalf. Or imagine a book that pretends to be a legitimate how-to book on buying stocks but that, when you follow its instructions, ends up giving your money to a thief. The courts know how to handle this too: fraud isn't protected by the First Amendment. The computer is again irrelevant. So there's no real argument for creating a First Amendment exception for software. There is, meanwhile, a very strong argument against creating a First Amendment exception for software: namely, this exception would end up swallowing the entire First Amendment as computers learn to understand more and more types of communication. As the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals wrote in 1999: The distinction urged on us by the government would prove too much in this era of rapidly evolving computer capabilities. The fact that computers will soon be able to respond directly to spoken commands, for example, should not confer on the government the unfettered power to impose prior restraints on speech in an effort to control its "functional" aspects. The crypto wars: early history For decades the FBI and NSA have been trying and failing to convince Congress to outlaw strong encryption. Their arguments have always been the same: terrorism, drug dealers, terrorism, child pornography, terrorism, etc. Congress has always paid more attention to the counterarguments: most importantly, strong encryption will still be available for the terrorists, while efforts to weaken encryption are a security disaster for the rest of us. The FBI and NSA have also undermined their positions by establishing a track record of abusing their power: spying on their own love interests, for example, and spying on civil-rights leaders. What do you do if you're a spy and Congress isn't doing what you want? You take matters into your own hands! The NSA convinced the State Department to declare that encryption software was a "munition" under the "Arms Export Control Act", and that disclosing encryption software to a foreigner without a license was an illegal "export". The government's stated goal was to "control the widespread foreign availability of cryptographic devices and software which might hinder its foreign intelligence collection efforts". Let's again imagine this without the computer. The State Department declares that modern-day Jefferson's how-to book on encryption is a "munition" under the Arms Export Control Act, and that disclosing Jefferson's instructions to a foreigner without a license is an illegal "export". The government's goal is to "control the widespread foreign availability" of encryption instructions "which might hinder its foreign intelligence collection efforts". The computer is once again irrelevant. This isn't just a hypothetical analogy. For many years the government claimed that encryption instructions for humans were controlled by the Arms Export Control Act. For example, in 1977, NSA employee Joseph Meyer told the organizers of a cryptographic conference that they would be subject to prosecution. In 1993 the State Department officially classified a piece of cryptographic software and a cryptographic paper as "munitions". Two years later, after being dragged into court, the State Department changed its mind regarding the paper, an incident that the judge called "disquieting". Fundamentally, the FBI and NSA would like to censor books and papers for the same reasons that they would like to censor software. The only reason that the government gave up on censoring books and papers was in an attempt to avoid First Amendment scrutiny: everyone can see that books and papers are covered by the First Amendment, whereas most people find software to be something mysterious and incomprehensible. First Amendment protection for encryption software Back to the court case. The judge focused on software, and found that the government's regulations were an "unconstitutional prior restraint in violation of the First Amendment". The government had argued that software doesn't qualify for First Amendment protection, but the judge found that "source code is speech": Contrary to defendants' suggestion, the functionality of a language does not make it any less like speech.... Instructions, do-it-yourself manuals, recipes, even technical information about hydrogen bomb construction, see United States v. The Progressive. Inc., 467 F. Supp. 990 (W.D. Wisc. 1979), are often purely functional; they are also speech.... The music inscribed in code on the roll of a player piano is no less protected for being wholly functional. Like source code converted to object code, it "communicates" to and directs the instrument itself, rather than the musician, to produce the music. That does not mean it is not speech. Like music and mathematical equations, computer language is just that, language, and it communicates information either to a computer or to those who can read it. Defendants argue in their reply that a description of software in English informs the intellect but source code actually allows someone to encrypt data. Defendants appear to insist that the higher the utility value of speech the less like speech it is. An extension of that argument assumes that once language allows one to actually do something, like play music or make lasagne, the language is no longer speech. The logic of this proposition is dubious at best. Its support in First Amendment law is nonexistent. In response, the NSA convinced the Department of Commerce to set up suspiciously similar new regulations under the "International Emergency Economic Powers Act". The judge found that these new regulations were also unconstitutional. The government appealed to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which again found that the regulations were unconstitutional. A side comment from the court recognized the dawn of a golden age of surveillance: In this increasingly electronic age, we are all required in our everyday lives to rely on modern technology to communicate with one another. This reliance on electronic communication, however, has brought with it a dramatic diminution in our ability to communicate privately. Cellular phones are subject to monitoring, email is easily intercepted, and transactions over the internet are often less than secure. Something as commonplace as furnishing our credit card number, social security number, or bank account number puts each of us at risk. Moreover, when we employ electronic methods of communication, we often leave electronic "fingerprints" behind, fingerprints that can be traced back to us. Whether we are surveilled by our government, by criminals, or by our neighbors, it is fair to say that never has our ability to shield our affairs from prying eyes been at such a low ebb. In another case against the same regulations, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals also found that the regulations were unconstitutional. The Apple-FBI case Fast forward to 2016. The FBI has found another way to apply pressure to software publishers: "You provided software that was used to encrypt this data. The All Writs Act says that you have to help us decrypt it!" The FBI is, for example, trying to use the All Writs Act to conscript Apple into writing anti-encryption software to be run on Syed Rizwan Farook's work-issued iPhone and falsely signing that software as being legitimate. When I say "anti-encryption", what I mean is that if this new software works then maybe the FBI will be able to understand the encrypted files stored on that iPhone. Nobody expects this iPhone to actually have any files of interest (Farook also owned, and destroyed, a personal iPhone), but other law-enforcement agencies have expressed their eagerness to use the same software against drug dealers. Let's imagine the same scenario without computers. Jefferson's "How to Encrypt" instructions are being used by Madison and many other innocent people, but they're also being used by evil Farook. As part of a sting operation against Farook, the FBI is demanding that Jefferson write new anti-encryption instructions and falsely sign those instructions as being legitimate. The FBI hopes that Farook, seeing Jefferson's signature and not realizing what's going on, will be fooled into following the anti-encryption instructions, so maybe the FBI will be able to understand Farook's files. Actually, everyone expects that Farook already destroyed all of the interesting files, but other law-enforcement agencies are eager to reuse Jefferson's false signature against drug dealers. Jefferson, however, doesn't want to write or sign these anti-encryption instructions. He considers these instructions "too dangerous to create". Is Jefferson free to say what he wants if what he wants to say is nothing at all? The Supreme Court says yes: freedom of speech includes "both what to say and what not to say". There are some exceptions, but the exceptions are very far from the Jefferson case. To summarize, Jefferson has a First Amendment right to avoid writing, and to avoid signing, the instructions demanded by the government. Apple has the same First Amendment right. The distinction between software and other instructions isn't relevant to the free-speech analysis. My guess is that courts will say no to the FBI interpretation of the All Writs Act, without reaching the First Amendment issues. But this obviously won't be the end of government efforts to control software publishers. Fortunately, just like the publishers of how-to books, software publishers are protected by the First Amendment. Version: This is version 2016.03.15 of the 20160315-jefferson.html web page.This post has been updated. House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) won't seek reelection, in a move that will set off a six-month scramble to find the next House speaker — or, if the GOP loses the House, minority leader. And this should come as little surprise. After HuffPost in December pointed to speculation Ryan would end his speakership, Politico's Tim Alberta reported that Ryan indeed had “his eyes on the exits.” And Ryan's team didn't exactly offer ironclad denials. But even without all that, it seemed to be in the cards — if not utterly predictable. So predictable, in fact, that The Washington Post's Paul Kane did predict it in 2015 when Ryan first became speaker. “I think he'll do this for three or four years,” Kane said in October 2015, more than three years before the 2018 election. That three-plus-year tenure would be completely in line with other recent speakerships. Looking back, six of the past seven speakers have served fewer than five years in the job (three voluntarily and three because their party lost the majority). Ryan committing to another two-year Congress would put him over that five-year mark, which is a very long time to be in that job even for a relatively youthful 48-year-old. The below chart is courtesy of Philip Bump: And even without that history, Ryan was never going to be a lifer. He is a man who took that job, after all, even as he repeatedly insisted he didn't want it. At the time, conservatives effectively forced then-Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) out, and there didn't seem to be anybody else who could win the support of both sides of his party. If the job was thankless for Boehner, though, Ryan was about to find out just how much more thankless it would become. Although Boehner had to deal with an unruly caucus, Ryan has found himself having to deal with an unruly and unpredictable Republican president, as well. Frequently during the campaign and since, Ryan has been asked to answer for President Trump's conduct. While his answers are usually meant to deflect and he has outwardly declined to comment at times on Trump's comments and tweets, it is clear this is not fun for him. For a guy who built a reputation as a policy wonk more interested in being chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee than House speaker, he has found himself dealing with Trump's perpetual reality-show dramas as much as policy details. Trump's presidency may have seemed like a golden opportunity for Ryan in one way. The GOP, after all, has joint control of Congress and the presidency, and for a guy who has long dreamed of entitlement reform and making conservative fiscal policy a reality, the chance has been there in a way Ryan couldn't have expected when he took the job in late 2015. And he did get tax cuts passed. But Trump has already turned Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) into a pariah with an imperiled majority that has already shrunk by half, thanks to the Alabama special election. And given the House looks increasingly likely to go to the Democrats, Ryan can't be sure he would be able to stay speaker in 2019, even if he wanted to. Given that, why try to stay in a job that you never really wanted and might not even exist next year?In the 1980s, drug lords raced. Everyone knew. No one spoke. Now, it’s one’s son. Tune into a Verizon IndyCar Series race, and you might hear Ryan Hunter-Reay referred to as “Captain America.” Hang around Delray Beach, Florida, in the 1980s, and you might hear Ryan’s father referred to as “Gary P. Matthews” or any of a dozen other aliases. His real name? Nicholas Hunter-Reay — Nick, usually. Captain America’s dad, the cocaine kingpin. Charged in 1979, the elder Hunter-Reay fled Los Angeles, first to Dallas (Ryan’s birthplace), then to Fort Lauderdale (Ryan’s hometown). He was caught in 1988, with his “reputation for violence” and connections to a Colombian cartel noted by the LA Times. Advertisement In the intervening nine years, he lived well. The assets seized in his arrest had a value of nearly $1.5 million in today’s currency. Wrote the Sun-Sentinel: Agents said they are not sure how long [Hunter-]Reay had been in South Florida, but they have a few clues about how he spent his time here. He lived in a three- bedroom penthouse condo on South Ocean Boulevard in Delray Beach cluttered with photos of him with various women. He dined in fancy restaurants in Boca Raton and Miami, once ordering everything on the menu for an indecisive date. He owned two cars — a Ferrari and a Mercedes Benz — and listened to police scanners in his home, agents and local undercover officers said. He collected antique bills and coins. “There were three suitcases full of old bank notes and coins in the condo,” Delray Beach police Lt. Mark Davis said. “We found receipts that showed he had paid $150,000 cash for some of the stuff.” [Hunter-]Reay had a large walk-in closet packed full of Italian and French handmade suits. Advertisement Among his purchases? Ryan’s first go-kart, the start of what would become a championship driving career. One paper — no longer hosted on Google’s newspaper archives — even reported on a seven-year-old son of Nick Hunter-Reay in their story on the narcotrafficker’s arrest. That was Ryan’s age in 1988. Somewhere between Ryan Hunter-Reay’s IndyCar debut in 2003 and his drug baron father’s capture in 1988, the story gets lost. Advertisement There is no information on a trial for Nick Hunter-Reay. There are no stories about his sentencing, as there are for some of his former associates. Legal databases return nothing. It’s entirely possible Hunter-Reay went to prison. Records suggest he never did. Whatever the case, he certainly didn’t suffer. In 2002, Hunter-Reay reappeared, forming Global Racing, LLC, with Dan Benton, Chris James, Stefan Johansson, and Steven Hawkins. Advertisement Through this company, Hunter-Reay, Benton, James, and Johansson funded the American Spirit Team Johansson IndyCar entrant. That team debuted in 2003 with Ryan Hunter-Reay as one of its drivers. Fifteen years after being found, and thirty-four years after first being arrested, Nick Hunter-Reay lived the rich life of a professional racing team co-owner and investor. His son got to play with the cars. Nick’s name returned to the racing spotlight in 2012, when he and Ryan became involved in a proposed IndyCar race in Fort Lauderdale. His presence in the plans caused one astute Broward Beat commenter to question the local government. Advertisement All the while, Ryan drove to IndyCar’s season-long title in 2012, then claimed the Indianapolis 500 prize in 2014. Nick attended the Victory Banquet. He even posed for photos with Ryan’s car and trophy the next day. Any consequences Nick Hunter-Reay faced did little to oust him from a socioeconomic status gained unlawfully. Advertisement Ryan Hunter-Reay’s story, as told in the media, omits the part about living the first years of his life as the son of a wealthy drug fugitive — the one who bankrolled the start of Ryan’s career, both as a child and as a professional. Hunter-Reay’s public tale centers more on his mother, Lydia, who passed from colon cancer a few years before Ryan’s racing earned him his largest accolades. Leading IndyCar writer Curt Cavin summarized the Hunter-Reay family history: [Lydia] was born in the Toronto suburb of Hamilton, Ontario, but despised the cold weather. At 19, she got a one-way ticket to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to begin anew as a nurse. She never looked back.... It was there she met Nick, who owned a stereo equipment business. They married and had the child that was her everything. Advertisement In his chat with Cavin, Ryan Hunter-Reay informed the world of an ambitious woman who married an electronics salesman, all taking place in Florida — despite Ryan’s Dallas birthplace, and Nick’s “place of business” in Los Angeles. To the public, there were none of the countless women in photographs and on extravagant dates with Nick during Ryan’s childhood. Wanting to be the Captain America IndyCar media had branded him, Hunter-Reay was the product of a working-class family, all intact, all in love. Advertisement Any public discussion of wealth by Ryan was cutesy at best. A fluff piece for ESPN discussed Ryan’s paid-off house and “baller” boat before charting his four-day spending total of $15,887. As his publicists would tell you, that was just the American Dream to which he’d claimed his right. Advertisement Ryan Hunter-Reay’s face will never leave the Borg-Warner Trophy. One gets added each year, commemorating the Indy 500 champion. In the same duration, nearly 1.5 million Americans will have their faces captured in mugshots for drug-related offenses. The overwhelming majority are simply for possession. The criminal record rarely leaves them. Few possession offenses are possible without narcotrafficking. Most drug arrests ruin one life — maybe a few. Drug traffickers ruin thousands. Advertisement Nick Hunter-Reay watched live with VIP access as his son won the Indy 500. He stood with the trophy that Ryan’s face later became part of. He weathered whatever fallout came from 1979 and 1988 to be a player in the racing scene, even helping his son break into a colossally expensive sport. Public money spent nine years looking for him. It could’ve helped people — people addicted to drugs, people at risk of getting into them. Instead, some of those people consumed the millions of dollars worth of drugs Hunter-Reay put into streets in California and elsewhere. Advertisement They faced consequences. Nick — a drug fugitive able to stroll into the government of the locality where he was in hiding to solicit funding for an auto race from which he’d draw income — didn’t. But if you hear Ryan Hunter-Reay called “Captain America” when you watch IndyCar racing, don’t be angered. It’s a fair nickname. What could be more American than wealth and impunity gained through the destruction of others? Advertisement This story originally appeared on my Medium page, but was “suspended” without notice or explanation.A nuclear waste storage facility deep in the bedrock below Finland is the subject of a feature-length documentary called Into Eternity. Around the world, nuclear power plants are churning out high-level radioactive waste at a rate of knots. It's estimated that about 250,000 tonnes of the material is currently in interim storage, submerged in huge tanks of water in facilities that keep it safe -- temporarily. But there's very little agreement on what to do with the stuff long-term, as it will remain a danger for around 100,000 years -- almost as long as humans have existed, and far longer than we've been using tools. There have been a few proposals, including the possibility of loading it into a rocket and shooting it into the Sun, or sinking it to the bottom of the sea. But the most likely seems to be storage in deep geological repositories. Advertisement There are 10 or so of these repositories bored into the bedrock around the world, in the USA, Switzerland, Sweden, Japan, France, Canada, Belgium and Finland. Finnish law dictates that all nuclear waste produced in the country must be disposed of in the country too, so the government is constructing a facility called Onkalo, located near the Olkiluoto nuclear power plant. Onkalo consists of a massive warren of underground tunnels, half a kilometre below the Earth's surface, which is expected to be completed in 2020. It will be progressively filled with waste over a period of about 100 years until 2120, when it'll be backfilled and sealed for the next 100,000 years. Read next Calorie counting apps help weight loss even if you barely use them Calorie counting apps help weight loss even if you barely use them It's also the subject of a feature-length documentary called Into Eternity, from a Danish director named Michael Madsen. Into Eternity is an intriguing, unsettling and thought-provoking look at the project, with in-depth interviews with a number of key figures involved in the project, such as Timo Äikäs, Onkalo's executive vice-president of engineering; Wandla Paile, the chief radiologist at Finland's radiation and nuclear safety authority; and Carl Reinhold Bråkenhielm, a member of Sweden's national council for nuclear waste. The cinematography is superb, and those who enjoy seeing inside post-industrial structures are in for a treat. There's plenty of footage of existing temporary storage sites, with spent fuel being loaded into tubes underwater. There's also lots of camera-time for the tunnel itself, the blasting process, and the dormitories where the workers blasting their way through the rock live. Advertisement One theme running throughout the 75-minute documentary is that of how to get our children's children's children's children to stay away. If the human race survives for another 100,000 years, it's unlikely to remain in the same state, and if we're having trouble reading the hieroglyphics of the Egyptians from just 3,000 years ago, the odds of our descendants being able to understand any warnings we leave are low. Even leaving aside language barriers, there's a big question mark over whether future generations will have the knowledge to understand nuclear waste's silent but deadly threat. The dark ages following the decline of the Roman Empire
; Alastair Clarkson seeks out Luke Hodge for a chat before the final match committee meeting. <i>(30/50)</i></div><div>AFL</div><div><b>2:38pm:</b> Matt Suckling, Jack Gunston, Matt Spangher, Ryan Schoenmakers and Isaac Smith relax in the spa after training. <i>(31/50)</i></div><div>AFL</div><div><b>Old Treasury Building, Melbourne - Friday October 02, 2015 - 11:23am: </b>Sam Mitchell applies some sunscreen to his son Smith&apos;s face before the Grand Final Parade. <i>(32/50)</i></div><div>AFL</div><div><b>11:30am:</b> Billy Hartung sits in quiet contemplation as his teammates wait for the Grand Final Parade to begin. (<i>33/50)</i></div><div>AFL</div><div><b>MCG, Melbourne - Saturday October 03, 2015 - 12:34pm: </b>James Frawley has a moment to himself in the rooms prior to the Grand Final. <i>(34/50)</i></div><div>AFL</div><div><b>12:41pm:</b> Ben Stratton listens to music in the rooms prior to the warm-up. <i>(35/50)</i></div><div>AFL</div><div><b>2:28pm:</b> Luke Hodge wins the coin toss moments before the Grand Final begins. <i>(36/50)</i></div><div>AFL</div><div><b>2:33pm:</b> Norm Smith medallist Cyril Rioli celebrates after kicking the team&#x2019;s first goal. <i>(37/50)</i></div><div>AFL</div><div><b>4:20pm:</b> Jack Gunston left no doubts about his fitness by kicking four goals. <i>(38/50)</i></div><div>AFL</div><div><b>5:06pm:</b> Sam Mitchell and Jordan Lewis celebrate as the final siren sounds to signal the club&#x2019;s first three-peat. <i>(39/50)</i></div><div>AFL</div><div><b>5:13pm:</b> Jordan Lewis holds 6 day old son Freddie during the medal presentation. <i>(40/50)</i></div><div>AFL</div><div><b>5:16pm:</b> Luke Hodge holds the notes to his speech before taking to the podium. <i>(41/50)</i></div><div>AFL</div><div><b>5:17pm:</b> Sam Mitchell receives a kiss from daughter Scarlett during the lap of honour. <i>(42/50)</i></div><div>AFL</div><div><b>6:06pm:</b> Jordan Lewis unwinds in the rooms after winning his 4th premiership. <i>(43/50)</i></div><div>AFL</div><div><b>6:14pm: </b>Luke Hodge with the 2013, 2014 and 2015 premiership cups. <i>(44/50)</i></div><div>AFL</div><div><b>6:37pm:</b> An exhausted Sam Mitchell waits for the team meeting to begin. (<i>45/50)</i></div><div>AFL</div><div><b>6:50pm:</b> An ecstatic Alastair Clarkson celebrates with jubilant players and support staff in the team meeting. <i>(46/50)</i></div><div>AFL</div><div><b>7:04pm:</b> After the hottest Grand Final on record, Taylor Duryea soaks in a bath. <i>(47/50)</i></div><div>AFL</div><div><b>7:05pm:</b> Isaac Smith checks his messages after starring against the Eagles. <i>(48/50)</i></div><div>AFL</div><div><b>7:55pm:</b> Alastair Clarkson chats with his lieutenants Luke Hodge and Sam Mitchell after they were presented to the adoring Hawks fans at the MCG. <i>(49/50)</i></div><div>AFL</div><div><b>8:13pm:</b> Job done - Alastair Clarkson and his leaders with the holy grail. <i>(50/50)</i></div><div>Follow Michael Willson on Instagram and Twitter: @michaelcwillson</div>The National Security Agency: A Global Superpower Recent revelations that the U.S. National Security Agency is conducting massive meta-data vacuuming of the phone calls and Internet transactions of tens of millions of Americans and, perhaps, billions of people around the world, with little or no effective oversight by President Obama, the U.S. Congress, or the federal court system means that the intelligence agency has become, in its own right, a global superpower. NSA acts like a virtual «state within a state». The director of NSA, a four-star flag officer, also wears the hat of Commander of the U.S. Cyber Command, the chief cyber-warfare echelon within the Department of Defense. Just as any nation-state, NSA also has alliances with similar signals intelligence and cyber-warfare agencies around the world, including Britain’s Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), Australia’s Defense Signals Directorate (DSD), Communications Security Establishment Canada (CSEC), and the Government Communications Security Board (GCSB) of New Zealand. These English-speaking partners are known as the «Five Eyes» countries and the signals intelligence alliance began after World War II and grew in scope during the Cold War. NSA also has «third party» intelligence sharing agreements with a number of other signals intelligence agencies, but these smaller agencies are like NSA;’s very own colonial territories. Third party signals intelligence agencies of countries like Germany, Japan, South Korea, Denmark, Norway, Italy, Spain, and Thailand are expected to feed their intelligence «take» into the massive computer databases NSA maintains at its headquarters in Fort Meade, Maryland, but these Third Party entities receive very little intelligence in return. In fact, the Five Eyes «Second party» partners of NSA receive relatively little intelligence from NSA in exchange for the massive amounts of intercepted communications they make available to NSA. Even more secretive are NSA’s «Fourth Party» partners, including neutral Sweden, Finland, Austria, and Switzerland and, in what may pose a problem for Snowden, last reportedly in Hong Kong, the People’s Republic of China has been a «Fourth Party» partner of NSA since the early 1980s. NSA maintained two eavesdropping stations in western China directed against the nuclear testing facilities of the Soviet Union and then Russia. It has been a common practice for NSA and its international partners to keep secret the activities of the NSA from even prime ministers. New Zealand Labor Party Prime Minister David Lange, who served in office from 1984 to 1989, stated that he and other ministers «were told so little « about the activities of NSA and GCSB and that this raised the question as to whom those concerned with international electronic surveillance saw themselves ultimately responsible. Later found in Lange’s archived papers was a 31-page TOP SECRET UMBRA HANDLE VIA COMINT CHANNELS ONLY GCSB report on New Zealand's communications intercepts on behalf of NSA of targets in the South Pacific and Antarctica. In 1975, when Australian Labor Party Prime Minister Gough Whitlam demanded information on the activities of NSA bases in Alice Springs and Woomera, Australia, the U.S., working with Australian intelligence, prevailed upon the Australian Governor General Sir John Kerr, to depose Whitlam and appoint the conservative and pro-U.S. opposition leader as prime minister. In effect, NSA ensured that a democratically-elected government was overthrown in a bloodless and seemingly constitutional coup d’état. NSA’s intelligence collections programs, including the PRISM meta-data vacuuming and storage and retrieval system exposed by NSA contractor whistleblower Edward Snowden, allegedly operate under U.S. government «oversight». However, the congressional oversight, the Intelligence Committees of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, are mere rubber stamp entities, as is the chief judicial oversight body, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC). The FISC, which was established by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 in response to the surveillance abuses of the NSA, FBI, and CIA during the Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon presidencies, was tasked with ensuring that any use of NSA to conduct domestic surveillance was subject to a court order from the FISC. However, the FISC is a secret court and its decisions are classified. It has rarely denied a government request for a surveillance warrant in its entire history. Internal NSA regulations intended to protect the communications of U.S. citizens from snooping largely went by the wayside after the 9/11 attack, an event that was extremely fortuitous for surveillance enthusiasts in the NSA top hierarchy. After 9/11, NSA began to expand its operations and capabilities. Due to commence operations in September this year is a massive $2 billion NSA computing facility in Utah, known as «NSA Utah,» that will be able to process and store in a computer space the size of 17 football fields a yottabyte of data, which is equivalent to a quadrillion gigabytes of data. NSA Utah will be the mother lode of the NSA’s PRISM meta-data, including communications intercepts and direct feeds from the servers of Microsoft, Google, Apple, Skype, Yahoo, Facebook, PalTalk, AOL, Youtube, and DropBox. There are reports that Twitter will soon be pressured to join the surveillance program. As influential as some of the aforementioned companies are, they are miniscule compared to the NSA superpower. Joining NSA Utah will be an $860 million, 600,000 square feet, High Performance Computing Center at NSA’s Fort Meade «campus» headquarters. There is another new NSA massive computing center at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee. Adding to these are massive Regional Security Operations Centers (RSOCs) at facilities known as «NSA Georgia» in Fort Gordon, «NSA Texas» in San Antonio, and «NSA Hawaii» in Kunia on Oahu. It was at Kunia where Snowden gained access to classified documents on PRISM, NSA access to Verizon phone calls and emails, and a global interception system known as BOUNDLESSINFORMANT. Classified maps of BOUNDLESSINFORMANT Global Access Operations (GAOs) show that the number one target for NSA surveillance is Iran, followed by Pakistan, with Jordan, Egypt, and India in third, fourth, and fifth place, respectively. Kenya, the country of President Barack Obama’s paternal heritage, was the number one target for NSA surveillance in sub-Saharan Africa. Germany, a «third party» partner of NSA, tops all other countries in Europe as NSA’s number one target. Other major NSA targets are Afghanistan, Iraq, China, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Astoundingly, NSA spies on the United States more than it does on Russia, North Korea, Somalia, Cuba, or Venezuela. NSA’s largest foreign operational center is in Menwith Hill, England. The Menwith Hill base works closely with GCHQ, which is headquartered in a massive structure in Cheltenham, England, which is nicknamed «The Doughnut» because of its shape. Others say the building looks like an eye. Not to be left behind, CSEC is building a C$880 million, 775,000 square feet new headquarters southeast of Ottawa. Australia’s DSD operates a large satellite communication intercept facility in Geraldton, West Australia. Rather than curtail the powers of NSA after the Cold War, the U.S. Congress and Bush I, Clinton, Bush II, and Obama administrations have presided over the omniscient agency’s expansion and greater powers of surveillance. NSA has an internal security force, the «Q Group,» that conducts its own investigations with or without the assistance of the FBI. NSA is the second largest employer in the state of Maryland, surpassed only by the U.S. Postal Service. NSA’s clout as an employer allows the agency to run roughshod over elected state officials and members of Maryland’s congressional delegation. In Maryland, there is no such thing as saying «no» to the NSA. NSA’s cyber-warriors have the capability to shut down banking networks, generate power blackouts to major metropolitan regions, throw a «kill switch» on the Internet in particular countries and regions, and manipulate vote counting and election results reporting. There is very little independent oversight of these dangerous operations. Edward Snowden claims that an NSA operator with the necessary «authorities» or access rights can read the personal email of anyone, including the President of the United States. If a low-level technician like Snowden could read such personal email or listen in on private phone calls, the capability of NSA to blackmail politicians from Maine to California and Argentina to Zambia stands as a stark example of the power that is in the hands of the NSA director. It is also worrisome that NSA’s current commander, U.S. Army General Keith Alexander, attended the elitist and secretive Bilderberg Conference in 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, and 2008. As David Lange once asked, «to whom do those who have the power of total surveillance see themselves ultimately responsible?» NSA’s General Alexander appears to be beholden more to the unelected wealthy and privileged doyens of capitalism than to either the American people or their elected representatives in the Congress.To some, the hardest part is a Coldplay song. And technically, they'd be right. To Chris Martin, letting go and not taking part, oh that's the hardest part. But obviously he's never done agile! I used to think that the hardest part of software development was quality. True quality is hard and this isn't a bad answer. Recognizing that it's hard is the first step to being vigilant while coding. But this doesn't get to the heart of the matter. Eventually, I evolved and started telling my interviewers that requirements are the hardest part of software development, followed closely by quality. This sounded pretty accurate and wise and it has a lot of merit. Many agreed with this assessment. The problem is that I've been in organizations that were painfully thorough when it came to requirements. Pages and pages, volumes of requirements. Yet a lot of time, even with all of this detail, I found myself even more confused. So What's the Problem? We've discovered that quality is hard and requirements are complex. And having the requirements spelled out doesn't always help. So what's the actual problem here? I'll tell you, it's communication. The problem is that there's a human writing the requirements and a human reading the requirements. This would be utopia if we all thought the same way, but we most certainly don't. As a developer, meeting various other developers, quality analysts, business analysts and project managers I can tell you that people do not think alike. At all. Haven't you ever met someone where every syllable out of their mouth is like the anti-proton to whatever is coming out of your mouth? I've met people where every time I ask them a question, I am confused by their answer. I cannot count the number of times I mentioned a problem to someone and they said, "Oh, that's simple. You just blah blah blah" and they proceed to rattle off something that makes no sense to me or anyone else in the room. Maybe no one admits that they don't understand, because they don't want to seem dense. But you can see it in their eyes, they have no clue what this person is talking about. The problem is context. What they are saying might not be hard to understand, but you have no context around the things they are saying. In their head it makes perfect sense, because they have all the context, but they are not communicating it to everyone else. Maybe you've never worked in their problem domain. Or you've never seen the application they are working on. They could be trying to make several systems communicate and you haven't the slightest clue what a diagram of these systems would look like or their purpose. No Context == No Understanding If the sender of this information doesn't communicate the context well enough for you to understand the problem, or in most cases at all, then it's your job to let them know. You need to ask clarifying questions. You need to tell them to slow down, back up and tell you what they are trying to accomplish in simple terms. You have to go higher level until you see the big picture, before you can get into the details. The alternative that many people choose (myself included at times) is to simply pretend that you understand what they are saying. Don't just nod frequently and say okay, hoping that the details will become clear once you get into the problem. And don't pretend to jot down important notes when you're really just doodling the original Legend of Zelda cartridge. The details likely won't become clear by digging into the problem alone. Some things will remain confusing until you go back for round 2. Other things may seem clear, but you may simply have them wrong. You will become more confused as you get further into the requirement if you don't communicate well. You may be able to go back and ask clarifying questions in the middle and correct course as you go. Or you may end up completely misunderstanding the problem and having to start over. It's never simple, so make sure that you take a lot of time up front. Getting it right takes a lot of work so take the time to truly understand what you are doing. Don't let anyone rush you along, it may be simple to them, but they may have been at this company for 20 years. Subject Matter Experts!=... If they're a subject matter expert and you've been on the project for six months, there are many connections that you just haven't made yet. And guess what else? Subject matter experts are, usually, not programmers! And this makes communication even more difficult. They may be explaining the requirement in conceptual terms perfectly and that's somewhat useful. But the problem is that you, as developer, don't just need to understand the problem conceptually. You need specifics. What database, what table, what data is in what columns? What are the related data? How do those link back to the other tables? Time after time I find myself saying, "If I had the data I needed, I could make this happen easily." A lot of times, I don't even need it in the right format. Given the raw data I can shape it to suit my purposes. But finding the data to begin with is a real challenge. SQL to the Rescue? If I'm always in a SQL environment then that's a big plus. I know how to navigate that environment pretty well. And so do most others in IT. I find a lot of the NoSQL systems interesting, for scalability, for different ways of thinking about data, for speed. But I don't necessarily cheer when I see the word NoSQL. The reality is that trillions of dollars have been poured into SQL and relational databases, tooling and training over the past decades. Having a buzzword that literally stands for throwing away the ability to leverage that huge investment is not really my idea of a success story. Perhaps I stand alone there. NoSQL? How about WhyYouNoSQL? It may be that relational databases and SQL are the most lucrative and the most important skills of our time. It has its limits, but it's also very comfortable and familiar to people. The point of all this talk about SQL in relation to communication is simple. The data is everything. It determines how you're going to design your program, whether you realize that or not. SQL can help you answer all those questions. But it gets even more complicated. Sometimes you aren't even dealing with SQL. Maybe you have huge XML documents or a key value store or another query language altogether. This can really make it difficult to navigate your way around the data. And hence, make your job that much harder. Lord of the Data As much as you wish Gandalf was over by a tree answering questions about the data model, that company's Gandalf may be dead or retired or at a different company. It will likely fall to you, dear developer, to discover on your own, what you need to know. Scary isn't it? Sometimes even in a SQL environment it's hard to make heads or tails of the data. I've seen it all, compound keys, no foreign keys, hitting the column limit for a table and then having an extension table. I've seen tables where every column was generic and could mean twenty different things. It can mean something different to every group and it can even be different within each group depending on which workflow you're in. And you know how much of this stuff gets documented? Usually very little or not at all. It's all floating around in some $200 an hour consultant's head. And if he gets hit by a truck--well time for a rewrite! Documenting Your Data Model I've seen some places document their data model very well. Even if they did everything else poorly in the database, they were extremely careful about documenting it. There were two senior people that were responsible for reviewing all schema changes. This included new tables, new columns, dropping tables or columns or modifying columns and they made sure that every single table and column had a description of its purpose. You could access all this from an internal web app. I loved that thing and as a developer I lived in that thing. It had so many answers. Everywhere else I've gone I've wished I had something similar. This company had a fairly complex data model and I know that this tool and their process has been a big contributor to their success. If your company is just starting out, then start documenting your data model and centralizing it's management now. Ideally before you have 20,000 columns. I've always said that if the problem could be communicated to me well enough that I could understand it, then I can find a way to solve it. Most of the time if you understand the data, then you understand the requirement and the solution is trivial to actually implement. This is why most of a good software developer's time is spent on the understanding part, not the solving part. And I'd trade a whole stack of specs for one really good tool that can explain the data model.Ask a yeshiva student who the greatest talmudic genius of the 20th-century was and odds are he will answer “the Rogochover.” Ask him who was the most unusual talmudic genius of that time, and you will probably get the same answer. The Rogochover was Rabbi Joseph Rozin (1858–1936), rabbi of the Hasidic community of Dvinsk. Yet as with many rabbinic greats, his birth name has been supplanted by a resonant phrase—in this case not the name of his famous book, but rather the city of his birth. The Rogochover’s genius and unconventionality are immediately evident to anyone who peruses his writings, which are collectively known under the title Tzofnat Pane’ach (the biblical Joseph’s Egyptian name), but there is hardly anyone who does more than peruse them, as they are extraordinarily terse and difficult. Take his responsa, for instance. While responsa generally follow a pattern in which a question is posed and a halakhic response is formulated by interpreting key texts, with the Rogochover almost all you get is “see this” and a lengthy list of rabbinic citations. He wrote many thousands of such letters to scholars around the world. Such responsa have never been written by anyone else, indeed one often needs to be a significant talmudic scholar to even begin to understand how all these references relate to the question. It is said that the Rogochover, who found it hard to respect any of his lesser contemporaries, once sent such a letter to a less-than-stellar contemporary. Curiously, the references did not seem to have anything to do with the points raised by his correspondent—until someone pointed out that all of the sources referred to an am ha-aretz (an “ignoramus,” in current rabbinic usage). Joseph Rozin, known as “the Rogochover,” rabbi of Dvinsk’s Hasidic community, ca. early 1900s. (Widener Library, Cambridge, Massachusetts. The Rogochover’s complete originality and independence as a legal thinker are striking. Take the question of the halakhic standing of civil marriage, which is one of the major rabbinic disputes of the 20th-century (a dispute that was later extended to the status of Reform and Conservative marriage). Does a non-halakhic marriage create a marital bond that requires a halakhic divorce (a get) to dissolve the union? While halakhic authorities lined up on opposite sides of the dispute, the Rogochover charted a unique path. In brief, he argued that the proper question is not whether or not a get is required, but rather what kind of get is necessary. The Rogochover held that the origin of the non-halakhic marital bond is in the pre-Sinai Noahide code that also recognizes marriage. Lacking a halakhic marriage, a couple with a civil marriage is married according to the Noahide code, and for Jews this status can only be ended with a get, which is written differently than a typical get. Another less consequential, but characteristically original, idea of the Rogochover’s is with regard to the blessing one recites when embarking on a potentially dangerous journey (tefilat ha-derekh). The question was raised if one should recite this for airplane travel. For most rabbis this was not a hard question: If one recites this blessing while traveling even a short distance outside the city, then certainly one should recite it while flying hundreds of miles. The Rogochover approached this question from “left field,” or rather from an apparently unrelated talmudic passage (Hullin, 139b), which discusses the commandment to send away a mother bird before taking its young (or eggs). This discussion focuses on the significance of the word derekh in the biblical verse recording this obligation: “If a bird’s nest chance to be before thee in the way (derekh)” (Deut. 22:6). Because the word derekh is used elsewhere in the Bible with reference to the sea (Isaiah 43:16), the Talmud derives the rule that one who finds a nest at sea must send the mother bird away before taking the young. However, the Talmud also concludes that if you find a bird’s nest in the air (for example, being carried by a flying bird), there is no such obligation, as the word derekh is not used with reference to the sky. The Rogochover concludes that one traveling in an airplane does not recite tefilat ha-derekh, as a route through the sky is not considered a derekh. The Rogochover’s genius was tied to his unconventionality. Whether it was his unrabbinically long hair (no one knows for sure why he allowed his hair to grow so long, and there is no evidence that he was any sort of Nazirite, as is sometimes claimed), or the fact that he broke with rabbinic convention by refusing to deal with post-medieval rabbinic sources, the Rogochover was certainly different than his contemporaries. While other 19th– and 20th-century rabbis regarded the Shulchan Arukh as the standard code of Jewish law and the first place to look when one had a halakhic question, the Rogochover had little use for it. He made legal decisions based on the Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmuds, Maimonides, and other medieval sources when necessary. In fact, it is questionable whether the Rogochover’s behavior can always be regarded as halakhic. I refer to the fact that he famously studied Torah on both Tisha b’Av and when he was in mourning, behavior that is against accepted Jewish law. When asked about this, the Rogochover is said to have replied that he was happy to be punished for the study of Torah, because the Torah was worth it. Adding to the legend of the Rogochover is how he treated his rabbinic contemporaries and earlier rabbinic greats. Such outstanding figures as Rabbi Moses Sofer and Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Spektor could be pushed aside with the wave of a hand. As shown in the document published here, even the Vilna Gaon did not escape his tongue. The Rogochover’s special love for Maimonides, who in his eyes stood above all other medieval greats, is not only seen in his halakhic writings or in his volumes of commentary on Maimonides’ Mishneh Torah. Unusual among his contemporaries, the Rogochover also intensively studied Maimonides’ Guide of the Perplexed, and a number of his notes on it survive. (In these notes he particularly attacked the 13th-century commentator Moses of Narbonne, whom he regarded as nothing less than a heretic.) A number of the philosophical expressions found in the Guide were applied by him in an original fashion to halakhic texts. After the Rogochover died in 1936, his daughter Rachel Citron returned to Latvia to assist his student Yisroel Alter Safern-Fuchs in collecting and saving many of the Rogochover’s manuscripts, which they photographed and sent to New York. Some of this material was later published by Rabbi Menachem Kasher, but most of it still remains in manuscript. Citron and Safern-Fuchs were murdered in the Holocaust. On December 11, 1933 the New York Yiddish paper Der morgen-zhurnal published a rare profile and interview with the Rogochover by its Riga correspondent. As far as I know, this interview has never been discussed in the scholarly literature. I thank Shimon Szimonowitz for producing an initial translation, which I in turn revised. A Discussion with the Rogochover Gaon about Wordly Matters From Our Riga Correspondent M. Gurtz The Rogochover Gaon lives in the Latvian provincial city of Dvinsk. Occasionally, the Rogochover travels to Riga either because of his poor health, to preside over an important din Torah, or for some other reason. On these occasions, when the Rogochover comes to Riga, he is friendly with the people and it is actually possible to converse with him. In Dvinsk this is impossible since this gaon, by nature, does not enjoy visiting or exchanging idle talk. Simply put, the Gaon is not a people’s person. He does not have regard for people. He holds of no one. He holds only of one thing—learning Torah. The Gaon is so preoccupied with Torah study, that he does not even have time to be frum... [The ellipses here and elsewhere are to be found in the original.] His prayers take only a few minutes. He does not even put back his tefillin. It would be a sin to waste so much time—he needs to learn! One must know that the Rogochover is not only considered a gaon in our ignorant times. He would have been considered the same gaon in previous generations, when the Torah was still considered by Jews to be precious merchandise. The best characterization of the Rogochover was made by H. N. Bialik. The Rogochover—Bialik holds—is the most brilliant talmudist whom he had the opportunity of meeting: From one Rogochover one can carve out two Einsteins. The Rogochover is nowadays something unique, a rare mechanism of which only one exists, one of a kind. The Rogochover needs to be considered a great spiritual national treasure. If we were to translate the enormous talmudic knowledge of the Rogochover Gaon into scientific knowledge, it would enrich the sciences with great new works. If we were to draw out all of the Rogochover’s talmudic knowledge we could then set up an entire cultural history. In short, this is the opinion held by the greatest Jewish poet about the Rogochover: Two Einsteins can be carved out of one Rogochover. It is interesting and also fascinating to converse with such a Jew. Of course, it is even more so when one is able to draw such a Jew into a discussion about contemporary issues—Jewish suffering, Hitlerism and other problems. It is true that while the Rogochover is extraordinarily clever in talmudic subjects, in worldly matters he is not the greatest specialist. Nevertheless, it is still interesting [to hear] his opinion about contemporary worldly matters. One must bear in mind that in order to speak with the Rogochover, even about worldly matters, one must be a lamdan. In the course of the most basic conversation, the Gaon weaves in many Toseftas, Mechiltas, Sifras, and other books, leaving one dizzy. In the eyes of the Gaon, every issue in life can be solved with an “open” Yerushalmi... To present a discussion that was held with the Rogochover, one needs to peel away all the talmudic texts and commentaries [he quotes] in order to convey the main point. We will make an attempt at that. Let us hear what he, the greatest Jewish gaon of our times, says about the question that we are all agonizing over so much. “The Jewish situation is not good right now”—says the Gaon—“a new war is unavoidable. I just do not see another way... When all [nations] are so divided and against one another... On one side there is Russia, Italy, and Japan, and on the other side all the others. Today there are troubles in Austria... and all because of Germany. This is no small matter!” And the Gaon lectures about Germany, cites many Gemaras, and reveals that today’s Germans are not real Aryans. Chaim Nachman Bialik, ca. mid 1920s. (Photo by Zoltan Kluger, courtesy of the Government Press Office, Israel.) “The Rambam says in his commentary on the Mishnah”—says the Rogochover—“that the name Germany is derived from the Hebrew word gerem—a bone. The Germans are hard like a bone and therefore their wild actions should come as no surprise.” “But in truth”—concludes the Gaon—“today’s Germans, who inhabit Germany, are not real Aryans. The real Germans immigrated to England hundreds of years ago, and today’s inhabitants of Germany are the ancient Slovaks and Swabians... The English are to blame for the entire current situation... It is better not to talk...”—The Gaon makes a motion with his hand and moves on to other subjects. I do not let the Gaon digress and I ask him a foolish question: Rebbe, what will happen in the end? When will we be redeemed? Jewish suffering is too much to bear! Hitler... The Gaon gets angry: “It is true that it is not a good situation for us, but when did we have it better? Now the oppressor is Hitler, once it was Haman, Pharaoh, Torquemada, Purishkevich—only the names change, but the suffering remains the same. It is possible that the troubles in the past were greater. When we compare the entire Jewish situation in the world to certain eras in Jewish history, it will emerge that Jews are now doing much better than in certain difficult eras of the past. There is no reason to despair.” This is basically the opinion of the Rogochover if we were to strip his words of all the multiple Gemaras and commentaries [he cited]. Maybe he is correct... He just freed himself of [the topic of] politics and he goes back into his domain [comfort zone]. “There is not even one person”—says the Rogochover—“who can understand how important a piece of Gemara is. Even in Russia where there are many Jews”—says the Rabbi—“and where so many famous rabbis live, they also do not have the basic understanding of a passage in
parliament and locally.Here's a good place to start in getting to know Bobby Portis' mindset after the Bulls used the 22nd pick in Thursday's NBA draft on the Arkansas power forward. He's going to try to start. "I think I'll fit in well there," the 6-foot-11 SEC player of the year said. "They have Pau Gasol and Taj Gibson. I'm going to back those guys up or try to start and learn from them a little bit." But here's more: In pre-draft interviews, Portis said he likes to play angry, even imagining his opponent slapped his mom. Oh, and he models his intensity after that of Kevin Garnett. That certainly sounds like someone ready to embrace the serious-minded, workmanlike approach the Bulls like to project. "My strengths will show," Portis said. "I pride myself on hard work. I don't have to have the basketball to score. I move well without the ball, can pick-and-pop, pick-and-roll. I think I bring a lot." Portis' selection also will do nothing to quell speculation that either Taj Gibson or Joakim Noah could be on the trading block. But Portis was drafted mostly for frontcourt insurance given that Gibson is coming off ankle surgery and new coach Fred Hoiberg hopes to spread the frontcourt rotation for Gasol, who will turn 35 this summer, and Noah, who never fully recovered from knee surgery last season. Sports Illustrated analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of 2015 NBA draft prospect Arkansas forward Bobby Portis. Sports Illustrated analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of 2015 NBA draft prospect Arkansas forward Bobby Portis. SEE MORE VIDEOS The Bulls' frontcourt, while talented, isn't exactly young. "He's a guy we think really fits the makeup of our team," general manager Gar Forman said. "We've had people just rave about his work ethic, how hard he plays, his makeup and character. And we really like his game. He's a big who can play inside and outside. "We're always going to draft who we think is the best player available. And we had him ranked as a late lottery player." Portis, 20, averaged 17.5 points, 8.9 rebounds, 1.4 blocks and 1.1. steals as a sophomore, becoming one of 10 underclassmen in SEC history to win player of the year honors. He also shot 53.6 percent overall and 46.7 percent from 3-point range, albeit on only 30 attempts. One Eastern Conference scout cited his high energy and ability to run the floor as fits in Hoiberg's up-tempo offense. Portis also is considered a strong offensive rebounder. The Bulls were hurt consistently by Tristan Thompson in their second-round playoff loss to the Cavaliers. The first-round picks of the 2015 NBA draft (not pictured, Nikola Milutinov 26th pick by the Spurs). Plenty of speculation centered on the Bulls drafting a point guard to back up Derrick Rose. And Forman admitted plenty of draft preparation focused on that position. But Portis' fall in the draft and rumored targets like Notre Dame's Jerian Grant and Utah's Delon Wright falling off the board changed the Bulls' approach. "He moves very well for a kid that size, which is very important with the pace we're going to want to play with," Hoiberg said. "He's good in the pick-and-roll. "He's a very versatile kid who you can use in different ways. And he's learning from some great veteran players. And I know he's going to be a sponge and he'll absorb everything he can from those guys. Being in the draft room tonight, it's not very often when you get to your pick, especially in the 20s, and it's unanimous. And that happened." Portis will be signed to a three-year deal starting at $1.39 million, assuming the Bulls use the traditional 120 percent allowance for the first season of a rookie-scale contract. This marked the Bulls' first draft at the sparkling Advocate Center, whose two courts were covered for media purposes. Almost every day previously, though, the Bulls' last two first-round acquisitions — Tony Snell in 2013 and Doug McDermott in 2014 — have been working out on those courts. Their expected ascension to the regular rotation for Hoiberg's first season should come before that of Portis, whose team played Hoiberg's Iowa State squad last season. "We beat them by 20," Hoiberg said, laughing. "I'll let him know that when he comes in on Monday." That's when the work begins. kcjohnson@tribpub.com Twitter @kcjhoopOne of the most common questions new crypto-enthusiasts have is how hadware wallets like the Ledger Nano S can possibly be the most secure way to store cryptocurrency? What if the device gets stolen or destroyed? In this post we'll try to explain how such a device works in a technical (but hopefully human-readable) way, detailing how it does what it does and how it can be this flexible and yet this secure. Before we dive into explanations, it's recommended you read this short post about cryptocurrency wallets, so that the terminology used in the rest of the article becomes clear. BIP When the blockchain appeared as the technology behind Bitcoin, and a group of programmers / scientists wanted to propose a new feature, they had to formalize and present that idea in a way that's readable and understandable by all participants of the bitcoin network. Such formal proposals were called Bitcoin Improvement Proposals or BIPs. All BIPs are publicly discussed before being implemented into the blockchain. By setting up a good foundation for new ideas, this allowed other blockchains to adopt the good ideas that they liked and discard the ones they didn't. This is where things get a little more technical and complex. We promise it'll be worth it by the end of this post – keep reading! One such good idea was BIP 39. BIP 39 uses math to figure out how to use a set of 24 regular words to get a seed – a big random number from which further keys for crypto wallets are later generated. Curiosity: If you're interested in taking a look at the lists of supported words, see here. BIP 39 also defines a way to secure these 24 words with an additional passphrase which counts as word 25. If no passphrase is selected, an empty one is used, so it's essentially always 24 words + passphrase (empty or not). Curiosity: This passphrase differs from passwords you're used to in various interfaces in that it doesn't produce an error message if the wrong one is used. Any passphrase in combination with 24 words produces a valid seed, which is useful in plausible deniability scenarios – an extortion-protection mechanism we'll explain later. This generated seed number is used to generate a root key – an unguessable combination of letters and numbers – for each cryptocurrency you're interested in. Every blockchain has its own method of generating the root key from the seed, and in the example of bitcoin that's BIP 32 which results in a key like this one: xprv9s21ZrQH143K3QTDL4LXw2F7HEK3wJUD2nW2nRk4stbPy6cq3jPPqjiChkVvvNKmPGJxWUtg6LnF5kejMRNNU3TGtRBeJgk33yuGBxrMPHi. This key is then used to generate several private keys which then become cryptocurrency wallets for a given blockchain. Confused? It all boils down to this: BIP 39 is used to pick a certain combination of words, which may or may not be passphrase-protected, which are then used to generate wallets with a formula such as the one described in BIP 32. So what does all this have to do with a device like the Ledger? Ledger When you first turn a Ledger device on, it'll generate the aforementioned 256-bit seed. This seed number will be used to calculate 24 words which are then shown on the device's screen. The user should then write these 24 words down on a piece of paper which comes in the box with the Ledger, and keep that paper safe, away from the Ledger itself. In addition to that, the Ledger requires the use of a PIN which can have 4 to 8 digits. If, after setting it up, the PIN is wrongly inputted 3 times in a row, the Ledger will self-destruct all data on it. Should the Ledger ever get destroyed, stolen, or lost, the original owner of the device can use the words from the piece of paper to restore its contents – either on a backup Ledger, or in a software wallet like MyEtherWallet, thus regaining all funds and addresses. This is possible because all you need to regenerate the root key are those 24 words and the passphrase (if set). It's important to say this again: the same root key will always be generated from the same combination of 24 words, and the same addresses will be generated from that root key. Therefore, to reclaim all wallets generated with a BIP 39 word phrase, all you need is the one single combination of 24 words inserted into hardware or software supporting that generation method. Plausible Deniability We mentioned extortion-protection previously, so let's explain it in this section. The Ledger won't ask you for your passphrase when you turn it on, but it will ask you for your PIN. The passphrase can't be set when setting up the device for the first time, either – only in Settings can you subsequently add it. This lets you attach a separate PIN to a passphrase in order to have two (or more). Each PIN will be bound to its own passphrase, and because of the aforementioned fact that 24 words + passphrase always produce a valid seed (there's no “Incorrect password” warning), it's easy to define a decoy PIN to give to someone who's forcing you to give it up. In such an instance, inputting the secondary decoy PIN will not destroy the Ledger's data, but will open wallets corresponding to that passphrase when added to your 24 words. The robber won't know you haven't given him the real PIN, and he'll gain access to bogus addresses. For added effect, add some trivial amounts of cryptocurrency to the addresses to make them seem real – zero-balance addresses won't be as convincing. The Probability of Guessing Keys Many people wonder how easy it would be to just guess the 24 words and gain access to someone's wallet that way, especially considering BIP 39 isn't even using the whole dictionary, but only 2048 words. There are 2^256 or 115792089237316195423570985008687907853269984665640564039457584007913129639936 possible combinations for the 24 words. If we assume that we have an impossible computer which is capable of guessing 100 trillion combinations a second, to try them all we'd need: 115792089237316195423570985008687907853269984665640564039457584007913129639936 / 100000000000000 = 1157920892373161954235709850086879078532699846656405640394575840 seconds That's around 36717430000000000000536992568032848736216424136408984408 years, and that's only if you have a computer more powerful than anything that's ever even been imagined by mankind. What if you know all the words, but not the order? In that case, the number of possible combinations is 24! (24 factorial). 24! = 620448401733239439360000 An equally powerful computer would thus take: 620448401733239439360000 / 100000000000000 = 6204484017 seconds That's 196.6 years. So even if you knew all the words in someone's combination, but just needed to guess the order, you'd need 200 years of using a computer that's unimaginably powerful even by today's standards. If you don't know which words you need to guess, the number is multiplied by 2048 for every missing word. So not knowing just one of them in this case would increase the time required to guess all combinations to 400,000 years. Conclusion The Ledger is an exceptionally safe way of storing your cryptocurrency. It vastly outperforms any kind of USB-based storage where you just save your key into a file and put it away. The device has its own processor which calculates the keys, which means your root key never leaves the device – this keeps it safe from potential viruses or auto-transacting malware installed on the computer you're using it with. In addition to that, the Ledger demands an extra hardware confirmation of any transaction – you need to press a button on the device whenever sending funds, or else it doesn't work. There's no sneaky funds siphoning with the Ledger. If you lose or destroy your Ledger, it's trivial to get all the funds back by just punching in the 24 words obtained when first setting the device up. These words should be kept safe and away from prying eyes. You can use our web shop to buy the Bitfalls-branded Ledger at a price that's lower than retail. It's also possible to buy Ledger with extra options like cryptocurrency already on it, or an hour of Skype consultations alongside the purchase during which we'll explain everything about the device and help you set it up. For any and all questions, there's also our email. Get in touch!There's a palpable buzz at this year's Sundance Film Festival, and much of it is swirling around an obscure, black-and-white movie that may never see a commercial release. That's because Randy Moore's Escape from Tomorrow is more than just a film; it's an exercise in guerilla moviemaking, and a meditation on our own gawk-fueled culture. The movie debuted at Sundance on Friday to largely glowing reviews, though its incredible backstory began three years ago, when Moore decided to shoot a film at Disney World without Disney's permission. Armed with a Canon camera and a skeleton crew of actors, the 36-year-old director began surreptitiously filming at both Disney World in Orlando and Disneyland in Anaheim, taking every precaution to keep his project under wraps. Shooting under Disney's nose Rather than print out full scripts or shot sequences, Moore distributed his directions via iPhone, allowing his actors and crew members to more easily blend in with theme park crowds. He also dispersed his team throughout the park, communicating with them by phone and issuing stage directions from afar. In fact, Moore was so concerned over secrecy that he reportedly relocated to South Korea to finish editing, for fear that a member of his post-production team may leak details to the press. Thus far, his efforts seem to have paid off. Despite shooting regularly with a crew dressed in the same clothes every day, Moore was never approached by anyone at Disney. This sense of mystery is reflected in the film's storyline, as well. According to the Los Angeles Times, the movie's narrative is loosely centered around a middle-aged and recently unemployed father (Roy Abramsohn), who takes his family on a Disney vacation. He spends the last day of their stay touring the park with his two children, though things soon take a turn for the bizarre, as the father encounters haunting visions and begins following a pair of underage French girls. "I have nothing against Disney." It's a dizzying, Surrealist, and undeniably dark premise — and one that Disney likely wouldn't want to be associated with. Moore told the Times that he didn't explicitly set out to bring down Disney, though he is disappointed with the way the company has evolved over the years. "I have nothing against Disney," Moore explained. “It’s just upsetting that it was about a one-man vision, and now it’s like so much of the world in how corporate it’s all gotten. I look at Apple and Steve Jobs and my biggest fear is that something like this will happen there." Yet even with all the film's hype and accolades, its future remains unclear, at best. The rights to Escape are being managed by Cinetic Media, though it has yet to be picked up for distribution, likely due to its inherent legal risks. Moore, for his part, doesn't seem too concerned over its future. For him, the film's distribution is less important than what it represents — a new era of technology-enabled filmmaking that borders on the voyeuristic. "To me this is the future," he said. "Cameras in your hand. Cameras in your glasses. Anyone can be shooting at any time. And I think it will explode." We've reached out to Disney for comment, and will update this article once we receive a response.– May 1, 2014 Dennis, As an atheist in uniform I understand what you are saying. I have tirelessly fought for the equal rights of atheists in the military and know that there is a huge stigma against those of us in uniform. In fact I am the former Military Director at American Atheists. However, there is something even more nefarious at work than just calling MRFF an atheist organization or referring to Mikey as an atheist. It is defamatory in regards to the structuring of the fight against religious liberty in the US Military. Contrary to what we think there is actually a war on Christians in the US Military. They are in this monumental struggle the same as we atheists. The radical extremist Christians are attacking them the same as they are us. They are silencing and debasing the liberal Christians who are themselves fellow secularists. And, unfortunately, many of those Christian victims do not understand their legal rights and the regulations of the military in regards to religion. So when these non-radical Christians come under attack from these theocrats who are actively trying to transform our military into the military arm of their version of Christianity to whom should they turn for help? It appears to me that the Military Religious Freedom Foundation is the only organization that is available as a means to defend their Constitutional rights. It goes deeper than that. MRFF has been so successful in the past few years that these Christo-fascist groups have formed a coalition called the Military Freedom Coalition. They have mirrored their website to appear as if they are fighting to defend religious liberty when in actuality they are the same theocratic groups that help to undermine the Establishment Clause of the Constitution. Here is their website www.militaryfreedom.org In addition to this you have to take into account the structure and society within the military culture. On every US Military base throughout the world we are inundated with only ONE news source: Fox News. That’s it. That is all the command structures place within chow halls, coffee shops, gyms, MWR facilities, etc. The military has a majority conservative base and anyone that openly and publicly steps outside that to request that someone “change the channel” is shunned and treated like garbage. I know – personally. With these programs running 24 hours a day slamming Mikey and MRFF for being an “atheist organization” when do you think service members will hear the truth that he and MRFF are not solely dedicated to atheism? MRFF was designed to protect and defend the Establishment Clause of the US Constitution regardless of religious preference. When Christians who are being persecuted hear rumors of MRFF being an atheist organization they will not turn to that organization to defend their rights. They will find another one – in this case presumably the The Military Freedom Coalition, which as previously noted is dedicated to keeping the status quo, and also attempting to circumvent religious equality in the military. Their complaints will fall on deaf ears and will ultimately result in these people who are seeking help to be misled with lies about their own religious rights. This is a coordinated effort by these theocratic groups against the Military Religious Freedom Foundation. MRFF has a long-standing history with the atheist and secular movement and its various organizations. If you withdraw support and do not understand the deep and far-reaching ramifications of what is being conducted then it will be a small victory for these theocrats. I am an atheist working for Mikey and, having lived the life inside that military culture, understand the need and purpose for him to rightfully distance himself from being called an atheist, as well as an atheist organization. He is a Constitutionalist, a Jew, and military JAG. No one is better equipped to fight our common enemy in the military than Mikey and MRFF. No one! I say that emphatically. The statements are defamatory in a legal sense because it undermines the effort of the organization and causes service members of all faith backgrounds to turn away from MRFF when that is the one organization they can and SHOULD turn to. It ruins the ability of MRFF to conduct the mission that it was created for: To defend the military religious rights of anyone in uniform, including atheists. With 10 second soundbites running across Fox News, where the majority of the military get their news from, do you truly believe that Mikey will be given the time to intellectually refute the statement like you propose? Absolutely not! The only way to fight back is in a combative style that will get noticed and picked up once again by Fox News. We are a group of intellectuals and constitutionalist fighting against an ignorant horde of theocratic Christian supremacists who are brain-washed through sound bites. It is impossible to fight a fair fight of words in such an environment. We must use strong words of rebuttal in order to be noticed. If we lived in a society of people who had an attention span greater than 120 characters or 10 second sound bites, then I would agree with you. Mikey is doing what is absolutely necessary to ensure that his voice is far-reaching throughout the entire US Military. I will not waiver in my support for MRFF and will continue to work tirelessly because I understand just how dangerous a fight we fight is. I back Mikey’s stance wholeheartedly. I sincerely hope all of you will do the same. Very Respectfully, Paul Loebe Special Projects Manager Military Religious Freedom Foundation Chicago, IL Share this page:About More As revealed to Marshall Vian Summers on June 12, 2008 in Boulder, Colorado About this Text What you are reading in this text is the transcription of the original voice of the Angelic Assembly as it spoke through the Messenger Marshall Vian Summers. Here, the original communication of God, which exists beyond words, is translated into human language and understanding by the Angelic Assembly who watch over the world. The Assembly then delivers God’s Message through the Messenger, whereafter it is transcribed and made available to you and to all people. In this remarkable process, the Voice of Revelation is speaking anew. The Word and the Sound are in the world. May you be the recipient of this gift of Revelation and may you be open to receive its unique Message for you and for your life. Order the book Volume 4 > Life in the Universe > Chapter 7 As nations evolve and achieve stability and security, it is recognized that the use of force is not productive in engaging with other nations. It is destructive, and it sows the seeds for future conflict. Because resources are so extremely valuable to an advanced society, the use of force is seen as only a last resort and an undesirable one at that. The emphasis then shifts to the power of persuasion and the importance of persuasion in preserving resources and valuable infrastructure. It is an emphasis that nations within your own world are only now beginning to discover. War is destructive. It is destructive to both the winner and the loser, and it sows the seeds for future conflict. The damage is not only to material things, but to the nature and character of entire nations of people who are traumatized. Humanity has not matured enough nor has grown in wisdom enough to recognize the absolute truth of this. That is why outright warfare in the Greater Community, particularly on any kind of large scale, is extremely rare, particularly amongst secure and advanced nations. Their emphasis is on the power of persuasion. Because competition is so great in the Greater Community—the competition for resources, the competition for influence, the competition for trade and the competition for political power and persuasion—these are of paramount importance to any advanced nation, whether they be free or not. It is because of the emphasis on stability and security that this is the case. Competition, therefore, is immense, and the powers of persuasion and the importance of these powers become of primary importance for nations that are free and for nations that are not free. This represents an evolution of power and skill in the universe. While humanity is still exerting force and destroying its own infrastructure and resources in the process, advanced nations use much more sophisticated means. Time has proven this to be necessary. Nations that are fundamentally warlike and destructive do not last very long in the Greater Community, for any nation to exert itself in this way in a highly populated region of space such as your own would meet a united resistance. With only very few exceptions in the universe can this resistance be overcome. What would one nation do faced with a thousand nations opposing it? And what could one nation do if its access to trade were denied? To become strong enough to overtake other nations, you must have resources from beyond your own world. You must have a vast network of resources and resource acquisition. In an undeveloped part of the universe, where there are very few advanced nations and where trade has not been established and secured over time, it is possible for one nation to become powerful in this way. But eventually it will meet opposition, collective opposition. An empire might exist in an uncharted region, dominating many star systems, but if there is no one within its reach to overtake, it will eventually be limited by its own resources and by its logistical isolation. This is simply a fact of life. It is growing mature. It is outgrowing the passions and aggressions of adolescence to a more mature and stable state. But in this more mature and stable state, competition is intense, and therefore the emphasis on the powers of perception and persuasion becomes of paramount importance. This now becomes how you contend with competing nations. This is how you contend with problems and difficulties. This power of persuasion and perception then becomes the focal point. Knowing what others are doing, perceiving their activities, trying to discern their secrets and their technological developments, discerning their intentions, discerning their communications and discerning their diplomacy—all become a great emphasis now. For this reason, many nations have cultivated a special class of citizens, individuals called “seers.” These individuals are not developed spiritually, but they have great skill in the mental environment. Their role is to see, to discern and to interpret. In normal trade negotiations, what is written and what is said have to be interpreted very clearly. The long-range implications have to be discerned. The advantages and disadvantages have to be clarified. It is a matter of great importance. While outright lying and cheating on a large scale may be rare, subtle manipulations are ever present. Nations not only want to discern one another’s intentions and capabilities, but also to discern one another’s secrets, unspoken agendas and long-range plans. You living in the world can understand this. This is what the nations in your world do regarding one another. Even nations that have very friendly relations are always looking and watching to see what the others will do and to discern the others’ strengths and intentions. Amongst nations that are in opposition to each other in your world, this is certainly the case. The difference in the Greater Community is at the level of skill, and the powers of discernment and persuasion are much greater. The nations in your world have not recognized the importance of establishing seers. Among seers, there are visionaries and there are locators. Locators are a very special class of seers that focuses entirely upon locating facilities and pinpointing specific areas and activities within a nation. This has been developed to a very high degree to fight crime, for example, to deal with insurrections and to deal with the problem of illegal drugs, which is a real problem in many nations. Locators are very important. If another nation has a secret facility, and it is recognized that such a facility either actually exists or may probably exist, locators are brought immediately to try to discern its precise location. Because visitation to other worlds is highly restricted, except between nations that have had longstanding and compatible relationships with one another, the function of locators becomes ever more significant. It is a specialized talent. Seers are used to witness negotiations, to review contracts, to serve as witnesses to diplomatic efforts and to sit in on councils. They are certainly used in judicial matters to discern the truth and the falsity of evidence and declarations. Even advanced nations that are not free recognize the limits of technology. Over time, it has become recognized that power in the mental environment—the power to influence thought and to discern thought—extends beyond the range of technological capability and enters a new panorama of power and influence. Nations employ seers on their defensive perimeters to watch for any possible threats on the horizon or any possible change that could be a challenge or a difficulty for their nation. They are not analysts in the way that you would consider analysts—using their intellect, using technology and using patterns of thought to discern with accuracy truth that must be recognized. A seer is using a different kind of power and potency that an analyst could never use. There are seers who specialize as interpreters. They will travel with diplomatic missions, serving to interpret not the language of another race, but its intention, its honesty, the truth of its statements, its strengths, its weaknesses, its anxieties, its concerns and its insecurities. This is extremely important in establishing trust with races unlike your own. Even nations that have longstanding partnerships that have developed trust over time are still always watching one another, not because they have an inherent distrust of one another, but for the effects of influence of other nations upon their trading partners. Is their trading partner being seduced or undermined by another foreign power? Does that trading nation have social harmony, or are there dissident movements within this nation, and what would that mean? While nations exert control and many are very uniform, dissension and opposition still exist and revolutions do occur. Humanity has only evolved to deal with itself. It has never had to deal with other forms of intelligent life, particularly other forms of intelligent life that carry great power and ability—not only technologically, but in the mental environment. In this respect, humanity is still a primitive race. It is only beginning to recognize the potency of power in the mental environment. It is only beginning to recognize both the constructive and destructive potential of technology. Yet the great frontier in the mental environment is only beginning to be discovered and valued amongst the leaders of human nations. Because you are unskilled in dealing with foreign powers in the Greater Community, you have not yet cultivated the necessary discernment that is required to discern the nature and intentions of a race that not only looks different but is different—that thinks differently, that has different values, that has different priorities, that has different traditions and that has a different social structure, a different history and a different well of experience. Humanity has not yet learned that power in the universe is power in the mental environment. It still thinks of power in the universe as empires conquering and destroying one another. This represents a child’s view of the universe. Secrecy, deception, discernment, cleverness and persuasion—this is where nations can overcome or gain preeminence over one another. Exploiting the weakness of internal divisions of another nation; exploiting another nation’s mythology, fantasies and religion; discerning another nation’s intentions, secrets, abilities and disabilities—these represent power in terms of nations influencing and gaining preeminence over one another. Many nations employ seers, and seers have very specific functions as interpreters, as locators, in serving defensive purposes, in serving business contracts and in overseeing a nation’s own internal needs and potential for disorder. The free nations have seers as well. Their seers are employed for the same purposes, but they are guided by a deeper Knowledge, which can make them more powerful and more penetrating than the seers employed in nations that are not free. This gives the free nations power and a certain degree of advantage that must remain hidden from foreign awareness and scrutiny. Ultimately, the most powerful races in the universe are entirely hidden. And if they have any trade at all, it is maintained with the greatest secrecy and usually carried out by other nations that support them, that act as proxies for them. If you attain great power in the mental environment, your powers would be sought by other nations. Your skills would be sought by other nations, and other nations will attempt to seduce you or induce you through promises of wealth, splendor or high social positions—whatever they can do to seduce you in order to gain control of these abilities. The greatest expressions of power in the mental environment are guided by Knowledge, which is entirely ethical and entirely peaceful in intent. Individuals possessing this cannot be turned and cannot be seduced; yet they still must remain hidden. This is one of the great dilemmas of life in the universe, and it is true even within your own world, that those who are most powerful, those that have the greatest degree of skill, must remain hidden, or they will simply be used by political powers, commercial powers and the powers of religious institutions. They will be used as tools to carry out activities that are unethical and destructive. It is like the person who possesses great material wealth—very difficult it is to hide this from others. Even if you create the appearance of poverty, the evidence of your material wealth will always be there. Therefore, if a nation possesses tremendous material wealth and resource wealth, and it seeks to remain free and beyond foreign intervention and persuasion, it must keep these things in the greatest of secrecy and not demonstrate them to any degree at all. This of course is nearly impossible when surrounded by trading nations or if you are involved in the activities of trade where everyone is always looking for wealth and advantage. That is again why free societies remain discreet and distinct and involve themselves in trade only to a very minimum, if at all. This is more difficult for a nation living outside a highly inhabited part of space, where there is social order, to maintain its hidden position because others can intervene without restraint. Invasion occurs. But living in the shadows in the midst of highly developed parts of space where there is tremendous social order requires restraint. If outside invasion is forbidden, then a nation can, according to the rules of engagement such as exist in your region of space, maintain a private existence with a minimum of foreign scrutiny. But even here, the seers amongst technological societies will try to discern the power and capabilities of the free societies. Their scrutiny must then be offset by the seers of the free societies. This is competition at another level. It is persuasion at another level. It is the fundamental problem of possessing knowledge and wealth in the universe. How does one possess knowledge and wealth and yet remain free? It is a problem for which there is no easy solution. It is a dilemma in life. Not all dilemmas have solutions. Not all problems have solutions. Because humanity does not yet experience itself living in a competitive environment beyond the borders of its world, it has not had to evolve to deal with these kinds of problems. But eventually it will. You are having to do this even at this moment, since the world is undergoing intervention from economic Collectives, whose ethics you could not agree with and whose methods are entirely self-serving. This is the beginning of growing up and dealing with life at a more mature level. Eventually, every race in the universe has to face this. It is part of your destiny. The importance of persuasion is obvious to you now, but in dealing with other races whose temperament and intellectual abilities and orientation are far different from your own, the power of persuasion becomes much more complex and difficult. Persuasion within your own race is one thing. But between races that are dissimilar, it is entirely another matter. Your logic and reason may not work at all with them. Your ability to rationalize with them may be extremely limited. What they value and what you value may be entirely different. They may have a particular tradition or persuasion or set of anxieties that are very unique to their history and circumstances. To understand this, to comprehend this, to speak to this and to be persuasive here requires a level of educational skill far beyond what human diplomacy has ever had to establish. If you could, imagine trying to negotiate with an intelligence that was like a dolphin, except that intelligence had technology and represented a significant power. You want to negotiate for trade, you want to negotiate to establish rules of trade or engagements or mutual needs for security. How would you do it? And how could you ever persuade that intelligence? Where is it weak enough to be persuaded? Where is its weakness? Where is its strength? This is why it takes such great skill to negotiate and communicate. When you have larger assemblies of nations on councils—on trading councils dealing with problems in international trade or relations, problems of crime, problems of trafficking dangerous materials or drugs or illegal trade—it becomes very complex. You are now speaking to maybe fifty different nations using common trade languages which have been established over time. They are there with their interpreters. They are there with their seers. Everyone is trying to communicate together. Some use language. Some do not use language. They all use written language or symbols. They all understand an established trade language, whatever that language may be in a larger district. How do you come to agreement and consensus? This makes negotiations very long and complex. Yet sophistication and time have shown ways to accomplish things, even given these difficulties. There is communication, and then there is persuasion. Persuasion requires a very refined set of skills. You want another nation to see your point of view. You want another nation to value what you value. You want another nation to come to terms that are agreeable and preferred by you. You want another nation to do certain things or not to do certain things. You want to forge agreements and councils. This requires persuasion. This persuasion is not only based upon the strengths of one’s argument; it is based upon the awareness of another’s comprehension and skills, another’s nature and orientation, another’s strengths and another’s weaknesses. Persuasion is carried out for entirely beneficial purposes, and it is also carried out for extremely selfish purposes, for the interests of one nation alone. That is why in highly inhabited regions such as your own, where trade has been long established, innovation comes very slowly. Once a practice or a system has been established and maintained, it is very hard to change it. If it has proven itself to be stable and beneficial to the majority of participants, it is very hard to change it, and innovations or improvements that are recommended or introduced can be greatly resisted. Even necessary change, even beneficial change, can be greatly resisted. The more nations and individuals involved, the more difficult it is to create consensus. Only if a network of nations or large trading associations are threatened clearly by some external force, unless this occurs, it is very difficult to create change and even improvements in the methods and rules of trade and conduct and so forth. Here you are dealing with nations that have very different social structures. Some of these structures would seem absolutely abhorrent
aforementioned “Frack Off” event (see above) and listed as representing Albion Dawn. “Firescout Corporation” – Playing Both Sides? After some more research it was discovered that Albien Law is owned by a company called Firescout Corporation, which is registered in the Virgin Islands for tax purposes. Among the listed directors of Firescout Corporation are Neil Heffey, Laurence Easeman and Andy Clarke. Firescout also owns several other companies, which all appear to be run out of the same address in Kirkdale, Liverpool. As can be seen, alongside Albien Law, there are several other companies listed under Firescout Corporation, including “Client Collection Services” and “Tenant Checker”. Client Collection Services is described as “A company offering invoicing, debt collection and other financial services to UK businesses and citizens.” Tenant checker “allows landlords and letting agents to check a prospective tenant’s ability to pay their rent”. While we admit we’re not experts on these matters, it would strongly appear that both the above mentioned businesses seem to be at odds with Easeman’s self promoted image as a “champion of The People”. “Client Collection Services” appears to me to carry out the same kind of service as a bailiff, while “Tenant Checker” appears to be a blacklist by another name. Another outfit which appears to be operating form the same Derby Road address is something called “The Rent Dodger Database”, which claims to provide “a valuable service to lettings agents and landlords in order that they can make better decisions when agreeing their tenancies.” This too appears to be a blacklist by another name. Perhaps one of the reasons that Easeman presents himself as an expert on bailiffs is because essentially he is one. The Rise of Laurence Easeman Over the last month, Laurence Easeman’s profile seems to be getting higher: he has involved himself in the recent Focus E15 movement, which saw the occupation of houses in Newham, London. He recorded a video with Russell Brand here. He is also listed as being on the same bill as Brand at the launch party for Brand’s new book in London on 22nd October 2014. As Easeman’s star has been rising, he has not attempted to hide his views about a wide range of topics, all of which could be seen through his frequent postings on his Facebook profile which was, until recently, able to be seen by anyone. Here Laurence and his familiar cronies treat us to their opinions on everything from feminism, to “Cultural Marxism”, to how the Nazis were misunderstood. This is not the first article about Laurence Easeman. Several others have written blogs about him. Easeman’s response has been to threaten litigation and to challenge his detractors to an “open public debate or a boxing match”. Let us be clear on one point: we have no interest in pursuing a vendetta against any individual. The information provided here is all on the public record and we believe it to be in the public interest. Laurence Easeman and his friends have left a trail of evidence across various social network platforms, which appear to indicate that they support neo-fascist/neo-Nazi ideas.Here he leaves a supportive comment on the English website of the Greek Neo Nazi Golden Dawn Party: The Fall of Laurence Easeman? I find it very difficult to believe that someone of Easeman’s intelligence could support a group like Golden Dawn and be entirely ignorant of that group’s aims and founding principles. As Easeman’s profile in the mainstream media appears to be getting higher, the authors of this article would ask all those who oppose anti-Semitism, racism and the fascist ideology to consider the evidence we have provided here. Russell Brand badly needs to do so, but so, more importantly, must ‘ordinary people’ in the very important social justice struggles which Easeman seeks to attach himself to. First and foremost amongst these, housing and anti-bedroom tax campaigners cannot allow him to take advantage of their genuine desperation. Follow Easeman and you’ll likely lose your home, but he’ll lead you on a very dark road whilst making money off you into the bargain.(CNN) Four coaches and 11 members of the U.S. rowing squad fell ill after taking part in a pre-Olympics test event in Brazil's Rio de Janeiro, amid ongoing concerns over water quality ahead of next year's Games. The squad was taking part in the 2015 World Junior Rowing Championships, held at the weekend on the Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon in the heart of Rio. U.S. Rowing said Tuesday it was looking into the cause of the illness and that it was not possible to say what was to blame. However, incidents in which dead fish have washed up in the lagoon -- also the venue for Olympic canoeing events -- have previously prompted questions over the safety of the water. Alarm bells have also sounded over pollution in Guanabara Bay, site of the Olympic sailing events, and Copacabana Beach, where triathletes dived into the surf earlier this month for another pre-Games test event. Local Olympic officials and Rio's mayor have insisted, however, that the city's waters are safe for competition events and pose no threat to the athletes' health. 'Irresponsible' to blame illness on water U.S. Rowing's chief executive Glenn Merry said in a statement that while water in the lagoon may have been the cause of the athletes' sickness, "other sources are also possible." JUST WATCHED Will Rio be ready for next year's Olympics? Replay More Videos... MUST WATCH Will Rio be ready for next year's Olympics? 02:49 Athletes have previously fallen ill when traveling to other countries and the cause is sometimes difficult to determine, he said. The squad in Rio had a protocol in place that included washing every piece of equipment after it was used, he added. "It would be easy but irresponsible for us to immediately assume that the rowing course is the main or sole point of exposure that caused the illnesses. We are not jumping to this immediate conclusion for two reasons," Merry said. "First, one of our first cases of illness was a coach, who did not row on the lake, and their contact with the course water would have been specific to handling equipment that had been on the water. Assuming sanitation protocol was followed, we would not expect them to become ill. "Second our female single sculler capsized on the course during her race on Friday. During that immersion event, she consumed some amount of lake water. In speaking with our staff in Rio prior to the team departure Monday night, she had not yet shown any symptoms of illness that our other team members went through." The World Rowing Federation assured U.S. Rowing that it was testing water in the lagoon every two days in the weeks leading up to the competition and that those tests showed no significant numbers for E. Coli, he added. Rio mayor: Water quality 'not an issue' While U.S. Rowing is continuing to review what happened, reports of illness among the team are bound to ring alarm bells in the rowing community. An investigation commissioned by the Associated Press, published last month, found Olympic water venues so contaminated with human sewage that it said athletes risked becoming violently ill. Biologist Mario Moscatelli told CNN last week that his own analysis backed up the findings in the AP report. Last year, biologists said rivers leading into Guanabara Bay contained a superbacteria that is resistant to antibiotics and can cause urinary, gastrointestinal and pulmonary infections. "If I fell in this water right now I could contract anything from a conjunctivitis to an intestinal disorder or even hepatitis A," he said. Only 49% of Rio's homes are connected to sewage lines, and city and state governments have admitted they won't meet cleanup targets ahead of the Games. But officials say recent water samples show no health risks for athletes. "It's not an issue for the Games, it's not an issue for the sailors that will come to Rio, that's a lie when people say that. The area where sailing competition is going to be held is a good area, it's a safe area," said Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes.STEVEN Naismith will miss Scotland’s upcoming World Cup qualifying double header after being banned for two matches by Fifa. Fifa’s disciplinary committee announced the charge against the Everton player today over his alleged elbow on Serbia’s Srdjan Mijailovic. Naismith was included in Craig Levein’s squad for the double header against Wales and Belgium but the former Rangers player will now miss out. Television pictures showed Naismith raising his arm towards Mijailovic in the goalless World Cup qualifier at Hampden on September 8. The incident was not included in the referee or match delegate’s report but FIFA later launched an inquiry after being made aware of the off-the-ball incident. Levein will not call up any replacement for Naismith. The Scotland coach said: “Obviously this is disappointing news but Steven has been very honest and professional throughout the disciplinary process. “We named a 25-man squad earlier this week to compensate for any potential suspension, which has now been confirmed, and I am confident we have enough strength in that department to offset the loss of a player who has been in excellent form so far this season.” A Scottish Football Association statement read: “FIFA have confirmed to the Scottish FA that their Disciplinary Committee have imposed an immediate two-match suspension on Steven Naismith following an incident that took place during the last month’s FIFA World Cup Brazil 2014 Qualifier against Serbia at Hampden Park.”By By Andrew Moran Aug 11, 2009 in Politics The man who saw the economic collapse happen two years prior has raised $350,000 in one day for his run at a Connecticut Senate seat. Andrew Schiff, campaign spokesperson and brother to Peter, believes that he will be at the $1 million mark by the end of August and called the money-bomb, "A pretty good take. Not a homerun, but certainly a stand-up double." Majority of donations to his campaign have been online and checks through the mail. Schiff is calling on private donors that he personally knows as well, according to Andrew Schiff. Peter Schiff will make his final decision in September if he will run for Senator in Connecticut. If so, he will run as a Republican and face off against other Republicans such as former Ambassador Tom Foley, State Senator Sam Caliguri and former Congressman Rob Simmons. Schiff was recently on MSNBC's The Ed Show to discuss health care however, he did not get a chance to state his position because the host consistently interrupted him and told him what he thinks about health care. At one point, the host asked Schiff to say in 30 seconds what he thinks about health care, after five seconds the host interrupted him. For years now, Schiff has made himself well known of accurately forecasting the current economic collapse, the government's handling of crisis and what the future will hold for the United States economy. According to Capitol Watch, Peter Schiff, President of Euro Pacific Capital and author of The Little Book of Bull Moves in a Bear Market, raised $804,485 as of noon Monday for his Senate campaign. Prior to Monday's money-bomb, Schiff had $450,000, including $50,000 from himself.Andrew Schiff, campaign spokesperson and brother to Peter, believes that he will be at the $1 million mark by the end of August and called the money-bomb, "A pretty good take. Not a homerun, but certainly a stand-up double."Majority of donations to his campaign have been online and checks through the mail. Schiff is calling on private donors that he personally knows as well, according to Andrew Schiff.Peter Schiff will make his final decision in September if he will run for Senator in Connecticut. If so, he will run as a Republican and face off against other Republicans such as former Ambassador Tom Foley, State Senator Sam Caliguri and former Congressman Rob Simmons.Schiff was recently on MSNBC's The Ed Show to discuss health care however, he did not get a chance to state his position because the host consistently interrupted him and told him what he thinks about health care. At one point, the host asked Schiff to say in 30 seconds what he thinks about health care, after five seconds the host interrupted him.For years now, Schiff has made himself well known of accurately forecasting the current economic collapse, the government's handling of crisis and what the future will hold for the United States economy. More about Peter schiff, Money bomb, Connecticut senate More news from peter schiff money bomb connecticut senateNinja Gaiden Diorama: The Classic Game On Papercraft If building a papercraft New York City isn't the kind of low-tech thrill you're looking for, maybe this videogame-based diorama will spur you into action. Based on a scene from the classic Ninja Gaiden series on the NES, it's one of the coolest 3D (okay, 2.5D) visual feasts I've seen in a while. While we're not sure where it's from (a certain MisterManolo is credited on the actual PDF sheet), there's no denying how interesting of a project it will be to put together, whether you geek out on classic ROMs all day or couldn't care less. It's undeniably a nice tabletop display, apart from declaring your undying love for 2D games and (in case you actually like it) papercraft. Simply download the Ninja Gaiden Diorama PDF (link below), print it out (in color, of course) and follow the rest of the illustrated instructions. Like most papercraft designs, you should cut out the shapes, slice off the lines and put each connecting end wherever it's supposed to go. The diorama includes the Ninja Gaiden start screen (at the back), scores up top and two sets of characters (Ryu in climbing and fighting poses along with four different enemy figures). Characters can be deployed either on the street or one of the three flat elevations. It's rare to find someone who sports both a geeky taste for old-school games and a commendable knack at designing papercraft. If you do, how about crafting some more awesome dioramas and paper models like this one? [PDF Download via Offworld]Photo shows damage to the walls due to a bomb blast at Peshawar University on Wednesday, Jan 2, 2013.—Photo by Zahir Shah Sherazi PESHAWAR: Security has been ramped up at the Peshawar University campus after an explosion rocked the varsity’s Institute of Islamic and Arabic Studies earlier on Wednesday. Bomb disposal squad official Abdul Haq said that one kilograms of explosives were detonated through a timed device, damaging the Ibne Khaltoon conference hall on the second floor of the new academic block, shattering its doors and windows. The SSP of University Police station Ihsanullah had earlier said that the explosion may have been caused by the explosion of an AC compressor but bomb disposal experts later confirmed it was a bomb blast. He, however, said that nobody was hurt in the blast. It was unclear who had carried out the blast. According to the university administration, a female teacher suffered temporary shock due to the blast but was rushed to the hospital and was later said to be stable. “The university administration convened an emergency meeting and has also beefed up the security on the campus while the entry and exit gates of the varsity are now also scanned. Outsiders are not allowed to enter without passes,” Akhtar Amin, media in-charge of the university told Dawn.com. He said that the hostels were also being scanned and that the unwanted guests in the hostels would be expelled. Moreover, search of the other blocks would also be carried out to avert any such further activity. Earlier last week a blast at the university’s Geology Department laboratory had left two teachers injured. The campus police had said about half a kilogram of explosives were used in the earlier blast."Give it to Hendo. I ain't losing. Give it to Hendo. I don't care either way. You can give it to Hendo and there will still be a belt when I get there. There will still be a belt when I get there. I don't care who the person is that has the belt but there will be a belt when I get to it and that's all that I'm concerned about. If somebody else gets to fight the champ before I do, that's fine with me." -- He may be confident, but undefeated UFC light heavyweight Phil Davis has no problem waiting in line for a title shot. While speaking with MMAmania.com earlier today, "Mr. Wonderful" seemed to have no issue whatsoever with the recent news that Dan Henderson could potentially fight UFC 205-pound champion Jon Jones next, even if Davis were to upset current number one contender Rashad Evans at UFC on Fox 2 later this month. According to Dana White on the debut of "UFC Tonight," "Hendo" called him up "terrorizing him for another fight" just one week after his war with Mauricio Rua. Training out of Alliance MMA, Davis is still a work in progress, having not even competed in Ultimate Fighting Championship for two years. If the 2008 Division I wrestling champion can play spoiler to Rashad Evans' title aspirations, do you feel the potential extra time would do him good before earning a crack at UFC gold?Do we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in Hawaii? The question should be … Why wouldn’t we? We live in a place that’s practically green the whole year ‘round, our own tropical version of an Emerald Isle. The state’s biggest St. Paddy’s Day celebration is always at Murphy’s Bar & Grill in downtown Honolulu. Every March 17, thousands of residents and visitors descend upon downtown's so-called “Irish corner”—on the corner of Merchant Street and Nuuanu Avenue—for a full evening of serious revelry. The streets surrounding Murphy’s are closed to traffic, making way for food and drink booths, live music stages and much pinching if you’re one of the unfortunate souls not sporting some kind of green. Owner Don Murphy has been hosting the party for just over two decades, growing it from a bustling celebration within Murphy’s walls to the massive block party you see in the photo above. Murphy’s being an Irish pub and all, there’s, of course, always enough corned beef and cabbage and Guinness ale to feed half of Cork. But we recommend supplementing the traditional fare with a trip to the fresh oyster bar, a Gaelic steak or some Guinness-braised short ribs, and Murph’s simply amazing steamed clams. While Murphy's will be open at 11 a.m. for lunch at the restaurant, and there will be booths across the street from noon to 3 p.m. with a children's fair, food, beverages, t-shirts, and other souvenirs, the party really starts at 5 p.m. on March 17. You’ll find the specifics here. Erin go bragh!Placing a huge order helps airlines to bring down the cost price sharply. GoAir CEO Giorgio De Roni says a huge order hands the buyer huge bargaining power. “It is true for not just airlines, but also people who buy tomatoes and potatoes,” he says.A January 2013 report by accounting and consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) on aviation finance says the list price of all airline order back log is $1.2 billion as of mid- 2012, but the real cost is likely to be “in the order of $700 million”. That is a discount of 42%.Mark D Martin, founder of Martin Consulting and an aviation industry expert, says he would not be surprised if IndiGo grabbed a discount in excess of 40% of the list price. He reckons the sticker price for an Airbus A320 — the only type of aircraft IndiGo uses — at $60 million in 2007 when the airline signed the agreement. Using one type of aircraft helps IndiGo keep operations simple. It is a trick it learnt from America’s Southwest Airlines, the only airline in the world to make profits without fail for nearly 40 years, which flies the Boeing 737.Quoting Chris Wahlenmaier, vice-president of ground operations at Southwest, Seth Stevenson wrote in Slate: using one type of aircraft “results in all manner of cost-saving efficiencies: we only need to train our mechanics. We only need extra parts inventory. If we have to swap a plane out at the last minute for maintenance, the fleet is totally interchangeable — all our on-board crews and ground crews are already familiar with it...”Operational gains apart, airlines can derive other significant advantages by buying one type of plane from a manufacturer. Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry, the founder of Noosphere, a market research firm, wrote earlier this year discount airlines are almost always the biggest customer, which means plane companies are eager to please them and give them volume discounts. “For example, [European airline] Easyjet, which is committed to Airbus like Southwest is to Boeing, placed the biggest order in Airbus’s history after 9/11. They got them at bargain-basement rates [they went on to resell the planes at a profit].”Even so, Easyjet was an established airline, having started its operations in 1995. IndiGo was not even off the blocks. It also had just Rs 100 crore (around $20 million) of promoter money. Yet, it managed to strike a deal for 100 aircraft and by parting with a low down payment at that. How did IndiGo do it? The credit goes to co-founder Rakesh Gangwal, a veteran of nearly 35 years in the airline business).“IndiGo is one of the few airlines that tracks and ensures it capitalizes on the warranty and guaranty clauses,” says a person familiar with the airline’s operations. “It has a full section in finance just tracking these financial items.”The rules governing aircraft financing stipulate that a down payment of only 4% for an entity with credit rating of AAA- BBB-, and 7.5% for the ones with lowest rating (CCC- C), according to the PwC report. (The rest is paid to the aircraft maker from the proceeds of the sale to the leasing company).This means IndiGo with a 40% discount on list price for Airbus 320 would have had to make a down payment of $151 million (see How IndiGo went about it) for placing an order for 100 aircraft. The company’s balance sheet then shows it was well capitalized — Rs 337 crore ($82 million)— to meet the payment schedule.An accounting expert, who did not want to be named, says the discount received from manufacturers will not be shown separately as it is in the normal course of business. But other forms of cash and non-cash payments from aircraft manufacturers can be counted in financial statements.That explains why the global fleet under leasing has now touched nearly a third from less than 12% in 1990, says the PwC report. (The numbers represent the entire leasing transactions and not just sale and leaseback.) “In my estimate, every sale and leaseback brings $4-5 million profit to IndiGo. And this acts as working capital,” says Kaul of CAPA. Curiously, the finances of IndiGo in the past six years do not show any profit for the sale and leaseback of aircraft.If IndiGo can’t show the discount it receives from purchase of aircraft, industry experts say it should be able to book profits when it sells newly acquired aircraft to leasing companies. Their logic is simple — the price paid by leasing companies for a plane is always higher than the cost price.CAPA’s Kaul estimates that IndiGo makes a profit of $4-5 million for every plane sold to leasing companies, and this translates into a monthly saving of around $50,000 on lease rentals. The entire fleet, barring 4 planes, is leased by IndiGo and any saving on lease rentals — which account for 19% of expenses — will boost profitability ().The Flightglobal report confirms that IndiGo makes $4-5 million from sale-and-leaseback of each aircraft. With an average lease term of five-and-a-half years, the airline is also benefitting from the frequent renewal of its fleet by avoiding costly maintenance repairs that creep in after six years, according to the report.Mama the aviation expert says returning aircraft to leasing companies after five or six years helps. “The maintenance cost will be lower for new aircraft. More important, the D-Check (the most comprehensive check for a plane) approaches around that time. It is very expensive. By returning planes before the DCheck is due, IndiGo makes big savings.” The only problem is that IndiGo has never disclosed profit from sale of planes to leasing companies.Instead, the only items it shows are cash incentives and non-cash incentives of around Rs 265 crore. These were reduced from lease rentals, boosting profits by a third in fiscal 2012 and helping the airline report a surplus in fiscal 2011.Without directly referring to IndiGo, Jamil Khatri, global head of accounting advisory services for KPMG, says aircraft manufacturers might have given cash incentives instead of discounts for placing the bulk order. Typically, noncash incentives given by manufacturers include free spare parts, extra engines, free training to pilots and engineers and support in obtaining credits from lenders. IndiGo is likely to have assigned a value to such spares and engines.Another accounting expert says, “If a company owns the asset, the practice would be to reduce the cost of acquiring the aircraft in the balance sheet. But in IndiGo’s case, the airline has leased the aircraft and so it is proportionately reducing it from the lease rentals.”If the cash incentive was $5 million on a purchase price of $50 million, the actual cost in the balance sheet would be only $45 million after reducing the cash incentive. But in IndiGo’s case, the aircraft is sold to leasing firms and so would not be accounted in its books. And if the lease period is for five years, $1 million — that is one fifth of cash incentives — would be reduced from lease rentals every year.In IndiGo’s case, this yearly component totalled Rs 262.7 crore for a fleet of 64 aircraft. Assuming 60 of them are leased, the cash and non-cash incentives alone amount to Rs 4.37 crore a plane a year. The amount of such incentives that can be claimed in future is Rs 1,180 crore, or Rs 19.6 crore per plane.IndiGo started disclosing the quantum of cash and noncash incentives only from fiscal 2011 in the financial documents submitted to the MCA, the regulator of companies. Prior to 2011, the company only disclosed that it receives credits from aircraft makers and these were being reduced from lease rentals. “One might argue that it is more appropriate to present this as income if a direct relationship with rentals is absent – which is often the case,” says the accounting expert quoted earlier.Khatri of KPMG says there is another possibility why cash incentives are subtracted from lease rentals. He points to Accounting Standard 19, which deals with sale and lease back transactions. Under this, let’s say if a company makes a profit of $5 million from selling a plane but in return leases the same at a rental higher than the market rate, the excess value has to be reduced from lease rentals.If IndiGo pays $400,000 as lease rentals a month compared with the market rate of $350,000, the excess $50,000 would be reduced from lease rentals. In our example, the excess would be $600,000 a year and it would have to be reduced from profit on sale of aircraft. That means only $400,000 will be considered as profit.If IndiGo shows only reduction in lease rentals and no profit from sale of aircraft, it would possibly mean the entire profit from sale and leaseback is being erased by higher lease amount.On a net basis, IndiGo still gains as lease rentals drops, boosting profits. According to Martin, the amount of discount negotiated by IndiGo would be much higher than other Indian airlines because of the order size. “That is one key reason why IndiGo’s operational cost is much lower than its competitors.”Could this trailer be any more awesome? There are the words by Warren Ellis… Spoken by Wil Wheaton… With illustration by Ben Templesmith Synopsis: After a shootout claims the life of his partner in a condemned tenement building on Pearl Street, Detective John Tallow unwittingly stumbles across an apartment stacked high with guns. When examined, each weapon leads to a different, previously unsolved murder. Someone has been killing people for twenty years or more and storing the weapons together for some inexplicable purpose. Confronted with the sudden emergence of hundreds of unsolved homicides, Tallow soon discovers that he’s walked into a veritable deal with the devil. An unholy bargain that has made possible the rise of some of Manhattan’s most prominent captains of industry. A hunter who performs his deadly acts as a sacrifice to the old gods of Manhattan, who may, quite simply, be the most prolific murderer in New York City’s history. Warren Ellis’s body of work has been championed by Wired for its “merciless action” and “incorruptible bravery,” and steadily amassed legions of diehard fans. His newest novel builds on his accomplishments like never before, announcing Ellis as one of today’s most daring thriller writers. This is twenty-first century suspense writ large. This is GUN MACHINE. Sure, it isn’t a comic. But that doesn’t mean it is not awesome! Gun Machine is available now in hardcover as well as for KindleOldest male Nazi death camp survivor dies aged 107 Updated The oldest known male survivor of the Nazi concentration camps, Austrian-born Leopold Engleitner, has died at the age of 107, Austrian media has reported. Mr Engleitner passed away on April 21 but his death was only announced now in accordance with his wishes, the daily Salzburger Nachrichten newspaper said. A Jehovah's Witness and conscientious objector who refused to serve in the German armed forces, the Austrian - born on July 23, 1905 in Strobl near Salzburg - was deported by the Nazis in 1939 and survived the concentration camps of Buchenwald, Niederhagen and Ravensbrueck before he was released in 1943 to carry out forced labour. He weighed just 28 kilograms upon his release. Called up again in 1945, he escaped and managed to hide in the mountains. After the war, he led a quiet life until a biography by Bernhard Rammerstorfer in 1999, Unbroken Will, turned him into a much sought-after speaker. Mr Engleitner travelled through Europe, Russia and the United States in the following years, giving lectures, including at the Los Angeles Simon Wiesenthal Centre, and telling his story in schools and universities. A recent short film about his life entitled Ladder in the Lion's Den has won awards at film festivals in the US and Puerto Rico. The world's oldest concentration camp survivor is believed to be Alice Herz-Sommer, born in 1903. AFP Topics: death, community-and-society, world-war-2, history, germany First postedImage caption The human papilloma virus can cause cervical cancer and genital warts A mother's attitude towards cervical cancer screening influences decisions to vaccinate daughters against the cancer, researchers in Manchester say. Data from 117,000 girls was analysed. The odds of a teenager having the HPV vaccine were three times higher if their mother had been tested in the past five years. The study, in the European Journal of Cancer, also showed daughters were more likely to have been vaccinated if their mothers received an abnormal result. The cervical cancer vaccine was introduced in the UK in 2008 and is offered to girls with parental consent in their second year of secondary school with catch-up campaigns in older teenagers. It provides immunity to the sexually transmitted infection responsible for most cases of cervical cancer. New finding The team from the University of Manchester linked cervical screening records and HPV vaccination records in the north-east of England by address. It is the first time such a link has been studied in the UK. They found that the uptake of HPV vaccination among 12-13-year-olds in those whose mothers had never been screened for cervical cancer was 58%. "It shows there is a link within families and that targeting both mothers and daughters may have an influence on uptake of prevention programmes Angela Spencer, University of Manchester researcher In the same age group whose mothers had been screened for cervical cancer in the past five years, the uptake was almost 84%. Further analysis showed mothers who had personally decided to stop screening were less likely to have vaccinated their daughters than those who had stopped for medical reasons. The researchers are now planning to carry out in-depth interviews. They want to out what influences a mother's decision to give consent for her daughter to be vaccinated and whether socio-economic factors play a part. But they pointed out that there were important public health implications to the findings. They said not only are teenagers of mothers not engaging with screening less likely to be vaccinated they are also less likely to engage with screening themselves when they get older, putting them at risk. And maintaining high HPV vaccine coverage is extremely important because figures show cervical screening coverage is declining among 25-29-year-olds with some evidence of increasing cancer incidence at younger ages, they pointed out. Family pattern Research assistant Angela Spencer said the results suggest that a mother's attitudes and behaviour with respect to her own cervical screening attendance or to preventive programmes in general, are important determinants in her decision to vaccinate her daughter, particularly at younger ages. She added: "It shows there is a link within families and that targeting both mothers and daughters may have an influence on uptake of prevention programmes." Dr Claire Knight, Cancer Research UK's health information manager, said: "HPV vaccination and screening are the best ways of reducing the risk of cervical cancer. "This study adds to our knowledge about the factors that affect vaccination behaviour, including the influence of family and friends. "It's important to ensure all women understand the importance of HPV vaccination and cervical screening and their role in saving lives."The Grizzlies topped the Los Angeles Lakers 98-96 at FedExForum on Tuesday night behind a season-high 28 points from Mike Conley. Rudy Gay added 14 points and O.J. Mayo had 11 off the bench to help Memphis defeat the defending NBA Champions. Recap \| Discuss on the Fan Boards \| Game Info \| Box Score Player Notes Mike Conley scored a season-high 28 points, his first 20-point game since opening night on Oct. 27 when he poured in 23 against Atlanta. Conley's four three-pointers were also a season-high. Rudy Gay earned a career-high sixth block on Ron Artest's attempt at a game-winning three-pointer as time expired/ Gay's previous high of five blocks came on March 3, 2009 at Golden State... The six-block performance is the most by any Grizzlies player in a game this season.SEATTLE -- Police have arrested a man for allegedly setting multiple dumpster fires overnight near the Seattle Fire Department's station in the University District. Shortly after 2:15 a.m. on Friday, reports came in for dumpster fires in the area of 9th Ave. NE and NE 45th St. After extinguishing those fires, fire crews returned to their station, only to discover that a man was running around the same area trying to set more dumpsters on fire, according to the fire department. A Seattle police officer chased the suspect into an alley on NE 50th St. between 11th and 12th Ave. NE and detained him. It was at that point that the suspect was found to be under the influence of an unknown substance. He had to be transported to Harborview Medical Center to treat some burns and abrasions he had suffered. At this time, police have linked the suspect to three of the five total fires that were set overnight. According to authorities, the arrested suspect's description did not match the reports of the person allegedly setting the two fires that drew the initial call.There aren’t all that many notable endurance cycling marathons in this neck of the woods, with the exception of the Tour de Victoria. The Tour de Victoria occurs once a year and, as you can no doubt glean from the name, it takes you on a trip around the Greater Victoria Area. There are three routes available: 45, 90 and 140 kilometers respectively. I figure that training with the idea of entering the Tour de Victoria next year at the 45 km route level will put me in the best position, physically, to then go on and conquer Canada the following year. Now, I know that 45 kilometers in one go is actually at the lower end of what I should be aiming to achieve, but I think my rationale is sound. I figure that if I give myself a more conservative goal, I will be absolutely thrilled when I am either able to handle it comfortably or even register for the 90 km route when the time comes simply because I can handle 45 km with no problem. At this point, however, even the 45 km route seems like pie in the sky. The 15 km route I am currently doing leaves me tired at the end of it. Sure, I’ve only been at it for about a month, and I am not in peak physical condition, but the impatient side of me says “Get on with it.” With that in mind, I’ve been thinking about the best course of action for the Fall, when I go back to university. The 15km a day bike ride is pretty much a given, since that route is actually the route I take to and from school anyway. I think that, when I get around to dishing out my tuition payment, I will include the price of a membership at the school’s gym in that payment. When the weather is good enough to bike in (that is, not snowing and not pouring rain), I should only need an extra hour to work in some strength training. But, when the weather is yucky, I’ll need to include cardio so that I don’t end up impacting my cycling ability through inactivity. So, perhaps I can look at including some spin classes, or something like that. In addition to the fitness aspect of my training, I will need to look into the practical side of planning a long cycling trip. That is, I’ll need to take some classes on bike repair and packing and planning efficiently. My local Mountain Equipment Co-op store, where I get all my gear anyway, offers courses like these on a regular basis. I will also need to start my fund-raising campaign soon. Some days, I think about how far I have come in a short time, and feel so on top of the world that I can accomplish whatever goals I set for myself. Other days, I look at how much farther I have to go before I can achieve those goals, and I feel like an ant standing before a mountain. AdvertisementsIt’s all time tunnels and temporal reflectivity. Everything that is happening now happened or is happening in the past as a mirrored reflection of the present. We can assume the same is for the future if we don’t
the East Ledges rappels are convenient, but they can be particularly manky. If you choose to use fixed gear—whether it is ropes or slings or that rusted pin—inspect it first. In this case the climbers were starting at the top and had the opportunity to inspect the gear as they descended. Always visually confirm that the rope/s you are using are sound and properly anchored. If Vale had visually confirmed the rope he was clipping into was anchored, he would still be alive. If you decide to clean up trash like old ropes, fixed slings or loose rock, finish the job. Never leave a stuck rope or sling within reach of other climbers. Yes, it’s more work, but it’s called laziness when you don’t clean up after yourself. As AMGA licensed mountain guide Jeff Ward wrote (see Master Class), “I’m amazed at how often the established rappel station is a complete mess of tattered, sun-bleached slings.” Always have a knife, and cut excess cord if necessary. In this case, according to head climbing ranger Latham, the climber who attempted to throw down the old blue cord had a knife but neglected to use it to cut away the mess. Finally, lots of climbers passed within reach of the stuck rope, but no one took the time to cut it or clear it. If you see a hazardous situation, step up. If anyone had cut or cleared the stuck blue line, this accident would never have happened. “Those guys were trying to do a good thing by replacing that old cord,” Latham said. “But they didn’t follow through. Think about it. Your trash can literally kill.” This article originally appeared in Rock and Ice issue 241 (April 2017).Voluntary workouts for 25 NFL teams began Monday. The key word in the above sentence is voluntary. As such, many NFL players will decide to skip the offseason workouts at team facilities -- which are restricted to strength and condition and physical rehabilitation -- and train on their own. Some of the absentee names are bigger than others. Two Dallas Cowboys players that won't be working out at the team facility in Texas are receiver Dez Bryant and cornerback Orlando Scandrick, NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport reported, according to sources informed of the Cowboys' situation. Bryant will skip conditioning work because he has yet to sign his franchise tag. This has become the standard move for players who have been slapped with the tag and are still working to get a long-term deal done. We don't expect players like Bryant, Justin Houston, Jason Pierre-Paul or Demaryius Thomas to show up for these voluntary workouts. Scandrick, on the other hand, is the Cowboys' top corner and is slated to make just $1.5 million this year. The corner's absence is believed to be related to his contract situation, per Rapoport. Scandrick will presumably sit out in hopes of acquiring a raise out of the situation Some other notable players not joining teammates at workouts: » Don't expect Adrian Peterson to show up at the Vikings' facility. The running back rarely attends offseason workouts. Given his current contentious relationship with the organization it's not a surprise he'd skip early work. » Philadelphia Eagles guard Evan Mathis, who is the subject of trade attempts by Chip Kelly, isn't present Monday, per Rapoport. » The Detroit Lions have nearly 100 percent participation on the first day of voluntary workouts, the team's official website reports. The only player missing is James Ihedigbo. » Rapoport reports Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown will not be attending voluntary conditioning, per a source informed of Brown's plans. He is seeking a new contract. » Cleveland Browns safety Tashaun Gipson is not present at the team's voluntary workouts on Monday, Rapoport reports. Gipson has yet to sign his restricted free agency tag. As expected, Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel is present at the team's conditioning session, a team source told Rapoport. The latest Around The NFL Podcast breaks down Adrian Peterson's return and discusses the Cleveland Browns' new uniforms. Find more Around The NFL content on NFL NOW.In its last-ditch attempt to get moderate Syrian opposition groups to the negotiating table, the Obama administration faces the prospect that a no-show wouldn't be such a bad thing. With less than two weeks to go before a long-planned peace conference in Switzerland, the main Western-backed moderate political group seeking to oust Syrian President Bashar Assad has still not decided if it will attend. It's the latest frustration for the U.S. and allies who have spent the last 18 months trying to negotiate a transition of power from Assad to a new, representative government. But even if the Syrian National Coalition agrees to attend the Jan. 22 peace meeting — as Secretary of State John Kerry will push this weekend in Paris with the coalition's newly re-elected president — analysts say it does not have enough credibility with other Syrian groups to sit as an official counterbalance to Assad's regime. And it might not matter, in the long run, if they don't show. "If the expectations to begin with are very low, then you can't really fail — can you?" Kamran Bokhari, a Toronto-based expert on Mideast issues for the global intelligence company Stratfor, said Friday. "The constraints that the U.S. has are clear to the international community, and it's not going to be a surprise. "What would be a surprise is if they are able to make a difference," Bokhari said. "So nobody has too high of expectations." Coalition council President Ahmad al-Jarba, who was re-elected last week, heads a shaky alliance of opposition groups that is sharply divided on whether to attend the conference, designed to begin a negotiated peace after three years of civil war. At least 45 members have temporarily suspended their membership over the impasse. Most of its leaders are in exile outside of Syria and have been accused by rebel fighters and other activists inside the war-torn country of being ineffective and out of touch. An estimated 180 representatives of opposition groups to Assad met in southern Spain on Friday to seek common ground. In the meantime, Assad has stabilized his grasp on areas of Syria he still controls and shows no sign of stepping down in the war that has left at least 120,000 people dead. Persuading al-Jarba and the coalition to attend the peace conference in Montreux, Switzerland, will be a top priority for Kerry and 10 other diplomats from Western countries and Sunni-dominated Arab states meeting Sunday in Paris. For Syrian coalition members, the conference in Switzerland offers their first opportunity to face the Syrian administration face to face. A senior State Department official said Friday that U.S. officials believe the Syrian coalition will be at the negotiating table in Montreux in spite of difficulties along the way because the coalition won't want to miss the unique opportunity the conference offers them. "We have always said that we would like to see a representative delegation including the armed opposition," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said. "We remain engaged with the opposition and we look forward to the opposition naming a representative delegation in the days ahead." Iran, which is allied with Assad, will not attend the peace conference, U.S. officials said. That clears at least one objection of the moderate coalition. But the coalition also has asked that the peace conference set a time frame for an end to the fighting as its main focus, which U.S. officials have rejected. Kerry also will likely discuss the possibility of resuming nonlethal aid to moderate rebel groups as a part of the talks in Paris. The aid, which included medical supplies and communications equipment and was halted in December amid fears it was being used by insurgents among the rebel groups, could be used as a bargaining point with al-Jarba. A senior State Department official said no decision has been made to do so, but that it is debated frequently with improving security within some parts of Syria. The official was not authorized to speak by name and requested anonymity. Whether or not al-Jarba's group attends, Bokhari said the main purpose of the peace conference likely will aim to bring together the disparate backers of the regime and opposition groups to hammer out an agreement on moving forward. That is particularly important now as sectarian violence in Syria is spilling over into neighboring Iraq and Lebanon. Get the Monitor Stories you care about delivered to your inbox. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy "If you can't make progress in resolving the conflict, can you make progress in dealing with the amount of human suffering and spillover into other counties from the conflict?" said Anthony Cordesman, a Mideast scholar at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "The whole idea that somehow a dialogue between the rebels and the people at the meeting would produce a political solution, or progress toward one, is literally almost the art of the incredible at this point, whether they show up or not," Cordesman said Friday. "On the other hand, there will be a lot of people there who could do more about at least making some progress on humanitarian issues."Congratulations to Harrison’s Raffi Piliero and Peninsula’s Jonas Le Barillec for reaching the final round of the 2016 Greenhill Fall Classic! In finals, Raffi defeated Jonas on a 3-0 decision (Alston, Berdugo, Taylor). Congratulations to both debaters! Congratulations to Harvard-Westlake’s Connor Engel for receiving the top speaker award at the 2016 Greenhill Fall Classic and the following debaters for receiving speakers awards at the 2016 Greenhill Fall Classic! Connor Engel was also the top speaker at the Greenhill Round Robin! Harvard-Westlake Connor Engel Harrison Raffi Piliero Westwood Saavan Nanavati Earl Warren Nelson Okunlola Cedar Park Morgan Grosch Newark Science Brianna Aaron Apple Valley John Boals Strake Jesuit Richard Cook Montgomery Whitley Perryman Peninsula Jonas Le Barillec West Ranch Jong Hak Won Lake Highland Prep Muhammad Khattak La Canada Alex Zhao Dulles Ashish Wadhwani Harvard-Westlake Indu Pandey Congratulations to the following debaters for receiving bids to the Tournament of Champions at the 2016 Greenhill Fall Classic! Collegiate Kyle Yuan Phoenix Country Day Parker Whitfill Cypress Woods Lucas Clarke Harvard-Westlake Connor Engel Lake Highland Prep Muhammad Khattak Peninsula Jonas Le Barillec Harvard-Westlake Even Engel Newark Science Brianna Aaron Dulles Ashish Wadhwani West Ranch Jong Hak Won Strake Jesuit CP Richard Cook Westwood Saavan Nanavati Harvard-Westlake Indu Pandey Earl Warren Nelson Okunlola La Canada Alex Zhao Harrison Raffi Piliero Harrison Matt Zinman Pairings and results are available here Thanks to LADI for the photo.Robin van Persie: The United forward struggled to make an impact in the Manchester derby Sky Sports pundit Matt Le Tissier believes Manchester United striker Robin van Persie is a player in decline. Speaking on The Morning View, Le Tissier highlighted the striker as a player who underperformed in United’s 1-0 defeat to Manchester City at the Etihad on Sunday. The Dutch international has managed three league goals and no assists for United this season in 755 minutes of action. Van Persie was withdrawn after 81 minutes against City in favour of 18-year-old James Wilson with United desperate for a goal and Le Tissier believes the 31-year-old is not the player he once was. Struggle “It is a bit of a struggle for van Persie,” he said. “I am not sure he is not feeling uncomfortable at the amount of great talent that is around him. “He always seemed to thrive when he was the main man. At the moment he is nowhere near that. “He is not finding his form and maybe he might be at that point in his career where he has gone just past his best and he is on his way down a little bit. “It gets highlighted when you are playing in such a high-profile team. If you are not doing it, you should come in for some stick.” The defeat to City condemned United to their worst start to a league campaign since 1986 and left them 10th in the table, 13 points behind leaders Chelsea. United's poor form has come despite the club sanctioning a huge outlay on summer transfers which saw the likes of Angel Di Maria and Radamel Falcao arrive. The starting XI for the Manchester derby cost £241m to assemble and was the most expensive to ever take the field for a Premier League game yet they still failed to muster a shot on target until the 70th minute, at which point City had managed six. The club have now failed to win in nine consecutive away matches in all competitions under three managers – a run that is their worst since the 1988/89 season when they failed to win in 10. It has been well documented, everyone knows where their problems lie... and that is at the back. Matt Le Tissier on United's woes Le Tissier feels United’s defending has been the principle reason for their poor run of form but believes Louis van Gaal has too much talent his disposal not to be able to turn the club’s fortunes around. Problems “It has been well documented, everyone knows where their problems lie and that is at the back,” Le Tissier said. “It hasn’t been helped by Rojo doing his shoulder yesterday and Chris Smalling now being suspended. That was a poor piece of play by Smalling. In such a massive game, you can’t afford to be doing that. “He (van Gaal) has had some tough starts at previous clubs so I don’t think he is going to panic about it. “They have got so much quality there that you can’t really expect them to be in that position at the end of the season. At some point they will click.”NASA is looking at developing a public competition that would pit competitors in developing fast, powerful computers that would help support advanced applications. According to NASA, despite tremendous progress made in the past few decades, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tools in particular are too slow for simulation of complex geometry flows, particularly those involving flow separation and combustion applications. To enable high-fidelity CFD for multi-disciplinary analysis and design, the speed of computation must be increased by orders of magnitude, the space agency said. +More on Network World: The zany world of identified flying objects+ “Opportunities exist to reduce time to solution by orders of magnitude by exploiting algorithmic developments in such areas as grid adaptation, higher-order methods and efficient solution techniques for high performance computing hardware. A potential prize challenge will require that speed gains are to be achieved primarily by algorithmic enhancements, not by hardware (i.e., scaling to larger number of cores),” NASA stated. The challenge, if it is actually made official, will provide selected base geometries and flow conditions and the time it takes to perform simulations using what’s known as NASA's FUN3D code. NASA said FUN3D was developed in the late 1980s as a research code. The code’s original purpose was to study existing algorithms and to develop new algorithms for unstructured-grid fluid dynamic simulations. The idea is that the problem that now takes 3,000 wall-clock hours on 3,000 cores, for example, will reduce to 30 or 3 hours for 100x or 1000x speed up, respectively. “These would be considered to be gains and, thus, Fast Computing capability will allow high-fidelity multidisciplinary analysis to be used in early stages of vehicle development, resulting in novel configurations that are energy efficient and environment friendly toward research and development objectives,” NASA stated. The prize for demonstrating a LEVEL I - 100x increase is planned to be $225,000 and the purse for demonstrating a LEVEL II – a 1,000x speed increase is planned to be $500,000. Up to 20% of the prize purse may be used to reward competitors for successful completion of a qualification round for both LEVEL I, and, LEVEL II, NASA said. For now, NASA has issued a Request For Information to determine interest in developing such a fast computing challenge. Check out these other hot stories: Scientists want to blast space debris with a space station-mounted laser Slightly fast and not furious: Lightweight car challenge brings out wicked cool prototypes NASA teams scientific experts to find life on exoplanets US intelligence outfit wants the ultimate quantum qubit IBM unbolts vast threat database to fight cybercrimes Yikes: 10,000 IRS impersonation scam calls are placed every week Transition to IP network creates cybersecurity challenges for FAAYAY! Ultra-late Season 3 Costume-Ception FlutterPie Animated GIF Comic YAY! ● You can find the background here: Under the Crytstal Palace Background ●The links to the animation of Fluttershy and Pinkie will be Here some time after I release the comic, so it doesn't spoil the comic in your Inbox. Finally, and after literally more than a year (I'm very, very sorry) a comic!(It should play mostly OK in Internet Explorer and Chrome; Opera just plays properly the last part, and I don't know why...)Way, way back when Season 3 was aired, specifically the "The Crystal Empire" episode, I saw a particular scene that was very "WTF!?" for me, with extra "wut?" in a very good way: when Pinkie's cover (as a spy) was blown. In that scene, Pinkie was perfectly disguised as Fluttershy and then gets out of the costume, and finally Fluttershy finds/steps in the discarded costume.As you might know, both Pinkie and Fluttershy are voiced by. Coincidence or not, I thought "Hey! what if in the next scene fluttershy does the same?"... It didn't happen, but it made me remember an old Looney Tunes cartoon: "A Sheep in the Deep", in which... well, you can see by yourself; I threw ponies to the mix, and, here you have!In the technical aspect, I took Pinkie's animation from that scene, traced it (adding the lower part of the legs and the discarded costume) and duplicated them and mirrored them, modified that new Pinkie so it was now Fluttershy and I duplicated it again so the whole sequence would loop until I had 44 frames. That might have been the most complicated part (but I can't be sure; it took me too long that I couldn't tell. Sorry, again).For the moving eyes, I made them differently of how I usually make them (a clipped Iris) by cutting the sclera (the white part of the eye) out of the "face", leaving a hole, and moving the Iris(es) behind.The background mares have all the same body that Rainbow Dash, and the mouths of either Rarity, AJ and Dash herself. The colts are one single body type with different palette, and the mane of all of these (mares and colts) are variations of only two crystal manes.Vectors created in Inkscape and animation in GIMP.This month’s sculpture from Hadrian’s Villa is a marble head of Antinous, one of the ten marble images of Antinous found there. This portrait of Antinous is conserved in the Palazzo Massimo alle Terme in Rome. It is related to a coin type minted in the city of Adramyttium in Mysia (modern Edremit, Turkey) by an individual called Gessius (his name appears on the reverse of the coin). The coin was struck with the head of Antinous on the obverse and the words ΙΑΚΧΟC ΑΝΤΙΝΟΟC (Iacchos Antinous). Antinous is portrayed as Iacchos, a minor Dionysian deity (also epithet of Dionysus) associated with the Eleusinian Mysteries (Hadrian first took part in the Mysteries in about 124 AD and again in late summer 128 AD together with Antinous). The British Museum holds such a coin with the Eleusinian goddess Demeter on the reverse. Gessius’ inclusion of his own name on the reverse of the coin shows how the provincial elite members sought to identity themselves and their cities with the imperial cult. Sources: Theoi Greek Mythology – Iakkhos British Museum collection online Coin of Antinous Fox, Tatiana Eileen. Ohio University. May 2014 ( The Cult of Antinous and the Response of the Greek East to Hadrian’s Creation of a God. The faculty of The College of Arts and SciencesOhio University. May 2014 ( pdf T. Opper, Hadrian: Empire and Conflict, The Antinous Cult, p. 188-190.“The Cool Stuff Theory of Literature is as follows: All literature consists of whatever the writer thinks is cool. The reader will like the book to the degree that he agrees with the writer about what's cool. And that works all the way from the external trappings to the level of metaphor, subtext, and the way one uses words. In other words, I happen not to think that full-plate armor and great big honking greatswords are cool. I don't like 'em. I like cloaks and rapiers. So I write stories with a lot of cloaks and rapiers in 'em, 'cause that's cool. Guys who like military hardware, who think advanced military hardware is cool, are not gonna jump all over my books, because they have other ideas about what's cool. The novel should be understood as a structure built to accommodate the greatest possible amount of cool stuff.” ― Steven BrustThe Los Angeles Lakers have a deal in place to acquire Dwight Howard from Orlando in a four-team, eight-player trade also involving Denver and Philadelphia, and the NBA has scheduled a conference call Friday with the four general managers to finish the deal, according to multiple reports. Article continues below... Citing unidentified sources, ESPN first reported the deal was in place. The Los Angeles Times, citing unidentified NBA executives, later confirmed the trade. The Denver Post confirmed the Nuggets’ end of the deal, and Yahoo! Sports also confirmed the trade, both citing unidentified sources. A person with knowledge of the trade also confirmed the Denver portion of the deal to The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because details have not been officially announced. Philadelphia would get Andrew Bynum from Los Angeles and Jason Rchardson from Orlando, while Denver would get Andre Iguodala from the 76ers. Orlando would receive Arron Afflalo and Al Harrington from Denver, Nikola Vucevic and Moe Harkless from Philadelphia, and lottery protected first-round picks from each of the three teams. Howard had asked for a trade to Brooklyn, but Orlando failed to work out a deal with the Nets, opening the way for the Lakers to get the All-Star center. Howard averaged 20.6 points and 14.5 rebounds in 54 regular-season games for Orlando last season. In eight seasons with the Magic, he averaged 18.4 points and 13.0 rebounds.If you spent any time in the progressive blogosphere this past week, chances are that you have some feelings about activists in Seattle disrupting a rally for Bernie Sanders last weekend. To recap: On Saturday, Black Lives Matter Seattle organizers Marissa Johnson and Mara Willaford climbed onstage in front of several hundred people at the city’s Westlake Plaza, demanding a platform to speak. (Notably, the Sanders rally also took place as thousands gathered in Ferguson, Missouri to commemorate the one year anniversary of Michael Brown’s death on August 9.) Eventually, event organizers handed the pair a microphone that they used to discuss the issues they saw missing in Bernie’s economic populism — namely, police violence and a focus on systemic racial injustice. As they challenged Bernie and his supporters to prioritize these problems, they were boo’ed down aggressively by a mostly white crowd. Johnson, Willard and other members of the movement for black lives have continued to face slurs and insults on social media throughout the week, along with accusations of being plants from either the right wing or the Clinton campaign. Was the interruption messy? Yes. Did it warrant the vitriol from white, largely progressive audiences that followed? No. Among many useful perspectives, Van Jones penned five lessons from the uproar for CNN this week. Nation editor Kai Wright offered another helpful rejoinder: “Successful movements have always discomfited those invested in the status quo, including progressives,” he wrote. “White people of all political stripes will be challenged, even shaken by this movement.” By interrupting Sanders, Johnson and Willaford clearly struck a nerve with Sanders’ base. Disruption, as Wright noted, is the lifeblood of social movements. Having been arrested for coordinating a sit-in to desegregate Chicago public schools, it’s a fact Sanders understands better than most. It also means Sanders — and, perhaps more so, his supporters — should know that a history of fighting for equal rights doesn’t inoculate any candidate from a full-throated challenge by today’s movements. Days after she took the stage, Johnson went on the radio show This Week In Blackness. She explained to host Elon James White that, “My gaze is not toward politicians in getting them to do something in particular. I think they will change what they do based off of what I do, but that’s not my center. My center is using electoral politics as a platform.” Given its adoption of “Shut It Down,” as modus operandi, supporters of the movement for black lives should welcome the fact that protesters are throwing a wrench in the presidential election circuit. In the case of Sanders, it’s working. Within 24 hours, Bernie’s campaign released a racial justice platform articulating policy proposals to take on the multi-faceted nature of racist violence: physical, political, legal and economic, where most of Sanders’ energy has been directed thus far. The platform proclaims simply that, “We must pursue policies that transform this country into a nation that affirms the value of its people of color.” Saturday night, he also hired black criminal justice advocate Symone Sanders as press secretary, someone who has been openly critical of the campaign’s silence on racial justice. Even so, the Sanders campaign still has plenty of room for improvement; a web page and a black staffer do not equal a commitment to racial justice. Looking forward to what may well be a disruption-filled election season and the continuation of a Sanders campaign filled with big crowds and surging poll numbers, there seem to be a few lessons that white progressives can take away from this past week. For one, be respectful of people — particularly those whose life experiences are different than yours. Most of us already do this, using a certain script of spoken and unspoken rules, bounded by what society generally deems acceptable. “I will not,” for example, “vocalize every snap judgement I make in my head.” These rules don’t actually change that much when you start talking about politics or log on to Facebook, no matter how progressive your views. You may even be right. It still doesn’t give you license to berate anyone, let alone black organizers with whom you theoretically share a commitment to racial justice. And, if you do share that commitment, denouncing the movement for black lives because it did something that made you uncomfortable probably means you weren’t all that supportive in the first place. At their best, movements are big, complicated hordes of activity. The movement for black lives is no different, and supporting this or any movement — especially as white organizers — means being comfortable with a certain level of discomfort and loss of control, both in terms of the tactics activists are using and the challenges they pose to their targets. For all their messiness, movements make our politics better. Sanders is already a better candidate and should be pushed to be even more accountable to the causes he claims to support. So, if you really want to see Bernie succeed, keep calm, show up, and support the movement for black lives.Scientists plumbing the depths of the central equatorial Pacific Ocean have found ancient sediments suggesting that one proposed way to mitigate climate warming—fertilizing the oceans with iron to produce more carbon-eating algae—may not necessarily work as envisioned. Plants need trace amounts of iron to perform photosynthesis, but certain parts of the oceans lack it, and thus algae are scarce. Recent shipboard experiments have shown that when researchers dump iron particles into such areas, it can boost growth. The algae draw the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide from the air to help build their bodies, so fertilization on a large scale could, theoretically, reduce atmospheric CO2. Seafloor sediments show that during past ice ages, more iron-rich dust blew from chilly, barren landmasses into the oceans, apparently producing more algae in these areas and, presumably, a natural cooling effect. Some scientists believe that iron fertilization and a corresponding drop in CO2 is one reason why ice ages become icy and remain so. But the researchers in the new study say that increased algae growth in one area can inhibit growth elsewhere. This is because ocean waters are always on the move, and algae also need other nutrients, such as nitrates and phosphates. Given heavy doses of iron, algae in one region may suck up all those other nutrients; by the time the water circulates elsewhere, it has little more to offer, and adding iron doesn’t do anything. The study appears today in the leading journal Nature. “There’s only a limited amount of total nutrients in the oceans. So if there’s greater use in one area, it seems you’d have lesser concentrations in other areas,” said lead author Kassandra Costa, a doctoral student at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory who led the analysis. “The basic message is, if you add to one place, you may subtract from another.” Much of the equatorial Pacific’s near-surface water comes from the Southern Ocean. In the southerly latitudes, powerful winds circle Antarctica. This stirs things like a giant ladle, dredging large amounts of nitrates, phosphates and other nutrients from bottom waters where they tend to settle—so much so, that the nutrients can’t all be used up by resident algae. This makes the Southern Ocean an attractive place for potential artificial fertilization; experiments have shown that adding iron there does cause more algae to grow. Much of this nutrient-rich water eventually sinks and circulates below the surface to the mid-Pacific; the journey takes a century or two. At the equator, the southern water meets with opposing currents from the north and rises, making the nutrients available to near-surface algae. But most of these nutrients pass on by; the mid-Pacific is too far from iron-rich dust sources on land for algae to make much use of them. In 2012, Lamont scientists conducted a research cruise in this remote region, and took cores from the seabed. Costa and her colleagues analyzed sediments from the cores dating to the last ice age, some 17,000 to 26,000 years ago. As expected, they found two or three times more dust reaching the area compared to today, due to reduced plant cover in the cold, dry climate. Marine plant growth might have been expected to have increased accordingly, but it didn’t. The sediments showed that productivity stayed the same, or even declined. Their conclusion: algae in the southerly latitudes, which also got dusted at the same time, snapped up the iron—along with most of the other nutrients. That left the Pacific algae high and dry. “This shows how different parts of the system are connected,” said Lamont marine geochemist Jerry McManus, a coauthor on the paper. “If you push hard in one place, the system pushes back somewhere else.” This undercuts the idea that iron fertilization could be a major force in spurring and maintaining ice ages. He said. “That doesn’t mean it’s not an influence, but the global system may be self-regulating and [that] reduces the potential impact of fertilization,” he said. The study does not say so, but McManus adds that it also suggests “we should be very careful about thinking we can use artificial fertilization to combat climate change.” Recently researchers have done a series of artificial iron fertilization experiments. These have ranged from a 2012 privately sponsored seeding off British Columbia said to have produced a 10,000-square-mile algae bloom, to a similar 2009 German cruise in the southwest Atlantic. Some earlier projects were done in the southern ocean—the place “where you get the most bang for your buck,” said McManus. Because iron is needed only in trace quantities, researchers have calculated that in some areas, each kilogram added could produce 100,000 kilograms of algae, at least locally. The most recent experiments have sparked protests from environmental groups. Some scientists say iron dumping could alter marine ecosystems in unpredictable and possibly harmful ways. Another problem: for excess carbon to be truly locked away, it must sink to the seafloor when the algae die. Some studies have suggested that while algae may grow quickly when fertilized, much of the carbon they take up remains near the surface for hundreds of years, cycling through other marine creatures, or bleeding directly back into the air. Phoebe Lam, an oceanographer at the University of California, Santa Cruz, who studies marine cycling of iron and carbon, said the paper “shows there are downstream consequences to anything you do in the ocean. It’s what the geoengineers don’t necessarily think of. It makes the idea of artificial iron fertilization require a discussion of much more subtlety.” Sylvain Pichat, a marine geochemist at the University of Lyon, said the study “indeed shows that we need to think about the oceans and the climate system as a whole.” Earlier this month, British researchers published a study showing how much still remains to be discovered: they observed that big icebergs increasingly calving off Antarctica are releasing vast trails of iron as they melt, triggering algae blooms for hundreds of miles—a possible mechanism that one could speculate might eventually push back against the manmade forces implicated in the calving. Reference: Jeff Tollefson. Ocean-fertilization project off Canada sparks furore, Nature (2012). DOI: 10.1038/490458a K. M. Costa et al. No iron fertilization in the equatorial Pacific Ocean during the last ice age, Nature (2016). DOI: 10.1038/nature16453People who celebrated the Fourth of July on Cape Cod aren't celebrating their return trip home Tuesday as drivers face a more than 20-mile backup on Route 6.Without traffic, a trip from Orleans to the Sagamore Bridge could take about 40 minutes, but current conditions have people waiting nearly two hours to get off Cape Cod.The weather isn't making it any easier. Heavy rain in southeastern Massachusetts, including the Cape and Islands slowed traffic.Get the WCVB News App People who celebrated the Fourth of July on Cape Cod aren't celebrating their return trip home Tuesday as drivers face a more than 20-mile backup on Route 6. Without traffic, a trip from Orleans to the Sagamore Bridge could take about 40 minutes, but current conditions have people waiting nearly two hours to get off Cape Cod. Advertisement The weather isn't making it any easier. Heavy rain in southeastern Massachusetts, including the Cape and Islands slowed traffic. AlertMeBETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Israel's army said Wednesday it had reprimanded a soldier after he was identified in photos uploaded online using drugs in uniform and posing nude with weapons. The pictures, discovered by the US-based Electronic Intifada website, show a young man identified as Osher Maman in a series of poses with guns and weapons, while others show him posing with a joint. Screenshots also show him making threatening and derogatory statements about Arabs and Muslims on social media. "Just took an arab out.... Whataa feeling," said a Twitter post. "The pictures in question are a violation of the IDF's Code of Ethics and its values. This is a severe incident that is being treated appropriately. The soldier was reprimanded by his commanders. Investigation of the pictures is ongoing," an emailed statement from the Israeli army said. It added: "The IDF goes through great efforts to ensure that soldiers conduct themselves in line with the IDF Code of Ethics. Violations of this code leads to disciplinary actions." The army did not elaborate on how the soldier, which it did not name, was reprimanded. The statement comes a day after Israel's army said it would hold an investigation into the conduct of another soldier who shared a picture of a Palestinian child seen through the scope of a rifle. Both soldiers' images were uploaded using the popular Instagram photo sharing application. Ali Abunimah, the author of the post about Mamam, called the images "an indicator of a much more troubling reality. They indicate an atmosphere and attitude where life, Palestinian life, is cheap." He added: "If only this were restricted to Instagram, it would not be such a problem. It is the fact that this attitude translates into routine killings of Palestinians, especially, children, and there are no credible investigations." Abunimah referred to findings by an Israeli legal group that of 103 investigations into allegations of crimes committed against Palestinians by Israeli soldiers in 2012, none resulted in an indictment. "In this context, public relations responses from the Israeli army that this or that soldier has been 'disciplined' or'reprimanded' for a social media transgression should fool no one. The real problem is a culture of violence and hatred that is an inherent feature of military and colonial rule over a subject people."February 14 may be Valentine's Day, but it's also a significant day for the State of Oregon. On February 14, 1859, President James Buchanan signed a bill that officially admitted Oregon to the United States of America. So as you give flowers or chocolate to your sweetheart today, take a minute to also wish Oregon a happy 153rd birthday. As we celebrate the Beaver State's birthday, you can also impress your loved ones with your knowledge of Oregon's state symbols. For instance, did you know that Oregon's state beverage is milk? Here are some other Oregon symbols: State animal: American Beaver - The beaver was named the state animal by the 1969 legislature. Beavers have long been prized for their fur and admired for the engineering ingenuity. State beverage: Milk - In recognition of milk's contribution to Oregon's economy, legislators named it the state beverage in 1997. State bird: Western Meadowlark - School children named the Western Meadowlark the state bird in 1927 in a poll that was sponsored by the Oregon Audubon Society. State crustacean: Dungeness crab - One of the newest state symbols, the Dungeness crab was added to the symbol list during the 2009 legislature. Students at Sunset Primary School in West Linn petitioned lawmakers to add Dungeness crab to the list. State dance: Square dance - Because who doesn't love a good old fashioned square dance? State dirt: Jory soil - Named for the Jory family of south Salem, the red clay is found throughout western Oregon. State fish: Chinook salmon - This is
. They discovered bot armies are affecting trades on a microsecond-by-microsecond basis. Over at The Atlantic, Alexis Madrigal has a fascinating story about how Nanex software engineer Jeffrey Donovan started analyzing market data in a way nobody had ever done before. Instead of looking at trades and quotes served up each second or minute, he delved deeper. He looked for market patterns at the sub-second level, and discovered some seriously bizarre things were happening. Trading bots, controlled by unknown algorithms, were doing things like requesting stock quotes at a rate of 56,000 per second. So are these algorithms created by malicious hackers, trying to recreate the Flash Crash? That is one possibility, since sometimes they request so much data that human trading could be affected. What seems certain is that they're not traces from the bots used by high-frequency traders, who often use algorithms to figure out where to buy and sell quickly and constantly. These bots' information requests and trades are just too random to be useful for high-frequency traders. Advertisement Madrigal writes: The algorithms... don't serve any function in the market. University of Pennsylvania finance professor, Michael Kearns, a specialist in algorithmic trading, called the patterns "curious," and noted that it wasn't immediately apparent what such order placement strategies might do. Donovan thinks that the odd algorithms are just a way of introducing noise into the works. Other firms have to deal with that noise, but the originating entity can easily filter it out because they know what they did. Perhaps that gives them an advantage of some milliseconds. In the highly competitive and fast HFT world, where even one's physical proximity to a stock exchange matters, market players could be looking for any advantage. "They are moving the high-frequency services as close to the exchanges as possible because even the speed of light matters," in such a competitive market, said Stanford finance professor Peter Hansen. Advertisement Donovan calls the visualizations of the data he found "crop circles," and he's created a blog where he posts a daily chart of unexplained bot activity. He says he finds several examples of weird algorithmic behavior at the sub-second level every day, so obviously the market service computers are swarming with bot activity. The question remains: Who is controlling these bots? What exactly are they trying to do? Some analysts dismiss these nanosecond patterns as simple chance, the emergent properties of a complex system. Others, like Donovan, are just trying to gather data and understand them. But I think you and I know exactly what's going on. Out of the tiny impulses of a million bots, an artificial intelligence is being born. Below, Madrigal offers us a few images from Donovan's archive, with explanations. Read his whole article over at The Atlantic. And check out the bot "crop circles" over at Donovan's Nanex blog too. Advertisement Madrigal's gloss: This is an extreme closeup of just one second of trading of the stock SHG, the Shinhan Financial Group. This is 760 quotes from a total of 10,000 made in 12 seconds. Advertisement Madrigal's gloss: Here we see a "flag repeater" being executed on the BATS Exchange, the third-largest equity market after the NYSE and NASDAQ. 15,000 quote requests were made in 11 seconds in a repeating pattern. Each iteration upped the quote a penny until $9.36, and then the algorithm went down the same way, a penny at a time. Advertisement Madrigal's gloss: This chart shows a different kind of strategy. It represents 56,000 quotes in one second all at the same price (the top chart) but with the size of the order increasing by one (i.e. 100 shares) all the way up to 40,000. Advertisement Madrigal's gloss: Finally, we see what Donovan calls the "stubby triangles" chart. It shows high quotes being made and then immediately followed by a stub order of $0.01 (basically canceled in most contexts). The quote is then remade at a lower price and followed with another stub quote. This cycle happened at the rate of 380 quotes a second. [This last description was clarified thanks to the kindness of author Joe Flood.]The Pope was shot while riding in an open car The head of the commission, Paolo Guzzanti, said it was sure beyond "reasonable doubt" that Soviet leaders ordered the shooting. Turkish national Mehmet Ali Agca, now 48, shot the Pope in St Peter's Square on 13 May 1981, hitting him four times. Agca never gave a motive, and mystery has continued to surround the shooting. A link between Agca and Bulgarian agents, and through them to the Soviet Union's KGB, has been the subject of speculation over the years. Solidarity links The commission released the final draft of its report to journalists on Thursday. "This commission believes, beyond all reasonable doubt, that the leaders of the USSR took the initiative to eliminate Pope Karol Wojtyla," the report said. Agca fired at Pope John Paul as he waved to crowds in Rome Enlarge Image Soviet leaders "communicated this decision to the military secret service in order that it carry out the necessary operations", it continued. The commission said the Soviet Union felt the Pope was a danger because of his support for the democracy-linked Solidarity labour movement in Poland, his native country. It also said that it had photographic evidence showing a Bulgarian man, one of six men acquitted in 1986 of orchestrating the assassination attempt, was in St Peter's Square at the time of the shooting. The findings came from a commission set up to investigate Cold War secrets revealed by Vasili Mitrokhin, a KGB archivist who defected to the UK in 1992. Agca served nearly 20 years in an Italian jail for the crime. He is currently in prison in Turkey for the murder of a journalist.TORONTO — An international group of researchers has added to the mounting evidence that people can be addicted to food in the same way as alcohol or drugs. The researchers found that food cravings can activate different areas of the brains of people who are obese or overweight than in normal weight people, suggesting brains of those who are overweight are “hard-wired” to want food. The findings come as no surprise to a Toronto man who said he’s been battling a severe food addiction for decades. “I’m a food addict,” said Bob (he asked not to reveal his identity), who has been active in the Overeaters Anonymous community for more than 25 years. “There’s never enough.” Bob believes food addiction is just as real as drug or alcohol addiction and said he would go to lengthy measures to avoid and obtain food, just like a drug addict after their next hit. “I’ve done bizarre things like throwing a piece of pizza in the garbage and covering it with cigarette ash and half an hour later fishing it out and washed it off, because I wanted my fix of pizza,” said Bob. “That’s all there was to it.” He described eating pounds of candy in a span of 15 minutes, to the point of feeling like he “was going to explode.” Then after a few deep breaths he’d go back for more. “The high lasts only a very brief period of time. Because you have to keep taking more and more to perpetuate that high.” And like a drug addict, the need increases. “After a while a little bit is not sufficient. And it takes more and more and more and more. There’s no limit.” Read more: Is obesity an illness? U.S. medical association recognizes condition as official disease He was bulimic at one point, and weighed 300 pounds. He said he would purge himself any way he could so he could simply eat more. He estimated at one point he was consuming 10,000 calories a day. He said “something clicked” in his brain after attending his first meeting. “I thought, well, what I’ve been doing hasn’t been working, so I’m willing to give it a shot.” The treatment is a 12-step program similar to those for other addictions. “It requires daily practice,” said Bob. “I don’t think it ever goes away. As an addict it kind of lurks in the background.” Recent findings back up what Bob has experienced: researchers in Spain and Australia looked at the differences in brain reward systems in obese and normal-weight individuals. They did this by first feeding 39 obese and 42 normal-weight individuals a buffet meal. Later an MRI brain scanner was used, along with photos of food to stimulate food cravings. The scans showed that food cravings affected a different part of the brain on obese individuals than on a person of normal weight. For obese individuals, the food craving stimulated the “reward-based” area of the brain more so than in people of normal weight. Obesity carries with it numerous health risks including high blood pressure, heart disease, Type 2 diabetes and stroke. Recent data shows that rates of childhood obesity are at peak levels in the United States and Canada, though the rates appear to have plateaued. In Canada, 13 per cent of children are considered obese and in the U.S. that rate is even higher at 17.5 per cent. About one-quarter of Canadian adults are obese, compared to one-third of American adults. READ MORE: Is food addiction real? Harvard study has experts weighing in “There is an ongoing controversy over whether obesity can be called a ‘food addiction,'” said lead researcher Dr. Oren Contreras-Rodríguez. “The findings in our study support the idea that the reward processing following food stimuli in obesity is associated with neural changes similar to those found in substance addiction.” Three months later the researchers measured the Body Mass Index (BMI) of the study subjects and found that 11 per cent of weight gain in the obese individuals could be predicted by this brain behaviour. The research was recently presented at a European College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ECNP) conference. Bob said he is encouraged that food addiction is slowly being recognized as a valid affliction. “Now I recognize that behaviour, and I have not behaved that way in a very long time,” adding he still can’t be complacent about his addiction. He said food addiction needs to be seen as an illness to be understood and treated, and there needs to be less stigma placed on those who are overweight. “Anything that allows people to realize that it’s not a matter of willpower, and there’s no judgement attached to it, there’s no moral ethical judgement,” said Bob. “Food addiction is very real.”I’d love to say that this marked the end of my journey towards being an out and proud bi man, but I’d be lying. As many an LGBT+ person will tell you, self-acceptance is often just the first hurdle. Even if I was starting to accept myself, that didn’t mean that everyone else would feel the same way. There was (and still is) Biphobia everywhere. Worse yet, it wasn’t just coming from straight people. As counterintuitive and idiotic as it may sound, I encountered many a gay and lesbian person in LGBT spaces that would openly dismiss and express animosity towards bi/pan/otherwise fluid people. Opening up about my identity would mean putting up with stupidity and ridicule from both sides, which was something I wasn’t ready to handle. “Besides,” I argued to myself, “unless I’m dating someone, it’s not really any of their business in the first place. Why open up about this to everyone I meet just so they can question and doubt every relationship I have from then on?” “I tried and tried in vain to ignore any same-sex attraction, hoping that, one day, it would just magically disappear” Luckily, shortly thereafter, I started dating someone who was incredibly chill about the fact that I was bi. The thing was…he was a guy. So the time came to make a choice: either come clean to people or let them draw their own conclusions. I only chose the first option for a very select few close family and friends, and the second one for pretty much anyone else. As a result, a lot of people kept mislabeling me as gay. Every time they did, I had to convince myself that it was easier letting it go than correcting them and possibly having to deal with the ensuing pushback. That method worked for a few years, until one day, I got an anonymous message on Tumblr that put me over the edge. I decided to take to YouTube and shut down everyone who tried to shove me in a box where I didn’t belong. Little did I know that the response my little rant would be absolutely massive. And it was through the massive response I got to that video (and to all the other ones I’ve made about bisexuality since then) that I discovered just how important it is to live your truth. I’m not going to sit here and say that Closeted Me was wrong and that I never experience any Biphobia or hate, because that would be a lie. But what I didn’t realise previously is that coming out would give me access to an entire community that I didn’t even know about before. I’m not just talking about organisations like BiNetUSA, the LA Bi Task Force, AmBi, the BiCast, and other great Bi organisations – I’m also just talking about the thousands of people who have flooded to the videos and my channel to say “hey, I’m bi too!” Speaking from experience, being closeted can be a very isolating experience. So finding your community can be an incredible relief, even if it is mostly online. It’s that feeling I got when I met my first bi person but multiplied by a hundred. Better yet, I get to be that person to literally thousands of others, the one who says “who you are and what you’re experiencing is valid”. “So if you’re bi, pan, omnisexual, polysexual, fluid, or any other label under the Bi+ umbrella, fret not. You’re not alone” The funny thing is, I’m still learning a lot about bisexuality. You’d think that the concept would be as simple as “being attracted to more than one gender”, and it sort of is. But there’s also all sorts of history and heritages and facts and figures. For instance, did you know that the organiser of the first Gay Pride parade was a bi woman? Or that Bi+ people experience higher instances of sexual assault and intimate partner violence than their gay and straight counterparts? I won’t bore you with a course; if you’re really interested, there are plenty of resources out there written by far more qualified people. Point is, I’m finding out all of this new information about my own identity, which is something I never even thought would be possible all those years ago. Oh, and I’m also headed to the White House in late September to participate in a Bisexual Round Table. How’s that for a happy ending? So if you’re bi, pan, omnisexual, polysexual, fluid, or any other label under the Bi+ umbrella, fret not. You’re not alone. Same goes if you’re gay or lesbian or trans or ace. You don’t have to come out if you think it might put you at risk. But know that, if and when you choose to, there will be others out there who share your same identity. If you don’t really know how you want to identify, that’s fine. There’s no law that says you have to pick a label at any time. If you come across one that feels like it fits, great! If not, who cares? And if you choose one label and then later find another one that fits better, then that’s fine too! But no matter how you identify, realise that it’s not anyone’s responsibility to live their life in a way that makes sense to you. Chances are that, at some point in your life, you’re going to come across someone who does something or has an identity that makes no sense to you. That’s okay. There’s no requirement that says their life and their choices have to make sense to you. You can cause real damage by ridiculing and/or dismissing them, and for what? It’s their life and their existence compared to your brief interaction with them. It costs you nothing to simply accept them, and yet it can mean the world to that person. And if you need any proof as to how meaningful it can be, let me serve as your example. Written by RJ Aguiar Follow RJ on YouTubeYann Kermorgant's brace against Blackburn took his league goals tally to 13 for the season Reading manager Jaap Stam was full of praise for in-form striker Yann Kermorgant after his brace in their win against Blackburn Rovers. Four goals in the past three games from Kermorgant have solidified Reading's place in the Championship play-offs. "Yann's a quality player and everyone knows that," Stam said. "He's important for the team in everything he does." Victory against relegation-threatened Blackburn lifted Reading to third ahead of Huddersfield's match with Norwich. Kermorgant, 35, last week confirmed his intention to retire at the end of next season when his current contract with the Royals ends. The former Bournemouth, Charlton and Leicester City player has now scored 13 league goals this season for Reading, who have won their past three games. "In heading a ball, he's got a lot of quality," Stam told BBC Radio Berkshire. "He's real class, especially if you deliver the type of crosses to him that we did tonight." Reading travel to Norwich on Saturday, holding a nine-point cushion over seventh-placed Fulham with six games remaining.Some significant Concordant Mod gameplay details. Another portion. Posted by Bivirgerry on Nov 24th, 2015 As mentioned before, Concordant Mod aims to return to the first Dawn of War mostly, with a longer technical progress; and it of course raises the importance of each level, with longer battles and more time spending for every Tier. According to this, Mod increases the number of useful units, possibilities and tactics for every Tier... So there will be more battles (on small maps for example) without using high levels T-3 and T-4, because they are not necessary to win. High levels in Concordant Mod are mainly intended for long fights and big maps with more elite troops and ‘heavy tanks’. That also means T-4 Relic-Units: their appearance on the battlefield changes more than in the original, they are stronger, and they are much more useful for their specialized purposes. However, all of them are much more expensive, longer and require more control and a good timing to be the most effective. Concordant Mod also brings MORE relic-units, so You always need to choose which one is better for your actual strategy&units and for the situation on the battlefield now. And this choice is a really vital gameplay element, because uber-units are really different in characteristics and opportunities, and the wrong choice can make your uber-unit absolutely useless. Check this several examples. Necrons : Restored Monolith/Pylon/Aeonic Orb Necron's gameplay feature means quite similar units in a high weapon effectiveness against all targets, but very different tactics. Familiar from the original Monolith is a multipurpose unit, with increased hitpoints (and decreased Hp for evacuation) and abilities boosting its vitality and own troops reinforce, it can be a good attack shield for your army. Pylon, as the core of your defending line, combines a high damage and a really big fire range with serious energy expenses for every shot, for every jumping and for its special ability. Pretty little (to be logical and balanced well) and unstable Aeonic Orb has low hitpoints but CRITICAL(!!) damage skills; it’s also quite dangerous for your own forces too and requires a high micro-control. IG : Baneblade/Shadowsword/Stormlord Radically different situation, with highly specialized heavy tanks. Their hitpoints are 25% reduced and the price is higher, so now it’s very important to use your heavy tank right!! Baneblade’s weapon wants to destroy enemy vehicles and makes it great, but compared with the original it is not so effective against troops. Stormlord is ready to do an antipodal job of killing A LOT of infantry, but it’s helpless against vehicles. Shadowsword is a trump against big Daemons and high-armored targets, but its defensive weaponary is weak and You need to control it closely. 5 different types of Leman Russ tank can be combined with every super-heavy without restriction, for getting the most effective combination. Stormlord + Vanquisher + Vanquisher + Eradicator. Baneblade + Conqueror + Conqueror + Punisher. Etc... Inquisition : Land Raider Redeemer/Living Saint/Judgment Chair Sister’s Living Saint gets new damage abillties and friends aura for keeping its efficiency high enough with new realities. It also combines well with Sisters Vengeance Angels and gets additional bonuses for your Canoness and more Faith resource. Judgment Chair is the final Ordo Hereticus argument, its characteristics are inadequate for the relic unit, but its orbital strikes and shooting abilities are almost permanent! Just keep enough resources to pay for this beauty. But of course JC will always be a primary target for your enemy. Grey Knght’s Land Raider is just the most durable heavy vehicle of the game with 12.300 hitpoints and improved armour; Redeemer will deliver the squad in any place despite of any enemy fire. On the other hand Redeemer doesn’t have its own outstanding firepower, comparing with Space Marines Land Raiders, so it should be complemented correctly. Orkz : Squiggoth/Battlefortress Units for two different gameplay models in T-4. Squiggoth doesn’t transport squads any more and now it’s a unit for mainly breaking through the enemy defense and crushing the base. Note that its attack and rampage became more realistic: it hits the radius, not a point; its attack count reduced, but the real damage efficiency grown up. Squiggoth is now a ‘monster_med’ type of armour, but it has DAMN 18.500 hitpoints! However, the most logical feature is an enemy morale rate reduction by Squiggoth appearance)) Battlefortress is a mighty transport, able to hold heavy units like Nobz and Mega Nobz, and also produce Slugga squads right among the battlefield. It carries much more firepower than Squiggoth, and gives an effective fire support. Despite of the relic unit status, Battlefortress is ‘vehicle_med’ vehicle; so it also has a lot of hitpoints but all melee walkers are very dangerous for it. And You must secure it attentively. Etc. Im not writing more because all other races have a similar principle in that question. But maybe I’ll write about them too, later.A recent fish kill in Louisiana’s Pearl River affected dozens of species of fish, including endangered gulf sturgeon. On Saturday afternoon, August 13, 2011, fisheries biologists with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) received a report of a large fish kill in the Pearl River near Bogalusa. Biologists immediately coordinated with emergency responders from the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and began surveys and testing of water conditions in the affected areas. LDWF personnel tested the water for potential causes of the fish kill, including pH and levels of dissolved oxygen — some common factors in fish kills. Biologists surveyed 45 miles of the river from Richardson Landing to the entrance of the West Pearl River Navigation Canal. DEQ also sent an emergency responder and a water quality specialist to investigate the fish kill. Several thousand aquatic species were observed dead or dying along the river, including surface, middle and bottom dwellers. Of the fish species included in the fish kill were Paddlefish, American eels, catfish, bass, bluegill and shad. Initially, DEQ, LDWF, the Department of Health and Hospitals, Governor’s Office of Homeland Security, local officials, and federal responders believed that a slug of partially treated or untreated wastewater reached the river and may have caused or contributed to the fish kill. By August 17, 2011, the slug of black water believed to have been related to the fish kills had moved south through St. Tammany Parish. In response to the event, the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness deployed its Mobile Command Unit to the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) Pearl River Wildlife Management Area to serve as unified command area to support local emergency management and other state agencies in this response effort. GOHSEP has also activated its Crisis Action Team. Officials from DEQ worked with its counterparts in Mississippi to have the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District increase the discharge from the Ross Barnett Reservoir to increase the flow in the Pearl River, according to the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality. The increased flow was done to increase the amount of fresh water help increase low oxygen levels in the river. By August 17th, at least 24 species of fish had been identified as part of the fish kill, including paddlefish, American eels, catfish, bass, bluegill and shad. Two species of freshwater mussels have also been identified in the fish kill. Included in the kill were Gulf sturgeon, a species listed as “threatened” under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. As of August 16, 19 Gulf sturgeon were collected by LDWF. Specimens were handed over to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) as part of their investigation. LDWF fisheries biologists and enforcement agents are assisting USFWS in the investigation. Eventually, Louisiana officials recognized a Temple-Inland discharge of “black liquor” on the Pearl River that occurred on Tuesday, August 9, 2011 as a possible source of the fish kill. Numerous levels of assessment are underway by the Louisiana departments of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF), Health and Hospitals (DHH), and Environmental Quality (DEQ), including seafood safety testing, waterbody quality tests, testing of private water wells, evaluation of baseline species and efforts to determine the effects on fish and other aquatic life as a result of the wastewater discharge. LDWF is also working with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services (USFWS), Louisiana State University fisheries experts, and officials with the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks to determine the loss of aquatic life, including fish and freshwater mussels. Initially, more than 26 species of freshwater fish were identified in the fish kill. They include Paddlefish, American eel, catfish, bass and bluegill. Species with similar characteristics were grouped together in some cases due to the massive volume of fish and the expansive range of the kill. Experts with the Tulane University Natural History Museum are working with LDWF fisheries biologists to establish a baseline for species native to the Pearl River. That baseline will serve as the “before” picture for restitution claims. A total restitution value for the fish kill will be compiled once the investigation is complete. LDWF officials are working with USFWS in their investigation into the deaths of federally listed threatened and endangered species. In addition to state restitution values for fish and freshwater mussel deaths, Temple-Inland may be subject to civil or criminal fines for those species covered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Officials with LDWF are also developing a three-year monitoring plan to monitor the re-establishment of Pearl River aquatic resources. Selected sampling gears, including electrofishing and nets will be employed under standardized protocol to ensure that results accurately represent the status of recovery. LDWF plans to continue to pursue an agreement with Temple-Inland by which the responsible party would pay for the necessary fisheries resource monitoring. source: Louisiana Department of Wildlife and FisheriesOur team of hale ale tasters gathered an array of beers brewed in the beautiful American Pale Ale style in order to pick a favorite. These beers typically present a golden-amber-orange hue that hints at the caramel backbone within. What you'll likely taste first, however, is that piney, citrus-hop freshness that makes APAs so intriguing, combined with a tempering maltiness that makes them so drinkable. We sought a perfect malt/hop balance—call it the (bitter)sweet spot—as well as enticing aromas and integrated flavors. This roundup isn't about English-Style Pales from American brewers, though we do love a few of those, particularly Firestone Walker's Double Barrel Ale, a deliciously smooth and richly grainy beer with enough hops to clean the palate. Deschutes' Mirror Pond is also a solid version, earthy with hints of bergamot (though we prefer their Red Chair NWPA.) Here are our thoughts on seventeen American Pale Ales, but of course there are many more to try. Do you have a favorite pale ale that we should add to our list (and our fridge)? Serious Beer Ratings 5/5 Mindblowing; a new favorite 4/5 Awesome, stock up on this 3/5 Around average for the style 2/5 There are probably better options 1/5 No, thanks, I'll have water. Top of the Crop Half Acre Daisy Cutter Illinois, 5.2% ABV A truly outstanding entry in the APA arena, and really, what's not to love about the citric power of what feels like an entire basket of grapefruits? Highly hoppy, very bright, floral, grapefruit-astringent and cleanly crisp, Daisy Cutter manages to balance all its high notes in a smooth, drinkable can. Mouthfeel is mild and gentle, just enough bitterness to challenge and entice. Can't get enough. 4.5/5 Deschutes Red Chair NWPA Oregon, 6.4% ABV Is it an IPA? An Oregon-style Pale Ale? We won't nitpick, but this beer blurs the lines a little. The nose is a burst of mossy pine and grapefruit peel, and the hops in this brew smack you several times over: sweet candied orange, green grass, and then a super-bitter finish that hints at radicchio. The backbone is toffeelike malt, hay, and apricot, and this beer is on the rich side. The hop lovers among us can't help but fall in love with this beer. 4.5/5 Odell 5 Barrel Pale Ale Colorado, 5.2% ABV This deeply resiny beer may have almost nothing to do with its English ancestors, but it's lipsmackingly tasty. Fresh squeezed orange juice, layers of guava, mango, and buttery caramel popcorn, with a hint of orange bitters and grapefruit peel and a clean finish make us want another. Hugely flavorful beer for the level of alcohol. 4.25/5 Founders Pale Ale Michigan, 5.4% ABV Crisp and citric, grainy-greeny, Founder's dry-hopped entry into the APA realm is an exceptionally balanced, hops-forward beer with a bitter finish. It manages a fresh taste even throughout its sweeter notes, though its tame aroma may deceive you. 4.25/5 Stone Brewing Co. Pale Ale California, 5.4% ABV This aggressive, concentrated beer has become something of a classic, but it's not for everyone. Several of our tasters far prefer Stone's IPA to this pale, which they found intensely bitter and slightly musty. It's dry, with hints of spruce boughs, earthy molasses, grapefruit peel, and a lingering bitterness. There's a little brutality to its punch—but its directness doesn't make it uncomplex. 4/5 Firestone Pale 31 California, 4.8% ABV This beer is much more resiny and fruity than Firestone's Double Barrel, with quite a punch of orange-pineapple juiciness with hints of lavender, rosemary, mango, and lemon peel. The rich graininess of this beer didn't quite connect to the hops for us as the beer warmed; serve it just under cellar temperature. 4/5 Drakes 1500 Dry Hopped Pale Ale California, 5.5% ABV This mouthfilling beer isn't shy: the aroma is a bit like a fruit cup: pineapple, grapefruit, mandarin. But after a fruity burst up front, it follows through with a nice full body laden with tart white grapefruit and pretty extreme bitterness. If you're a hophead, you'll dig it. 4/5 Solid Contenders Blue Point American Pale Ale New York, 4.6% ABV This big-bottle beer is bracing, with mown-grass flavors and hints of lemon thyme. A delicate light-wheat bread and kettle corn flavor stands up to the bitterness, but this beer is a bit more intense than Blue Points other offerings. Thirst quenching, barbecue-ready, with ample, fine carbonation. 3.75/5 Great Lakes Burning River Pale Ale Ohio, 6% ABV Smooth and soft-finishing for a hoppy APA, Burning River is exceptionally drinkable, almost graciously balanced. Its initial clean, piney, hop bitterness recedes quietly to that soft mouthfeel and caramel/stone fruit sweetness. It's not Great Lakes' strongest statement of a beer, but it's a fine and gentle example of the style. 3.5/5 Victory Brewing Company Headwaters Pale Ale Pennsylvania, 5.1% The aroma advertises peach ring candy, but this beer isn't as sweet as it smells, and a moment of fruity openess turns over into a fresh punch of hoppy bitterness. We tasted rye toast and peach tea, with puckering grapefruit peel on the finish. It's a dry, crisp beer, lacking the richness of some of the others we tried. 3.5/5 We Wouldn't Say No To These Anchor Liberty Ale California 5.9% ABV This beer recipe may have originated in the 70s, but it still resonates for hophounds. Fine, refreshing carbonation, resiny and chamomile-tinged hop flavor, grainy malt reminiscent of banana bread. Nothing harsh about it, but this trailblazer is unlikely to really wow today's extreme beer lovers. 3.25/5 Caldera Pale Ale Oregon, 5.5% ABV Some folks will find this one seriously refreshing while others will be put off by the aggressive bitterness; this crisp pale ale has an almost pilsner-style snap to it, and though the nose is super-fragrant pineapple and mandarin orange, this beer lacks the sweet fruitiness of Caldera's delicious amber. We tasted 7-grain bread, bitter lemon rind, and an almost metallic bitterness on the finish. 3.25/5 Sierra Nevada Pale Ale California, 5.6% ABV There's a reason Sierra Nevada has become a go-to in the American Pale Ale category, and it's not just distribution. The beer's balanced bitterness makes it a bit of a benchmark. While it won't challenge you or freak you out, its floral-citric brightness and easy, clean, lemon hoppiness make for a very solid pale ale. 3.25/5 New Belgium Mighty Arrow Colorado, 6% ABV This arrow's might is served up with a blunted tip: it's hoppy in a brute-force, vertical sense, all back-end bitterness on a honey-malt bed. Drinkable (and perfect for a hot day) with a smooth finish, but there's a lack of nuance here. 3.25/5 Otter Creek Pale Ale Vermont, 4.6% ABV Otter Creek's perfectly sessionable pale ale starts bitter and ends abruptly—though the nose promises something fruitier and more complex. On the palate it's simple, ephemeral, and finishes. Uncontroversially hoppy and frustratingly ephemeral. 3.25/5 Dale's Pale Ale Colorado, 6.5% ABV This mild, malty beer doesn't have the fresh pop of some of the others; the hopping leaves us with candied orange flavor and a lingering bitter finish. 3/5 Sun King Osiris Indiana, 5.6% ABV Rye bread and honey in the aroma, potent bitter-earthy hops, a bready (but slightly sour) finish. Grainy with hints of toasted sesame. The flavors aren't totally integrated here. More earthy bitterness than some; not much fruit and pine. 2.75/5 This post may contain links to Amazon or other partners; your purchases via these links can benefit Serious Eats. Read more about our affiliate linking policy.RIKUZENTAKATA, Japan (Reuters) - Hatsuko Ishikawa never got a final look at her 36-year-old son, a firefighter, before he was swept away by the tsunami that devastated Japan’s northeast coast three years ago. The replica of a lone pine tree that survived the 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster, now labelled the "miracle pine" as it became a symbol of hope for the region, is seen behind a huge belt conveyor which carries soil and sand from mountains to raise the ground above sea level in Rikuzentakata, Iwate prefecture, in this February 13, 2014 picture provided by Kyodo. Mandatory credit REUTERS/Kyodo Ishikawa only heard his voice, bellowing from his fire engine as he sped towards the sea to try to evacuate people before the wave struck. As the truck raced past, Ishikawa heard her son call out to her grandson, telling the boy to evacuate to higher ground. Then he was gone. She is haunted by what happened and tormented by what might have been. “I blame myself over and over again, asking myself why I didn’t stop him,” said Ishikawa, 65, as she sat in the spartan shelter where she has lived since that day. Small towns across Japan’s northeastern coast are rebuilding but far from healing three years since a massive earthquake set off a tsunami that killed nearly 20,000 people. In Rikuzentakata, where one in 10 residents died, nearly everyone lost a friend or family member on March 11, 2011. The resilience of Rikuzentakata’s tsunami survivors was embodied by a lone surviving tree, dubbed the “miracle pine”. But the tree died last year and a replica stands in its place. Around 5,000 people, a quarter of the town’s population, are still in temporary shelters with their lives on hold. Many like Ishikawa have chosen to suffer alone rather than seek support. Ishikawa’s voice cracked as she described how her husband placed a scarf around their son’s neck when they found him in a makeshift morgue. “He looked so cold,” she said. After finding him, she went back to the rubble to search for the bodies of her mother and younger brother. There were days in the wake of the disaster when her mind was completely blank, Ishikawa said. Then her blood pressure spiked and she was taken to a hospital. Her doctor
are you ok?" Vacantly, Anna slumped over. "Ugh, no I didn't regenerate last night because I didn't sleep in my own bed." "I don't understand," Elsa said. "Oh... my bed has an inductive regenerator. It uh... recharges me." 'Of course!' Elsa thought. Those limbs of hers weren't going to power themselves. "Is there anything we can do to jump-start you?" "Yeah," Anna started, her lifeless arm flopping like a limp noodle, vaguely pointing to the exit. "In the kitchen there are some energy bars and emergency glucosal packets. Could you get them for me, please?" "Sure... they'll get you to full power?" Elsa asked. "Nah, but it should get me to the ship, which will have a regen unit." Elsa took the limp bionic hand in her own and placed a tender kiss upon it. "No wonder it's drained, all that vibrating last night must have used a lot of power!" She gave Anna a steamy look, then promptly ran up the stairs, hopping with glee. When she came trotting back down the stairs several minutes later, something about Anna's voice wasn't quite right. "Come on Kristoff, please?" The pain in Anna's voice hooked into Elsa's heart, pulling her down faster. "I know, and I think she's fabulous Kris, I really do. But we could really, really use your help." Anna paced anxiously, twirling her hair with one hand. Her eyes narrowed and her lips curled in a rather distressing manner. Ending the conversation, she turned to Elsa and said "I really hate Kristoff's new girlfriend." "What makes you say that?" Elsa replied, handing over an energy bar. "My gut tells me. That, and she's sexy. Too sexy. Like a succubus or something." 'Ignore that your girlfriend just called someone sexy.' The instinctual flare of jealousy, though potent, was short lived. After all, she wasn't exactly in danger of losing Anna to this mysterious stranger. "I asked Kristoff to come with us, and she was being super possessive. I don't know what her deal is, but every time he came around, she'd drag him off the line. "I don't know anything about relationships Anna, but it might be better to let them do their own thing." Anna's puffy cheeks ballooned while she chewed enthusiastically on her energy bar. While she munched, she took the liquid energy packets and stowed them inside tiny storage slots in her legs. In between bites, she managed to spit out "Fine, but I don't have to like it." "Come on, we need to get to my dorm room so I can pick up some things." The stout metal door slammed into the frame a little harder than she had meant to. Security had run Anna through the wringer, going so far as to freeze her in place with a forcefield until nearly all of her augments were turned off. Each sense they took from her felt like a fresh pair of shackles, or a bag over her head. It was terrifying to be so blinded. If it weren't for Elsa's soothing intervention, she might have started a fight she couldn't finish. Angrily, she groaned. "Everyone here keeps looking at me like I'm a freak!" "They're terrified Anna. They can't know you're any different than Hans." "But I AM different!" A twinge of sorrow bit at her. Being looked at like a freak? An outsider capable of anything? Where had she felt that before? "I know. They looked at me the same way all the time. Especially when I told them that we're a couple." There it was. That look Anna had when she was of unmitigated conviction. That look that never failed to bolster everyone present. "We have to fix this," she commanded. Elsa's icy cool stare met her partner's in turn. Behind it, undertones of unease just barely shone through, subdued but present. "We will. I just need to finish transferring these files from my tablet to my wearable, grab my armament, and we'll be off." "Your armawhat?" "Oh wait till you see this!" A devilish grin came across thin lips. Elsa slunk down, dragging her hands across the metal cabinet and popping it open with an upbeat flick. From the soft, porous foam she extracted her ESD rifle. It gleamed with a shimmer in her hands, light flowing off the long, smooth barrel. "Whoa... you have a... what is it?" Anna asked, eyes wide in excitement as she studied it. "It's an ESD rifle. I wanted to name it 'Sparky', but I actually believe that's a better nickname for you." Anna pulled her head up from looking at the rifle, beaming at her new moniker. "Aww, I like it. But not as much as I like you, Snowflake." The pair headed out the door, and Elsa locked it behind her, though she had little to return for. As they jogged down the hall towards their destiny, the computer in the now empty room displayed the results of the almost complete genealogy scan. Search 99.99% complete. 3 possible matches. Passing through the threshold of a massive overhead door, Anna's heavy footfalls reverberated through the vast space before her. "Whoa." "Impressive," Elsa added. The two nearly jumped out of their skins when the door came crashing down behind them. No sooner had the echoes faded, than they were accosted by their paranoid comrade. "Were you followed? Goodness, Anna get some dampers installed in those giant clunkers of yours!" "Hey! My feet aren't big... are they?" Anna asked. "Your feet are fine, sweetie," Elsa reassured. Ashley hurried them to the ship, eager to get underway. "This is the Swift, ladies. She'll take you out of New England, past the national border into Autoria, then finally into Heartland. After that it's just a hop and a skip to Titania Haven in Colorado." Anna nodded in earnest, but Elsa was far less enthusiastic. "... How are we supposed to get past border crossings? Won't scans show that we're transporting people?" "Come on inside," Ashley started. "I'll show you the ship and explain everything. Then you can get underway." Elsa took stock of the vehicle, losing herself in the flowing aerodynamic curves and pitch black windshield. The interior was satisfying in a different way, neat and trim without being barren. In the cockpit, she teased herself by slowly sliding her hands barely above the controls. Just because it was an autonomous vessel didn't mean she wasn't going to salivate over plotting the course and monitoring the systems. "Snap out of it snowflake," Anna said, stealing her attention. "We've gotta go over the systems." "That's Captain snowflake to you, Miss." Anna chortled. Ashley just stared with a none-too-pleased expression. "Oh, maybe I'll just mutiny, Captain." Anna retorted with a cheeky smile. "You two can flirt later. Time is critical." Dr. Lancaster leaned over, activating the helm and related cockpit controls. "The 'cargo' is obfuscated by a series of rhythmic EM pulses making them look like power cells. The refugees are shielded by a thick layer of heavy metal, and they're all hooked straight into life-support systems. As long as you keep them powered, everyone will arrive in one piece." Gesturing into the holographic display, ne pulled up a hidden sub-menu dedicated to stealth operations. "If you get boarded, which won't happen, hit this panic button. Make sure you're both in the cockpit first! It'll lock out the cockpit, fill the rest of the ship with anesthezine gas, turn on a cloaking device and boost you the hell out of Dodge." The heaviness of Ashley's stare wore down on a concerned Elsa. "Don't use it unless you really, really mean it. I'm serious." "Right," Elsa replied. Back by the loading ramp, cutting through the dust in the air, Ashley stepped out of the ship and spun around to face the two entrusted guardians. "I won't be going with you. I have some business to take care of here. Oh and Anna?" "Mhmm?" "Be as diplomatic as you can. Heartland isn't a bad place, but it's less aug friendly than here in New England." "Got it." "Good luck, girls." Ashley said, walking off to send the ship on it's way using a control panel across the room. Anna waved back, hungry for adventure. "No sweat, we'll take care of eve-" A massive fireball of an explosion blew the hangar door clean off its hinges. The entire building shook from the force. Concrete chunks and rebar tore through the air as hot, blistering ballistics. 'Shit!' Elsa thought, reaching for her weapon. She fumbled with her hands by her side, cursing as the memory of the rifle sitting in the cockpit came back to her. Heavily armed, augmented soldiers poured into the hangar, hungry for a fight. The loading ramp closed at an excruciating pace, made only more agonizing by the realization that the soldier on point had their sights trained straight for her. The rifle came up, a finger ever so gently easing into a primed trigger. Millimeter by millimeter, it squeezed inwards, pushing against the threshold that would unleash spurts of hot death. Elsa felt herself being pushed out of harm's way by a powerful force. As she flew to her right, gravity pulled her on a downwards arc, and she slammed into the wall hard enough that consciousness briefly left her. The last thing to be seen as the door came to a close and the ship took off was Ashley ducking behind a crate, hopefully out of harm's way. Eventually, the gunfire-induced ringing in Elsa's ears subsided. Slogging through the disorientation, she gritted her teeth, pulling herself onto her knees. Her heart stopped when she looked up to see the form of Anna, limp and lying on the ground near where Elsa had previously been standing. Upon her stomach, a single bloodied hand lie palm-down. "ANNA!" Furiously she dragged herself the meter or so across the floor of the now speeding freighter. Fleeting memories flashed before her eyes. Each tender caress, every kiss and cuddle, compressed into mere moments, an involuntary reaction to the realization that they may never come again. Silence. Horrifying eons of torture. The first indication was the gentle expanding and contracting of Anna's chest with her breath. Then, Anna's eyes locking with her own. Finally, a reassuring smile and a grasp on the hand. "I'm fine, snowflake. Just a couple of bullets." Anna flipped over the hand on her stomach to reveal 3 flattened bullets, accompanied by only a meager pooling of blood. "My dermal armor caught them just fine. The wounds are skin-deep." The strength drained from her, and Elsa let herself fall, her head landing on Anna's chest. She choked on broken sobs, whimpering pathetically. Strong, supportive arms cradled her. Slowly but surely, Anna massaged her back to a coherent state. Anna, still running her fingers through Elsa's hair said, "Ugh, I really gotta regenerate. I've had enough of today." "You're telling me," Elsa replied, rising to her feet and offering Anna a hand. She took it happily, and Elsa pulled until her savior was on her feet. The journey was nowhere near stable at first, wobbling and off-balance. Before long though, she'd gotten Anna's arm over her shoulder and was guiding her to the regeneration chamber. Gingerly they hobbled along, sneaking enamored, furtive glances to each other the entire time. Anything to get a glimpse of that immaculate face. Anna stepped into the chamber, and Elsa quickly followed up with a kiss on the forehead. "Thanks for saving me again. I swear I'll return the favor." Anna gave a deeper, more forward kiss straight on the lips. "I know you will, snowflake. Are you sure you'll be okay alone for a few hours?" "Yeah... I'll survive," Elsa started, her eyes darting up. "Definitely gonna keep my gun with me this time though." "Good idea," Anna said, gently caressing Elsa's cheek in her hand. "I love you." And with that, she laid back, closed her eyes and let her tech do the rest. Back in the cockpit, Elsa finally got some alone time with the ship. The plush black leather seating sucked her into a trance, and she hummed to herself contentedly. Refreshing gusts of wind came out of the vents, keeping the summer heat from being oppressive. Curiously, she flipped through the ship's manuals, reading up on the food synthesizer options, adjusting the driving route, and half-heartedly skimming over the entertainment options. All systems were go until she noticed the upper deck's door open on the camera view. 'Please no stowaways...' she thought, reaching for her weapon. Holding the handle firmly, she tried to regulate her breathing with limited success. Just before she left the room, she stopped, turned back and set the lights to full intensity before leaving. Shaking, she tried to force herself to stand tall. Frantically, she scanned the room taking in every detail, audio and visual alike. Just a hint of a footstep sounded off by the stairwell, and in an instant her rifle was armed and ready to fire. Before she could get her finger down on the trigger, a tiny flash of light popped into existence on the floor at the end of the hall, and like a scared animal engulfed in blinding light, she froze. Millimeter by millimeter, the expanding wave of light cascaded upwards, revealing at first mechanical feet, followed by legs and by the time it had finished, a very familiar face had de-cloaked before her. A face that looked none too happy to be staring straight down Elsa's barrel. "Elsa, it's me! Put that thing away!" "I thought you weren't coming with us!" Elsa exclaimed. "I wasn't, but the bullets started flying and it was the safest way out." The awkward silence continued long after the two had settled into the cockpit, watching sleek, high-tech skylines fade to more subdued suburbia. Finally finding the strength to talk about the terror in the hangar, Elsa spoke up. "I'm beyond lucky, Ashley." "Oh?" came the response. "To be alive. In the firefight, Anna saw one of them gunning for me before I did. S-she... took bullets for me." "Wow," Ashley said, slamming back into the plush seating. Under hushed breaths, ne mumbled: "Maybe I was wrong..." Elsa queried "Wrong about what?" "I saw the way you looked at me when we first met. Must've confused the hell out of you, being new to Earth and all." Elsa found herself unsure of how to respond appropriately, opting for silence and a shrug. "Nah, it's fine. Thing is... I got burned. Bad. By love," Ne turned away, slinking down a bit in recollection. "When I was a man, I got shit for being aggressive, and insensitive. When I was a girl, fuck me, I hated the way everyone treated me as a pretty little thing to be doted over. Made dating a nightmare." "and that made you..." Elsa trailed off. "Completely, 100% androgynous. No recreational equipment whatsoever. Downstairs or upstairs." Elsa cupped her hands over her mouth, sucking in air. "That's so drastic. I can't imagine being driven to do that." A sigh, and more weariness. "Of course you wouldn't. You and little miss cyber-savior are head over heels for each other. But for some of us..." "I'm sorry, I shouldn't be so insensitive," Elsa replied, wringing her hands and staring at the floor. "Nah, I'm not gonna rag on an alien for not reading me like a book. Besides. The two of you are pretty cute. Maybe I am just cynical." Pain seeped outwards from the impact point, stinging heat burned all over. Blood flew outwards, launched away from where titanium knuckles had smashed into jawbone. A commanding, feminine voice spoke with venom, "I won't ask you again. Where are they going?" "What's the matter? Couldn't even triangulate a call?" the prisoner asked, turning his head and spitting blood onto the floor. No response but a contemptuous snarl. From the shadows a tall, dangerously handsome figure emerged, placing a hand on the assailant's shoulders. "Now now, haven't you tortured this poor kid enough?" "Admit it, you enjoyed watching." "Are you so weak that you only fight shackled opponents?" Kristoff interrupted, pulling against his restraints. Stress alarms blared in his ears, warning that his wrists were being overloaded, but he persisted regardless. Hans wrapped his hands around Kristoff's chin, pulling the captive's face up. "You don't understand what's coming, Mr. Bjorgman. Everything is going to change, and I'm going to be the key." "You're full of yourself." A sarcastic chuckle, not from Hans, but from Clarice, came forth. "Why do you think he's worth my time but you aren't shit?" Kristoff tore his eyes off of Hans, staring daggers at the seductress who'd betrayed him. "Oh yeah? Let me out of these and we'll see if you can take it any better than you can deal it." Hans shot Clarice a look that Kristoff couldn't quite place, and walked over to her. Intimately close, he whispered something in her ear, and upon hearing it she stepped back. Her eyes searched his for a response, and finally she nodded before turning for the door, her metal heels clacking all the way down the hall. "Tell me Kristoff. Do you think animals know what's best for them?" "I don't think it matters what I think." "Surely you opine," Hans remarked, one hand in the crook of his elbow, the other held outwards, palm-up. He turned away, staring thoughtfully into the distance. "Look at all those 'naturals' out there. They use up more space than we do, burn far more energy. They demand the world on a silver platter, but refuse to change themselves to achieve it. Then they turn around and say we're the problem because we're 'unnatural', or 'unfairly privileged.'" The sheer malicious, willful ignorance was staggering, and unlike his wounds, it nearly caused him to hurl. "They're practically an endangered species. We owe it to them to co-exist peacefully." Kristoff saw a nervous tic on Hans' face, the tip of what could be a far larger emotive iceberg. He whipped around, mania consuming him so fervently that one might swear they could see it in his eyes. "I'm going to cleanse this world. All will be perfect. Trim, efficient. You have a choice. You can join me, or be as obsolete as those scraps you call augments." "Shut up and get on with it. I'll die before I betray Anna." "Is that so?" Hans asked, spitting with contempt. "The future is not so easy to predict." Under the vast, open Colorado skies, Elsa took a cautious step off of the loading ramp. Before her, flat wheat fields reached out to her natural vanishing point and beyond. Shivers danced down her spine and across her skin, leaving waves of goosebumps in their wake. The sheer enormity of the space served as a harsh reminder of just how cosmically small she was. As though her mind had been read, imminent hyperventilation was interrupted by a reassuring hand on her shoulder, the faint sound of servos within a reminder that she was as loved as could be. Anna's little mechanical mannerisms were a powerful hypnotic sedative. Boots clanged against steel plating, reverberating through the craft. The two lovebird smugglers turned around. Anna lit up immediately. "You're awake!" she cheered. All of the freighter's 'cargo' stood before her. The man standing closest stretched in place, bowing his arms out and craning his head. "Yeah. Feels pretty good, aside from a crick in my neck." Triumphant, Anna fought the urge to pump her fist into the air. Instead, she just cheerily offered: "Awesome, let's get you set up in your new home!" Titania Haven was a massive underground complex, consisting of 45 meter tall concrete domes connected by tubular railways. In the 1950s, back when the United States was a unified nation and on top of the world, several missile silos were built with the purpose of housing and launching the most powerful ballistics available at the time. Then, like everything else, they became obsolete. Later, during the late 2020's, the world was first wrestling with how to get augmented and natural people to live with each other. As the nation split, the heartland harbored the most traditionalist mindset, eager to accommodate people who didn't want to run headlong into the future. At least not as fast as the world around them. The effort to drain the underground launch base of over seven decades worth of groundwater and rainfall was a truly monumental one, but it was only the harbinger of things to come. When the transformation was complete, it was a fully operational, self-sufficient city underground. Certain technologies were banned, particularly mechanical and nanotech augmentation, but it was far from luddite territory, and the new arrivals fit in perfectly. The scorching heat of the day had finally died down, the radiant sun had begun its slow descent past the horizon, the lower edge nearly kissing the ground. The summer heat warped its image in fluctuating waves. Above, the edge of the starfield encroached further upon the dying daylight, and Anna studiously observed every constellation. Ever since their night on the river, she had downloaded every star-chart she could find, eager to discuss them in earnest with her love as equals, instead of just an excited dilettante. Sitting on the roof of Titania Haven's elevator entrance, she let her legs hang into the open air and mindlessly swung them back and forth. Comfortably within earshot, Elsa perched high upon the Swift's upper deck. Holding her arm out in front of her, a disappointing flurry melted just as fast as it had appeared. Adding extra flourish didn't help. Something deep within, a kind of heavy mental baggage was weighing on her spirits. "What's the matter, snowflake?" Anna asked. Elsa threw her head back, staring at the heavens above. Her voice cracked as she cried aloud. "I'm such a failure!" "Oh absolutely not, miss!" Anna replied, jumping off the rooftop and landing on the Swift. Looking down, she cringed a little at the two dents she left in the deck. Nevertheless, she stepped up to her distraught love, enveloping her in a tender hug from behind. "You're my perfect angel who fell from the heavens," She put her head on Elsa's shoulder, and whispered, "You're not a failure." "But I just... I can't calm down. My ice just won't work!" She looked down at the ground, a pitiful frown upon her face. "I can't do anything right." Right away Anna felt what was wrong. "You're scared, aren't you?" "What if I ruin everything? One mis-fire and my curse goes haywire." Even as she spoke, her skin crawled with disobedient, erratic power. 'What if I can't save you?' The sweet response flowed to her ears, like a river cleansing fears."I know what you need," Anna said. "What's that?" "To let it go." Without another word, the cybernetic woman gave Elsa a mischievous look, barely dragging her lower lip across her upper teeth. Excitement finally overtaking the pull between them, Anna jumped off the ship, and skipped off into the building. As she rounded the corner, her fading voice could barely be heard exclaiming "Ashley, do we have a chem lab here?" 'A chem lab?' Elsa's stomach churned. She tried to shake the thought of Anna's good intentions creating the next scientific accident. Disappointed in herself, she took in the sight of her own hand, manipulating it so she could see it from all angles. 'What am I doing wrong?' Trying again, she out a deep sigh, let her hand drop down to her side and started the process over, balling up energy in her solar plexus, feeling it grow and pulse. Soon she was channeling it through her, feeling it pool, ebb and flow. By the time Anna came rushing back, Elsa had long since given up. Lying face-up on the ship's upper deck, she hoped to find inspiration in the cosmos above. The endless void was foreboding, threatening to consume all without purpose or remorse. It wasn't the image itself that unnerved her so, but rather her inner shadow self reflected back at her. Her own mortality, weak and frail. No amount of frosty neurological novelty would change that she was an electrical pattern trapped in a minuscule, fragile meatbag. A meatbag whose time was eternally ticking away into senescence, if someone didn't kill her first. "... Elsa?" Unfailingly, the voice pulled her out of her turmoil. '"Sparky!" Elsa cried, running over to the railing, She leaned over to see Anna beaming back at her. "We cooked up a surprise for you. It should help you... find yourself. Jump on down! I'll catch you!" She didn't need to be told twice. A short fall and a thud later, she was in her lover's arms. She batted her big blue eyes back up at Anna and quipped, "... a bridal carry, eh?" Anna retorted with a sassy look. "Aaaaanyway, like I said we have a surprise for you." Ashley interrupted, holding up a flashlight-sized metal cylinder with a flanged port on one end. "Well, since you can't use deep brain stimulation like we can, we had to get creative. This hypospray is loaded with a psychotropic drug of my own design. It's a tryptamine that will hit your 5-HT2A and 5-HT2B receptors, as well as a bunch of other targets." Perplexed, Elsa asked, "What does that mean, exactly?" Anna lit up, bubbly and excited. "Well, first it'll give you a rollercoaster ride of feels, then you'll slip into a trance where you can find yourself." Neuroscience was an alien language to her and yet even she knew that tampering with the signal pattern in her brain was altering the very fiber of her being. What if she didn't make it out of the experience intact? Would she even recognize the woman who comes out the other side? "How do I know this is safe?" she asked. Ashley, eager to defend nir creation said, "It's got a fairly short half-life so if you freak out you can just wait and everything will go back to normal. Even so I've got a benzodiazepine in another hypospray if shit really goes south." Ashley's colorful vocabulary notwithstanding, Elsa was sure her companions had her best interest in mind. Clearly they'd undergone a great deal of effort to make this, just for her. Still, she was reticent. Her experience with psychotropic drugs began and ended with caffeine and modest amounts of ethanol. Sensing this, Anna put a hand on her shoulder, "I'll be right by your side." Looking up to the sky, Elsa caught one last glimpse of the moon above. 'Home,' she thought. The pale, luminous moon that was her bedrock - was always with her, even this far away. No matter what changed, she'd always have it to find strength from. "Alright. I'll do it." The cool jet of compressed air puncturing her skin didn't feel like much, she didn't even flinch. It was just a tiny pinprick of pressure. 'No going back now,' she thought. All seemed normal, at first. Anna had chased her around a bit, tickling her and playing hide-and-seek all around the lone building on the plains. Pinned to the brick wall, the slick paint wicking heat off of her fingers, she protested playfully as kisses descended upon her. Giddiness took over, an unsuppressable smile grew across her face. And then, while she was taking in Anna's immaculate face, she could have sworn that everything got just a little bit brighter. "Whoa." "Hmm? What is it Elsa?" It was a question without a trivial answer. Try as she might to construct a response, there was nothing succinct enough to describe what she felt. Sure, there were some physical changes but how to describe them? Maybe just a twinge in the stomach, a flicker of nerves? "Something just changed. I don't know what but..." Anna saw that her girlfriend's pupils were as wide as dinner plates and nodded in understanding. "Want some space?" The response from Elsa was anything but immediate. All around her, the world was showing hints of novelty, despite looking unchanged. An impulse was entertained, and when she leaned her head to the side, looking past Anna, yet another revelation came. "Oh... sorry, I just noticed," she started, her words drawing out ever so slowly. "The stars aren't moving l-like they should." She clumsily swatted at the sky before her, nearly falling forwards. "The distant ones are moving just as fast as the… um close ones when I move my head." Stepping backwards a pace or two, Anna gave her an endearing smile and said: "Sounds cool!" Time was starting to play devious tricks on her. There was no telling when it happened, but she found herself sitting down, staring out at the horizon. Hints of chromatic aberration were showing in her view, her fingers held aloft split into red and blue channels ever so slightly at the edges. She waved them in front of her, watching the after-images trail by. In an instant, nothing mattered. Not the past, not the future, not even the present. How absurd everything was! Doubling over in fits of laughter, she giggled until she could scarcely breathe. Her lungs complained but the waves of euphoria cascading over her drowned out their protests. Nearby, Anna watched the madness unfold, enjoying equal parts nostalgia and knowing bemusement. A wry smile came across her face as she watched Elsa double over, so consumed with laughter that tears streaked down her face. Once again, the winds of volatile emotions shifted. Incessant fits of laughter gave way to a calm, serene peace unlike anything the novice psychonaut had ever known. Tranquility consuming her, she relaxed onto the ground beneath. Overhead the stars themselves bobbed upon a placid sea of infinity. Reality began to fade away, crumbling into oblivion. Soon there was nothing left but that beautiful electrical pattern that made up Elsa, surrounded by fantastic color-shifting rainbow fractals. The ego was in limbo now. A psychic hammer far, far above threatened to plummet and shatter it into as many fragments as there were stars in the sky. How long she stayed like that was impossible to know. Hours, eons, millenia, possibly even seconds. There was no difference. Reality was nothing more than an infinite, fantastically surreal space of morphing patterns. Self-repeating, self-similar, and all-consuming. 'What even is an 'Elsa'?' In the swirling theater of visual memory, a scene began to play out. Though reality was far from here, and all perceptions were warped, it was not mistakable for reality. It was far too vivid for that. A great schism formed, on one side terrifying mechanical undulations, swarms of mindless drones consuming without thought or care. On the other side, a paradise, neat and orderly yet free to explore where harmonious states were achieved despite radical differences. What was the difference? The spiritual signal pattern swam through the vision, trying to decipher. The struggle was immense, but the fulcrum point of the two futures was found. 'The difference... is me. My choice.' Everything went cold, as it was bound to from the moment this all began. A fragment of identity returned, the first piece of the shattered ego restored. 'My ice!' Something utterly primal, seated deep within the soul flared to life. Amazingly, it was stable, not once threatening to spiral out of control. All across what felt like a body, chakras aligned, flowing with unbridled power. She staggered to her feet, stumbling against a decimated equilibrium. Through great hardship, she finally managed to stand. The colorful psychedelia no longer consumed her vision, fading into background noise. Her stomach tied in knots, flopping all over itself, and along with it her body shivered. Whether it was from the cool night breeze, her nervous system being swarmed by frost, or just the anxiety of hallucination she did not know. But her shattered ego was coming together nicely, a deep spiritual strength as strong as a rock was the foundation underlying it. The visceral feeling that had flared up from before was now a rhythmic pulse, a connection to some part of this real universe from which her power flowed. She balled it up in her hands, and dutifully it swirled into frigid thermal voids. One violent expulsion later, and jagged, spiny shards covered the ground before her. The flow-state promised by the psychedelic drug had finally arrived. The stars and energies aligned, and with one mighty push, a beveled, hexagonal platform hoisted itself out of the ground, propelling the icy queen several meters into the air. Every time she channeled her power into the world, a shiver-inducing wave of euphoria hit her, setting off goosebumps and erupting her vision into vibrant color around the edges. Overwhelming, utterly unchained bursts of winter whipped across the open plains. Back in the sober world, Anna hugged herself. Even her bionic arms were feeling the chill. More than just the weather was affecting her. The love of her life was finally finding her stride, coming to fruition as a grown, focused adult. And that was even more beautiful than the immaculate ice sculptures that now adorned the empty landscape. Even the jaded, pessimistic neurologist who thought ne'd seen everything was moved. No one was immune to the radiance of Elsa's fulfilled soul as it beamed out into the night. Back within the slowly rebirthing mind, sobriety was beginning to peek over the horizon, along with the rising sun. She was beginning to tire, her powers had ravenously consumed her energy reserves. Caught in a hazy fog, and blinded by the light, something resembling an angel appeared, scooped her up in arms, and descended back to the solid earth below. Once there, it didn't take her long to realize that sleep wasn't going to happen - the tail of the trip would keep her awake for hours. Despite that, it would be a sedated, restful state; a waking dream. No horror, no dystopian future could claim her now. Destiny had stared her in the face, and she had dared to fly higher than Icarus to grasp it. Tomorrow, she would return to the tumultuous northeast to do her duty and save her kind, but for now she collapsed into cradling arms and rested to the sound of mechanical heartbeats.Getty Images Yes, Browns owner Jimmy Haslam has said (twice) that coach Hue Jackson will be back in 2018. In three weeks, he may feel differently. The persistent sense in league circles is that new G.M. John Dorsey, who sat right next to Haslam throughout Sunday’s loss to the Packers, will eventually make the case for making his own hire at head coach. And if the Browns go 0-16, Dorsey’s case may be much more persuasive. Dorsey is passionate and energetic, and if he has enough chances to communicate his views directly to Haslam, it’s possible that Haslam will change his mind. Really, what would the consequence be if Haslam declares in three weeks that we should ignore what he said about keeping Hue? It’s not known who Dorsey would hire, if he gets the chance to hire his own coach. But it’s believed that he knows who he’d hire, which is all that really matters at this point.Kensington police sergeant disciplined in Reno gun-theft scandal Photo: Google Maps Kensington is a unincorporated community and census designated... A Kensington police sergeant was suspended after his gun was stolen last year by an alleged prostitute in a Reno hotel room, police said Monday. Sgt. Keith Barrow, 47, had “other substantial sanctions imposed upon him by the department,” said his attorney Justin Buffington, who did not elaborate. “He is paying the price commensurate with the facts of the case, based upon a thorough personnel investigation.” The probe began May 23, 2014, when an off-duty Barrow, while apparently asleep in a room at the Silver Legacy Resort Casino in Reno, had his badge, handcuffs,.40-caliber service pistol and two magazines of ammunition stolen by a prostitute who had been paid $70 for sex, said Officer Tim Broadway, a spokesman for the Reno Police Department. Prostitution is illegal in Washoe County, where Reno is located, but Barrow, who told officers he had been drinking, wasn’t cited because there were conflicting accounts about what had happened, police said. “It’s a he-said, she-said” situation, Broadway said. But Barrow’s gun ended up in the hands of the prostitute’s pimp, a drug user who accidentally shot himself in the leg with the weapon during an argument the next morning at a local pawnshop, Broadway said. Buffington said his investigation “has led me to conclude that the suspect drugged Sgt. Barrow’s drink in order to take advantage of and victimize him. The suspect in this case is not a savory character and has a lengthy criminal history.” After the incident in Reno, Kensington Police Chief Greg Harman opened an internal investigation of Barrow. Barrow remained on duty and frequently attended monthly meetings of the Kensington Police Protection and Community Services District to provide updates about police investigations, city records show. Harman doubles as the district’s general manager on top of serving as police chief in Kensington, a wealthy enclave of 5,
{ M 1 × Z 2,4, Z 1,2 × Z 3,4, Z 1,3 × M 4 } Cell Combination Calculation Total Cost Resulting Dimension Winner Z 1,4 M 1 × Z 2,4 3 ⋅ 4 ⋅ 6 = 72 72 + 84 = 156 3 x 6 ✗ Z 1,4 Z 1,2 × Z 3,4 3 ⋅ 2 ⋅ 6 = 36 24 + 36 + 36 = 96 3 x 6 ✓ Z 1,4 Z 1,3 × M 4 3 ⋅ 3 ⋅ 6 = 54 42 + 54 = 96 3 x 6 ✓ Notice that two of the solutions have the same cost. This means that either ordering is equally optimal way to factorize multiplication for Z 1,4. Round 3 Part 2 Cost Table × 1 2 3 4 5 1 0 24 42 96? 2 - 0 24 84? 3 - - 0 36 96 4 - - - 0 90 5 - - - - 0 Dimensions Table × 1 2 3 4 5 1 3 x 4 3 x 2 3 x 3 3 x 6? 2 - 4 x 2 4 x 3 4 x 6? 3 - - 2 x 3 2 x 6 2 x 5 4 - - - 3 x 6 3 x 5 5 - - - - 6 x 5 Now we’re doing Z 2,5. Z 2,5 = min{ M 2 × Z 3,5, Z 2,3 × Z 4,5, Z 2,4 × M 5 } Cell Combination Calculation Total Cost Resulting Dimension Winner Z 2,5 M 2 × Z 3,5 4 ⋅ 2 ⋅ 5 = 40 40 + 96 = 136 4 x 5 ✓ Z 2,5 Z 2,3 × Z 4,5 4 ⋅ 3 ⋅ 5 = 60 60 + 24 + 90 = 174 4 x 5 ✗ Z 2,5 Z 2,4 × M 5 4 ⋅ 6 ⋅ 5 = 120 84 + 120 = 204 4 x 5 ✗ With that, we’re done with round 3. Time for the last round! Final Round! Cost Table × 1 2 3 4 5 1 0 24 42 96? 2 - 0 24 84 136 3 - - 0 36 96 4 - - - 0 90 5 - - - - 0 Dimensions Table × 1 2 3 4 5 1 3 x 4 3 x 2 3 x 3 3 x 6? 2 - 4 x 2 4 x 3 4 x 6 4 x 5 3 - - 2 x 3 2 x 6 2 x 5 4 - - - 3 x 6 3 x 5 5 - - - - 6 x 5 As with any good final boss battle, this one will have the most parts. Z 1,5 = min{ M 1 × Z 2,5, Z 1,2 × Z 3,5, Z 1,3 × Z 4,5, Z 1,4 × M 5 } Cell Combination Calculation Total Cost Resulting Dimension Winner Z 1,5 M 1 × Z 2,5 2 ⋅ 4 ⋅ 5 = 60 60 + 136 = 196 3 x 5 ✗ Z 1,5 Z 1,2 × Z 3,5 3 ⋅ 2 ⋅ 5 = 30 30 + 24 + 96 = 150 3 x 5 ✓ Z 1,5 Z 1,3 × Z 4,5 3 ⋅ 3 ⋅ 5 = 45 45 + 42 + 90 = 177 3 x 5 ✗ Z 1,5 Z 1,4 × M 5 3 ⋅ 6 ⋅ 5 = 90 96 + 90 = 186 3 x 5 ✗ So we found that the best factorization for this problm is Z 1,2 × Z 3,5 and the total cost is 150. Final Credits Cost Table × 1 2 3 4 5 1 0 24 42 96 150 2 - 0 24 84 136 3 - - 0 36 96 4 - - - 0 90 5 - - - - 0 Dimensions Table × 1 2 3 4 5 1 3 x 4 3 x 2 3 x 3 3 x 6 3 x 5 2 - 4 x 2 4 x 3 4 x 6 4 x 5 3 - - 2 x 3 2 x 6 2 x 5 4 - - - 3 x 6 3 x 5 5 - - - - 6 x 5Brier Dudley offers a critical look at technology and business issues affecting the Northwest. November 15, 2011 at 3:48 PM Posted by Brier Dudley I thought the prospect of quad-core tablet computers was exciting. Then I saw Intel's latest -- a 1 teraflop chip, with more than 50 cores, that Intel unveiled today, running it on a test machine at the SC11 supercomputing conference in Seattle. That means my kids may take a teraflop laptop to college -- if their grades don't suffer too much having access to 50-core video game consoles. It wasn't that long ago that Intel was boasting about the first supercomputer with sustained 1 teraflop performance. That was in 1997, on a system with 9,298 Pentium II chips that filled 72 computing cabinets. Now Intel has squeezed that much performance onto a matchbook-sized chip, dubbed "Knights Corner," based on its new "Many Integrated Core" architecture, or MIC. (Earlier I referred to it as "Knights Ferry," which is its development kit.) It was designed largely in the Portland area and has just started manufacturing. "In 15 years that's what we've been able to do. That is stupendous. You're witnessing the 1 teraflop barrier busting," Rajeeb Hazra, general manager of Intel's technical computing group, said at an unveiling ceremony. (He holds up the chip here) A single teraflop is capable of a trillion floating point operations per second. On hand for the event -- in the cellar of the Ruth's Chris Steak House in Seattle -- were the directors of the National Center for Computational Sciences at Oak Ridge Laboratory and the Application Acceleration Center of Excellence. Also speaking was the chief science officer of the GENCI supercomputing organization in France, which has used its Intel-based system for molecular simulations of Alzheimer's, looking at issues such as plaque formation that's a hallmark of the disease. "The hardware is hardly exciting.... The exciting part is doing the science," said Jeff Nichols, acting director of the computational center at Oak Ridge. The hardware was pretty cool, though. George Chrysos, the chief architect of Knights Corner, came up from the Portland area with a test system running the new chip, which was connected to a speed meter on a laptop to show that it was running around 1 teraflop. Intel had the test system set up behind closed doors -- on a coffee table in a hotel suite at the Grand Hyatt, and wouldn't allow reporters to take pictures of the setup. Nor would the company specify how many cores the chip has -- just more than 50 -- or its power requirement. If you're building a new system and want to future-proof it, the Knights Corner chip uses a double PCI Express slot. Chrysos said the systems are also likely to run alongside a few Xeon processors. This means that Intel could be producing teraflop chips for personal computers within a few years, although there's lots of work to be done on the software side before you'd want one. Another question is whether you'd want a processor that powerful on a laptop, for instance, where you may prefer to have a system optimized for longer battery life, Hazra said. More important, Knights Corner chips may help engineers build the next generation of supercomputing systems, which Intel and its partners hope to delivery by 2018. Power efficiency was a highlight of another big announcement this week at SC11. On Monday night, IBM announced its "next generation supercomputing project," the Blue Gene/Q system that's heading to Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory next year. Dubbed Sequoia, the system should run at 20 petaflops peak performance. IBM expects it to be the world's most power-efficient computer, processing 2 gigaflops per watt. The first 96 racks of the system could be delivered in December. The Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration uses the systems to work on nuclear weapons, energy reseach and climate change, among other things. Sequoia complements another Blue Gene/Q system, a 10-petaflop setup called "Mira," which was previously announced by Argonne National Laboratory. Here's a video interview with Hazra that was posted by EE Times: A few images from the conference, which runs through Friday at the Washington State Convention & Trade Center, starting with perusal of Intel boards: Take home a Cray today! IBM was sporting Blue Genes, and it wasn't even casual Friday: A 94 teraflop rack:(CNN) A 16-year-old German girl who ran away from home in 2016 and allegedly joined ISIS has been found alive in Iraq, the German government confirmed Monday. Linda Wenzel, a schoolgirl from the town of Pulsnitz near Dresden, was one of at least five foreign women captured by Iraqi forces sweeping the old city of Mosul after the defeat of ISIS, according to sources within the counter-terror operation in Mosul. The sources added that the women have now been moved to Baghdad and are under interrogation. Wenzel's parents first alerted the police to her disappearance last July. Wenzel was named on Monday by the German Foreign Ministry, which said a second German national was among those detained. "From what we know, she is physically fine," Dresden prosecutor Lorenz Haase told CNN when asked about Wenzel's condition. "However we do not know how she is psychologically." Read MoreAs little as 25 years ago, the land around the inland city of Lincang was jungle, populated by bears and tigers. This area is home to the Wa ethnic minority, a largely mountain-dwelling people with high rates of illiteracy and various connected problems. A tree replanting scheme was started some 15 years ago, together with training programmes for the Wa in not only language but pig and cow husbandry, too. At a dairy farm close to Lincang airport, Am Pleek learnt how to make cheese – the Western way – and now she’s training up an assistant and helping take care of the young girls who live in the dormitory and work on the farm. They refer to her as “Big Mama.” It is a tremendous experience and a chance for everyone to learn marketable skills. Am Pleek is talking about her earliest food memories: her father going hunting, for example. To this day she loves game, rabbit, rodents and squirrel. Also the rice bird soup, for which you roll the bird in the fire to remove the feathers, but don’t wash it because it will lose its distinctive bird flavour. Chop it into a broth with lots of garlic and chilli. Actually, she still sees that little bird around, even today. One of her earliest culinary memories with her mother revolves around the annual grasshopper cycle. The young ones can be harvested from the mountainside twice a year, but the winter harvest is preferred because then they’ve already released their eggs and the intestines are cleaner. These “sweet” hoppers are boiled with chillies and herbs to create a soup which is a true delicacy in local culture. There’s little in common with the cuisines of other ethnic minorities, says Am Pleek, because there are so many wild vegetables and herbs on the mountainsides which simply don’t grow anywhere else. The chickens live on the mountains too, fed on rice and corn – good, clean food. Chickens are important in Wa culture: the “medicine man” will inspect the chicken’s tongue to see what it is “saying”. Good or bad, it can be eaten anyway! Wa is probably the most spicy (and salty) of the cuisines of the ethnic minorities. Even the rice porridge called moik, made with chicken, vegetables and cilantro, is intensely fiery. Herbs like saw leaf (which the Wa call “fish gill herb”) are extensively used with chicken, with fish, and with cow intestine. Mint and rau ram show up often, too, both of which the Wa believe make fish “less fishy”. Typically, young Wa people leave home and journey for up to a week to the east coast of China to work in factories, in the process losing their cultural identity. Am Pleek saw in the dairy and cheese-making industries a way for young people to stay in their community while earning a decent living. At first, she would only eat the Mozzarella and string cheeses because they tasted “fresh” to her. The smell of Cheddar would shrivel her face like a raisin! Today, she appreciates the different flavours of Feta, Gouda and Gruyère, paired with fruits and nuts – and sometimes drizzled with honey produced right there on the mountainside. Yunnan Ham with Broad Beans & Goat Cheese Any kind of seasonal beans can be used for this Bai dish. The beans absorb the flavours of the ham. Use mild Gouda as a substitute for Rubing. INGREDIENTS 25 g / 1 oz Yunnan ham, both lean and fat, thinly sliced 2 cloves garlic, crushed 1 shallot, crushed 100 g / 3½ oz broad beans (shelled weight) 50 ml / 1¾ fl oz water 100 g / 3½ oz goat cheese (Rubing), cut to double the size of the beans 1 tsp Sichuan peppercorns Salt, to taste METHOD 1. Render the ham fat in a pan over a medium-hot flame until the fat is translucent. Remove the lean ham, and set aside. 2. Using the rendered ham fat, stir-fry the garlic and shallot with the beans for 2 minutes, add a little water, cover, and cook for about 5 minutes until the beans are tender. 3. Stir in ham and cheese, sprinkle with peppercorns and salt. More interviews and recipes can be found in the Yunnan Cookbook.cryptogon.com news – analysis – conspiracies January 30th, 2011 Update: Video of Perp Walk —End Update— Update: 2009 Forum Post Indicates Julie Schenecker (Née Powers) Was Army MOS 97E: Human Intelligence Collector 97E: Human Intelligence Collector: Major Duties: The Human Intelligence Collector (HUMINT Collector) supervises and conducts tactical HUMINT collection operations that include, but are not limited to, debriefings, interrogations and elicitations in English and foreign languages for positive intelligence and force protection information; screens Human Intelligence (HUMINT) sources and documents to establish priorities for exploitation; under CI supervision, plans and participates in counterintelligence and Force Protection Operations (CFSO). Translates and exploits captured enemy documents, foreign language and open source publications. Prepares and edits appropriate intelligence and administrative reports; utilizes CI/HUMINT reporting and communications equipment; uses interpreters and manages interpreter/translator operations; conducts liaison and coordination in foreign language with host nation agencies; conducts analysis and performs briefings as required. This 97E MOS now appears to be called Human Intelligence Collector (35M). Via: 18th Military Intelligence Battalion Forum: Parker Schenecker in Tampa Postby pschenecker » Sat Aug 01, 2009 10:03 pm This is Parker Schenecker, formerly 1LT Schenecker (Battalion S1 from 1987-88). Now, after a lot of years, and numerous oversights by the Army promotion boards, I’m COL Schenecker, the Deputy NSA rep to CENTCOM in Tampa FL. Have kept in touch with many folks from Munich (1986-90 for me, 1987-1992 for my wife, the former Russian 97E Julie Powers) over the years. Just a recap for me. Came to Munich for duty as the Aide to the AAFES commander, BG EB Leedy…after that, I rolled over to the 18th as the S1, then went over to 66th as the HHC commander for a year; Greg Zellmer (now COL and taking command of 66th next summer) was my XO. Stint @ Huachuca as instructor and BN XO then back to Germany (Vilseck and Wurzburg). Other assignments, CONUS and Hawaii, then back to Germany in Ansbach as the Garrison commander. After 10 years in Germany, we certainly miss it! We get back as often as we can. OK, during our time in Munich, I’ll recap come of the folks who were with us (86-90). BN Commanders (after McKay was sacked) were MAJ Mike Moak (deceased), LTC Arty Franzello (deceased), followed by COL (Ret)Tom Gandy (now @ Army G2). BN XOs were Mike Moak, followed by MAJ Bob Barrigan, followed by Barb Fast (now MG Barb Fast). BN S2 was LTC(Ret) Mark Knick. BN S3 was John Zellmer; assistant was Randy Luten. BN S4 was Gregg Potter (now BG Potter; EUCOM J2). IMO (S6) was Sam Boggs, followed by COL Rick Zoller. HHC Commander was Jeff Cleghorn. Other officers during that stint were COL Bryan DeCoster, Rob Fagan, Mike Hunter, LTC Bridget Rourke, Tony Pauroso (5th MI Cdr), Bob Beaver (5th MI Cdr), LTC (Ret) Rob Walter, Paul Muehlman, among others. Zak Szebunczek (sp?) was the Civilian Advisor. We were all there during the “mutiny”; I’ll post a note in that forum with the details. I was the Adjutant during all that fiasco, so I had the details of the whole sordid affair…I can fill in the details on why the 18th became known as the “Love Battalion.” Looking forward to catching up with folks from one of the best units in the Army…and certainly the best location for an assignment one could even imagine. Parker Schenecker Tampa, FL More: Was Julie Powers Schenecker a First Sergeant? Via: 18th Military Intelligence Battalion Forum: Re: What do you not miss the most about the military? Postby Julie Powers Schenecker » Tue Aug 04, 2009 4:30 pm 1SG McMillin’s white glove inspections of our barracks rooms. He once told me that I couldn’t have my pink cannondale parked in my living room to which 1SG Mack replied, “that bike is worth more than your CAR, 1SG!”(the bike was allowed to remain inside) …i do not miss Frank Wiswell ‘bleeding’ all over my carbon copy reports! And I certainly don’t miss the electric typewriters we had to use!! Ladies, do we not miss the cobblestone on McGraw that trashed our heels of our pumps? …i do not miss doing a urinalysis in front of senior females or getting taped(fat measuring tool) by SFC Sikorski. And I certainly don’t miss the annual walk home from the starck bier fest!! Julie Powers Schenecker —End Update— According to the St. Petersburg Times article below: Parker Schenecker met Julie Powers in Munich, Germany, where they were both stationed in the late ’80s and early ’90s. She worked as a Russian linguist for the Army, collecting intelligence for European agencies by interviewing refugees coming from the Eastern Bloc, said Tim Fredrikson, who served with her. Was Julie Schenecker a CIA or NSA officer who was attached to the Army Intelligence unit? Or, if she was in the Army, what was her rank? Via: St. Petersburg Times: Julie Schenecker was sick of her teenage children talking back to her, police say, so last week she bought a.38-caliber pistol and planned their murders and her suicide. She shot her 13-year-old son Thursday evening after driving him home from soccer practice. Then she walked upstairs and shot her 16-year-old daughter in the back of the head as she did homework, an arrest affidavit states. With their blood on her clothing, the 50-year-old mother remained at the Tampa Palms house all night. Police didn’t arrive until the next morning, after Schenecker’s mother called them from Texas, worried because she couldn’t reach her daughter, whom she believed was depressed. Schenecker admitted killing her children, Calyx Schenecker, 16, and Powers Beau Schenecker, 13, police said. She showed no remorse. Though Schenecker cooperated Friday, police spokeswoman Laura McElroy said no explanation could help people truly understand why it happened. “She did tell us that they talked back and they were mouthy,” she said. The children’s father, Army Col. Parker Schenecker, 48, was informed Friday that his wife killed their children, McElroy said. He is stationed at Central Command at MacDill Air Force Base and was in the Middle East. Neighbors said they have seen police cars at the home at 16305 Royal Park Court before, though not often. The Department of Children and Families said it investigated the family about two months ago after getting a complaint. The tip was determined to be unfounded and the case closed. Spokesman Terry Field said he couldn’t elaborate. Several out-of-state family members declined to comment Friday, but neighbors and school officials described the children as bright, polite and athletic. “Calyx was a very sweet girl, always soft-spoken, always quiet — a real sweetheart,” neighbor Seema Jain said. “I just can’t comprehend why this has happened to them.” • • • Parker Schenecker met Julie Powers in Munich, Germany, where they were both stationed in the late ’80s and early ’90s. She worked as a Russian linguist for the Army, collecting intelligence for European agencies by interviewing refugees coming from the Eastern Bloc, said Tim Fredrikson, who served with her. He was a rising intelligence officer who had graduated cum laude with a French degree from Washington and Lee University in Virginia, where the school yearbook is named the “Calyx.” In Munich, Julie organized and coached a volleyball team of officers, said K.C. Dreller, another intelligence officer who worked with her. “She was super good at it,” said Dreller, 49. “I imagine she was super good at everything she did. Anybody that was in that field was a Type A personality.” The couple married and had two children, Calyx in Germany and Powers, who went by “Beau,” in Honolulu. The military family moved a lot, and Parker Schenecker studied at several military schools, including the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College and the U.S. Army War College, according to a 2010 bulletin on distinguished alumni, published on his high school’s website. The newsletter also said he became a colonel in 2006 and was mainly responsible for the National Security Agency’s support to military operations. About three years ago the family landed in Tampa. Parker is assigned to U.S. Central Command’s intelligence directorate and has worked for CentCom for more than two years, said Lt. Col. Mike Lawhorn, a spokesman. He was on a temporary duty assignment overseas the past few days. Julie Schenecker, no longer in the Army, stayed home with their children. She took shifts driving in the neighborhood’s King High School car pool and often referred to the struggles of parenting in seemingly light-hearted Facebook posts. On May 7, a friend wrote, “Happy Mother’s/Hallmark day to all the mothers. You are more brave than I. Not sure how you do it, but glad you do.” Julie responded: “some days, not sure how we do it, either!! :-)” On Sept. 23, a friend posted on his profile: “Hold yourself to a higher standard than anybody else expects of you.” Julie commented: “i needed that advice today — have a 16 yr old daughter!” • • • Beau attended Liberty Middle School and played soccer. The young teen could often be found playing basketball, street hockey or other games with friends in the cul-de-sac. Calyx was in the 10th grade in the pre-International Baccalaureate program at King High. She was a talented artist, took part in speech and debate and formed a Harry Potter fan club. Principal Carla Bruning described her as an excellent student who was popular, sweet and enthusiastic. “She was a great kid, the kind you would want to clone,” Bruning said. Gary Bingham, who coached Calyx in cross country and track, called her “the fastest freshman I ever had.” She was quirky, he said, a girl fascinated by bugs and funny-looking leaves on the running trails. She was easy-going and bubbly — smart, too. At track practice Thursday afternoon, Calyx, a distance runner with long legs, decided to also give hurdles a try. “She went over a hurdle and fell face first,” Bingham said. “She got up just laughing.” Bingham expected to see his runner again at a 5K race today. Instead, he consoled his track team Friday and thought of Calyx’s father. “He leaves here with a family and comes back with nothing,” Bingham said. • • • The scene Friday morning was ghastly. Beau was still in the van, Calyx by the computer. It didn’t look like they struggled. “The children never saw it coming,” McElroy said. Inside the house, police found a detailed note that explained how their mother planned to kill them, then herself. As they processed the scene, the department’s Critical Incident Stress Management team was on hand to counsel the investigators, all parents. Schenecker told police she shot her son in the head “for talking back to her” as she drove him to soccer practice, an arrest affidavit states. About 3:30 p.m., authorities led her from Tampa police headquarters. She wore a white, plastic outfit, the type given to suspects when their clothing is seized as evidence. She did not answer questions from reporters and mumbled to herself as deputies escorted her into the Orient Road Jail. She shook uncontrollably, and deputies took her to the medical unit to be screened, said Sheriff’s Office spokesman Larry McKinnon. Deputies planned to monitor her around the clock. Leave a Reply You must be logged in to post a comment.Go 1.8 Release Notes Introduction to Go 1.8 The latest Go release, version 1.8, arrives six months after Go 1.7. Most of its changes are in the implementation of the toolchain, runtime, and libraries. There are two minor changes to the language specification. As always, the release maintains the Go 1 promise of compatibility. We expect almost all Go programs to continue to compile and run as before. The release adds support for 32-bit MIPS, updates the compiler back end to generate more efficient code, reduces GC pauses by eliminating stop-the-world stack rescanning, adds HTTP/2 Push support, adds HTTP graceful shutdown, adds more context support, enables profiling mutexes, and simplifies sorting slices. Changes to the language When explicitly converting a value from one struct type to another, as of Go 1.8 the tags are ignored. Thus two structs that differ only in their tags may be converted from one to the other: func example() { type T1 struct { X int `json:"foo"` } type T2 struct { X int `json:"bar"` } var v1 T1 var v2 T2 v1 = T1(v2) // now legal } The language specification now only requires that implementations support up to 16-bit exponents in floating-point constants. This does not affect either the “ gc ” or gccgo compilers, both of which still support 32-bit exponents. Ports Go now supports 32-bit MIPS on Linux for both big-endian ( linux/mips ) and little-endian machines ( linux/mipsle ) that implement the MIPS32r1 instruction set with FPU or kernel FPU emulation. Note that many common MIPS-based routers lack an FPU and have firmware that doesn't enable kernel FPU emulation; Go won't run on such machines. On DragonFly BSD, Go now requires DragonFly 4.4.4 or later. On OpenBSD, Go now requires OpenBSD 5.9 or later. The Plan 9 port's networking support is now much more complete and matches the behavior of Unix and Windows with respect to deadlines and cancelation. For Plan 9 kernel requirements, see the Plan 9 wiki page. Go 1.8 now only supports OS X 10.8 or later. This is likely the last Go release to support 10.8. Compiling Go or running binaries on older OS X versions is untested. Go 1.8 will be the last release to support Linux on ARMv5E and ARMv6 processors: Go 1.9 will likely require the ARMv6K (as found in the Raspberry Pi 1) or later. To identify whether a Linux system is ARMv6K or later, run “ go tool dist -check-armv6k ” (to facilitate testing, it is also possible to just copy the dist command to the system without installing a full copy of Go 1.8) and if the program terminates with output "ARMv6K supported." then the system implements ARMv6K or later. Go on non-Linux ARM systems already requires ARMv6K or later. Known Issues There are some instabilities on FreeBSD and NetBSD that are known but not understood. These can lead to program crashes in rare cases. See issue 15658 and issue 16511. Any help in solving these issues would be appreciated. Assembler For 64-bit x86 systems, the following instructions have been added: VBROADCASTSD, BROADCASTSS, MOVDDUP, MOVSHDUP, MOVSLDUP, VMOVDDUP, VMOVSHDUP, and VMOVSLDUP. For 64-bit PPC systems, the common vector scalar instructions have been added: LXS, LXSDX, LXSI, LXSIWAX, LXSIWZX, LXV, LXVD2X, LXVDSX, LXVW4X, MFVSR, MFVSRD, MFVSRWZ, MTVSR, MTVSRD, MTVSRWA, MTVSRWZ, STXS, STXSDX, STXSI, STXSIWX, STXV, STXVD2X, STXVW4X, XSCV, XSCVDPSP, XSCVDPSPN, XSCVDPSXDS, XSCVDPSXWS, XSCVDPUXDS, XSCVDPUXWS, XSCVSPDP, XSCVSPDPN, XSCVSXDDP, XSCVSXDSP, XSCVUXDDP, XSCVUXDSP, XSCVX, XSCVXP, XVCV, XVCVDPSP, XVCVDPSXDS, XVCVDPSXWS, XVCVDPUXDS, XVCVDPUXWS, XVCVSPDP, XVCVSPSXDS, XVCVSPSXWS, XVCVSPUXDS, XVCVSPUXWS, XVCVSXDDP, XVCVSXDSP, XVCVSXWDP, XVCVSXWSP, XVCVUXDDP, XVCVUXDSP, XVCVUXWDP, XVCVUXWSP, XVCVX, XVCVXP, XXLAND, XXLANDC, XXLANDQ, XXLEQV, XXLNAND, XXLNOR, XXLOR, XXLORC, XXLORQ, XXLXOR, XXMRG, XXMRGHW, XXMRGLW, XXPERM, XXPERMDI, XXSEL, XXSI, XXSLDWI, XXSPLT, and XXSPLTW. Yacc The yacc tool (previously available by running “ go tool yacc ”) has been removed. As of Go 1.7 it was no longer used by the Go compiler. It has moved to the “tools” repository and is now available at golang.org/x/tools/cmd/goyacc. Fix The fix tool has a new “ context ” fix to change imports from “ golang.org/x/net/context ” to “ context ”. Pprof The pprof tool can now profile TLS servers and skip certificate validation by using the “ https+insecure ” URL scheme. The callgrind output now has instruction-level granularity. Trace The trace tool has a new -pprof flag for producing pprof-compatible blocking and latency profiles from an execution trace. Garbage collection events are now shown more clearly in the execution trace viewer. Garbage collection activity is shown on its own row and GC helper goroutines are annotated with their roles. Vet Vet is stricter in some ways and looser where it previously caused false positives. Vet now checks for copying an array of locks, duplicate JSON and XML struct field tags, non-space-separated struct tags, deferred calls to HTTP Response.Body.Close before checking errors, and indexed arguments in Printf. It also improves existing checks. Compiler Toolchain Go 1.7 introduced a new compiler back end for 64-bit x86 systems. In Go 1.8, that back end has been developed further and is now used for all architectures. The new back end, based on static single assignment form (SSA), generates more compact, more efficient code and provides a better platform for optimizations such as bounds check elimination. The new back end reduces the CPU time required by our benchmark programs by 20-30% on 32-bit ARM systems. For 64-bit x86 systems, which already used the SSA back end in Go 1.7, the gains are a more modest 0-10%. Other architectures will likely see improvements closer to the 32-bit ARM numbers. The temporary -ssa=0 compiler flag introduced in Go 1.7 to disable the new back end has been removed in Go 1.8. In addition to enabling the new compiler back end for all systems, Go 1.8 also introduces a new compiler front end. The new compiler front end should not be noticeable to users but is the foundation for future performance work. The compiler and linker have been optimized and run faster in this release than in Go 1.7, although they are still slower than we would like and will continue to be optimized in future releases. Compared to the previous release, Go 1.8 is about 15% faster. Cgo The Go tool now remembers the value of the CGO_ENABLED environment variable set during make.bash and applies it to all future compilations by default to fix issue #12808. When doing native compilation, it is rarely necessary to explicitly set the CGO_ENABLED environment variable as make.bash will detect the correct setting automatically. The main reason to explicitly set the CGO_ENABLED environment variable is when your environment supports cgo, but you explicitly do not want cgo support, in which case, set CGO_ENABLED=0 during make.bash or all.bash. The environment variable PKG_CONFIG may now be used to set the program to run to handle #cgo pkg-config directives. The default is pkg-config, the program always used by earlier releases. This is intended to make it easier to cross-compile cgo code. The cgo tool now supports a -srcdir option, which is used by the go command. If cgo code calls C.malloc, and malloc returns NULL, the program will now crash with an out of memory error. C.malloc will never return nil. Unlike most C functions, C.malloc may not be used in a two-result form returning an errno value. If cgo is used to call a C function passing a pointer to a C union, and if the C union can contain any pointer values, and if cgo pointer checking is enabled (as it is by default), the union value is now checked for Go pointers. Gccgo Due to the alignment of Go's semiannual release schedule with GCC's annual release schedule, GCC release 6 contains the Go 1.6.1 version of gccgo. We expect that the next release, GCC 7, will contain the Go 1.8 version of gccgo. Default GOPATH The GOPATH environment variable now has a default value if it is unset. It defaults to $HOME/go on Unix and %USERPROFILE%/go on Windows. Go get The “ go get ” command now always respects HTTP proxy environment variables, regardless of whether the -insecure flag is used. In previous releases, the -insecure flag had the side effect of not using proxies. Go bug The new “ go bug ” command starts a bug report on GitHub, prefilled with information about the current system. Go doc The “ go doc ” command now groups constants and variables with their type, following the behavior of godoc. In order to improve the readability of doc's output
the central changes that Bernie Sanders has been fighting to bring to America. Hillary Clinton could, and should, embrace that restoration of the rule of law.Masked Scheduler's Ratings Smackdown The great Joe Adalian (@TVMoJoe) pointed out this morning that, on Wednesday night, we have gone from seven shows over a 2 rating in 18-49 adults in 2015 to only one last night. I honestly don’t think the argument that it’s being made up in other ways accounts for this. Something to ponder. "Lethal Weapon" and "Star: had identical 18-49 ratings last night but "LW" had 2 million more viewers. Difference between a broad appeal show and one trying to hit a more narrow target. Got a question a few days ago about what goes into the scheduling of promos. I can't speak for other network schedulers but, in the two networks that I worked for, the Program Scheduler did not have responsibility for the scheduling of promos. Whether that made sense or not, I never expressed to my bosses since a) I had a lot on my plate and b) I could still give some input into the process. Promo scheduling was embedded in the marketing area with input from other departments. So what goes into the process? I guess you start with priorities for the week, let’s say. That would be a discussion among marketing, scheduling and program executives who would fight for spots for their shows. Of course everyone felt that their show was a priority, and if you caved to everyone no show would get the proper weight for the promos to have an impact. I would always prioritize by whether a show had a promotable episode, was it a show that we needed to work, was showing signs of erosion. Of course top priority was given to premieres of new series. The final decision would generally come from the network president or whatever the title du jour was. There would be some GRP (Gross Ratings Point) target for a show, which would determine the number of promos needed, and there would be some determination of audience compatibility and program duplication to assess the likelihood that the right audience is seeing the promo. Another aspect of all this is the quality of the promos themselves. We would test promos, and there would often be a tension between the "creative" aspects to the promo vs. the informative aspect. I always leaned toward the information value since my experience was that viewers are more likely to check out a show if they know what it's about prior to showing up. That wasn't always the direction we would take. I was not a big fan of tease campaigns. I felt there were several shows that could have opened bigger (especially sci-fi/fantasy) if we helped the viewer understand the concept. Tomorrow I'll talk about "Fringe." Last night’s schedule was light: - 30 for 30 "This Was the XFL" (ESPN L+7) Where Dick Ebersol through his son sort of throws Vince McMahon under the bus for the XFL disaster. I knew Dick well when at NBC and it was fun seeing my pal John Miller do his thing. Also, I hired Billy Rebman (VP Sports Research) when I ran Audience Research at NBC. Great guy. - "Lethal Weapon" (FOX L+SD) For a second there I got excited that Jordana Brewster was leaving the show, but not to be. Oh well.Photo Good Tuesday morning from Washington, where the congressional debate over National Security Agency surveillance has highlighted a Republican divide, and where Twitter gained a new user with an exclusive handle. And, in Iowa, Hillary Rodham Clinton offered a rare metric for a presidential candidate amid increased scrutiny of the Clinton Foundation. Most presidential candidates go out of their way to avoid appearances of having a litmus test for Supreme Court appointees. So it was unusual when Mrs. Clinton on Monday said publicly that she did have such a metric: overturning the Citizens United decision of 2010. “I will do everything I can to appoint Supreme Court justices who protect the right to vote and do not protect the right of billionaires to buy elections,” Mrs. Clinton said while on Day 1 of a two-day swing through Iowa. The remark was praised by liberals and denounced by conservatives, who said it was at odds with the “super PAC” supporting her, made possible by the Citizens United decision. Either way, it was a clear message from Mrs. Clinton, who so far, has laid out campaign planks but no overarching message. But she is still steering clear of reporters’ questions, even from local journalists in the early states, whom most candidates engage while campaigning. So reports like the one in The New York Times this week — about memos sent to her while she was secretary of state by her longtime friend and adviser, Sidney Blumenthal, who was being paid by the Clinton Foundation — are given plenty of air to breathe. The article unnerved some former Obama administration officials and some former Clinton allies, as it hit many Republican criticisms of Mrs. Clinton — her handling of Libya, her use of a private email server while secretary of state, her family’s foundation and the advisers she keeps. The Clinton Foundation has been treated like an adjunct of the campaign as questions continue to swirl. Polls have suggested voters are not paying attention to stories about the foundation, but whether that holds is an open question. — Maggie Haberman Stay tuned throughout the day: Follow us on Twitter @NYTpolitics and on Facebook for First Draft updates. Mrs. Clinton will talk to small-business owners and employees in Cedar Falls, Iowa, part of her second swing through the state. She will also visit a bike shop to talk to caucusgoers about her plan for supporting entrepreneurs and spurring small-business growth. President Obama and Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. will meet with Secretary of Defense Ashton B. Carter. And the House will take up the highway bill, and it is expected this week to vote on an extension to the existing funding. With an end-of-month deadline to renew the Patriot Act drawing near, the debate over national security and civil liberties moved on Monday from Capitol Hill to the nascent Republican presidential primary. Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, eyeing an opportunity to inject new energy into his campaign, rallied supporters at a symbol of American freedom, Independence Hall in Philadelphia. “Our Founding Fathers would be appalled to know that we are writing one single warrant and collecting everyone’s phone records all the time,” Mr. Paul said, vowing to fight the effort to extend the law. Mr. Paul has allies in the House, where a piece of legislation that would end the N.S.A.’s bulk data collection passed overwhelmingly. But on the campaign trail, Mr. Paul is outnumbered by hawkish Republicans – a sign of what the party’s presidential candidates believe is the safest approach. As Mr. Paul was speaking in Philadelphia, Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey was in New Hampshire delivering a speech that took implied but unmistakable aim at Mr. Paul. “The Founders made sure that the first obligation of the American government was to protect the lives of the American people, and we can do this in a way that’s smart and cost-effective and protects civil liberties,” Mr. Christie said at a town-hall-style meeting. “But you know, you can’t enjoy your civil liberties if you’re in a coffin.” In a speech earlier in the day, Mr. Christie mocked civil libertarians who “want you to think that there’s a government spook listening in every time you pick up the phone or Skype with your grandkids.” Mr. Christie said such fears were “ridiculous” and called for an extension of the Patriot Act. — Jonathan Martin Former Senator Richard G. Lugar of Indiana was known as a centrist Republican on Capitol Hill, and it probably cost him in 2012 when he was knocked out of a primary by a Tea Party challenger who ultimately lost the general election. Now the Lugar Center he leads has teamed up with the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University to develop a Bipartisan Index to measure members of Congress. The new ranking, being released for the first time on Tuesday, rates lawmakers by how their legislation does in attracting co-sponsors from the other party as well as how often they sponsor legislation proposed by members across the aisle. No real surprise at the top of the Senate list: Senator Susan Collins, Republican of Maine, and Senator Joe Manchin III, Democrat of West Virginia, both of whom are known for working with the other party. In the House, the two top scorers were Representative Chris Gibson and Representative Peter T. King, both Republicans of New York. Research conducted in compiling the index also found that the 112th and 113th Congresses were the most partisan ever — another result that won’t surprise anyone who has been paying attention the previous four years. — Carl Hulse The story of Mr. Blumenthal‘s emails to Mrs. Clinton while she was secretary of state involves at least 25 memos about Libya. Mr. Obama was in Camden, N.J., on Monday to speak to community leaders and law enforcement officials. He praised the Police Department, while also confronting problems that have helped define his own complicated relationship with the police. Also on Monday, Mr. Obama joined Twitter after years of complaining of being trapped in a Washington bubble. Mrs. Clinton has a problem some Republican candidates wish they had: Everybody knows her. The challenge is figuring out how to reintroduce her to voters and court those sitting on the fence Florida may have a later primary next year, but Politico reports that state Republican leaders quietly made it a winner-take-all contest for its 99 delegates to make the contest more important. Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, who has been the national face of opposition to Mr. Obama‘s trade agenda, released a report on her Senate website “highlighting more than two decades of failed enforcement by the United States of labor and environmental standards included in past free-trade agreements.” Mr. Paul on Monday, when asked in Philadelphia if anti-abortion policies would be a crucial part of his platform, said that while he would be more focused on economic issues, the states were better equipped to address abortion matters and that the American people “just have to figure when we agree life begins.” Mrs. Clinton has collected more than $3 million giving speeches to the technology industry since early 2014, earning money from a source she hopes to tap for her presidential run, The Washington Post reports The Vermont Teddy Bear Company is selling a “Bernie Bear” in honor of Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who is running for president as a Democrat. The bespectacled bear with wispy white hair goes for $80, the Boston Globe reports. Rahm Emanuel was sworn in for a second term as mayor of Chicago on Monday with former President Bill Clinton sitting beside him for the ceremony in the majestic Chicago Theater on State Street. Mr. Clinton, described by Mr. Emanuel as a mentor, didn’t speak publicly — a fact that must have been difficult for him given the warm greeting he received from the hundreds present. But he did whisper a few asides to Mr. Emanuel, including one about a particularly excited member of the audience. The man, a labor activist, would deliver a loud and enthusiastic “Nice!” after virtually every musical number, prayer and speech, drawing a laugh each time. He was a regular presence on the mayoral campaign trail and was known to Mr. Emanuel, who singled him out as he began his own speech. “President Clinton said you have a limited vocabulary, but a lot of energy,” said Mr. Emanuel, who then became emotional thanking his family before calling on the city and its citizens to do more to increase opportunities for young black men in neighborhoods plagued by crime, poverty and violence. — Carl HulseHuffingtonPost The Obama campaign gleefully sends over an announcement of a major endorsement…. for John McCain… by Dick Cheney. “In three days we’ll choose a new steward for the presidency and begin a new chapter in our history,” the Vice President said Saturday morning. “It’s the biggest decision that we make together as Americans. A lot turns on the outcome. I believe the right leader for this moment in history is Senator John McCain.” This isn’t, perhaps, the story that McCain headquarters wants in the news, though the press is undoubtedly going to play it up. Cheney is, after all, the Vice President. UPDATE: Sure enough, Obama is set to jump all over the endorsement, having some fun with it in the process. I’d like to congratulate Senator McCain on this endorsement because he really earned it. That endorsement didn’t come easy. Senator McCain had to vote 90 percent of the time with George Bush and Dick Cheney to get it. He served as Washington’s biggest cheerleader for going to war in Iraq, and supports economic policies that are no different from the last eight years. So Senator McCain worked hard to get Dick Cheney’s support. But here’s my question for you, Colorado: do you think Dick Cheney is delighted to support John McCain because he thinks John McCain’s going to bring change? Do you think John McCain and Dick Cheney have been talking about how to shake things up, and get rid of the lobbyists and the old boys club in Washington? The best news I heard all day. It couldn’t happen to a more deserving person! Update II: Cheney stars in new Obama campaign ad. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama highlights Vice President Dick Cheney’s support for Republican nominee John McCain in a new ad out Sunday. The ad opens by touting Obama’s recent endorsements from investor Warren Buffett and former Secretary of State Colin Powell, then cuts to video of Cheney from an event Saturday in Wyoming. The praise from Cheney, who routinely has some of the lowest approval ratings of any national political figure, came as Obama has been arguing that McCain is too closely tied to the policies of the Bush administration. Obama’s campaign said the 30-second spot would run nationally on cable channels. On the Net: http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/delighted_ad/Angela Merkel was last night accused of trying to ‘bully’ Britain into staying in the EU by warning we would be punished if voters back Brexit. The German Chancellor sparked a backlash after saying the UK could not expect favourable trade deals if it was ‘outside the room’. Wading into the debate for the first time, she called for Britain to remain ‘part and parcel of the EU’. Her comments came hours after similar warnings by the Dutch and Spanish prime ministers in what appeared to be a co-ordinated push by the European elite to head off a Brexit vote. German Chancellor Angela Merkel appealed for Britain to stay in the EU during a press conference in Berlin Boris Johnson accused the Foreign Office of orchestrating the threats, and said it suggested EU leaders had ‘hit the panic button’ as polls shifted in favour of the Leave camp. ‘The Foreign Office is now desperately wheeling out foreign leaders to threaten the British people with retaliation if they dare to vote to leave and take back control,’ said the former London mayor. ‘The Germans and the Dutch must be worried that if we stop sending Brussels £350million a week they will have to pick up our tab for the EU’s largesse. Angela Merkel’s claims that we will have more negotiating influence if we stay in the EU are completely hollow. David Cameron tried to get reforms to free movement but she blocked them. ‘The In campaign are panicking because they can see that people are turning against them and simply do not believe their relentless campaign of doom and gloom.’ Former Tory defence secretary Liam Fox hit out at the ‘veiled threats’ from Mrs Merkel and other EU leaders, saying: ‘When will they understand we will not be bullied into staying?’ Labour MP and Leave campaigner Kate Hoey said the German leader would be ‘well advised to stay out of what is a very, very important vote for British democracy’. Former Tory defence minister Sir Gerald Howarth said Mrs Merkel’s refusal to offer serious concessions during David Cameron’s renegotiation showed Britain had no influence inside the EU. ‘Britain was instrumental in rebuilding Germany after the war and helping to restore democracy,’ he said. ‘To be lectured by them for wanting to reclaim our own democracy is a bit rich, and very disappointing. Mrs Merkel made her intervention in the campaign during a joint appearance with Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg He added: ‘The idea that we have influence inside the EU is for the birds.’ Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg suggested the veiled threat to punish Britain was bogus, as any attempt at a trade war would hit the economies of EU member states hard. He said: ‘Does Mrs Merkel want to punish German car manufacturers from whom we import billions of pounds of cars each year?’ Mrs Merkel has so far kept out of the EU referendum debate because of fears that a German Chancellor lecturing British voters would backfire. But with the polls this week suggesting support for Brexit is gathering, she has waded in. Speaking in Berlin, Mrs Merkel said Britain would have far more influence ‘at the bargaining table’ – and suggested it would struggle to strike a good trade deal. ‘You will never get a really good result in negotiations, particularly on very important issues, when you’re not in the room and giving input,’ she said. Spain’s prime minister Mariano Rajoy claimed on Wednesday that a Brexit vote would be ‘negative for everybody’. Dutch leader Mark Rutte warned Brexit campaigners that their promise of a points-based immigration system would be met with a tit-for-tat response from other European countries. He told BBC News: ‘You would get a race to the bottom and that’s exactly what you don’t want.’The Public Apology \| Famous Apologies Extending a public apology is not very different from delivering a private one—the ingredients of any effective apology remain the same. The only real difference is that some of these apologies can become famous in their own right, or make others infamous for screwing up. A public apology delivered by celebrities and other well-known figures in the news and popular culture has an uncanny way of reminding us that 'to err' really is human. It really doesn't matter who you are, at some point anyone can find themselves in the doghouse for something they said or did. This section of the site will explore, comment on, and review some of the best and worst public apologies ever delivered so that we may all gain a better understand of what to do and more importantly what NOT to do. Public apologies know no boundaries. They extend from the Vatican, to the US Senate, to sports icons, corporations, Hollywood, and beyond. Whether these apologies succeed or fail, a great deal can be learned from them, because they often provide great insight into the art of delivering the perfect apology. For example, in a review of a public apology delivered by John Kerry we learn how not extending a complete apology from the outset can create more damage and hurt than the original offence. In an article on Political Apologies & American Democracy we learn how a misstatement can sometimes gain momentum of its own and overshadow good intentions. In a commentary by Peter F. Goolpacy, he asks Where are the Duke Apologies? following the debacle of three Duke University lacrosse students falsely accused of rape. We also learn why Don Imus' apology for insulting the Rutgers University Women's Basketball team (and the public at large) was doomed to fail. We also cover The Perfect Terrible Apology: A Case Study of David Shuster and MSNBC after Shuster posed an inappropriate (and offensive) question regarding Chelsea Clinton's role in her mother's campaign during an on-air political discussion. On the flip side, we take a look at David Neeleman's Jetblue Apology (which, in both its execution and delivery) is as close as one can get to crafting the perfect business apology. In our never ending pursuit of the perfect public apology, we review some other noteworthy mea culpas in the following case studies: By examining cases of how public figures succeed and/or fail to apologize we can better understand our own chances of being forgiven. Given the sorry state of public apologies, even the media is sometimes interested in figuring out what's going on. Read a Q & A session we had a few years back with a reporter from the Sacramento Bee on apologies in the media. As apologies continue to get media coverage, we are getting more requests for our take on things and why the American public in particular is so interested in these mea culpas—and given the amount of breaches and CEO dismissals these days, corporate apologies in particular. Read our business apology case studies which includes a full review of one of the biggest and earliest worldwide public apologies offered by Toyota. The fact that people in the public eye have well paid publicists supported by huge public relations firms makes their apologies so fascinating to witness and study. If these people can't deliver a proper apology (or public apology) then what hope is there for the rest of us? What we've learned through all of this is that even large Public Relations firms can screw up by missing the point, making excuses, and by overlooking the straightforward strategies outlined on this site. The #MeToo movement offers further insight into what works and what doesn't, with many prominent men and public figures apologizing for their sexual misconduct in an annotated article titled Mea Culpa. Kinda Sorta. from the New York Times. While on the topic, we've compiled a complete listing of quotes for Bill Clinton's public apologies following the Monica Lewinsky affair back in the late 90's. It will be interesting to see if we, or anyone else, will ever need to compile a list of Donald Trump apologies. Check back often for new reviews of the most interesting famous apologies. By seeing what they did right and what they did wrong, these types of unique or crisis driven apologies teach us how we can apologize more effectively.Many of the Vermont senator’s progressive supporters have already taken up his call to mobilise against the president-elect, with both local and federal organising Bernie Sanders swept into New York City on Monday evening and urged his supporters to continue mobilising against Donald Trump, at a book signing just 10 blocks south of the president-elect’s home. Sanders’ appearance, after days of protests against Trump in several cities, came as the Vermont senator’s supporters outlined plans for a “Tea Party of the left”, aimed at combating Trump’s presidency and sweeping progressive Democrats to power in the 2018 midterm elections. Bernie Sanders: our job is to oppose Trump's bigotry vigorously Read more Hundreds of Sanders’ supporters – some of whom had spent the night out on the streets – had lined up along Fifth Avenue in Manhattan to meet the Vermont senator. Trump Tower, where Trump has been holed up selecting his cabinet, was almost visible in the distance. When Sanders arrived, he urged his supporters to continue to oppose the incoming president’s plans. “I think what they have to understand is that more than ever it is imperative for the American people to be involved in the political process. Many of the positions that Trump advocated during the campaign are positions not shared by the majority of American people,” Sanders said. “So our job is to mobilise our people and make sure that Trump listens on issue after issue to what the American people want.” Facebook Twitter Pinterest Bernie Sanders signs copies of Our Revolution: A Future to Believe In at a Barnes & Noble in New York City. Photograph: John Lamparski/WireImage The Vermont senator was in New York to promote his book Our Revolution, which tells the story of his unlikely presidential bid and sets out his vision for the future of the progressive movement. Our Revolution, which was published on Tuesday, is already the top-selling book on Amazon – an indication of Sanders’ enduring popularity. Gregory Fritz Jr, 39, had been waiting outside Barnes & Noble, in Midtown Manhattan, since 6.30pm on Sunday night. He had driven from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and slept under “a couple of blankets” in order to be the first in line to meet Sanders. “He changed my life,” Fritz said. “He made me a better person. He opened my eyes.” Fritz said he had not been politically engaged before Sanders’ bid for the Democratic nomination, but he said he would now continue to campaign for ideas raised by the Vermont senator, like universal healthcare and a national minimum wage. “We got to keep active. Keep protesting, keep involved in our local communities,” Fritz said. “We got to build from the bottom up so we have local candidates, state candidates.” Across the US, tens of thousands of people have been protesting in the days following Trump’s electoral victory. But behind the scenes and away from the megaphones, progressive groups across the country are working towards keeping Sanders’ momentum going, and keeping Trump in check. “It’s our role to make sure we do what we can to protect the Americans who are most at risk under a Trump presidency: women, minority groups, the elderly, students and working people,” said Winnie Wong, the co-founder of the People for Bernie organisation that supported Sanders’ campaign. “This is very important. The GOP are coming for our entitlements. This is not a game.” People for Bernie is an independent activist group originally founded to support Sanders’ presidential bid but was now focused on a range of issues. Wong said the group planned to work alongside “single issue” organisations – activists focused specifically on equal pay for women, for example, or protecting Medicare – to protect those at-risk groups. She gave the example of Sheriff Joe Arpaio, the controversial, anti-immigrant Arizona sheriff who was ousted on 8 November. “That is a great example of cooperative creative organising. Where progressive groups from across the spectrum came together and moved bodies to Arizona and ousted him. There’s going to be a lot of tactics like that deployed.” Friday will be the first opportunity after Trump’s election to put those plans into action. Hundreds of liberal activists from across the country will descend on Washington DC for the progressive RootsCamp convention. The three-day event will bring together groups focusing on a range of issues with the aim of setting out a plan for the next two to four years. “It takes many and many different types of actions in order to make the wheel turn,” Wong said. “It takes mobilising and training people to step into leadership roles. It’s really a time of leadership development.” Ripples of a revolution: what will Bernie Sanders' supporters do next? Read more One of the people who has emerged as a leader within the progressive movement is Moumita Ahmed, who worked with the Millennials for Bernie group and is now organising a “million millennials march against racism and xenophobia” – a response to Trump’s presidency – in DC on 21 January. “People are upset right now,” Ahmed said. “People don’t want to march for progress. They want to march because they’re angry about the electoral college, they’re upset with Americans who think it’s OK for someone who campaigned with anti-gay, anti-Muslim rhetoric to now be president. “And our goal is to channel all of that energy into the 2018 midterms and 2020.” Ahmed compared the climate to 2008 when Obama won the presidency and the Democratic party controlled both the Senate and House. That spurred a conservative movement that saw a number of rightwing Republicans elected in the 2010 midterm elections. “It’s really like that’s the moment where the Tea Party mobilised. How we’re feeling right now that’s how they felt when Obama won. So that’s what we think will happen here as well,” she said. “You’re probably going to see some sort of actual Tea Party of the left.” Wong and Ahmed’s efforts are representative of a flurry of activity at all levels of the progressive movement. At the top level, Sanders, who in July announced he would return to the Senate as an independent, despite having won 13m votes in the Democratic primary, has been pressuring the Democratic National Committee to adopt the left-leaning Keith Ellison as its chair. At a grassroots level are events like RootsCamp, the anti-Trump protests that have taken place across the country, and a “People’s Rally” due to take place in DC on Thursday. Sanders himself will speak at that event, which was originally planned as an anti-Trans-Pacific Partnership event. People’s Action, a progressive organisation with more than a million volunteers and 600 paid organizers, is another activist group laying specific plans for the coming months. George Goehl, the organisation’s co-director, said People’s Action is aiming to target people across the rust belt and in swing states who backed Trump as a protest vote, and draw their attention to the difference between Trump the presidential candidate and Trump the president. “To expose that there’s no plans to move an economic populist agenda in a Trump presidency,” Goehl said. “He closed hard with the ‘drain the swamp’ message. I feel like in the last two or three weeks that was a message he pushed hard. “And he’s already pretty quickly refilled the swamp. With Priebus and the people he’s surrounding himself with: lobbyists, consultants, lots of people who are guilty of the kind of revolving door from Congress to lobbyist to Congress.” Goehl said the group would focus on issues at a local level. In October Cook County, in Illinois, implemented a $13-an-hour minimum wage after lobbying by People’s Action. “I see a lot of momentum building in states and in organisations like ours around down-ballot, bottom-up political movement work,” Goehl said. “In 2017, 48 of the 100 biggest cities in the country have municipal elections. I think we’ll see a big push there.” Sanders’ own organisation, also called Our Revolution, promises to be another influential group in the coming months. Our Revolution backed a number of left-leaning Democratic candidates at various levels, and with varying degrees of success, in the 8 November election and offers a “find an event” page where people can find protests and campaigning efforts in their neighbourhoods. For Wong, there is no reason why activists cannot continue to push for a progressive agenda, focusing on things like healthcare, income inequality, equal pay and financial reform, even under a Trump presidency. “We’re not going to stop doing the things that we set out to do after Bernie lost the primary and when we thought that Hillary was going to be president. That plan, that agenda is still very much on the table. “We’re going to do our best to elect more progressives to the Senate and to the legislature. Both at the federal and at the local levels. We want America to be full of Berniecrats. And that’s what we’re going to continue to do,” Wong said. “It feels really dire now in this moment, but the reality is we survived George Bush, we survived Ronald Reagan, and we’re going to survive Trump.”Advisory In June of 2017, the Truckee Police Department began receiving theft reports of high-end mountain bikes from various locations in Truckee. The most common scenario were bikes which were on vehicle racks, and secured with the locking mechanism of the rack or a cable style lock. Investigators quickly determined that these thefts were not only occurring in the Truckee area, but also in Tahoe City, Squaw Valley, and Carson City, Nevada. In conjunction with the Placer County Sheriff’s Office, Truckee police detectives began a joint investigation into the thefts. During the course of the investigation, some surveillance images caught the suspects committing the thefts, but no specific identifiable information could be established. Investigators were able to determine the make and model of an associated vehicle; however, no license plate could be identified. Numerous hours of surveillance, bait bike operations, and crime analysis briefings were accomplished from the time the thefts began. “It was very frustrating to see on social media that our community had the impression that we were not conducting any type of special investigations or bait bike operations. In reality, we were doing all that and more. We, obviously, could not release that information because it possibly could have jeopardized the integrity of the investigation,” said Truckee Detective Sergeant Danny Renfrow. “Although we did establish a possible vehicle description later on in the investigation, we were hesitant to release that information because it was our only link to identifying the suspects and we didn’t want the suspects switching vehicles,” Sgt. Renfrow went on to say. On Saturday, August 19, 2017, at approximately 10:00 p.m., an observant Truckee police officer was patrolling a location that had previous thefts, when he located the possible suspect vehicle. The officer made an enforcement stop on the vehicle and with the assistance of other Truckee police units, detained four adult males: Jesus Gallardo (25), Sergio Gallardo (23), Martin Gallardo (27), and Juan Carlos Gallardo (29), all brothers out of San Francisco. The officers were able to establish enough information to arrest the suspects for the bicycle thefts. Detectives with the Placer County Sheriff’s Office and Truckee Police Department immediately responded and continued the investigation. Ultimately, all four suspects were charged with multiple counts of grand theft, criminal conspiracy, and possession of stolen property. The suspects were booked in the Truckee Jail each with a $750,000 bond. Truckee police detectives served search warrants for the suspects’ vehicles and a residence in San Francisco. Along with Placer County Sheriff’s detectives and support from the San Francisco Police Department, investigators recovered approximately $70,000 worth of mountain bikes, road bikes, and related components. The dollar value of all the items taken from Truckee/Tahoe region is estimated to be in excess of $125,000. The Truckee Police Department is currently inventorying each of these items in an attempt to locate the lawful owners. Truckee police ask that victims of the bike thefts delay in calling to retrieve their property, as they are still processing the evidence and determining which bikes have been recovered. Rob Leftwich, Truckee Chief of Police stated, “I am exceptionally proud of our officers for their diligence and continued efforts in this investigation. I am very appreciative of the support and collaboration that the Placer County Sheriff’s Office provided. We have an excellent working relationship with the Sheriff’s Office and this is a great example of that. I also think this serves as a great reminder that even with no information being released to the public, our community can rest assured that the Truckee Police Department and the Placer County Sheriff’s Office have their absolute best interest at heart and we don’t let important crimes in our communities go uninvestigated.” If you have any questions or additional information, please contact Det. Sgt. Danny Renfrow at 530-550-2339, or Det. Chase Covington at 530-550-2333.Flash mobs are people who organize through Facebook or Twitter or other social media for the purposes of meeting at a place and performing an activity. Sometimes the activity is harmless, like performing a dance routine, but often it involves illegality and violence, such as attacking people and looting stores. AT had a classic example only yesterday, where a Walmart got ransacked. There has been a lot of ink spilled about the lack of blacks in technology. Just 49 of Twitter's 3,000 employees are black. Only 1.5% of Facebook employees are black. But one area where young blacks have been overwhelmingly overrepresented in technology is in flash mobs. And the video showed that most of the participants were black. It's hardly an isolated incident. Flash mobs frequently gather to rob stores or beat up white people. At the Wisconsin State fair, groups of black teens numbering anywhere from 25 to 100 “were targeting anyone who was white or appeared to look white,” and beating them, according to the local police chief. At least 18 people were injured, and 30 have been arrested.In Denver, white couples leaving restaurants were being attacked by groups of black men with baseball bats. Anna Taylor, Emily Guendelsberger, and Thomas Fitzgerald were beaten to the ground and stomped in separate black flash-mob attacks in Philadelphia.According to local news, police have battled large, black flash-mob beatings and vandalism “every weekend in July,” in Greensboro, NC. A young white woman was taunted and beaten by a black mob in Milwaukee, with one attacker saying, “White girl bleeds a lot.” And yet the race of the mob is rarely talked about. If a mob of white people attacked blacks, we would hear about it to no end. Why can't we say that a disproportionate percentage of flash mob participants are blacks? Because in our society, saying the behavior of a black person or a group of black people is unacceptable leaves you open to claims that you're a racist. It's much safer to talk about the Confederate flag or the 7% of black murder victims who are killed by non-blacks. But why can't we criticize anyone of any race, based on behaviors? Let's give it a try. Why are these kids going out late at night and doing these acts of violence and robbery? Where are their parents? Some of them don't have fathers, but they do have mothers, right? Why are their mothers not monitoring where they are and what they are doing? The high black participation level in flash mobs is clearly a failure of parenting. We should be able to have a conversation about this and talk about the poor parenting of some black parents. If Michelle Obama were concerned about black children, she would be talking about this, not carrots and lettuce. We are forced to live in a 1984-type environment where we have to pretend that root causes either don't exist or are falsely correlated with unrelated things like flags. I notice that President Obama never looks at store security footage and says that some of the people in it look like they could be his children. He never starts a national conversation about race when black children are participating in a flash mob. We need to be able to break the taboo about criticizing bad behavior among some black people. The more of us who talk about it, the more acceptable it will become. But if we are silent, we become almost willing participants in this increasingly unequal racial society we live in. This article was produced by NewsMachete.com, the conservative news site.'Rest in mash potato' Andy Cunningham, star of the beloved ’90s kids’ show ‘Bodger And Badger’, has died. Cunningham, who was also a magician and puppeteer as well as playing Simon Bodger and voicing his mashed potato-loving companion in the series, was confirmed to have passed away by friends on Facebook. He also starred in ‘Star Wars: Return Of The Jedi’ with multiple roles, including Ephant Mon. “So sad to hear Andy Cunningham has died,” wrote comedian Chairman Hughes on Facebook. I first met him doing his magic show when I was being a terrible clown at the same event and we were near neighbours in Islington. He was so sweet and kind and full of advice. I had quite a pash on him but my dog Arthur weed on him when he came to dinner, so put paid to that. “I last saw him at the Brighton fringe about three years ago and he was very mischievous in my audience. Actually, he was my audience. RIP sweet man.” Fellow ‘Bodger And Badger’ star Andre Vincent said: “He let me be his baddy in his TV show and I played Sidney Fudgepocket…I loved him and his crazy creations. Big love brother and I will truly miss you. X” Spector frontman Fred Macpherson meanwhile added: Sharethrough (Mobile) ‘Bodger And Badger’ ran for nine series between 1989 and 1999. Not only did he star in the show and voice
Marco was taught the manners of chivalry, and afterward Mewnian history and geopolitics until midday. They were having lunch until one in the afternoon, directly followed by a brief nap until half past one. From half past one until half-past six, Marco was taught martial arts and horse-riding. He was having free time until dinnertime at half past seven, which he always tried to spend with Star since it was their only chance of the day to see each other. After dinner, from half-past eight to ten, he was studying Mewnian classical poetry and literature, but more often than not sir Lavabo used this time to tell Marco his adventures around the Butterfly Kingdom and beyond. Marco had not seen Star for three days now, either because he was late in his training and could not benefit from the usual free time, or because Star was not free on her side. After all, as a Butterfly, she was one of the travel reasons: the Mewnian royal family was paying a diplomatic visit to one of its most distant but powerful vassals, the Duke of Dunham, whose son was thirteen years old and a serious contender to Star's hand. Although Moon and River were well aware of the close bond between their daughter and the squire-in-training, the visit had been long planned and calling it off would have caused a diplomatic incident, at the very least. As Marco was packing up his master's equipment, the latter approached him and said: - I've seen king River today. He wants to see you in the throne room in twenty minutes from now, at seven o'clock. - But I was supposed to … - To meet Star on the wall walk, I know. But a knight always does as his lord commands, no matter what. - What have I done to be summoned by the king in person? - He didn't tell me. It must be a personal business between the two of you, I assume. After all, you're to become … Sir Lavabo never ended his sentence, as he had already said too much. - What am I to become? A knight? I should hope so! - You'll know it soon enough, anyway. You should probably go, a knight is never late. Marco handed his things to his master and ran away towards the city. The streets were crowded with people going home, and he struggled to arrive in time in the throne room. River was there, alone, standing by his throne. When Marco came in, he warmly welcomed the squire. - Ah, Marco, my boy! Here you are. I've been wanting to see you all day, but Lavabo's training being what it is … - Is there something I can do for you, Your Majesty? asked Marco while kneeling, quickly remembering his etiquette lessons. - Well, not for me, answered River while caressing his long beard. But that's not the point. I summoned you here today for a very special reason. I have something to give you. Come here. Marco ceremoniously walked to the king, who handed him a long, decorated wooden box. He recognized the Johansen coat of arms carved on the upper part. - What is this? Asked the squire, carefully holding the present. - Open it, my boy! Marco pulled the golden latch and opened the box. It contained a finely-crafted bastard-sword, whose silver hilt was encrusted with sapphires. The pommel represented a bear head, the totem animal of the Johansen family. Its blade was engraved with undecipherable runs. - What does it say? Asked Marco, pointing the strange letters. - Oh, it is written in old Mewnian… Have you not studied this yet? Anyway, it says: "Cursed be the one to brandish this weapon for himself and not for the greater good". According to the legend, this blade once belonged to the first Johansen knight to serve a Butterfly queen. He also happens to be my seventh grandfather. - I'm not worthy of … - This kingdom has never known someone worthier of this blade than you, Marco. Accept it, since you're to pass under my direct orders at the end of your training. - I'm … I'm very grateful for this gift, Your Majesty. - You will use it more than me, now. I only ask you to treat the blade as your life depends on it. A day will come when you will have, as the First of the Queen's Knights, to pass it down to the next generation, like I just did with you. Here, take its sheath. Marco attached it to his baldric and covered it under his blue, mud-stained cape. - It's a great honor, my king. - Now, I'll let you have a good dinner. Moon and Star are already waiting for me in the dining room – I can feel them waiting for me as we speak. - Could you … Just, Your Majesty, send my greetings to Star? A-and to queen Moon, of course! - Count on me, young man, answered River with a conniving smile. He greeted Marco and left for his apartments. Marco was walking out of the throne room when the voice he was so eager to hear called his name. - Star? Is that you? He turned around several times, unable to spot the princess. He muttered to himself: - Now I begin to hear her voice from nowhere … You're getting crazy, Diaz … - No, Marco, I'm here! Said she again, leaving her hiding spot behind a tapestry. As she revealed herself, Marco wondered how could have she fit behind there with her large blue dress. Her hair was arranged in a long tress. Without knowing how it happened, they were in each other's arms by the following second. - I've been sitting here, hidden, for an hour! I knew my father would summon you here, so I took advantage of it … Marco inhaled a deep breath, filling his lungs with Star's light fragrance. This time, she smelled like spring flowers. He suddenly realized he was probably stinking after a hard day's training, and felt guilty for spoiling a fragrance as delicate as Star's. - Star, I … I'm not … I mean, I haven't washed since this morning, I … - Marco Diaz, I missed you too much to care about how you smell. Your knight-training thing really went to your head, didn't it? - Well, I … Uh … River's voice troubled their moment. - Star? Where are you, dear? Dinner is served! - Seems like I must go, for now, sighed the princess with a disappointed look. You have no idea how hard I wish your training to be shorter, duh … We've barely seen each other this week! - I know, I know … And it's not going to change for the coming weeks, isn't it? - Well, I could sneak out of the caravan during lunch pauses, but that's all … Once we arrive at Dunham Castle, I'll be trapped for two weeks in a net of ladies maids, butlers and boring suitors … I don't even know if … - Am I boring? Asked Marco, interrupting her – thus transgressing every single knightly manner he learned. - You're neither boring nor a suitor, cheekily answered Star. She kissed him on the cheek and ran to the royal apartments' door in a swirl of blonde hair. Marco stared at her until she disappeared, feeling alive again. - Beautiful … he whispered. On his way back to the apartments he shared with sir Lavabo, he felt like he could walk on air. He breathed heavily, trying to feel Star's scent again, but all he could remember was her sapphire blue eyes and her clear skin. - The fairest maid in the land, indeed … he muttered to himself, mimicking an old book he studied during his Mewnian literature and poetry lessons. He remained silent during the dinner, dwelling on his time with Star. He was hoping to spend more time with her during the travel to Dunham Shelt. While he and sir Lavabo were eating the dessert, the latter said : - Marco, my boy! I know what's troubling your mind. But don't let it disturb your training. Mark my words: the best thing you can do for princess Star is to succeed at this training, and become a worthy knight to enter her service. - King River told me I'm to pass to his service, though, pointed Marco – although he much liked the idea of being at Star's exclusive service. - Yes, whatever, you're going to serve the Butterfly family. That's all you need to know, for the time being. That means you could get to spend more time with Star if you follow me …? Isn't that what you want the most, right now? Spending time with the fairest maiden in the land, the one you love? Marco sighed, for sir Lavabo was perfectly right and he knew it. - Try to empty your mind, or think of something else. You'll need a good night of rest if you don't want to fell asleep on your saddle tomorrow. When Marco finally got in bed after a deserved shower, he remained to lie on the sheets, staring at the ceiling. Sir Lavabo was already snoring at the other end of the room. The squire could not find sleep, for his thoughts kept going back to Star. Since he was coming along as a member of the royal guard (in his quality of squire to sir Lavabo of the Wash) and had been assigned to the rearguard with his master, he wasn't going to get many occasions to be with Star. And afterward, the stay at Dunham Shelt… He was aware of what was to come, for Star and for himself. Star was going to be courted during two weeks by suitors, especially the duke's son, and would have to take part in dances and hunting parties in which she had not the least interest. Despite that, Marco was going to be pretty close to her during the stay, as a member of the guard. So close, and yet so far. River warned him the time he told him about the diplomatic visit, and he still remembered the words crystal clear: "Moon and I don't care about your closeness to our daughter, in fact, we're pretty happy about it. But it's not the case for everybody in the kingdom. If a suitor sees you, a squire, that close to the future queen he hopes to marry, it could have bad diplomatic consequences. You see, many high-ranked lords are hoping to betroth their son to Star. And while enforcing such a choice on her is the last thing Moon and I would do on Mewni, they are convinced that they can get Star's hand. Don't let yourself be upset by those petty games, Marco, my boy. You are far above that. My daughter's welfare is far above that." - Man, I don't know… Two weeks of seeing her with other guys… If only I could be a prince of some sort, or whatever… As soon as the lady's maid left the room, Star walked to her bed and laid down on the floor to catch something underneath the bed base. She pulled out an old, stained, holed red hoodie. The first hoodie she stole from Marco when she had to leave Earth in a hurry a few months ago. After rescuing it from sir Lavabo's good intentions, it sort of became a cuddly toy for her, and she could no longer sleep without it. Marco's scent was practically gone, but the boy's memory was crystal clear in Star's head, and the hoodie acted as a catalyst. The thought of the upcoming events popped up in Star's head, as she was trying to sleep. She almost burst into tears, but a great inspiration and the thought of Marco holding her tight helped her keeping her tears buried. She remembered how her heart beat wildly when Marco entered the throne room earlier, while she was hiding behind a tapestry. With Marco in her head, she could not think of anything that could sadden her. But the visit was going to be three weeks long – one week of travel, two of staying at Dunham Shelt – and she expected to be able to count times with Marco on one hand with fingers left. - I'm sick of waiting for his training to end… Muttered she. Although her parents didn't tell her anything, she perfectly knew – at least she thought so – why her father had proposed such a hard training to Marco. If their relationship went any further… No, she could not even think of it without turning red. But that thought led to another, a less happy one. She was going to be heavily and clumsily courted for two weeks, and Marco risked to witness it. She feared that it spoiled their relationship. - Marco Ubaldo Diaz, I love no one but you …Donald Trump has nominated an unprecedented number of judges to federal courts since his appointment. These are making steady progress through the Senate confirmation process and yet they have escaped the sort of scrutiny that Trump normally attracts. This is unfortunate, because the impact of Trump’s court picks will be profound, and will help reshape American society for years to come. Of the nearly 60 judges he has nominated, only one is black, one is Hispanic and three are women. The rest are white men. All of these people are conservatives who will be interpreting and helping (re)write the law for decades. These appointments reveal Trump for what he truly is: a Republican. His court picks amount to a right-wing takeover of the court system. This has been the objective of every Republican president since Ronald Reagan. Trump is distinguished only by his success at transforming the federal bench so early in his term. The claim that Trump has not accomplished much in his first year in office is dead wrong. He is fashioning the federal court system of Steve Bannon’s dreams. The president has nominated judges who will cut back the civil rights of racial minorities and LGBT people, expand the power of police and prosecutors, restrict the ability of women to obtain abortions and favor big corporations over consumers. Trump took office facing a backlog of 114 judicial appointments – the most of any president since Bill Clinton. This was not a coincidence but rather the product of a calculated project by Republicans in the US Congress to deny Barack Obama his authority to appoint judges. In a bold power play, Senate Republicans, who must confirm judicial nominees, simply refused to vote on most of Obama’s selections during the last year of his presidency. They were, in effect, waiting for Trump. Now Republicans have been rewarded for their abdication of their constitutional responsibilities during the Obama administration. President Trump has nominated 60 judges to fill the vacancies, with 14 already confirmed. If Trump were to resign or be removed from office tomorrow, he could leave proud that his profound impact is already set in stone: a generation of ultra-conservative judges with lifetime appointments who will transform the US into more of a police state than it already is. But again, this is more of a Republican project than a Trumpian one. In terms of their ideology, Trump’s judicial nominees – including racists, sexists, homophobes and gun nuts – are pretty much the same as any other Republican president would make. Why Donald Trump's most insidious legacy will be his judicial appointments \| Shira A Scheindlin Read more Neil Gorsuch, his first appointment to the US supreme court, joined conservatives like Clarence Thomas, who thinks that states should be able to make gay sex a crime, Samuel Alito, who thinks there should be almost no restrictions on gun ownership, and John Roberts, who thinks affirmative action and substantial portions of the Voting Rights Act are unconstitutional. Republicans widely view the Gorsuch appointment as the best thing Trump has done in office. Every Republican present in the Senate that day voted for Gorsuch’s confirmation, including moderates like John McCain and Susan Collins who have opposed some other aspects of Trump’s agenda. On the US supreme court, Gorsuch has been really busy – he wrote more separate opinions in his first month on the court than Elena Kagan, the next newest justice, wrote in two years. And he’s been a right wing judicial activist, giving a speech at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, hanging out with Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell in Kentucky, and writing opinions attacking the conservative chief justice John Roberts for not being conservative enough. But it is in the federal and court of appeals that Trump’s court picks will have the most profound impact. Despite the attention on supreme court nominees, we need to talk about the loonies Trump is placing on the lower courts As Shira Scheindlin made clear in the first essay in this series, this is where the vast majority of American legal cases are heard. In 2015, the US supreme court decided approximately 82 cases. In 2016, it was approximately 69. In contrast, the United States courts of appeals decided 52,000 cases in 2015 and 58,000 in 2016. The United States district courts decided 353,000 cases in 2015 and 355,000 in 2016. So, despite all the attention supreme court nominees get, we need to talk about the loonies Trump is placing on the lower courts that make the biggest difference in the lives of ordinary Americans. Jeff Mateer, Trump’s nominee to the federal bench in Michigan, called transgender children “proof that Satan’s plan is working”, while John King, who was recently confirmed for the US court of appeals, described abortion as one of two “greatest tragedies” in US history, with slavery being the other. Every Republican president since Roe v Wade has promised to appoint judges who would overturn Roe v Wade. A record of hostility to LBGT rights or school desegregation would be a resume enhancer for any person who aspires to the bench during a Republican administration. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Trump’s supreme court pick, Neil Gorsuch. Photograph: Jack Gruber/ddp/Barcroft Most Republicans wouldn’t be as open as Trump, who promised his judicial selections would “all be picked by the Federalist Society”, an organization of right-wing lawyers and law students. But, since its founding in 1982, the Federalist Society has played an important role in judicial selection for every Republican president, from Ronald Reagan who plucked Antonin Scalia and Robert Bork from the organization’s “faculty advisors”, to George W Bush, who made members of the ultra right-wing organization half of his appointments to the courts of appeal. The problem with Trump exceptionalism – the claim that the Donald is an outlier – is that it lets other Republicans escape the blame for their long simmering bigotry. All President Trump has done is stir the pot. As the hip-hop expression goes, “don’t hate the player, hate the game”. Indeed, as a man who seems to have no permanent ideology outside of his vast narcissism, Trump’s right-wing takeover of federal courts might be the most Republican thing he does in his entire presidency. Some progressives are bemoaning the lack of diversity of Trump’s nominations, almost 80% of whom are white men. To date Trump has nominated one African-American and one Hispanic judge. This stands out in stark contrast to Barack Obama, whose judicial appointments were over 40% female, and about 30% African American and Hispanic. Obama appointed more Asian-American federal judges than all the presidents before him, combined. Trump exceptionalism lets other Republicans escape the blame for their long simmering bigotry Of all the opportunities to resist that the Trump administration has inspired, protesting the lack of diversity of his court appointments is a fail. It shouldn’t be difficult for Trump to find some women and people of color who are Federalist-society approved. The fact that those names haven’t come forward is more evidence of the disdain in which Trump holds people who are not rich, white heterosexual men. But we already know that from Trump’s boasts about pussy-grabbing, his shout-out to the Nazi sympathizers in Charlottsville and his description of Mexican immigrants as rapists. It would not advance the causes of women’s rights, racial justice, and LGBT equity to have a bunch of female, minority and queer judges with the same reactionary jurisprudence as the white guys who Trump has nominated. African Americans learned this lesson the hard way. US supreme court justice Clarence Thomas was appointed by George HW Bush to the black “slot” on the supreme court after Thurgood Marshall, the pioneering civil rights lawyer, died. It was well known that he was extremely conservative, but many African Americans still supported him based on the idea that it was important for blacks to have a seat at the table, regardless. Trump's judicial picks: 'The goal is to end the progressive state' Read more In the same way that Donald Trump seems animated by reversing the legacy of Barack Obama, Clarence Thomas has spent the last 25 years undoing everything Thurgood Marshall stood for. Thomas has voted against affirmative action, the Fair Housing Act and the Voting Rights Act. He wrote an opinion reversing a jury award of $14m to a black man who been wrongfully convicted and placed on death row for 14 years for a crime he did not commit. Donald Trump, during the campaign, called Clarence Thomas his “favorite” supreme court justice. But for many black folks, Justice Thomas’ presence on the court has become an embarrassment rather than a symbol that someone there is attentive to their concerns. Do we really need a bunch of other minority and female justices in that mode? No thank you, Mr President. The larger problem is that the US faces is a new generation of federal judges, with lifetime appointments, dedicated to eliminating constitutional protections for anyone who is not white, male, heterosexual and rich. Don’t blame the Donald. He’s just a Republican.Democratic ad brands GOP tea partiers 'radical terrorists' Bexar County Democratic Chairman Manuel Me- dina defends a controver- sial ad by calling the tea party “a terrorist or- ganization.” Bexar County Democratic Chairman Manuel Me- dina defends a controver- sial ad by calling the tea party “a terrorist or- ganization.” Photo: Robin Jerstad / For The San Antonio Express-News Photo: Robin Jerstad / For The San Antonio Express-News Image 1 of / 8 Caption Close Democratic ad brands GOP tea partiers 'radical terrorists' 1 / 8 Back to Gallery Fear is the great motivator in politics. It's always easier to scare someone to the polls to vote against your opponent than it is to persuade them to the polls to vote for you. Lyndon Johnson's campaign strategists understood that in 1964 when they conceived the infamous “Daisy Girl” ad, which hinted that the election of Johnson's opponent, Barry Goldwater, would result in a “Dr. Strangelove” dystopia filled with nuclear mushroom clouds. Manuel Medina understands this, too. That's why the Bexar County Democratic Party chairman launched a new Spanish-language ad last Thursday on Univision, implying that tea party Republicans rank up there with ISIS as the organization most likely to behead us in our sleep. The Univision airtime was bankrolled (to the tune of $25,000) by personal-injury attorney Thomas J. Henry, who has also made a big splash in the Bexar County district attorney race by donating more than $1.2 million to Democratic candidate Nico LaHood. The Univision ad begins by showing the United States and Mexican flags waving next to each other, with a narrator saying, “These two flags represent friendship, liberty, opportunity and justice.” That image is quickly replaced by the tea party's “Don't Tread on Me” banner. This flag, the narrator warns us, is “muy peligrosa” (very dangerous). “It's the flag of the tea party Republicans. They are radical terrorists and they want to take matters into their own hands, affecting our children and families with violence and firearms on the border and in our cities.” That accusation is accompanied by photos of Texas militia members in camouflage uniforms and a worried woman holding tight to her child. Before we get to this ad's fear-mongering message, there are a few elements to untangle. First, it's not quite fair to equate civilian militia vigilantes with tea party Republicans. It's true that many individual militia members sympathize with the tea party movement, and it's also true that Republicans have been reluctant to criticize the border militias. But they're still separate entities, and any Democrat who resented hearing about how Barack Obama “palled around” with terrorists, simply because former Weather Underground radical William Ayers hosted a fundraiser for him in the 1990s, should appreciate the distinction. “It's disappointing that they would refer to the tea party that way,” said Allen Tharp, president of the San Antonio Tea Party and CEO of the Lion & Rose pubs. Tharp says his group's three main objectives are the elimination of government debt, tax reduction and individual choice on health care. He added that he doesn't know anyone who is part of the border militias. Second, when we talk about “tea party Republicans,” it's important to differentiate between tea party organizations and GOP candidates who have the support of those organizations. They may share similar agendas, but they don't speak for each other, in the same way that libertarians might admire Rand Paul, but they don't speak for him. Finally, as misguided and irresponsible as these self-appointed border vigilantes are, we might want to refrain from branding them “terroristas radicales” (as Medina's ad does), when we know it's a term that immediately conjures images of jihadists sneaking bombs onto commercial flights. You can hate the tea party movement and still recognize the cynicism of a commercial that tells Spanish speakers a vote for a tea party-affiliated Republican is a vote for terroristic violence. Medina defended the ad — which he created himself — by saying, “The tea party is not a political party. They're a terrorist organization.” Medina said he approached Henry a week ago for funding help with the so-called “Protect San Antonio” spot, because the party chairman realized that local Democrats hadn't tapped the older, Spanish-speaking audience that gravitates to Univision. “It's way out of bounds,” said Bexar County Republican Party Chairman Robert Stovall, who left a complaint message for Univision station management on Friday morning after seeing the ad. “It's a full-blown baloney scare tactic.” And just in time for Halloween.From left, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, R-Wis., House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., and Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., meet with reporters after House Republicans held a closed-door strategy session as the deadline looms to pass a spending bill to fund the government by week's end, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2017. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) WASHINGTON (AP) — Despite incendiary words from President Donald Trump, Congress seemed on track Wednesday to approving legislation that would avert a partial government shutdown over the weekend as all sides seemed ready to avert a confrontation — for now. Increasingly confident House leaders planned a Thursday vote on a bill that would keep federal agencies functioning through Dec. 22, and Senate approval was expected to follow. Even the head of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, whose members have been threatening to oppose the measure, predicted passage. “No one wants a shutdown, including Freedom Caucus members,” Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., told reporters. The moderated tone reflected a sense within both parties that though major differences remain over spending, immigration, health care and other issues, this was no time for a headline-grabbing government closure. Republicans want the public focus to be on the party’s prized $1.5 trillion tax bill, which they hope to enact by Christmas. They also have no interest in a shutdown that would raise questions about their ability to govern. While many Democrats seemed likely to oppose the measure, enough were expected to support it in the Senate to allow its passage there. They know they’d still have leverage on subsequent bills needed to keep the government running. Congressional leaders of both parties planned to meet Trump at the White House on Thursday to bargain over long-term spending limits and other issues that have become entangled with lawmakers’ year-end work. But Trump unexpectedly tossed a hand grenade into the mix when he told reporters that a shutdown “could happen” and blamed Democrats. He said they want “illegal immigrants pouring into our country, bringing with them crime, tremendous amounts of crime.” His comments drew a tweet from House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who called Trump “the only person talking about a government shutdown.” Trump tweeted similar attacks on Democratic leaders shortly before a meeting that was scheduled last week, prompting angered Democrats to boycott it. This time, the White House followed up with a more accommodating statement that praised Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. The written statement said Trump was glad the two top Democrats had decided to “put their responsibility to the American people above partisanship” and said Trump was anticipating productive talks between “leaders who put their differences aside.” Later, the White House issued another statement indicating Trump would sign the two-week spending extension and laying out its goals for upcoming budget bargaining. It said money for the military including missile defense and security along the border with Mexico “must be prioritized in a long-term funding agreement.” The two-week bill is aimed at giving negotiators more time to settle differences. The measure also makes money available to several states that are running out of funds for the Children’s Health Insurance Program, a widely popular program that provides medical care to more than 8 million children. Democrats have been using their leverage to insist on spending boosts for health care, infrastructure and other domestic programs that would match increases Republicans want for defense. Democrats are also seeking an agreement to extend protections for hundreds of thousands of immigrants who arrived in the U.S. illegally as children. Trump ended safeguards against deportation three months ago but has expressed an openness to restoring them. Meadows said the Freedom Caucus had not taken a final position on whether it will back the short-term bill, but he and several others stopped short of saying they’d oppose it. Conservative leaders met with top House Republicans and said they were seeking a strategy to reduce Democrats’ budget leverage by quickly approving a full-year budget for the military. It was unclear how Republicans could prevent Senate Democrats from blocking such a move. The roughly 30-member caucus has been trying to win promises of tight budget curbs and other concessions from leaders in exchange for backing the short-term bill. Without support from many of them, Republicans would need votes from Democrats to push the temporary spending measure through the House, and Democrats have not said what they will do. Democratic votes for any budget measure will be crucial in the Senate, where Republicans by themselves lack the 60 votes needed to approve the legislation. ___ AP reporter Ken Thomas contributed.If there is one ethos of punk, and especially DIY (Do It Yourself) punk, it is that the punk world is for everybody: anyone can sing, anyone can play, anyone can listen, anyone can participate. But in reality, men run the scene, men are the scene, and men always have been and probably always will be at the center of the scene. As a trans woman, sometimes I just go through the motions: I do my work, I perform my best, I seek out my moments of joy. But it’s never perfect, and it’s occasionally awful: without warning, in the audience or on a stage, I’ll hear someone say, “This song is about feminism, which means: How hard it is to have a vagina in this world!” or “I saw Ralph in a dress the other day, that was pretty funny” or “That last songwriter, he was pretty cool”. And I’m suddenly rocking out here on the outside, but only listening in on the thing I love. And even if I don’t walk out, I’m still gone, excluded from the supposedly ultra-inclusive community I’m trying to build. If you want – and most people do want – you can retell the early history of punk exclusively by referencing white men: Johnny Rotten in London, Joey Ramone in New York, Henry Rollins in Los Angeles, and so on and so forth. When you look between the gaps, of course you find women and people of color everywhere: Death and Algebra Mothers in Detroit, X-Ray Spex and Genesis Breyer P-orrige in the UK, Bad Brains and Jayne County around the US, and of course Ron Reyes, Dez Cadena and ROBO of the all-too-often whitewashed Black Flag. But that’s exactly the problem: we find these important, influential, wonderful groups in the gaps. They’re marginalia in the “real history” while the boy-bands get to be “real punk”. My peers can write ’zines, make comics, compose essays, but they’re somehow not punk enough. Speaker for the Dead in Detroit, Michigan Photograph: Courtesy of Alyssa Kai Maybe that’s because certain punk men built their scene on images of violence against the established order and, while the genre hasn’t yet torn down the state apparatus, it has enacted that state’s violence on the lower class, nonwhite, disabled and non-men folks in the scene. No matter how many dialogues we stage on anti-oppression, safer spaces, radical inclusivity and mutual aid, men in punk can still stand in front of a crowd and scream about almost anything they want or feel – just so long as they avoid a given list of anti-oppressive no-no words. Their power has put on a more pleasant face, but some men remain a fundamentally violent presence that I must witness if I want to be a part of the beauty of the scene. I love the punk music that’s coming out now – I even love the people making it. But I don’t trust them or their work. When you’re a trans woman, you learn to keep your expectations low and your hopes at arm’s length. My first tour was me and eight men for two weeks, playing community spaces, rocking basements, selling weird merch, the whole thing. And I was astounded at how good I felt around those men: we didn’t talk about my gender, they didn’t call me “he” and I somehow managed to feel “normal”. I called their silence about me respect, and called my own silence about them the price of belonging. I fell asleep on strangers’ couches and hoped I’d be safe; I sat through hours of aggressively male banter; I told the breathless boys who moments before had been barreling into me, knocking over my mic, and cutting open my lip, “Thank you, thank you for coming, great to have you here.” Speaker for the Dead in concert Photograph: Courtesy of Alyssa Kai And yet there are joys: I’ve joined more bands, kept queer punks close, and I’m closer and closer to touring full time. When I come home, the DIY scene in Worcester, Massachusetts, takes excellent care of me, and I play for them and they play for me and we call that a life. For the first time in my life, I can list people like me whom I admire, and whom I can try to emulate in my work: Sybil Lamb, Imogen Binnie, Noel’le Longhaul, Rosanonymous, the departed Samantha Jane Dorsett. DIY punk – with its self-released music, non-corporate labels, cheap all-age shows in basements – embraces those things not as means toward corporate success, but as intrinsically worthwhile tools to build authentic rebellion and powerful community. Still, I watch my peers in DIY stage communion with audiences who pay for a touch of our emotional lives, our pay-what-you-can consumer ethics enabled by the economic stability of middle-class musicians and fans; our authenticity built on false premises of what it means to be “true” to punk in a messed-up, still-exclusionary scene made up of mostly white, abled middle-class men who make and buy most of the music. However anti-establishment in spirit, punk has always been tied to money: success means getting signed, getting famous, getting a world tour. Even if rebellious energy or violent imagery remains in the music, economically speaking, punk is just another sales category to the male-dominated establishment. Meanwhile, punks like me, and those unlike me – punks of color, working class punks, disabled punks – struggle to get what most men in our scene are all-but automatically granted: not just power, but meaning. They get to be their whole, authentic selves on stage and off, they get to decide what’s punk, they get to “let” the rest of us in. To break into their scene doesn’t feel like a success; rather, it feels like being give permission to play along when I shouldn’t have needed to ask. Not in punk – and not anywhere.\| by Michael Uttley \| In 2014, the City of Toronto received a redevelopment proposal for the sixty-acre Celestica Site on the northwest corner of Don Mills Road and Eglinton Avenue East. The proposal aimed to capitalize on the site's location at the future Science Centre station on the Crosstown LRT (planned to open in 2021) by increasing density and adding new residential, office, retail, and community uses. View of the Celestica site from Don Mills Road and Eglinton Avenue, image by Michael Uttley Over seven development blocks, this proposal would add 2,897 residential units, 77,136 m2 of office space, and 9,105 m2 of retail. It would also add new open spaces, a hockey arena or other community facility, and 930 structured and underground parking spaces. As this proposal was advanced, it was clear that the Celestica Site's mixed-use potential could be limited due to its location within a designated employment area. This challenge was entrenched with the adoption of Official Plan Amendment 231 by Toronto Council in December of 2013 which is aims to retain such areas for employment purposes. The owners of the site appealed this Council decision to the Ontario Municipal Board in 2014, along with 177 other land owners in Toronto. However, in an effort to expedite the process and avoid a potentially lengthy and costly appeal process, the site's ownership consortium composed of Diamond Corp., Lifetime Developments, and Context Development Inc. brought a draft settlement to council in Spring of 2016. On June 7, Toronto City Council voted to adopt the settlement agreement containing a Official Plan Amendment modification as well as a Site and Area Specific Policy. Concept plan for the Celestica Site, image courtesy of City of Toronto The proposed modification to Official Plan Amendment 231 would make much of the western portion of the site exempt from the Employment Area designation. Instead, this portion of the site would be classified as a Regeneration Area. This unique designation is aimed at reintegrating areas of the city which are no longer productive by attracting new investment, re-using buildings, and animating public streets. Regeneration Areas can accommodate a range of uses, including commercial, residential, institutional, light industrial, and live/work arrangements. As a Regeneration Area, a Comprehensive Planning and Development Framework will need to be created for the Celestica Site. The content of this Framework is outlined in the settlement agreement. It is to include a physical structure plan, including street networks and blocks; land use plan; parks and open space
human characteristics and attributes to the world around them and think inanimate objects are able to think and feel. READ MORE: One in six worldwide has no religion - study Marjanna Lindeman and Annika Svedholm-Häkkinen, who carried out the research, found that those who believed in religion had lower “intuitive physics skills.” “The more the participants believed in religious or other paranormal phenomena, the lower their intuitive physics skills, mechanical and mental rotation abilities, school grades in mathematics and physics, and knowledge about physical and biological phenomena were – and the more they regarded inanimate targets as mental phenomena,” they told The Independent.Donald Trump joins the birthers: Property tycoon suggests Obama's not really American Donald Trump has joined the chorus of so-called 'birthers' questioning the citizenship of President Obama. The property tycoon says he doubts that Obama was born in the U.S. because he never produces anyone from his early childhood to prove it. In an ABC interview on board his private jet, Mr Trump said: 'He grew up and nobody knew him. You know? When you interview people, if ever I got the nomination, if I ever decide to run, you may go back and interview people from my kindergarten. They'll remember me. Doubting: Donald Trump questions whether President Obama really is American during an interview on his private jet 'Nobody ever comes forward. Nobody knows who he his until later in his life. It's very strange. The whole thing is very strange.' He also criticises those who attack the birther movement. 'Everybody that even gives a hint of being a birther... even a little bit of a hint, like, gee, you know, maybe, just maybe this much of a chance, they label them as an idiot,' he said. 'Let me tell you, I'm a really smart guy.' The birther movement argue that Mr Obama is not a natural born citizen of the U.S. and is therefore not eligible to be President of the United States under Article Two of the United States Constitution. Some of the conspiracy theories claim that Obama was born in Kenya, others suggest that Obama is a citizen of Indonesia. Mr Trump added that he is willing to spend $600million of his fortune to run for the U.S. presidency. But the billionaire said his name is so well known by the public that he will save millions on advertising if he decides to challenge Mr Obama in the 2012 election. Mr Trump, who is worth over $2.7billion, said he is considering seeking the Republican party nomination - and financing his election campaign would not be a problem. President Obama raised $750million during his successful election campaign, with most of the cash going on TV advertising. Under fire: President Obama'missed a chance' to topple Gaddafi, Trump claims Asked if he had $600million to spare, Mr Trump said: 'Much more than that. That's one of the nice things. 'I mean, part of the beauty of me is that I'm very rich. So if I need $600million, I could put up $600 million myself. That's a huge advantage." Mr Trump, who presents the reality show Celebrity Apprentice, said he will make a final decision about running for President in June. He dismissed speculation that his presidential bid was just for publicity. 'I have never been so serious as I am now,' he told the Good Morning America TV show. As for the Libyan crisis, Mr Trump was forthright about leader Moammar Gaddafi's brutal use of force against civilians and rebels in Libya, saying he would be for a'surgical strike' on Gadhafi. Mr Trump said: 'If we could surgically strike and stop that from happening, I'd be for it, but not to get into a war,' adding that he believed the President had missed a chance to do just that.Image caption Caroline Kennedy visited Ireland in June to celebrate the 50th anniversary of her father's visit to the country President Barack Obama has nominated Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of former President John F Kennedy, to be America's ambassador to Japan. Ms Kennedy, a lawyer by training, was a key Obama supporter in 2008 and 2012, but has largely shunned political life. If confirmed by the Senate, she would be the first woman to serve as envoy to Japan, a crucial US ally in Asia. She is the only surviving child of the assassinated president and former First Lady Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy. The White House announced the nomination with little fanfare, listing Ms Kennedy in a roll call of selections for various administration posts. 'No one better' Mr Obama said in a statement that the choices brought "a depth of experience and tremendous dedication to their new roles", but he offered no comment specific to Ms Kennedy. Meanwhile, the chairman of the Kennedy Library Foundation, where Ms Kennedy serves as president, congratulated her in a statement, saying: "I can think of no one better to represent this country with strength and integrity." The post would be the highest-profile public role for Ms Kennedy. The 55-year-old has served at many non-profit organisations and has been active in supporting Democratic politicians. But she has not joined other members of the Kennedy clan in running for office. She considered running for a New York senate seat when Hillary Clinton became secretary of state in 2009, but declined, citing personal reasons. Ms Kennedy supported Mr Obama early on in his 2008 presidential run, the only time she endorsed a presidential candidate other than her uncle, Ted Kennedy, in 1980. Japan is among America's largest trading partners. Previous US ambassadors to Tokyo have included former Senate majority leader Mike Mansfield, former Vice-President Walter Mondale and former House Speaker Tom Foley. If confirmed, Ms Kennedy will replace John Roos, a wealthy former Silicon Valley lawyer and top Obama campaign fundraiser.Dozens of YouTubers have released videos protesting YouTube’s new harassment policy changes, claiming the move to be the start of a crackdown on freedom of speech. The site’s new broadened definition of harassment, an infraction that can be punished with accounts being suspended, includes “Deliberately posting content in order to humiliate someone” and “Making hurtful and negative comments/videos about another person”, potentially threatening many YouTube accounts that create parodies, criticism, and reaction videos. “We want you to use YouTube without fear of being subjected to malicious harassment. In cases where harassment crosses the line into a malicious attack, it can be reported and the content will be removed. In other cases, users may be mildly annoying or petty and should simply be ignored” announced YouTube in their change, however many accounts have not reacted lightly. “Many users are saying well is there a department, is there a specific person that is deciding what is hate speech and what is not?” said popular YouTube star Philip DeFranco, who has over 4 million subscribers in his new skeptical video. “Is this just meant to stop the sixteen year-old in high school who makes a whole video called ‘Stephany is a slut’, where you’re just shouting hate speech and obviously harassing, or will that also then extend to other people criticizing other YouTubers, celebrities, politicians, whoever… This terms of service change feels very much like a wildcard, and it makes me nervous because if they start enforcing this too liberally, what does that mean for censorship here on YouTube? Because that’s essentially what this could become”. “What about the morons who think that when I criticize the ideology of Islam, that I’m somehow attacking individual people when I’m not?” asked popular YouTuber MrRepzion, who has nearly 500 thousand followers and frequently criticizes different people and ideologies, including Islam and feminism. “Could they not just mass-flag my video and get it removed for ‘hate on people’ when it has nothing to do with people, it has to do with the belief system?” “Sometimes, criticism and insults can escalate into more serious forms of harassment and cyberbullying. If specific threats are made against you and you feel unsafe, tell a trusted adult and report it to your local law enforcement agency” concludes the harassment policy page, disregarding the fact that the majority of popular YouTubers are adults themselves. Numerous other YouTube channels have also made videos attacking the new terms of service update, with very few defending it, however YouTube has yet to address the concerns that many of its largest users have put forward. Charlie Nash is a reporter for Breitbart Tech and former editor of the Squid Magazine. You can follow him on Twitter @MrNashington or like his page at Facebook.In order to create a renewable carbon economy, you can use solar power to split carbon dioxide. Combine the resulting carbon monoxide with hydrogen, and you have the beginnings of a solar fuel that could one day replace oil. Since 2008, a European consortium led by Athanasios Konstandopoulos at the Centre for Research and Technology Hellas, Thessaloníki, Greece, has been operating a 100-kilowatt pilot plant that generates hydrogen from a combination of sunlight and steam. The plant is sited at a concentrating solar power tower, the Plataforma Solar de Almería in Almería, Spain, which houses a series of mirrors to concentrate the sun's rays onto solar panels beneath. The same technology can also be used to split CO2 – the resulting CO can be combined with the hydrogen to form hydrocarbon fuel, they say. The pilot plant contains a ceramic reactor riddled with a honeycomb network of channels coated in a mixed iron and cerium oxide. Concentrated solar energy heats the reactor to around 1200C, releasing oxygen gas, which is pumped away. The reactor is then cooled to around 800C before steam is fed through the honeycomb – the depleted material steals back oxygen and in the process converts the steam into hydrogen gas. Pilot plant The team has run the pilot plant in several week-long bursts since its launch as part of the European Commission-funded Hydrosol II project. They claim that it is possible to convert up to 30 per cent of the steam into hydrogen. Now Konstandopoulos and colleagues have successfully used the same reactor technology and process to split carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide in the lab. Two reactors running simultaneously could generate hydrogen and carbon monoxide, which could be combined into synthetic fuel using one of two established chemical processes, says Konstandopoulos. In the Sabatier process the two gases are heated at high pressure in the presence of a nickel catalyst to produce methane or methanol, while in the Fischer-Tropsch process an iron-based catalyst is used to generate liquid hydrocarbon fuels. The process would help to make better use of the CO2 captured from power plants, which otherwise might simply be buried underground. Konstandopoulos says it could also solve the problem of storing and transporting hydrogen once it is produced – a problem that could prevent the development of a hydrogen economy. Nature's choice "Hydrocarbons are the best energy carriers that we have available – nature has already proven that," he says. "We just have to find a way not to use them as our primary energy source." Generating hydrocarbons this way would also mean few changes are needed to cars and existing fuel infrastructure, he says. Other teams are investigating different reactor designs for producing solar fuel, including rotating rings of cerium oxide. A team led by Aldo Steinfeld at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich, has built a 10-kilowatt plant in which steam and carbon dioxide are reacted with zinc oxide to produce synthetic gas in one step. They plan to test a 100-kilowatt version next year. Konstandopoulos and colleagues are now working to scale up their technology and build a 1 megawatt hydrogen-producing plant, in a project known as Hydrosol 3D. New Scientist reports, explores and interprets the results of human endeavour set in the context of society and culture, providing comprehensive coverage of science and technology news."The Walking Dead: Season One" redirects here. For the first season of the television series, see The Walking Dead (season 1) The Walking Dead (also known as The Walking Dead: The Game[5] and The Walking Dead: Season One[6]) is an episodic adventure game video game developed and published by Telltale Games. Based on The Walking Dead comic book series, the game consists of five episodes, released between April and November 2012. It is available for Android, iOS, Kindle Fire HDX, Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, Ouya, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. The game is the first of The Walking Dead video game series published by Telltale. The game takes place in the same fictional world as the comic, with events occurring shortly after the onset of the zombie apocalypse in Georgia. However, most of the characters are original to the game, which centers on university professor and convicted criminal Lee Everett, who rescues and subsequently takes care of a young girl named Clementine as they join a group of survivors. Kirkman provided oversight for the game's story to ensure it corresponded to the tone of the comic, but allowed Telltale to handle the bulk of the developmental work and story specifics. Some characters from the original comic book series also make in-game appearances. Unlike many graphic adventure games, The Walking Dead does not emphasize puzzle solving, but instead focuses on story and character development. The story is affected by both the dialogue choices of the player and their actions during quick time events, which can often lead to, for example, certain characters being killed, or an adverse change in the disposition of a certain character or characters towards Lee. The choices made by the player carry over from episode to episode. Choices were tracked by Telltale, and used to influence their writing in later episodes. The Walking Dead has been critically acclaimed, with reviewers praising the harsh emotional tone of the story and the empathetic connection established between Lee and Clementine. It won year-end accolades, including Game of the Year awards from several gaming publications. More than one million unique players have purchased at least one episode from the series, with over 8.5 million individual units sold by the end of 2012, and its success has been seen as constituting a revitalization of the weakened adventure game genre. In July 2013, Telltale released an additional downloadable episode, 400 Days, to extend the first season and bridge the gap towards Telltale's second season, released later that year. Season 3 and Season 4 of The Walking Dead were released in 2016 and 2018, respectively. Gameplay [ edit ] The Walking Dead is a graphic adventure, played from a third-person perspective with a variety of cinematic camera angles, in which the player, as protagonist Lee Everett, works with a rag-tag group of survivors to stay alive in the midst of a zombie apocalypse.[7] The player can examine and interact with characters and items, and must make use of inventory items and the environment. Throughout the game, the player is presented with the ability to interact with their surroundings, and options to determine the nature of that interaction. For example, the player may be able to look at a character, talk to that character, or if they are carrying an item, offer it to the character or ask them about it. According to Robert Kirkman, The Walking Dead game is focused more on developing characters and story, and less on the action tropes that tend to feature in other zombie-based games, such as Left 4 Dead.[8] A screenshot showing dialog choices. At certain points in the game's conversation trees, the player will have a limited amount of time to respond, shown at the bottom of this screen. If they don't respond in time, the game will default to the "no statement" ( ellipses ) option. Some parts of the game require timed responses from the player, often leading to significant decisions that will impact the game's story, in the manner of role-playing games (RPGs).[9] Some conversation trees require the player to make a selection within a limited time, otherwise Lee will remain quiet, which can affect how other characters respond to him. Unlike in other RPGs such as the Mass Effect or Fallout series, where choices fall on either side of a "good or evil" scale, the choices within The Walking Dead have ambiguous results, having an effect on the attitude of the non-player characters towards Lee.[9] The player can opt to enable a "choice notification" feature, in which the game's interface indicates that a character has changed their disposition towards Lee as a result of these choices.[10] In more action-based sequences, the player must follow on-screen prompts for quick time events (QTEs) so as to keep themselves or other characters alive. If the player dies, the game restarts from just prior to the QTE. Other timed situations involve major decisions, such as choosing which of two characters to keep alive. Each episode contains five points where the player must make a significant decision, choosing from one of two available options. Through Telltale's servers, the game tracks how many players selected which option and lets the player compare their choices to the rest of the player base. The game can be completed regardless of what choices are made in these situations; the main events of the story, as described below, will continue regardless of what choices are made, but the presence and behavior of the non-player characters in later scenes will be affected by these choices. The game does allow the player to make multiple saves, and includes a "rewind" feature where the player can back up and alter a previous decision, thus facilitating the exploration of alternative choices.[11] Synopsis [ edit ] Setting [ edit ] The Walking Dead occurs simultaneously with the events from the original comic series, where a zombie apocalypse overwhelms much of society.[12][13][14] Characters in the game come to call the zombies "walkers", due to the slowness of their movement. Although the survivors initially think that being bitten by a zombie is the only way to become infected, it is later discovered that one becomes a zombie upon death irrespective of the manner in which one dies; only by damaging the brain can the reanimation be stopped. As with the comic and television series, the game's events occur in the state of Georgia. Characters [ edit ] The Walking Dead by Episode 4. From left, Christa, Omid, Kenny, Lee, Ben, and Chuck. Several members of the main cast of survivors ofby Episode 4. From left, Christa, Omid, Kenny, Lee, Ben, and Chuck. Numerous characters appear throughout the game. Lee Everett (voiced by Dave Fennoy[15]), the primary protagonist of the series, is a native of Macon and a former university professor convicted for killing a state senator who was sleeping with his wife.[16] Lee eventually finds and becomes a father figure to Clementine (voiced by Melissa Hutchison[17]), an eight-year-old whose parents went away for the weekend, leaving her with a babysitter. Lee and Clementine soon encounter a family from Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Kenny (voiced by Gavin Hammon[18]), a fisherman who prioritizes his family above all else;[19] Katjaa, Kenny's wife, who works as a veterinarian (voiced by Cissy Jones[20]);[21] and Kenny and Katjaa's son, Kenny Jr. (voiced by Max Kaufman[22]), more commonly known as "Duck".[21] The five join a survivor group led by Lilly (voiced by Nicki Rapp[23]), who was formerly stationed on the Robins Air Force Base.[24] Lilly's group consists of multiple survivors, including Larry (voiced by Terry McGovern[25]), her aggressive and judgmental father, a retired U.S. Army commander who knows Lee's past;[26] Carley (voiced by Nicole Vigil[27]) a quick-thinking regional news reporter who is also aware of Lee's crimes;[24] Doug (voiced by Sam Joan[28]), a resourceful and logical information systems technician;[26] and Glenn Rhee (voiced by Nick Herman[29]), a former pizza delivery boy.[30] In the second episode, two more survivors join the group: Mark (voiced by Mark Middleton[31]), a survivor who used to work for the U.S. Air Force;[32] and Ben Paul (voiced by Trevor Hoffman[33]), a high school student rescued by Lee, Mark and Kenny. Also introduced in the second episode are the farmers-turned-cannibals the St. Johns, consisting of Andy (voiced by Adam Harrington), his brother Danny (voiced by Brian Sommer), and their mother Brenda (voiced by Jeanie Kelsey). In the third episode, more characters are introduced; Chuck (voiced by Roger Jackson[34]), a level-headed homeless man who lives in a boxcar; and Omid and Christa (voiced by Owen Thomas[35] and Mara Junot[36] respectively), a young couple who tend to stay away from large groups. The fourth episode introduces two more characters; Molly (voiced by Erin Ashe[37]), an acrobatic and resourceful young woman who carries an ice axe; and Vernon (voiced by Butch Engle[38]), a doctor and leader of a group of cancer survivors hiding in the morgue of a hospital. The Stranger (voiced by Anthony Lam,[39] and by Roger Jackson through the walkie-talkie) is a mysterious man that communicates to Clementine via her walkie-talkie as the group nears Savannah. Plot [ edit ] The following summary is a broad overview of the work, describing the major events that occur regardless of player choice. Some specific elements not listed here will change based on the impact of player choices. Lee Everett is on his way to prison after his conviction for murder in Atlanta, Georgia. En route, the police car in which he is traveling strikes a walker and careens off-road. Managing to escape, Lee takes shelter in a nearby suburban home, where he finds a little girl named Clementine who has been hiding from the zombies as her parents had left for Savannah some time before the apocalypse. Lee offers to take care of her and help her find her parents. The two meet Kenny, his wife Katjaa, and their son Kenny Jr., "Duck", and head towards Macon where they find shelter in a drugstore that had been owned by Lee's family; they escape it when it's overrun by walkers and take residence in a nearby motel. Though relatively protected from the undead, they struggle to find food, and run out of supplies after three months. They are approached by the St. Johns, a family who own a nearby dairy. The group exchange gasoline to power the St. Johns' electric fence for food and shelter. However, Lee discovers the St. Johns have engaged in cannibalism and plan to kill and eat his group as well, causing a confrontation with the family as the farm is overrun by walkers. Fleeing back to the motel, the group finds an abandoned station wagon and decide to ransack it of its supplies. The group are forced to abandon the motel when local bandits launch an attack on the motel that attracts walkers. They come upon a freight train, and head towards Savannah with the intention of finding a boat and getting out onto the ocean. During the trip, Duck succumbs to a walker bite he received during the attack on the motel, driving Katjaa to suicide. Kenny is left completely inconsolable by the ordeal of losing his wife and son. The group then meet Christa and Omid, two other survivors who join them. Nearing Savannah, Clementine's walkie-talkie goes off. An unknown man tells her she will be safe once she finds him, and promises her that her parents are waiting for her. The group takes shelter in an abandoned mansion. Lee and Kenny head towards the pier and discover that there are no boats left in the city, and that whatever useful supplies remain are being held in Crawford, a fortified elitist community who do not accept children, as well as elderly or sick people. During a walker attack, Lee is separated from the others. He makes his way through the sewers, finding a group of elderly cancer survivors led by Vernon hiding in a hospital morgue. Vernon returns with Lee to the mansion, where Clementine has discovered a boat in the shed; it lacks fuel and a battery, but both items can be obtained in Crawford. Lee and the group plan an infiltration, but once inside, they find the district has been overrun by walkers. They quickly gather the necessary supplies and leave. Vernon departs the mansion, but remarks that he believes Lee to be an unsuitable guardian for Clementine. The next morning, Lee wakes to find Clementine missing. In his haste to find her, he is surprised and bitten by a walker. Initially suspecting Vernon, Lee finds the morgue abandoned. Clementine's walkie-talkie goes off and the man on the other end reports that he has her, challenging Lee to find her. Clementine is able to reveal her location to Lee, who returns to the mansion only to find that the boat has been stolen by Vernon's group. Lee and the others go to rescue Clementine, and Kenny is lost during an attack by walkers, while Omid and Christa are separated from Lee. Lee reaches the hotel where Clementine is held and comes face to face with her captor, who reveals that he was the owner of the station wagon that the group ransacked and lost his family to walkers as a result. Losing his sanity and seeking revenge, the Stranger met Clementine through his walkie-talkie and manipulated her into keeping tabs on the group under the guise that he had her parents. Lee and Clementine kill the Stranger and leave the hotel, smearing themselves with walker blood to mask their scent and elude the horde outside. They discover Clementine's zombified parents before Lee passes out. When Lee awakens, he is out of strength and barely able to keep conscious, but finds Clementine has dragged him to safety. With his time short, Lee instructs Clementine to escape the city and find Omid and Christa. Lee can order Clementine to either shoot him to prevent his re-animation or leave him to become a walker. If he does not decide, Clementine will choose herself based on Lee's previous actions. Later, Clementine has safely left the city, and she sees two figures approach her on the horizon. 400 Days [ edit ] The downloadable content 400 Days relates stories of other survivors in the zombie apocalypse, starting at its onset and occurring concurrently with the first season. There are five main stories: Vince (Anthony Lam) has been sentenced to prison for murder, which he had done to help his brother sometime prior to the outbreak. On Day 2 of the outbreak, Vince is on a prison-bound bus with Danny (Erik Braa) and Justin (Trevor Hoffmann) when it is ambushed by walkers. Vince chooses one of the two to escape with, leaving the other to die. Wyatt (Jace Smykel) and his friend Eddie (Brandon Bales) have accidentally killed a friend of Nate (Jefferson Arca) and are fleeing from him in a car on Day 41 of the outbreak when they run over one of the prison guards from Vince's bus in a dense fog. One of them gets out to survey the damage but is abandoned when the other one is attacked by Nate and flees in the car. Russell (Vegas Trip) is a teenager travelling by foot to visit his grandmother. On Day 184 of the outbreak he is picked up by Nate, who takes Russell to a nearby gas station and truck stop. The two explore the stop for supplies and are attacked by an elderly man named Walt. Nate suggests killing and robbing Walt and his wife Jean, with Russell deliberating on staying with Nate or leaving him. Bonnie (Erin Yvette) is a former drug-addict traveling with Leland (Adam Harrington) and his wife Dee (Cissy Jones). Dee distrusts Bonnie due to suspecting that Leland is attracted to her. On Day 220 of the outbreak they are pursued by survivors that Dee stole supplies from, forcing them to split up into a corn field. After accidentally killing Dee with a rebar, Bonnie must decide whether to tell Leland the truth or lie. Shel (Cissy Jones) and her younger sister Becca (Brett Pels) are members of the group seen in Bonnie's story and are residing in the truck stop seen in Russell's story. Several members are also Vernon's former companions who Lee encountered in Episode 4 of the main story and stole Kenny's boat in Episode 5. Roman (Kid Beyond) holds firm control of the group. When a scavenger named Roberto attempts to steal from the group on Day 236 of the outbreak, Shel is given the deciding vote on Roberto being killed or allowed to leave. Later on Day 259, fellow group member Stephanie (Dana Bauer) is caught stealing supplies, causing Roman to ask Shel to kill her. Shel then either goes through with it or escapes the camp with Becca on their caravan. The five stories culminate in a final scene on Day 400 where Tavia (Rashida Clendening) discovers photos of the survivors on a billboard near the now-overrun truck stop, along with a map to a nearby location. She finds the group and offers them sanctuary nearby. Bonnie accepts, with the others either accepting or refusing depending on either their past choices or whether Tavia successfully convinces them. Episodes [ edit ] The game was separated into five episodes, released in two-month intervals. No. overall No. in season Title Directed by Written by Original release date Main series 1 1 "A New Day" Sean Vanaman Jake Rodkin Sean Vanaman[40] April 24, 2012 ( ) At the onset of the zombie apocalypse, Lee Everett rescues young Clementine, and they join other survivors in Macon, Georgia to survive the undead onslaught. 2 2 "Starved for Help" Dennis Lenart Mark Darin[41] Story by: Chuck Jordan June 27, 2012 ( ) After having secured a motel, Lee and the other survivors are running low on food, and decide to take an offer made by the St. Johns, a family that owns a nearby dairy farm. They come to learn the St. Johns may not be what they seem. 3 3 "Long Road Ahead" Eric Parsons Sean Vanaman[1] Story by: Sean Vanaman Jake Rodkin Harrison G. Pink August 28, 2012 ( ) When bandits and walkers attack the motel, the group is forced to flee without their supplies, leading to tensions on the road. They find a working train, headed for Savannah, where Clementine hopes to find her parents. 4 4 "Around Every Corner" Nick Herman Gary Whitta[42] October 9, 2012 ( ) The survivors arrive in Savannah to search for a boat, only to get caught in a conflict involving a corrupt community and an elusive enemy who's following them. 5 5 "No Time Left" Sean Vanaman Jake Rodkin Sean Ainsworth Sean Vanaman[43] November 20, 2012 ( ) A bitten Lee and the remaining survivors travel across the now zombie-infested Savannah in an effort to find and rescue Clementine. Downloaded content – – "400 Days" Sean Ainsworth Sean Ainsworth Nick Breckon Mark Darin Sean Vanaman Gary Whitta July 2, 2013 ( ) The story focuses on five new characters during the first 400 days of the zombie outbreak: Vince, a convicted criminal; Wyatt, who is fleeing from an unknown pursuer; Russell, who is trying to find his grandmother; Bonnie, a recovering drug addict; and Shel, who is trying to survive with her sister Becca. The epilogue follows Tavia, a recruiter of other survivors for her community.[44] Supplemental episodes [ edit ] An additional episode, titled 400 Days, was released in July 2013 as downloadable content, bridging the gap between the first and second season. It focuses on five new characters, and is presented in a nonlinear narrative style; players can approach the five stories in any order they choose.[45] Development [ edit ] Early development and rights acquisition [ edit ] Prior to The Walking Dead, Telltale Games had made several successful episodic adventure games based on established properties, including three seasons of Sam & Max based on the comics and prior video games, and the five-episode Tales of Monkey Island, based upon the Monkey Island video game series. In 2010, the company secured the rights to two licensed movie properties from Universal Studios, resulting in Back to the Future: The Game and Jurassic Park: The Game. The latter included elements atypical of adventure games, including more action-oriented sequences incorporating quick time events, and was inspired by Quantic Dream's Heavy Rain.[46] Sean Vanaman said prior to getting the rights to The Walking Dead, Telltale's Carl Muckenhoupt had been working on a text-based prototype adventure game with a key gameplay focus of having an "active world", in which objects and characters in the environment would continue to go about their actions even if the player did not respond to them. Dave Grossman called this one of the long-standing problems that adventure games had had, as games in the past would have otherwise had to wait for player input. Telltale had approached Valve Corporation about using this concept for a Left 4 Dead spinoff game, another series that involved zombies, but these discussed failed to result in anything.[47] In February 2011, Telltale announced deals with Warner Bros. to develop episodic series based on both The Walking Dead and Fables.[48][49] For The Walking Dead, the agreement including provisions for "multi-year, multi-platform, multi-title" arrangements, with an initial episodic series release to commence in the fourth quarter of 2011.[50] Writing [ edit ] During development of the game, Robert Kirkman and the comic publisher Skybound Entertainment worked with Telltale.[51] According to Kirkman, he had previously played Telltale's Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People, and felt that they "were more focused on telling a good story, and I thought they were good at engaging the player in the narrative."[52] Telltale approached him with a proposal which, according to Kirkman, "involved decision-making and consequences rather than ammunition gathering or jumping over things." The proposal's emphasis on the survival aspect of the comics, and the need for the player to make choices between two bad options sold him on the project.[52] Since then, Kirkman became involved with Telltale, mostly providing oversight on what aspects of the story were appropriate components of The Walking Dead universe, in much the same manner as he does for the television show, staying out of the direct development process.[52] Dan Connors, CEO of Telltale, stated that working with Kirkman made it easier for Telltale to craft its story and introduce new characters, instead of having to work with those already established in the comic.[51][53] One of the few demands Kirkman asked of Telltale was to avoid telling anything involved with the comic's main character, Rick Grimes, as Kirkman has stated long-term plans with the character in other media.[53] Kirkman had not been impressed with an early build of the first episode, but by the time they had presented him with a near-final build, Kirkman told the Telltale team, "Holy shit guys, you did it", according to the game's co-lead developer Jake Rodkin.[54] Connors stated that from a gameplay perspective, they had looked to games such as Heavy Rain and the Uncharted series as a basis for in-game cinematics, while the idea of giving the player choice was influenced by the Mass Effect series.[51] In addition to the television version of The Walking Dead, Telltale took cues from Game of Thrones and Mad Men in terms of how to develop characters within a brief time.[51] Connors also noted that he found that traditional conversation trees did not possess "a believable rhythm" to dialog, and developed a conversion system, using timed input, to create more natural-sounding dialog.[55] The game's story was written with the final scene in the fifth episode, where Clementine either shoots Lee or walks away to let him become a walker, as the established ending that the game would build towards.[39][56] As such, the character of Clementine was considered critical to the game's writing, and the team spent much time making her the "moral compass" for the game, while assuring that as a child character, she would not come off to the player as whining or annoying.[56] Similarly, the scene with the Stranger in the hotel room was planned very early in development, and also used to review the player's decisions on a moral basis, allowing the player to respond, if they desired, to the allegations.[39] Each episode was developed by pairing a writer and a game designer so that the plot and gameplay style for that episode would work in cooperation and avoid having one feel detached from the other, according to Vanaman.[54] As such, certain gameplay ideas were left out of the game; one example given by Vanaman was a scene where everyone in the survivor group was firing on a wall of zombies, but as this would lead to a discrete success or failure, it did not fit in with the sense of panic they wanted to convey in the scene.[54] Choice [ edit ] A major aspect in the writing The Walking Dead was the concept of death, whether for the player or non-player characters. Telltale itself was formed from many former LucasArts employees, who had previously written games where the player could not die.[57] As such, they introduced situations where Lee would die if the player did not react fast enough, although the game would restart just before these events, and situations where non-player characters would die based on the player's on-the-spot decisions.[57] The concept of requiring the players to respond in a limited amount of time came out of the prototype zombie game that Muckenhoupt had made.[47] This timing aspect was designed to maintain the game's pace, and led to the idea of tracking the player's decisions. Telltale's development tools and engines had previously included means of tracking players' progress, but the use in The Walking Dead was more explicit, revealing global statistics.[57] The ultimate goal of introducing non-game-ending choices into the game was to make the player more invested in the story and more likely to avoid using the rewind feature. Telltale spent a great deal of time to assure that no choice would appear to be punishing to the player, though ultimately "all choices are equally wrong", according to Whitta.[54] The writers wanted to create choices that would appear to have a significant impact on the story but ultimately would be mostly inconsequential to the larger story.[54] At major decision points, the writers' aim was try to have the audience split evenly by making the dialog as neutral as possible prior to the choice; they considered that a split of 75 to 25 percent was not ideal.[57] They noted such cases occurred in both
DreamHack Bucharest, too many some might say. While not entirely surprising considering the massive stacking of Korean talent – so massive, actually, that not even players like Flash or Symbol could make it out – it was certainly a let-down. With just two representatives in the playoffs and facing opponents like StarDust and Life, the foreign world entered the round of sixteen with miniscule chances of success, at best. Finland’s Elfi was the first foreign player given the honor to try and beat the odds. Paired with Summer champion StarDust in a PvP was certainly to Fin’s liking considering his favoring towards the match-up but the Korean would not let Elfi have it easy. Displaying patient defense in game one against Elfi’s colossus rocketed StarDust to a 1-0 lead. To western audience’s exuberance, however, Elfi did not give up and after the Whirlwind set the game was tied and the two Protosses were to give their very best on Bel’Shir Vestige or taste elimination. Similarly to game one, StarDust took the early lead after repelling Elfi’s all-inish attack, leaving the Finnish player with no other choice but to make a second attempt at breaking the Korean. In a desperate move, Elfi pulled a hefty number of probes, lined them up with his archons and marched against StarDust’s superior colossi, immortal and zealot numbers, an attack which at the time seemed as comical as it was impossible. It would be Elfi that would get the last laugh, however, as a critical time warp gave his army an insurmountable advantage. Unable to repositions his colossi, StarDust became quick victim to Elfi’s splash fire and had to GG out, awarding a quarter final spot to the disbelieving Fin. Elfi’s success would be the only one that Protoss players would see in the round of 16 for a long time as the race was introduced to the rapid gunfire of the Terrans. On Nathanias’ stream, MMA went against Avenge to sweep him with very much the standard TvP play, allowing the Protoss to take just a single game on Whirlwind by the power of his colossus ball. Equally brutal death suffered Liquid’s Protoss ace HerO paired with Acer’s Innovation in a match-up delayed for a couple of hours due to both players taking part in the SC2L finals last night. Eager to get some personal revenge for his team’s loss in the aforementioned league, Innovation opened the two sets with early bio pressure into a huge swelling of firepower that left HerO in ruins and sent another Protoss out of the tournament. Meanwhile on the main stream, Millenium’s ForGG went against the weird style of Quantic’s Hyun to secure a hat-trick for his race after the first half of Ro16 matches. Skipping mutalisks altogether and going for high-mobility ling/baneling swarms with roach dressing, HyuN was able to surprise ForGG enough to win Akilon Wastes but the Terran was quick on the recovery. Understanding that HyuN’s playstyle runs out of steam as the game goes on and as the medivac count exponentially increases without the risk of dying to anti air, ForGG implemented a dose of defensiveness into his usually aggressive style and kept on safely pressuring HyuN, downing his baneling numbers as best as he can. Through textbook splitting of his marines and unstopping production of marauders, ForGG was further able to mitigate the explosion damage and after two more games secured his spot in the quarter finals. More death to the Zerg HyuN would not be the only Zerg falling today and by the end of the Ro16, three more would fall in all three match-ups. It was Liquid’s Taeja who picked up where ForGG left off and in two quick games played on the MLG stream landed on a 7-0 in series as he ousted YuGiOh, making sure that there is at least one Liquid player in the quarter finals. What came as a bigger surprise was the elimination of one particular Zerg that has always performed well on DreamHack grounds. After a three-game series against sOs, EG’s own Jaedong said goodbye to the tournament after a series of questionable decisions. Not that it was a horrible series for Jaedong all the way. Game one went to him after sOs suffered a loss at the hands of the signature mass muta switch that forced a base race nearly won by the Zerg. Game two, however, saw Jaedong making an almost amateur mistake, insisting to stay maxed on roaches against sOs’ passive and carefully maneuvered colossus death ball. With the score tied, Jaedong attempted a baneling bust on Planet S but with that decision ending up a failure as well, the Tyrant soon saw himself tapping out in the face of sOs’ gateway counter push. Terrans with quarter final dominance The last two Ro16 matches came to answer two questions: Will Terran players secure five of the quarter final spots and will there be a second foreigner in the top eight. Supernova was kind enough to answer question number one in speed. Following the stylistic trends set by Innovation and MMA, the Azubu Terran commanded his infantry to trample Alicia with a flawless 2-0, continuing his strong showing from day one. Supernova’s opponent-to-be came from the very last Ro16 match between Zerg prodigy Life and the second foreigner in the tournament, Acer’s Nerchio, the two entangled in a hectic mirror match. Playing on Star Station as the first map, Life exacted unrelenting pressure onto Nerchio, almost reaching the point where the Pole would break. A second of pause, however, allowed Nerchio to dramatically sway the momentum in his favor and drown the Korean in a deadly roach concave which gave him the series lead. Down one game, Life was playing for his survival and being put in a perfect ling/baneling/mutalisk mirror was exactly what he wanted. Capitalizing on his superior mechanics, Life was able to apply pressure onto Nerchio’s economy and eventually secure a gas advantage which solved the muta war in his favor. Bel’Shir Vestige was selected as the third and final map and it was not long before the first build deviations happened. Choosing to go for an earlier baneling nest, Nerchio was able to surprise Life and almost break his static defenses with a huge well of units but by the power of his queens the Korean survived by the skin of his teeth. Still with an advantage, Nerchio had infinite possibilities ahead of him but while the caster duo was wondering about his transition, the Pole went for the weirdest one. Putting double evo chambers and starting +1/+1 opened a huge timing window which Life did not fail to exploit. As the swell of roaches and zerglings flooded his natural, Nerchio realized he had given the game away.Pick off plays always carry a prime opportunity for embarrassment, either for the pitcher — if his throw is too high or off line — or the runner, if he happened to stray too far from off base. Still, few pick off plays have ever been more embarrassing than the trick attempt employed by the Delano (Cal.) High baseball team in the video you see below. As noted by the blog It's Always Sunny in Detroit, with two outs and the bases loaded, Delano desperately needed a way to get out of an inning without allowing any more runs. Rather than risk giving up a game-changing hit, Delano coach Dan Paulson called for a trick play the team calls "El Black." Scroll to continue with content Ad Now, let's walk through the crafty piece of baseball be-devilment known as El Black, shall we? First, pitcher Davy Aguilar faked a pickoff throw to second base. As soon as he did so, the second baseman rushed over as if he was covering the bag and preparing for a throw. The trick, of course, was that the throw never came. While everyone in the field reacted as if the ball had soared into the outfield, the pitcher himself still held the ball in his glove. Not knowing this, the runner on third base skipped his way toward home assuming that he could practically trot in with an easy run … only for the pitcher to swivel and gun him out at home with a bullet of a throw from the mound. [ Y! Sports Fantasy Minute: Fantasy baseball's potential stars ] The play is a terrifically executed elementary trick play, perhaps second only to the hidden ball trick. While the fake to second certainly isn't unheard of, it's rarely pulled off as cleanly as it was in Delano. Story continues Of course, the bad news is that the Tigers' success with the trick play in such a key situation will almost certainly raise other people's awareness about the risk of the fake to second play, which will in turn decrease the chance of it being successful again in the future. That takes nothing away from Delano's successful foray with El Black, not to mention the guts it took to call such a play in a key moment of a game. Want more on the best stories in high school sports? Visit RivalsHigh or connect with Prep Rally on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. Other popular content on the Yahoo! network: • Vanderbilt completes awesome triple steal at SEC baseball tournament • NBA rookie Ricky Rubio watches playoff game from bizarre perch • Y! News: Six-year-old girl competes in spelling beeThe runners can register with the bureau, which will find a sustainable resolution to the problem, he said in his weekly televised programme last night. Foreigners had been exploiting tourist visas and visas on arrival by illegally working in the country, mostly as English teachers. When their visa was about the expire, they entered a neighbouring country to apply for a tourist visa and returned to the Kingdom to illegally work again. The authorities responded by tightening the rules by not re-issuing visas to the runners and they faced deportation. Prayuth said the change of the visa system concerning visa runners had considerably affected certain groups such as English teachers and academics. "So, this is an ongoing problem that needs to be resolved, as it can lead to a shortage of English teachers and guides," he said during his weekly TV programme. The NationJustin Pope Huffington Post September 15, 2008 It’s a tough lesson for millions of students just now arriving on campus: even if you have a high school diploma, you may not be ready for college. In fact, a new study calculates, one-third of American college students have to enroll in remedial classes. The bill to colleges and taxpayers for trying to bring them up to speed on material they were supposed to learn in high school comes to between $2.3 billion and $2.9 billion annually. “That is a very large cost, but there is an additional cost and that’s the cost to the students,” said former Colorado governor Roy Romer, chair of the group Strong American Schools, which is issuing the report “Diploma to Nowhere” on Monday. “These students come out of high school really misled. They think they’re prepared. They got a 3.0 and got through the curriculum they needed to get admitted, but they find what they learned wasn’t adequate.” Christina Jeronimo was an “A” student in high school English, but was placed in a remedial course when she arrived at Long Beach City College in California. The course was valuable in some ways but frustrating and time-consuming. Now in her third year of community college, she’d hoped to transfer to UCLA by now. Like many college students, she wishes she’d been worked a little harder in high school. “There’s a gap,” said Jeronimo, who hopes to study psychology. “The demands of the high school teachers aren’t as great as the demands for college. Sometimes they just baby us.” The problem of colleges devoting huge amounts of time and money to remediation isn’t new, though its scale and cost has been difficult to measure. The latest report gives somewhat larger estimates than some previous studies, though it is not out of line with trends suggested in others, said Hunter Boylan, an expert at Appalachian State University in North Carolina, who was not connected with the report. Analyzing federal data, the report estimates 43 percent of community college students require remediation, as do 29 percent of students at public four-year universities, with higher numbers in some places. For instance, four in five Oklahoma community college students need remedial coursework, and three in five in the giant California State university system need help in English, math or both. The cost per student runs to as much as $2,000 per student in community colleges and $2,500 in four-year universities. FULL ARTICLE15c levy proposed for non-recyclable cups The cups which could attract the levy have a plastic film lining which makes them non-recyclable Coffee and tea drinkers could be charged a levy for their cups under new proposals being considered by Minister for the Environment Denis Naughten. A spokesperson for the Minister has confirmed that he is examining the possible introduction of a levy on non-recyclable single-use cups, similar to the plastic bag levy. It is understood Mr Naughten believes the levy needs to be at least 15c, in order to effect behavioural change. The cups which could attract the levy have a plastic film lining which makes them non-recyclable. "As a society we discard an incredible 80% of what we produce after a single use," Mr Naughten said. "Every day 2 million throwaway coffee cups are sent to landfill here," he added. Measures are also being considered to encourage cafés to introduce biodegradable or reusable cups. Minister Naughten has held talks with his Scottish counterpart to explore how Ireland and Scotland could collaborate on a number of initiatives aimed at tackling a range of environmental and waste issues. Other areas being examined include illegal dumping of tyres, waste debris from ships and trawlers, and the growing problem of coastline waste that ends up in our seas.Attendees at this year's Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival will have the ability to experience the festival in a whole new way, thanks to some cutting-edge technology. Goldenvoice — the people behind Coachella — are partnering Silicon Valley with Silicon Valley startup Doppler Labs to bring the Here Active Listening System to the masses. Here — which raised more than $600,000 on Kickstarter last year — is an in-ear audio system that uses wireless earbuds and an app on your phone to control and personalize a live-audio environment. The idea is that the earbuds — which are kind of like high-tech hearing aids — can be used to modify the sounds in your physical environment. This can mean eliminating background sounds, raising the bass, adjusting reverb or creating other sonic experiences. Coachella attendees will be the first people outside of Kickstarter to have the opportunity to purchase Here and use it at the festival. Attendees will get an email with a purchase offer before Coachella begins and will receive Here in advance to get used to the setup. At Coachella, there will be optimized stages for Here, with presets attendees can use to listen to music in brand new ways. Here will also have tents and demonstration booths at Coachella to show attendees who didn't purchase Hear what the experience is all about. Here is like bionic hearing, and it's awesome I had a chance to talk to Doppler Labs's CEO and co-founder Noah Kraft, as well as its executive chairman Fritz Lanman, about Here and how it will be used at Coachella. Lanman also gave me a demo, and although I was skeptical at first — the technology is pretty incredible. The small wireless earbuds fit directly in your ear canal. They don't look ridiculous while in, but you know there's something in your ears. Here is unique because they aren't headphones. It's a purely "listen live" experience. Instead, the sensors on the buds can process the sound happening around you, and you can adjust them with a smartphone app. The adjustments can be minor or major. You can raise or lower the decibel of a conversation. While turning it up and speaking to Lanman — who was just a few feet away from me — his voice got noticeably louder. Turning it down, it was softer. The amazing thing about Here is that it has no discernible latency. So talking to people around you, you don't get any sense that anything is off. The only difference is what and how you hear. The processing actually takes place inside the earbuds themselves. As sounds enter, algorithms determine what you hear and how you hear it. This allows people to cancel out certain sounds — a baby crying or the noise of a subway — or add amplification, reverb or echo to other sounds. The experience was surreal. Lanman called Here "bionic hearing" — and I think that's an apt description. "We're introducing the world to audio augmented reality," he said. The design of the buds is impressive. In the version I saw, the size is quite small — especially considering the tech inside — and there are three sizes of ear tips that Doppler Labs says will fit 95-97% of ears. Out of the box, Here has about 5 hours of battery life — but its included carrying case will give you another 10 hours. Inserting the buds in the case will give them a charge. The idea, according to co-founder Noah Kraft, isn't to wear Here all the time. "It's really an episodic experience," he says. You can charge the case using micro-USB. Focusing on music lovers first Image: Here Here has been in development for quite some time, but as the product gets closer to its final consumer vision, the team thought it was important to get more real-world feedback from users. That's what made partnering with Coachella such a compelling opportunity. "These are people that care about music and audio," Kraft says. Having the opportunity for tens of thousands of attendees to use Here means the company can find out from users what works and what doesn't. The early tests and feedback from Kickstarter backers and investors (many of whom are musicians) has been solid, but the team feels like Coachella could be a real turning point for the product. Because they are working with Goldenvoice, they'll be able to create presets for different stages so users can get the best kind of experience. The goal is to have a final consumer product available sometime by the end of the year, in the $200 - $300 price range. I asked the team about their confidence in their ability to scale the product for availability to end-consumers (the team already has production for Coachella attendees) and was assured that they have a team on-the-ground in China and the experience (with the company's prior product, the acoustic filters called Dubs) to make this to market without issues. The future Although Kraft insists that Here is an episodic product — something you use for moments in your life when you really want to control your aural experience, like at a concert, on an airplane, while working in the office — Lanman has a slightly more open world view. "We fight about this," Lanman says, implying he can picture a world where people would wear Here all day long. Acknowledging that there would need to be certain changes to account for battery life and comfort, Lanman still thinks that in the future, the idea of augmenting your audio environment will be something more and more people want to do. After just using Here for a few minutes — I think a case can be made for something like this to be embraced in the future. I mean, if you can control the sounds around you — why wouldn't you?An October surprise exploded in the presidential race Friday. The FBI suddenly announced that it is reopening its investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails after learning of new documents “that appear to be pertinent to the investigation.” The bureau’s stunning move came less than two weeks before Election Day. “In connection with an unrelated case, the FBI has learned of the existence of emails that appear to be pertinent to the investigation. I am writing to inform you that the investigative team briefed me on this yesterday, and I agreed that the FBI should take appropriate investigative steps designed to allow investigators to review these emails to determine whether they contain classified information, as well as to assess their importance to our investigation,” FBI Director James Comey said in a letter to House Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz. Comey said it is unknown whether “this material may be significant.” He gave no timeline for when results of their new investigation might be known. “Case reopened,” tweeted Chaffetz. Just last month, the FBI director rebuffed requests from Republicans to reopen the investigation, saying he hadn’t seen new evidence that “would come near” taking such an extraordinary step. Donald Trump’s campaign cheered the FBI’s decision. “A great day in our campaign just got even better. FBI reviewing new emails in Clinton probe,” campaign manager Kellyanne Conway said in a tweet. House Speaker Paul Ryan said, “Yet again, Hillary Clinton has nobody but herself to blame.” “She was entrusted with some of our nation’s most important secrets, and she betrayed that trust by carelessly mishandling highly classified information. This decision, long overdue, is the result of her reckless use of a private email server, and her refusal to be forthcoming with federal investigators.” Another top Republican said it was becoming clearer that Clinton “jeopardized national security.” “The more we learn about Secretary Clinton’s use of a private email server, the clearer it becomes that she and her associates committed wrongdoing and jeopardized national security,” Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said in a statement. “Now that the FBI has reopened the matter, it must conduct the investigation with impartiality and thoroughness. The American people deserve no less and no one should be above the law.”On the back of this year's release of The Order: 1886, developer Ready At Dawn has announced some high-level changes to the studio to focus it for the future. Paul Sams – a 20-year veteran of Blizzard (including spending the past 10 years as its COO) takes over as Ready At Dawn's CEO, with co-founder Ru Weerasuriya sliding over as president and chief creative officer. Ready At Dawn is also inaugurating a new office in Austin, Texas, to tackle business development and publishing. We talked with both Sams and Weerasuriya about the moves and how they will help the studio grow while also focusing on creating quality gaming experiences. With the Austin office working on publishing, will Ready At Dawn self-publish its own titles, publisher other studios' games, or both? Sams: It is our aspiration to own and publish our own titles and we have begun the process of exploring how we will achieve that goal. At the same time, we recognize the need to explore all options in front of us so that we make the right decision for our company, employees, and players. For the time being, we intend to focus on publishing our own games. To think about publishing other studio's games would be getting ahead of ourselves at this point. Does Mr. Sams' appointment or the creation of a publishing arm change the studio's close relationship with Sony? Do you have plans for more games on non-Sony platforms [Ready At Dawn did the Wii port of Okami – ed.]? Sams: We have enjoyed a long and mutually beneficial relationship with Sony. They are a great company with whom we have shared many successes over the years. As a result, it is hard to imagine not seeing our future games on one or more of the Sony platforms. At the same time, we have worked very hard to make sure that our engine and technology suite is multiplatform. What we did on the PS4 for The Order: 1886, we can also do today on Xbox One, PC, and on an additional unannounced platform. [Ready at Dawn reached out to us with a clarification after this interview was published. The studio says that it does not have knowledge of an unannounced platform, but rather was speaking about its plans to develop for an existing platform that is new to the studio.] Weerasuriya: We will always value our partnership with Sony and as a result the close relationship we have enjoyed. For the last decade, RAD has showcased many different PlayStation platforms through the games we have created, and we definitely hope to continue in that endeavor. Paul's arrival only helps us in that sense, by better placing all of the teams' efforts on creative and development while at the same time broadening our horizons as a studio. Was RAD waiting to finish The Order: 1886 before this reorganization and new office, or was this spurred by other events? Weerasuriya: The thought of bringing someone in to RAD had existed for a while, but we had either never found the right candidate or the right time to do this. I have long wanted to concentrate my efforts on creative and in order to do so, I needed the right person to take over on the business side. Handing over the reins after more than a decade of being in business is not easy. Furthermore, after a long time searching for the right fit, I was not convinced that this person could be found. Having counted Paul as a close friend for so many years, I have always admired and respected him as one of the best executives in our industry. It just so happened that our paths crossed again as we were finished with the development on The Order: 1886 and our respective circumstances just made this possible. What, in particular, about Mr. Sams' experience with Blizzard makes him the right fit for RAD and its plans? Is RAD interested in making online or eSports-focused titles, or games in different genres than RAD has explored previously? Sams: I worked with an exceptionally talented team at Blizzard for nearly 20 years. During that time I was responsible for all aspects of the company' global operations outside of product and platform development. Along the way, I had the opportunity to learn many lessons including how to properly and effectively manage growth, build and protect a global brand, support and nurture a development-driven culture, and direct a very high performance and highly profitable organization. It was not easy, but it did prepare me to do other great things that I hope to bring to Ready At Dawn. As for making online games or ones that focus on eSports, it all comes down to what our development team is passionate about building and playing next. You will not see me trying to force feed our teams to do things that I know how do unless that is what they really want to do. The only way you can make some of the best games in the world is by having a development team building what really geeks them up. As I have always said, gamers don't buy business models – they buy great games. We will continue to be development driven culture at RAD that only seeks to make killer games. Can you talk about your previous professional relationship together? Sams: Ru and Andrea – the two owners of RAD – both worked at Blizzard in the late '90s and the early 2000s. During their time there, they were two of my favorite colleagues, and they were both dear friends whom I spent countless hours with. When they left to start RAD, I was devastated, but I understood that they needed to go spread their wings and try to build their own company. I respected it, but I sure did miss them. We have often joked about working together again, but in all honesty none of us really believed it would happen. Being together again is surreal. I can't wait to see what we can do together. Weerasuriya: I will echo Paul's sentiment. We have counted Paul as a very dear friend, and I have often relied on him as such. I have the fondest memories of my time at Blizzard as many of the people there have remained very close over the years. Even after leaving to start RAD, Paul and I have had the chance to remain close, often reminiscing about the past and, as he said, speculating about working together at some point or the other. Though such a situation seem far-fetched then, having him now be part of our team is not only surreal, it is rewarding on so many fronts. With RAD's history on PSP, does the company want to return to handheld gaming? Is mobile/tablet development something RAD is interested in? Sams: We are platform agnostic at this point. We want to make great games, and I truly believe that every game is not right for every platform. However, if a game that we want to make plays great on mobile, tablet, or some other type of portable or non-traditional device, then I think that we would seriously consider it. Of course, the install base would need to be big enough to justify it, but if it ultimately made sense we would consider it. Weerasuriya: We have always picked projects that we were passionate about, regardless of the platforms they were targeted for. That mentality won't change. As gamers, we all enjoy different type of games and different experience on a multitude of platforms. That is often what has guided us when pitching certain games. With our technology being very versatile, it allows us to keep our choices open regarding what project we would like to take on next. How will Mr. Weerasuriya's new position as President/CCO differ from his creative role on The Order: 1886 for future projects? Sams: Ru, Andrea, and my separation of duties are pretty simply. Ru is in charge of game and IP development. Andrea is in charge of technology. I am responsible for all of the other stuff outside of game development and tech. Big company decisions will be contemplated, discussed, and decided by me, Ru, and Andrea – with strong input from other key members of our group of company directors. Weerasuriya: While working on our past games, it has always been a challenge to balance business and creative. Although I spent countless hours of my days on The Order: 1886, there were often times when I needed to devote my attention to business, while in the back of my mind, wanting to spend more time on the game itself. That constant switch in mindset is not easy to manage long term. With Paul's arrival, I am now looking forward to placing all my attention on creative. Does RAD plan to license any of its technology or share it with other studios? Sams: We are very proud of the multi-platform technology that we have built. We have been approached by both publishers and developers on countless occasions about the possibility of using or licensing our engine and technology suite. At this point, we have not chosen to license our technology as it is part of our competitive advantage. However, if the right opportunity fell into our lap, we would give it due consideration. Weerasuriya: Further to our game technology, we are now also devoting some of our time into furthering the work we have done on 3D scanning and motion capture for The Order: 1886. We now have a state-of-the-art 3D scanning and motion-capture facility only a few minutes from our studio. Having these options in-house allows us to cover a wider range of needs for development. And on that front, we are looking to have that facility available for lease and provide our expertise to others. How has The Order: 1886 performed commercially? Did it meet your commercial expectations? Sams: While we would love to share with you how well The Order: 1886 has performed since it release, those are numbers that only Sony can divulge. Suffice it to say, we are very proud of that game, and we are well on our way to achieving the sales performance that we sought. What IP does RAD currently own, and are there ones you want to claim in the future? Sams: We have two original IPs currently under development that we own. However, we are not at a point in the development process that we can discuss them. Stay tuned... To learn more about Ready at Dawn, click here to watch our video feature on the studio's full history.Up until the new millennium, we were called the ‘LGB,’ and having short hair was so common, it almost felt like a prerequisite—That and one of those rainbow freedom-ring necklaces. A lot has changed since then. Lesbian culture is under siege, with only a few lesbian bars left in the United States—Nearly every mainstay of lesbian culture has vanished. Lesbians were told their fears and concerns were irrational—But just look around. Our once vibrant cities are now rubble and dust. "Spaces and events that once billed themselves as by and for lesbians have 'changed their names and focus to avoid controversy and be more inclusive.'"—BuzzFeed As of late, under male-dominated rainbow-rulership, lesbians have faced an onslaught of homophobia. And more recently, lesbians and gay men alike, have been hit over the head with homophobic rhetoric from within the community. This summer, gay men got a taste of the phobia-pie. Heart-to-hearts finally started to happen—And we needed them to listen. Because it’s 2017, and men still have to say something first before anyone will take it seriously. A year ago Autostraddle wrote—“We’re often on the brink of not existing anymore.” The Daily Beast points to media misrepresentation of lesbians—“...a group that still feels ‘unwelcome and invisible’ in 2016.” Given the campaign of psychological warfare that has been waged upon lesbians, it’s amazing any of us are still standing. ‘Butch’ women have forever been accused of wanting to be men, and a ‘femme’ woman’s attraction to a so-called ‘masculine’ women must mean they’re straight. And misconceptions have only gotten worse as male-dominated media continues to portray a sexist and rigid idea of womanhood—TV continually tries to recreate lesbians into something more palatable to the masses—A tired male-fantasy. A bruised male-ego. Within the les-community there’s a butch/femme scale—always an interesting topic of discussion. “..The L Word...represented butchness as “the B word” that dare not speak its name. Despite the fact that the character of Shane drew heavily on the history of butch sexiness, she never could claim that history, name it, or own it.”—AfterEllen Have they finally succeeded in brainwashing the next generation into believing that the ‘androgynous’ component of womanhood is so threatening, so disgusting, that they should just disappear? And when they disappear where exactly are they supposed to go? “When a butch character was introduced [on LWord]...they quickly transitioned to trans leaving the category of butch stranded like a missing link, like a bad memory to be expunged from queer representation.”—AfterEllen “Our current social order...with or without gay marriage...is the one that rendered the butch as the anachronistic, useless, dowdy misfit in the first place.”—AfterEllen What the mainstream still can’t seem to grasp: The style and confidence of a Shane may catch the eye, but it’s biology that drives a lesbian. It’s a merciless same-sex magnetic pull, of scent, taste, sound and female pheromones. It’s animal. It’s criminal. It’s unapologetic. It’s innate and unstoppable. The desire is in the unwrapping—the appetite is for what female heaven awaits beneath. It’s an exclusive club by nature—and we wouldn’t let them in—so they huffed and they puffed and they blew our houses down. Katherine Moennig as Shane, in the opening credits of LWord Gay men’s spaces still thrive, but the homophobic shift has begun to target them as well. In June, two Boston Pride Parades were threatened with a boycott after gay men called out the homophobic comments of LGBT journalist, Juno Dawson who said—“I think there are a lot of gay men out there who are gay men as a consolation prize because they couldn’t be women.” Gay men can call out homophobia and they did, but lesbians don’t have that liberty. “A binary label like ‘gay’ or ‘lesbian’ starts to feel somewhat stale and stodgy...is it closed-minded—or worse, harmful and exclusionary—if you identify with a label that implies you’re only attracted to one?”—BuzzFeed A whole generation is being taught that being gay or lesbian is potentially “closed-minded” and “harmful.” But has anyone stopped to think about the harm this homophobic rhetoric is doing to young gay and lesbian people? “The rate of suicide attempts is 4 times greater for LGB youth...”—The Trevor Project When you first discover that mainstream feminist media LGBTQ platforms are teaching the next generation that homosexuality is no more than a whimsical “preference” that can be “unlearned”, it kinda feels like you’ve stepped into an Orwellian novel. “..if you were to say that you’re only attracted to people with vaginas or people with penises, it really feels like you’re reducing people just to their genitals... Gay ‘conversion therapy’ has been proven not to work. But you can unlearn your own prejudices; it just takes time and conscious effort.”—Everyday Feminism When did same-sex “preferences” become a “prejudice” that can be fixed? “If you met someone who was extremely attractive, had a great personality, but didn’t have the genitals that you wanted, you might be surprised to find that it isn’t a dealbreaker.”—Everyday Feminism (Said every parent in denial ever) “Some lesbians...are still all too eager to write off [people] because of "genital preferences," which means they have incredibly reductive ideas..."—BuzzFeed "The culpable Dyke March organizers claim that they are inclusive and fighting for social justice, but only if the participants believe like them and support their politics...”—Advocate Lesbian bloggers, with enormous youth followings, are often bullied into pandering and apologizing for posts on biological same-sex attraction—which is not something lesbians can somehow fix. Several bloggers are suddenly speaking out on being thought-policed. On Tuesday LGBTQ advocate Lacy Green wrote—“Bullying lesbians, censoring papers, politicizing research...This movement is unrecognizable to me right now.” “..lesbians from their 20s into their 70s...worry that inclusion often just ends up meaning that men end up in charge”—Curve Magazine At campus LGBTQ meetings lesbians are told they can’t use the word “vagina"—To use “front hole” instead. There’s a growing list of things we’re not supposed to say anymore. The decisions are made without discussion or approval. It’s exclusion in the name of inclusion. On the topic of ‘front holes’ and other demands, Cosmopolitan wrote “..why is it that it's women's institutions that seem to be the only ones facing these issues, and what does it say that men aren't being asked to be as accommodating or open?” From the outside LGBTQ appears unified, but don’t be distracted by all the pretty colors waving in the air. Our letters are tagged, as though
.”Out of a piece of 12″x12″ aluminum sheet metal, cut two rectangles and drill six rivet holes and four holes to attach the bill acceptor. Cut aluminum angle into two 11 1/2″ lengths. For each aluminum angle, drill and tap two holes; drill three faceplate rivet holes. Rivet the two aluminum angles to each side of the faceplate. Allow room (about 1/8″) to overlap with the front of the box to create flush surface; make sure aluminum angles are positioned to lie flush on the inside of box. Drill four holes through the box that exactly align with tapped holes in aluminum angle. (tip: if using acrylic, set drill to reverse, and gently apply pressure to prevent cracking). Measure 16″ leads, solder one end to barrel plug and other end to J2 connectors. Attach barrel plug to back of box. Tape leads to base of box.The media mogul Rupert Murdoch signaled his support for Rick Santorum on Monday evening, calling him the “only candidate with genuine big vision” for the United States. His comments were significant not only because Mr. Murdoch controls Fox News Channel and The Wall Street Journal, but also because they were made on Twitter, a Web site that allowed for his support to be forwarded far and wide on the eve of the Iowa caucuses. Mr. Santorum was a paid analyst for Fox News before he announced his bid for the presidency last year. Mr. Murdoch seemed to stop short of an outright endorsement. “Can’t resist this tweet,” he wrote, “but all Iowans think about Rick Santorum.” It was unclear if he was saying that all Iowa voters are thinking about Mr. Santorum, or should be thinking about him. Mr. Murdoch started to post on Twitter on Saturday, surprising some of the tens of thousands of people who have followed his account since then. The account, @rupertmurdoch, was labeled as verified by Twitter, a step taken by the company to indicate when celebrities and politicians are the owners of accounts. When asked on Monday if Mr. Murdoch — a computer neophyte — is indeed on Twitter, his top spokeswoman, Teri Everett, said, “Oh, yes.” One of Mr. Murdoch’s first messages on Twitter praised a Wall Street Journal op-ed by Ron Paul as “great.” “Huge appeal of libertarian message,” he added. On Sunday, he singled out Mr. Santorum for more specific praise. “Good to see santorum surging in Iowa,” he wrote. “Regardless of policies, all debates showed principles, consistency and humility like no other.” In the past the editorial pages of The New York Post and, more recently, The Wall Street Journal have been perceived to be Mr. Murdoch’s platforms for supporting (and sometimes punishing) political candidates. Twitter, of course, gives him a new and much more personal forum to do so. Mr. Murdoch’s arguably most influential media outlet, Fox News, employed Mr. Santorum for years, but suspended him in March when he was considering running for president. The suspension was made permanent in May after Mr. Santorum agreed to attend a Fox-sponsored debate for Republican candidates. Despite being a former Fox employee, Mr. Santorum has spoken critically of the network a few times, including as recently as Monday morning. Speaking to the radio host Mike Gallagher, Mr. Santorum said the media had “completely tried to shape this race.” “It’s not just the liberal media, I mean, it’s even Fox News,” Mr. Santorum said, adding, “You know, Bill O’Reilly has refused to put me on his program.” On his Fox News broadcast on Monday night, Mr. O’Reilly acknowledged Mr. Santorum’s recent rise in the polls and said, “We have invited Rick Santorum to appear on Wednesday.”'We saw SNAPCARD and bitcoin as a perfect fit for our integrated solutions suite for our clients,' said Natalia Yenatska, COO of i-Payout. Bitcoin payment processor SNAPCARD Inc. announced its partnership today with international payment service provider i-Payout, allowing hundreds of merchants worldwide to accept bitcoin payments and receive instant settlements in the digital currency. Merchants using i-Payout’s eWallet service can now accept bitcoin in over 190 countries. “We saw SNAPCARD and bitcoin as a perfect fit for our integrated solutions suite for our clients,” said Natalia Yenatska, COO of i-Payout. “i-Payout is at the forefront of payment technologies, providing unique solutions for clients. With digital currency securing global recognition, bitcoin seemed to be the natural progression in enabling our clients to reach new territories and accept alternative payment methods where traditional methods are lacking.” i-Payout merchants now enjoy the benefits of bitcoin, including lower transaction costs, instant settlements, fraud protection, and zero chargebacks. They can receive instant payments for the sales in bitcoin, without worrying about currency interchange or bitcoins exchange. This allows merchants to open their doors to new customers while maintaining their choice of whether to start using the digital currency themselves. “We’re really thrilled about this partnership,” said Michael Dunworth, CEO of SNAPCARD. “Our company’s focus is to offer the benefits of digital currencies to merchants and consumers everywhere, and i-Payout has a sterling reputation with a large network of merchants around the world. We’re very excited that i-Payout merchants will start accepting bitcoin, and bitcoin users everywhere will have more places to spend their digital currency.” The partnership signifies a major step in the mainstream adoption of bitcoin, which is quickly gaining acceptance globally. Over 150,000 merchants are expected to accept bitcoin by the end of 2015, according to a report by Coindesk.Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders shake hands before the CNN Democratic Presidential Debate at the Brooklyn Navy Yard on April 14, 2016. (Credit: JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images) — Bernie Sanders will finally give his stamp of approval to Hillary Clinton. CBS News chief White House correspondent Major Garrett reported the Vermont senator will endorse Clinton next Tuesday in New Hampshire and bring the Democratic Party together before Donald Trump and Republicans meet for their convention. BREAKING. Source tells @MajorCBS Bernie Sanders will endorse Hillary Clinton Tuesday, most likely in New Hampshire. — Charlie Kaye (@CharlieKayeCBS) July 7, 2016 Garrett told WCBS 880 the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee would have preferred the endorsement sooner but the campaigns are organizing it in a way to build sense of unity and momentum to counteract Trump and the Republicans a week before the Republican National Convention. COMPLETE CAMPAIGN 2016 COVERAGE “Bernie Sanders will make it clear that he is not only with Clinton, but diametrically opposed to Trump,” Garrett explained. Garrett reported Sanders was able to get concessions, including a significant policy one when Clinton expanded her push for college tuition subsidies earlier this week, bringing it to a nearly universal subsidized college tuition plan Sanders pushed for. Garrett also reported Sanders was getting word from Democrats that he was taking too long to endorse Clinton, and that he needed to get on board and unify the party “because Trump is the overriding existential threat to the Obama agenda and everything the Democrats accomplished the last eight years.” Sanders told PBS’ “Charlie Rose” show that Clinton needs to be elected president. “We have got to do everything that we can to defeat Donald Trump and elect Hillary Clinton,” Sanders said. “I don’t honestly know how we would survive four years of a Donald Trump” as president. Despite the upcoming endorsement, Sanders still has yet to officially drop out of the race.9 March 2018 \| jodyfranz 8 \| Well done documentary and an interesting follow up to the first movie From strictly a movie appreciation perspective the only thing I didn't like about this was it seemed to focused on Al-Gore, which is fine but if you compare it to Leanardo's D's Before the Flood I found the pacing and information better presented in that one then Truth to Power. I think this would have been way better with less focus on Gore. But having said that it was a compelling documentary. From a climate change perspective/new information it wasn't too bad but I have been absorbing information about this for that last few years so there wasn't a lot of new information for me here so nothing was too shocking. Interesting to see some of the other reviews, and how hard some people are denying it all, I understand where the denial is coming from it is a scary topic with massive unpredictable outcomes for all of us, it is much more "convenient" to deny than to accept. I for one am glad this movie was made and will continue to support activism when it comes to climate change.Many clashers are aware that you should ‘max’ your troops and base before upgrading from one TH to the next — BUT — clan war clans will probably want you to do an order between TH upgrades. Specifically there is a prevailing momentum in the game-meta right now (04/15/2015) that you should first max your offense then your defense when upgrading in a TH. This is tied to match making theory in clan wars (people suspect offensive upgrades don’t count so your clan isn’t penalized w/ harder opponents when you do it but you get to be more powerful in the war). Anyway, that’s the theory. So, what does this mean at JTJ? Town Hall 11 Our monkies are busy working on the TH11 upgrade order. Town Hall 10 TH10: Intro – Welcome to TH10 (9.1) Do not place new defenses or walls yet. Clan Castle Lab – Get your troop/spell upgrades going ASAP Spell Factory – Do not war without spells Army Camps x 4 – 20 extra units is the biggest upgrade you can get Barracks/DB – You can start into the next stage while working on these Lab Priority: Valkyries, Hogs. TH10: The Basics – Road to 9.5 (9.2) Do not place new defenses or walls yet. AQ/BK – Prioritize upgrading heroes where possible Giant Bomb – Drop the new one and get it to level 3 Seeking Air Mines – Drop the new one and get all your SAMs maxed Skeleton Trap – Drop the new one and leave it at level 1 for now Lab Priority: Golems, Wizards. TH10: Building Up – Upgrading What We Have (9.3) Upgrade existing defenses, but do not place new defenses or walls yet. ADs – Air Defenses to max Teslas -Hidden Teslas to max ATs – Existing Archer Towers to max ASs – Air Sweepers to max Giant Bombs – All Giant Bombs to max Cannons – Existing Cannons to max Lab Priority: Jump Spell, Wall Breakers, Bowlers. TH10: Building Out – Adding New Defenses (9.4) We now start building some of our new defenses. AT – Drop it and get it maxed Cannon – Drop it and get it maxed Skeleton Trap – Drop it and get it maxed Air Bombs – Drop it and get all your Air Bombs maxed TH10: The Plateau – Lab, Heroes, Xbows, and Walls (9.5) At this stage, you should work on completing all remaining Lab upgrades. The clan will benefit from your strong offense and low weight. Beyond this point Walls, Xbows, and Inferno Towers will increase your weight significantly. Clashers wanting to stay as a 9.5 should stop after this stage. BK/AQ – Max your heroes to 40/40, if they aren’t already Xbows – Drop your 3rd Xbow and get it to level 3 Walls – Drop your 25 new walls and get them to level 10 Traps – Drop and upgrade any remaining traps TH10: Completing TH10 When you’re ready to go beyond 9.5, this order will give the best power-to-weight ratio. Your base’s weight will increase sharply during this stage. WT – All Wizard Towers to max Inferno Towers – Drop and max (very heavy weight!) Walls – Have fun grinding these to max Mortars – The least useful of the high-weight upgrades Town Hall 9 TH9: Intro – Welcome to TH9 (8.1) Do not place new defenses or walls yet. Clan Castle Lab – Get your troop/spell upgrades going ASAP AQ – Level 1 for now, but upgrade when possible Spell Factory – Do not war without spells Army Camps x 4 – 20 extra units is the biggest upgrade you can get Dark Spell Factory – Do not war without spells Barracks – You can start into the next stage while working on these A note on Dark Barracks: Unless you are planning on becoming a LaLoon/LaDrag specialist, you can delay upgrading your Dark Barracks. Witches carry with them a very large war weight. TH8.5s can use many attacks effectively without Witches or Hounds. Lab Priority: Hogs, Heal Spell, Golems. TH9: The Basics – Road to 8.5 (8.2) Do not place new defenses or walls yet. AQ – Prioritize upgrading heroes where possible. Get AQ to 5 at minimum. Giant Bomb – Drop the new one and get it to level 3 Seeking Air Mines – Drop the new ones and get all your SAMs maxed AD – Drop the new one and get it to level 6 AS – Drop the new one and get it to level 4 Lab Priority: Valkyries, Jump Spell, Wizards. TH9: Building Up – Upgrading What We Have (8.3) Upgrade existing defenses, but do not place new defenses or walls yet. BK/AQ – Continue upgrading heroes. Aim for 10/10 at least. ADs – Air Defenses to max Teslas – Existing Hidden Teslas to max ATs – Existing Archer Towers to max ASs – Air Sweepers to max Cannons – All Cannons to max Lab Priority: Wall Breakers, Healers, Rage Spell. TH9: Building Out – Adding New Defenses (8.4) We now start building some of our new defenses. BK/AQ – Continue upgrading heroes. Aim for 15/15 at least. AT – Drop it and get it maxed Tesla – Drop it and get it maxed Xbows – Drop it and leave at level 1 Skeleton Trap – Max them all Air Bombs – Drop it and get all your Air Bombs maxed Xbows are a high-weight building. The first level offers decent DPS-to-weight value, but hold off upgrading until later. TH9: The Plateau – Lab, Heroes, and Walls (8.5) At this stage, you should work on completing all remaining Lab upgrades. The clan will benefit from your strong offense and low weight. Beyond this point Walls and Xbows will increase your weight significantly. Clashers wanting to stay as an 8.5 should stop after this stage. BK/AQ – Max your heroes to 30/30, if they aren’t already Walls – Drop your 25 new walls and get them to level 8 Traps – Drop and upgrade any remaining traps Dark Barracks – If you opted to delay getting Witches/Hounds, consider upgrading it now, or in the next stage TH9: Completing TH9 When you’re ready to go beyond 8.5, this order will give the best power-to-weight ratio. Your base’s weight will increase sharply during this stage. Xbows – Max them WT – Finally drop that 4th Wizard Tower and get them all to max Walls – Have fun grinding these to max Mortars – The least useful of the high-weight upgrades TH8 The following upgrade order is out of date and JTJ no longer uses TH8s in war. However we keep this here for any affiliate clans looking at the upgrade order we used to use. Offensive Buildings — Upgrade Order Army Camps – Good news, there are no army camps to upgrade at TH8. Lab6 (4 days) – Note: Before you start the upgrade of the lab, kick off one of your troop upgrades (assuming you are not fully maxed on troops coming in). The research will continue while the lab upgrades. Dark Elixir Storage – Get this up to 30,000 size so you can gather the DE necessary for your first DE upgrade (hogs). Dark Spell Factory – Moved up on 12/19/15 due to emergence of double poison CC take out. Spell Factory – Good news, there is no Spell Factory Upgrade at TH8. CC. Get this to size 25. Dark Barracks (6 days + 7 days) – Moved down on 12/19 as hog attacks are not using Golem as much anymore (double poison change). But if you ‘love’ GoWiPe this might be worth going earlier. Barracks – Get one of these to max level so you can spit out a PEKKA (don’t need all 4 right away). Lab Research Order Hogs — Level 3 & 4 – (10 days + 12 days) – You should have Hog2 arriving at TH8, therefore 22 days into TH8 you should have Hog4 and be prepared to start practicing KH1, Ho and KH, Ho. We go hogs first as many of the TH8.1 (entry level) and TH8.5 (mid level) targets that are weak to air can be covered by TH7 Salts hitting up. Heal Spell — Level 5 – (5 Days). Supports hogs. Poison — Level 1 and 2. Poison moved down, below heal, due to needing only 1 max poison to take out a drag (one in cc slot). So poison can come later. Dragon — Level 3 – (10 days). We waited on this as Hogs are capable of taking a lot of the TH8.1 bases that are AD665 or less. Baloons — Level 5 – (5 days) – For 99 and 813 dragoon attacks Q and L (Earthquake and Lightning) — EarthQauke to Level 1 (just build the dark spell factory to level 2 and you will have that) and Lightning to Level 5. Rage — Level 5 – ( 7 Days) Wizard — Level 5 – (5 days) Golem — Level 2 PEKKA — Level 2 and 3. Moved down 12/19 based on cc spell add (making Dragoon vs AD666 viable) Archer Barbarians Wall breakers As you wish from here Defensive Buildings — Upgrade Order Until you have AD6x3, you will be three starred by all decent dragon attackers, so AD6 is your focus. AD6x3 – One will be a new AD, the other 2 are just a single upgrade from Level 5. First build the level 1 ad, then do the two level 5 to 6 upgrades of the other two Ads. Yes, you will get hit while they upgrade, but suffer through and get them to L6. CC — Get that clan castle up. Definitely helps in defense (5 slots & offense) Air Sweeper — Upgrade that to level four. You should have it at level 3 coming in. Archer Towers are your next best defense against dragons, prioritize these Teslas – very effective against dragons, you should ALWAYS have a tesla upgrading, at least one because these take forever. Do not wait until the end of TH8 to start or you will be sorry because it’s a grind. Wizard Towers Mortars Canons walls are done as you have excess Exilir/Gold and/or as you approach max for the TH. Max your walls for TH8 before upgrading. Kristen Shilton TSN Toronto Maple Leafs Reporter Follow\|Archive TORONTO – Pitting their own draft picks against free agent invitees was a new wrinkle at the Toronto Maple Leafs’ development camp this year and perhaps, unexpectedly, it was the invitees who showed the draft prospects a thing or two. Namely, how to win a scrimmage. The free agent-laden Team Sittler topped Team Clark in both intra-squad scrimmages (by scores of 6-3 and 6-5 on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively) that capped off an intense week of on-ice drills and off-ice seminars. Team Sittler played in smaller games against themselves throughout the week under the watchful eye of Leafs’ management to prepare for the final tilts. And while the free agents were impressive, there’s no need to panic about the state of the Leafs’ draft selections. “I don’t think you read into (the results) at all,” explained general manager Lou Lamoriello with a knowing smile. “Looking at both lineups, they were fairly even, quite frankly, as far as forwards go. It’s [most] important to get all the players here and get them knowledge of exactly what it’s all about.” The camp was large - with 57 prospects compared to 41 last year - and the split format was an experiment the Leafs undertook for a myriad of reasons, mainly to give each player the focused attention they need to try and improve. Lamoriello added that he was pleased with how smoothly the camp went, but for him and his staff the hard part is just beginning. The team’s rookie tournament is in early September and several invitees stood out enough over the last six days to potentially merit a return trip. “We’ll talk about it a little later,” Lamoriello said, adding that he didn’t have a number of players in mind who would be invited to the tournament. “It’s always a discussion; everyone has opinions. Right now we’ll digest everything, and have a chance to talk to the people we did draft this year that weren’t at the draft and make sure their summer goes the way it should.” As the players disperse to continue training on their own, here are 10 who made their mark at Leafs camp: 1. Timothy Liljegren (2017 Draft, 17th overall) Liljegren arrived in Toronto looking exactly as advertised - a smooth skating defenceman with good speed and awareness on the ice, a great shot from the point and elite passing skills. His goal in Wednesday’s scrimmage showed off his great patience with the puck and vision with a wicked one-timer from the blue line. Lamoriello said he was most impressed with Liljegren’s poise and how he didn’t take inadvisable chances on the ice in an effort to impress. He’ll stick around town until July 24, when he heads to Plymouth, Michigan for a World Juniors Summer Showcase. The Leafs announced later Wednesday afternoon that Liljegren signed his three-year, entry-level contract. He’ll either return to Sweden to continue playing with Rogle BK or join the AHL’s Marlies next season. 2. Jacob Tortora (Camp Invitee, Undrafted) No player was more impressive in the intra-squad scrimmages than Tortota and no free agent invitee stood out as much as he did all week. A product of the U.S. National Development Program, Tortora scored four goals and had an assist over two games (including a hat trick on Tuesday). He shows great acceleration on the ice and fluid skating motion to go along with his high-end offensive skill set. On Wednesday, he danced past 2017 draft pick Eemeli Rasanen in the neutral zone to set up his fourth snipe - a wrister from the slot. Tortora is undersized at 5-foot-7 and that will continue to be a knock against him, but the Boston College-committed forward hopes the program will do for him what it did for other small players like Johnny Gaudreau. 3. Adam Brooks (2016 Draft, 92nd overall) Brooks’ scoring abilities are elite, but the 21-year-old spent last season focused on improving his 200-foot game and showed off some of those strides through the week. He was more aware and responsible in the defensive zone during scrimmages, making smart plays with and without the puck. Given his prolific scoring ability (he had 130 points in 66 games last season), Brooks wasn’t as visible in the final days as expected, (scoring just one goal and adding an assist against Team Sittler), but he generated more solid chances than many of his teammates. Brooks will spend the summer preparing to make the biggest jump of his career - from junior into the AHL with the Marlies. 4. Vladimir Bobylev (2016 Draft, 122nd overall) With a tumultuous season behind him - which included signing a contract in the KHL only to see limited playing time and returning to the WHL - Bobylev’s development appears to be back on track. He was a standout in battle drills and net front drills among the other draftees, building on the physical element he added to his game during his first season with the WHL’s Victoria Royals two years ago. Bobylev came close to dropping the gloves a couple of times in Wednesday’s scrimmage, but kept the focus on his point production with two goals. While he’d like to play with the Marlies next season, the 20-year-old is unsigned and it seems likely he’ll head back to the WHL as an over-ager. 5. Martins Dzierkals (2015 Draft, 68th overall) Perhaps no player in camp looked as relentlessly focused in drills as Dzierkals, a high-scoring winger who’s determined to earn a contract with the Leafs for next season. Coming out of camp a year ago, Dzierkals was zeroed in on improving his net-front presence and proving he could get to the dirty areas of the ice and retrieve pucks as well as score. He has a ways to go in maximizing all his potential, but was all over the ice in the week’s final two scrimmages sniffing out pucks, and tallied one assist. As of now, Toronto has only one contract spot available for next season and assuming one doesn’t go to Dzierkals, he’ll return to the QMJHL’s Rouyn-Noranda Huskies as an over-ager. 6. Austin Rueschhoff (Camp Invitee, Undrafted) Playing on a line with Tortora certainly helped Rueschhoff, who built quick chemistry with the speedy winger as that line separated itself from the pack in scrimmages all week. The 6-foot-6 Rueschhoff plays a heavy game and is incredibly strong on the puck, able to buy time through the neutral zone and use it to set up all four of Tortora’s goals. He has work to do on his skating and explosiveness, as well as his overall efficiency with the puck, but his size and ability to throw his body around is a major upside. He’s committed to attending Western Michigan University this fall. 7. J.J. Piccinich (2014 Draft, 103rd overall) Like his scrimmage linemate Brooks, Piccinich will be graduating to the AHL next season and looks ready to make the jump. A power forward who plays responsibly in all three zones, Piccinich scored two goals and added an assist in scrimmages as Team Clark’s most consistent skater. What sets Piccinich apart is his versatility – he does many things well without being considered truly elite in any one aspect. His net front and battle drills were noticeably strong, and bodes well for his potential moving on to play against men next season on an AHL contract. 8. Kristian Pospisil (Camp Invitee, Undrafted) Pospisil wasted no time trying to jump off the page at camp. In the opening minutes of the invitees’ first scrimmage against each other, the 6-foot-2 Pospisil laid out another player along the boards with a thundering hit before turning around to score the first of five goals over his next two games. He kept up his torrid pace - along the boards and in front of the net - on a line with Rueschhoff and Tortora against the draftees. He added one goal and two assists in those games and nearly came to blows with Bobylev. Pospisil has only been in North America two seasons and needs to add size and strength to his frame, but there’s a lot to like about how he plays the game. 9. Joseph Woll (2016 Draft, 62nd overall) The Leafs’ brightest goaltending prospect in years was absent from on-ice portions of the last two days of camp after a hamstring tweak on Monday kept him from scrimmaging. But Woll had a strong few days before that in drills, showing off improved athleticism and efficiency in the net that illustrates how his game is maturing in the college system. He’ll return to Boston College as a sophomore in the fall, looking to build on his strong freshman campaign. 10. Taro Hirose (Camp Invitee, Undrafted) A smaller forward (5-foot-10, 161 pounds) who plays a smart two-way game, Hirose quietly went about his business, performing well in all five of Team Sittler’s scrimmages. Hirose has good awareness on the ice and great hands, scoring two goals against the draftees and generating some quality chances for his line. He may be too much of the same type of player Toronto already has in spades to garner another look down the road, but Hirose made his presence felt on the ice. Tough break: Jeremy Bracco (2015 Draft, 61st overall) Looking to move on from junior to the AHL ranks next season, Bracco didn’t get an opportunity to improve this past week due to a bout of mononucleosis. Bracco was present for the first two days of on-ice activities before being felled by illness, missing the bulk of instruction that would have helped guide his offseason regime from here. Lamoriello said he didn’t see the absence as a setback for Bracco as long as it doesn’t impact the rest of his summer workouts, which will be critically important to his development into training camp and next season.Thomas Vermaelen had what many would consider to be an unexpected summer for him. On returning from the World Cup with Belgium in Brazil, he found two of the world's biggest clubs fighting for his signature. Manchester United had a huge budget and were in search of an experienced central defender. For new manager Louis van Gaal, Vermaelen ticked all the boxes he needed and looked like a reliable option to bring into the club. There were Arsenal fans who scoffed at Manchester United being so keen for one of their'rejects' further surprised when Barcelona interest moved from fanciful to real. Vermaelen had been linked with a move to Barcelona during every transfer window for the past few years. The idea that he could play the Barcelona way was an attraction as was that he'd be available for a cheap price in comparison to others. However, the Catalan press had linked so many defenders to Barcelona that it was unbelievable until a firm move was made and interest confirmed. Arsenal preferred the Spanish option rather than sending another club captain to Manchester United and Vermaelen got an excellent chance to get his career back on track at the very highest level. However, that involved actually getting on the football pitch and he hasn't done that competitively yet. Vermaelen's only match for Barcelona was a friendly against an Indonesian U19 team but he's been unavailable since. Catalan newspaper Sport claim Arsenal knew they were selling a player who had gone through a 'dangerous spiral of injuries', but it's hardly something which was kept quiet - everybody knew Vermaelen had been struggling with injuries. Sport think that signing Vermaelen at all was a gamble but at €18m it's been a gamble which has cost far too much in their opinion. The defender has plenty of time to build a great Barcelona career but if he doesn't the Catalan media will add him to their list of reasons to be angry at Arsenal. Follow us on Twitter @Sport_WitnessIt feels to me like I fell into programming, like it just happened that I graduated college with a skill that was highly in demand. But how did I end up here? Because of my race and gender people were more likely to see me as a potential engineer and take my efforts seriously. Because my parents could afford a computer in the 1980s there was one around for me to learn on. Because they could afford good schooling for me there were classes where I could practice this skill and study the theory behind it. It's hard to know the chain of causality that led to me getting into programming, but it's substantially less likely that I'd be here if I'd not had these advantages along the way. If you think of privilege as something you have that makes you a bad person, if you know the word and know it applies to you but you try to hide and dismiss your privilege, to find axes along which you have less of it, that's only marginally more helpful than if you were to deny your privilege entirely and insist that all your accomplishments in life have been due to your efforts alone. Having privilege puts you in position where you have an outsized ability to effect change. The best response to privilege is to turn it to fixing the situation that led you to having these major advantages over others. If I look at my situation, my race, class, and gender privilege have been helpful, but my nationality privilege is by far my biggest unearned advantage. Someone at the poverty line in the US earns more than 90% of people in the world, even after adjusting for money going farther in poorer countries. This is not to minimize the suffering of people in the US, along any dimension, but to illustrate the extent of the problem and the work required. With so much need, how could I possibly justify keeping my luck to myself? So I earn to give. I can't reject my privilege, I can't give it back, the best I can do is use it to give back.Tony Gonzalez recently told ESPN The Magazine that Matt Ryan isn't "elite," immediately setting ablaze talk radio, message boards and Twitter. How could Gonzalez, a future Hall of Famer and five-year Ryan teammate, actually say "Matty Ice" isn't elite? Is there more to the story? Do they not get along? Is Gonzalez trying to make a splash, sparking an easy transition from player to broadcaster/analyst? Shortly after his initial comments made waves, Gonzalez predictably backtracked a bit on Doug Gottlieb's CBS Sports Radio show, saying Ryan's "an inch away from being elite" and that "it's not a matter of 'if' but 'when.'" That's the world we live in, a world of retractions and clarifications. Truth be told, when he made his initial remarks, Gonzalez was absolutely right. Look up "elite" in the encyclopedia of today's reality, Wikipedia. The first sentence defines elite as "a small group of people who control a disproportionate amount of wealth or political power." Notice two key words: "small" and "disproportionate." You can't have 10-16 elite quarterbacks in a 32-team league -- that defies the definition. Yet, fans and players get bent out of shape when their quarterback isn't included among the ranks of the elite. Hey, as a columnist and a radio/television host, I make my living debating such topics. It's amazing how heated some fans get. I was the host who asked Phil Simms two Novembers ago, on CBS Sports Network's "NFL Monday QB," if Eli Manning is elite. Phil, while fatigued of the topic, gave a great explanation as to why Eli is "a tremendous team player" but not elite. It was wrongly seen as some kind of Giant-on-Giant crime. As Simms said in that segment, "There are very few quarterbacks in that category." In fact, there are just three elite quarterbacks in the NFL today: Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady and Peyton Manning. Yes, it's "a small group of people." There is no gray area. There is no hesitation. Those three signal-callers are elite. But here's what gets me about this topic of conversation: Does it really matter? Rodgers, Brady and Peyton all have rings, but the last three Super Bowl-winning QBs are Russell Wilson, Joe Flacco and Eli. To make the playoffs and win big, you need a hot, clutch quarterback. You need a franchise quarterback, a very-good-to-great signal-caller. And, of course, you need a reliable leader. Rodgers, Brady and Peyton are elite, if we must interpret this arbitrary measurement. How do we view the remaining quarterbacks? Well, they fall into some distinct categories. This is not a ranking; it's a snapshot of the current QB environment in the NFL. The next tier Drew Brees, Ben Roethlisberger Oftentimes, you will see Brees lumped in with Rodgers, Brady and Peyton. I don't think that's accurate. The 2012 campaign counts against Brees, as he struggled some without Sean Payton (posting an NFL-high 19 interceptions) and New Orleans missed the playoffs. But his numbers, wins and feel put him at this worthy slot. I actually think Brees is in his own category -- right after the elite trio and right before Roethlisberger. Still, Big Ben has been a consistently great quarterback, owning multiple Super Bowl rings. He masks areas of the Steelers that are weak. While his style can be unorthodox and he doesn't always put up the gaudy stats, Roethlisberger is a reliable winner and deserves to be recognized. OK, that ends the rankings portion of this column. Young guns Andrew Luck, Colin Kaepernick, Russell Wilson, Cam Newton, Robert Griffin III, Nick Foles, Andy Dalton, Ryan Tannehill If there's one thing that must be taken into account in this whole "elite" discussion, it's that you need a true body of work before meriting true consideration. The 2011 and 2012 draft classes delivered a number of franchise quarterbacks, some knocking on the door of greatness, some with work to do. Luck is a star. He's everything to the Colts. (Frankly, he'd be my sixth-ranked quarterback in the NFL, but I already said I was done with rankings... ) He's off to an eye-popping and dominant start, but again, he needs to keep doing it over a sustained period. Kaepernick is fantastic as a runner and thrower -- and the guy was just a few inches away from knocking off the Seahawks in Seattle last month and punching the 49ers' ticket to the Super Bowl. Wilson, of course, won that game and went on to win a championship ring. Wilson averaged just 209.8 passing yards per game during the regular season, but he has developed a knack for coming up clutch in big moments in his first two NFL campaigns. In the middle of the regular season, Wilson told me on SiriusXM Radio that he needed to improve on third down. On Super Bowl Sunday, he was special in that very area. No surprise -- nobody works harder than Wilson. This won't be the only Lombardi Trophy he lifts in his career. Newton morphed from a losing enigma over his first two years to a true winner in 2013. His
the combat readiness of our troops.” “In that sense, we can accomplish our tasks on our own, and right now there is now need for the deployment of peacekeeping forces,” he said. He argued that despite the absence of such troops the conflicting parties have managed to avoid a full-scale war for the past two decades. The remarks came amid mounting speculation in Yerevan that Russia is keen to deploy its troops around Karabakh with the aim of strengthening its leverage against Armenia and Azerbaijan and bolstering its broader presence in the region. Some local pundits claim that Russian President Vladimir Putin will push for this when he holds talks with his Armenian and Azerbaijani counterparts in Sochi later this week. Ohanian insisted that the armed forces of Armenia and Karabakh remain the main safeguard against a renewed Armenian-Azerbaijani war. He said the latest upsurge in fighting, widely regarded by the Armenian side as a serious setback for the Azerbaijani military, underscored their strength and Azerbaijan’s inability to forcibly resolve the conflict. Baku has failed to gain a strategic military advantage despite a decade-long massive military buildup, he claimed. “We need to keep in mind that any weapon requires a person qualified enough to use it,” continued Ohanian. “Acquisition of large quantities of weapons requires their personnel to learn how to use them effectively.” At least 15 Azerbaijani soldiers have reportedly been killed since the escalation on July 31 of fighting along “the line of contact” around Karabakh and the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. The Defense Ministry in Baku said on Tuesday that two other soldiers serving near the Karabakh frontline have accidentally shot and killed themselves. The official Armenian combat death toll in the same period stands at 6.Get the biggest daily stories by email Subscribe Thank you for subscribing See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email A woman was reportedly 'licking the war memorial' at Albert Park last summer - and grabbing people's feet. The woman in the incident was described as an 'African female' and the matter was reported to Cleveland Police in June. Police couldn't find any trace of the woman during a search of the park and the incident was recorded as anti-social behaviour. It was one of 13 incidents recorded near Teesside's war memorials this year, records released exclusively to the Gazette show. In Stockton, a thief or thieves stole some flowers from the hall and war memorial on Butts Lane in July. (Image: Tony Winward) This was the only one of these incidents that ended up being recorded as a crime, according to the records - the others were often false alarms. For example, someone called to say there was a man doing drugs in a car in Albert Park on October 29 - but when the police stopped him they found no sign he was doing anything illegal. In Hartlepool, police got word of a man who was lying on the grass near the cenotaph on Victoria Road in July. There were fears for his safety, but when they found him, he was "fine, just chilling out". The 13 incidents at war memorials Middleton Grange, Hartlepool February 26 Complaining that police had given G4s permission to drive over war memorial when letter from council states they don't have permission. Advised of the procedure. Closed to Professional standards. Arch Court, Hartlepool April 14 G4s driving over war memorial when letter from council states they don't have permission. Advice matter. Police attended and advised this is a council matter. High Street, Stockton May 22 EDL members planning to go to the war memorial and lay a wreath in memory of Lee Rigby. Thought there might be problems. Officers en route and on foot in general area. Albert Park, Middlesbrough June 10 Reporting he thinks someone is spray painting the war memorial. Suspicious circumsatnces. Call with good intent, no persons or damage at scene. Albert Park, Middlesbrough June 18 African female licking the war memorial and grabbing at people's feet. Anti-social behaviour. Area search negative. Lamb Lane, Stockton July 3 Enforcement officers reporting 20 youths at location taking drugs. Have now made off. Anti-social behaviour. Dealt with by council. Victoria Road, Hartlepool July 6 Concerns for male laid on grass near war memorial. Concern for safety. Male fine, just chilling out. Butts Lane, Eaglescliffe, Stockton July 15 Theft of flowers from the hall and war memorial over the last few days. Crime details taken. Burlam Road, Linthorpe, Middlesbrough July 22 Drunken male in cemetery near war memorial. Being abusive and tearing up grass. Anti-social behaviour. Male spoken to, no offences and not drunk. Asked to leave. North Terrace, Seaham July 29 Male near war memorial considering going off the cliff edge. Concern for safety. Attended and spoke to male. The Square, Stockton October 8 Black holdall left at memorial. Suspicious circumstances. Already checked by Enforcement, holdall is empty. The Green, Billingham October 27 Road traffic collision - crashed into war memorial. Attended. Albert Park, Middlesbrough October 29 Male parked in car near war memorial, doing drugs. Suspicious circumstances. Driver stopped, no signs of drugs or drugs use.Security bulletin Security updates available for Adobe Flash Player Release date: March 12, 2013 Vulnerability identifier: APSB13-09 Priority: See Table Below CVE number: CVE-2013-0646, CVE-2013-0650, CVE-2013-1371, CVE-2013-1375 Platform: All Platforms Summary Adobe has released security updates for Adobe Flash Player 11.6.602.171 and earlier versions for Windows and Macintosh, Adobe Flash Player 11.2.202.273 and earlier versions for Linux, Adobe Flash Player 11.1.115.47 and earlier versions for Android 4.x, and Adobe Flash Player 11.1.111.43 and earlier versions for Android 3.x and 2.x. These updates address vulnerabilities that could cause a crash and potentially allow an attacker to take control of the affected system. Adobe recommends users update their product installations to the latest versions: Users of Adobe Flash Player 11.6.602.171 and earlier versions for Windows and Macintosh should update to Adobe Flash Player 11.6.602.180. Users of Adobe Flash Player 11.2.202.273 and earlier versions for Linux should update to Adobe Flash Player 11.2.202.275. Adobe Flash Player 11.6.602.171 installed with Google Chrome will automatically be updated to the latest Google Chrome version, which will include Adobe Flash Player 11.6.602.180 for Windows, Macintosh and Linux. Adobe Flash Player 11.6.602.171 installed with Internet Explorer 10 for Windows 8 will automatically be updated to the latest Internet Explorer 10 version, which will include Adobe Flash Player 11.6.602.180 for Windows. Users of Adobe Flash Player 11.1.115.47 and earlier versions on Android 4.x devices should update to Adobe Flash Player 11.1.115.48. Users of Adobe Flash Player 11.1.111.43 and earlier versions for Android 3.x and 2.x should update to Flash Player 11.1.111.44. Users of Adobe AIR 3.6.0.597 and earlier versions for Windows, Macintosh and Android should update to Adobe AIR 3.6.0.6090. Users of the Adobe AIR 3.6.0.597 SDK and earlier versions should update to the Adobe AIR 3.6.0.6090 SDK. Users of the Adobe AIR 3.6.0.599 SDK & Compiler and earlier versions should update to the Adobe AIR 3.6.0.6090 SDK & Compiler. Affected software versions Adobe Flash Player 11.6.602.171 and earlier versions for Windows and Macintosh Adobe Flash Player 11.2.202.273 and earlier versions for Linux Adobe Flash Player 11.1.115.47 and earlier versions for Android 4.x Adobe Flash Player 11.1.111.43 and earlier versions for Android 3.x and 2.x Adobe AIR 3.6.0.597 and earlier versions for Windows, Macintosh and Android Adobe AIR 3.6.0.597 SDK and earlier versions Adobe AIR 3.6.0.599 SDK & Compiler and earlier versions To verify the version of Adobe Flash Player installed on your system, access the About Flash Player page, or right-click on content running in Flash Player and select "About Adobe (or Macromedia) Flash Player" from the menu. If you use multiple browsers, perform the check for each browser you have installed on your system. To verify the version of Adobe Flash Player for Android, go to Settings > Applications > Manage Applications > Adobe Flash Player x.x. To verify the version of Adobe AIR installed on your system, follow the instructions in the Adobe AIR TechNote. Solution Adobe recommends users update their software installations by following the instructions below: Adobe recommends users of Adobe Flash Player 11.6.602.171 and earlier versions for Windows and Macintosh update to the newest version 11.6.602.180 by downloading it from the Adobe Flash Player Download Center. Users of Flash Player 11.2.x or later for Windows, or Flash Player 11.3.x or later for Macintosh, who have selected the option to 'Allow Adobe to install updates' will receive the update automatically. Users who do not have the 'Allow Adobe to install updates' option enabled can install the update via the update mechanism within the product when prompted. Adobe recommends users of Adobe Flash Player 11.2.202.273 and earlier versions for Linux update to Adobe Flash Player 11.2.202.275 by downloading it from the Adobe Flash Player Download Center. For users of Flash Player 10.3.183.67 and earlier versions for Windows and Macintosh, who cannot update to Flash Player 11.6.602.180, Adobe has made available the update Flash Player 10.3.183.68, which can be downloaded here. For users of Flash Player 10.3.183.67 and earlier versions for Linux, who cannot update to Flash Player 11.2.202.275, Adobe has made available the update Flash Player 10.3.183.68, which can be downloaded here. Adobe Flash Player 11.6.602.171 installed with Google Chrome will automatically be updated to the latest Google Chrome version, which will include Adobe Flash Player 11.6.602.180 for Windows, Macintosh and Linux. Adobe Flash Player 11.6.602.171 installed with Internet Explorer 10 will automatically be updated to the latest Internet Explorer 10 version, which will include Adobe Flash Player 11.6.602.180 for Windows. Users of Adobe Flash Player 11.1.115.47 and earlier versions on Android 4.x devices should update to Adobe Flash Player 11.1.115.48. Note: Applicable only for Android 4.x devices with Flash Player installed prior to August 15, 2012. * Note: Applicable only for Android 4.x devices with Flash Player installed prior to August 15, 2012. Users of Adobe Flash Player 11.1.111.43 and earlier versions for Android 3.x and 2.x should update to Flash Player 11.1.111.44. Note: Applicable only for Android 3.x devices and earlier with Flash Player installed prior to August 15, 2012. Users of Adobe AIR 3.6.0.597 and earlier versions for Windows and Macintosh should update to Adobe AIR 3.6.0.6090. Users of the Adobe AIR 3.6.0.597 SDK and earlier versions for Windows and Macintosh should update to the Adobe AIR 3.6.0.6090 SDK. Users of the Adobe AIR 3.6.0.599 SDK & Compiler and earlier versions should update to the Adobe AIR 3.6.0.6090 SDK & Compiler. Users of the Adobe AIR 3.6.0.597 and earlier versions for Android should update to Adobe AIR 3.6.0.6090 by browsing to Google play or the Amazon Marketplace on an Android device. Priority and severity ratings Adobe categorizes these updates with the following priority ratings and recommends users update their installations to the newest versions: Product Updated version Platform Priority rating Adobe Flash Player 11.6.602.180 Windows 1 11.6.602.180 Macintosh 2 11.2.202.275 Linux 3 11.1.115.48 Android 4.x 3 11.1.111.44 Android 3.x and 2.x 3 Adobe AIR 3.6.0.6090 Windows, Macintosh, Android and SDK & Compiler (includes AIR for iOS) 3 These updates address critical vulnerabilities in the software. Details Adobe has released security updates for Adobe Flash Player 11.6.602.171 and earlier versions for Windows and Macintosh, Adobe Flash Player 11.2.202.273 and earlier versions for Linux, Adobe Flash Player 11.1.115.47 and earlier versions for Android 4.x, and Adobe Flash Player 11.1.111.43 and earlier versions for Android 3.x and 2.x. These updates address vulnerabilities that could cause a crash and potentially allow an attacker to take control of the affected system. Adobe recommends users update their product installations to the latest versions: Users of Adobe Flash Player 11.6.602.171 and earlier versions for Windows and Macintosh should update to Adobe Flash Player 11.6.602.180. Users of Adobe Flash Player 11.2.202.273 and earlier versions for Linux should update to Adobe Flash Player 11.2.202.275. Adobe Flash Player 11.6.602.171 installed with Google Chrome will automatically be updated to the latest Google Chrome version, which will include Adobe Flash Player 11.6.602.180 for Windows, Macintosh and Linux. Adobe Flash Player 11.6.602.171 installed with Internet Explorer 10 for Windows 8 will automatically be updated to the latest Internet Explorer 10 version, which will include Adobe Flash Player 11.6.602.180 for Windows. Users of Adobe Flash Player 11.1.115.47 and earlier versions on Android 4.x devices should update to Adobe Flash Player 11.1.115.48. Users of Adobe Flash Player 11.1.111.43 and earlier versions for Android 3.x and 2.x should update to Flash Player 11.1.111.44. Users of Adobe AIR 3.6.0.597 and earlier versions for Windows, Macintosh and Android should update to Adobe AIR 3.6.0.6090. Users of the Adobe AIR 3.6.0.597 SDK and earlier versions should update to the Adobe AIR 3.6.0.6090 SDK. Users of the Adobe AIR 3.6.0.599 SDK & Compiler and earlier versions should update to the Adobe AIR 3.6.0.6090 SDK & Compiler. These updates resolve an integer overflow vulnerability that could lead to code execution (CVE-2013-0646). These updates resolve a use-after-free vulnerability that could be exploited to execute arbitrary code (CVE-2013-0650). These updates resolve a memory corruption vulnerability that could lead to code execution (CVE-2013-1371). These updates resolve a heap buffer overflow vulnerability that could lead to code execution (CVE-2013-1375). Acknowledgments Adobe would like to thank the following individuals and organizations for reporting the relevant issues and for working with Adobe to help protect our customers:The HBO documentary Banksy Does New York premiered on HBO Go on October 31, creating a revived interest in the mysterious street artist’s unknown identity. He has been thought of as a man throughout his career, but new theories point to something quite different: Could Banksy actually be... a woman? CityLab explores the hypothesis in depth, citing Canadian media artist Chris Healey, who has maintained for years that Banksy is actually a team of seven artists led by a woman. He believes the leader may be the blonde woman who appears in scenes depicting Banksy’s alleged studio in the Banksy documentary Exit Through the Gift Shop. “Since there is so much misdirection and jamming of societal norms with Banksy’s work, as well as the oft-repeated claim no one notices Banksy, then it makes sense,” Healey explains. “No one can find Banksy because they are looking for, or rather assuming, a man is Banksy.” The claim doesn’t seem so far-fetched upon examining Banksy’s oeuvre. Girls and women appear in many of Banksy’s stencils, which is atypical for street art (especially given that Banksy’s women aren’t presented in a sexualized manner). It’s also worth noting that Banksy’s work occupies a strange cross section of fine art and street art, and it seems conceivable that such a unique position could be created by a woman, since women experience art, the world, and the art world in a dramatically different way than men do. The world may never know the true identity of the most famous street artist in history. But even if Banksy isn’t a woman, entertaining the hypothesis that he could be a she creates space for other female artists to gain agency in the art world, something most women agree is long overdue. Follow artnet News on Facebook:Just one in five Americans approves of the job being done by Republicans in Congress, with Democrats not much higher at 32 percent, according to a nationwide McClatchy-Marist poll taken just as Washington voters cast primary ballots on Aug. 5. Yet, only one incumbent House member — Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Wash. — took less than 50 percent of the primary vote. It’s an ancient adage. The public disapproves of Congress, but approves of its local members. Consider Eastern Washington. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., is a top lieutenant to House Speaker John Boehner and part of a House Republican leadership that has blocked action on immigration reform and the minimum wage. McMorris Rodgers has been blistered by the Spokane Spokesman-Review for not supporting renewal of the U.S. Export Import Bank, which underpins thousands of trade-dependent jobs from Boeing jet sales to wine exports. On primary day, however, McMorris Rodgers received 51.75 percent of the 5th District vote, and goes into the general election with a 33,000-vote cushion over Democratic challenger Joe Pakootas. Democratic U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott was elected to the House in 1988 and has earned the nickname “congressman-for-life.” He took 76.86 percent in the August primary, and has cruised to reelection at times with more than 200,000 votes. Republican leaders have refused to let the House vote on a bipartisan, Senate-passed immigration reform plan. But that didn’t make any difference in the 4th District, a Central Washington district that includes two majority-Hispanic counties. The district will see an all-Republican “top two” runoff in November, with main street conservative Dan Newhouse facing Tea Party activist Clint Didier. A trio of Latino candidates received less than 20 percent of the primary vote. In the 6th District, which includes the often-restive Olympic Peninsula, freshman U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer piled up 58.7 percent of the primary vote and led Republican challenger Marty McClendon by 34,000 votes. The National Republican Congressional Committee put 1st District candidate Pedro Celis, a former Microsoft designer, on its “Young Guns” promising candidates list earlier in the year. Celis barely survived the primary and staggered into the general election with 16.45 percent of the vote. Freshman Democratic Rep. Suzan DelBene took 50.67 percent, and led Celis by a whopping 40,000 votes in a district designed to be competitive. Veteran 9th District U.S. Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., eased toward reelection with 64 percent. Despite a spat which saw Boeing Machinists withhold their endorsement, 2nd District Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash., took 55.59 percent. Rep. Dave Reichert, R-Wash., who survived a trio of tough races in the 8th District, captured 62.5 percent in the primary. The 2010 redistricting gave Reichert a much safer district by extending the 8th across the Cascades to include Chelan and Kittitas Counties. The only slight hints of weakness came in the 10th and 3rd Districts. The Olympia-centered 10th District was nicknamed the “Denny district” in that it was designed for TVW co-founder and longtime state capital insider Denny Heck. He won going away in 2012. In this year’s primary, however, Heck took 51.58 percent and was followed at 41.29 percent by Republican Joyce McDonald. A 10-point, 10,000 vote margin was as close as any incumbent was challenged in the primary. The 3rd District, in Southwest Washington, saw Herrera Beutler take 48.83 percent of the vote. She faced another Republican in the primary along with Democrat Bob Dingethal. Dingethal is the highest quality House challenger either party has recruited this year, with a successful business startup background and conservationist credentials. Still, after taking 37.95 percent on August 5, he faces a stiff uphill climb. Certainly the state has first-rate lawmakers: Smith is ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee. DelBene and Kilmer have stood out as first termers; DelBene prodded and pushed the federal response to the Interstate 5 bridge collapse and the Oso mudslide. Yet, the Washington Congressional Delegation is far less cooperative and collegial than in years gone by. For instance, McMorris Rodgers has twice voted to renew the Export-Import Bank, whose charter is set to expire on Sept. 30. So far, even a forceful backstage dressing down by Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., has failed to move her into the camp of other supporters such as Reichert. The voters of Washington are not revolting.I’ve always been fond of DAW. When I was a kid, DAW was one of the few publishers I recognized. I thought their logo was cool, and I remember spending an embarrassing amount of time time trying to get the initials of my name to fit together in some sort of artistic way…. Though part of that was Tolkien’s fault too. Later in my life, after working on my fantasy trilogy for years and years, I was beginning to despair. My book was so big. Really big. Really kind of insanely big. Who would read this bloated monstrosity? Did anyone even print books this big? Then I read The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams. My first real exposure to the genre I now think of as BFF (Big Fat Fantasy.) It was a long fantasy book. It was huge. And there, right on the spine, was DAW’s logo. Since then my fondness for DAW has only grown. Not only do they publish some of my favorite authors. Not only do they publish some of my favorite books. They publish my books. Call me old fashioned, but I really appreciate that sort of behavior. The cherry on top of my adoration sundae is the fact that DAW has always been a big supporter of Worldbuilders. This year, when we announced Worldbuilders was taking on official sponsors, DAW jumped in with both feet. They sent us hundreds of books. So many books we can’t fit them into a single blog. Today we’re showing off the series they’ve sent us, as you can see in the pictures below, most of these have signed bookplates. We’re running a few auctions, but the vast majority of these are going into our lottery where you can win them (and thousands of others) by donating directly to Heifer International over on our Worldbuilders Team Page. Why would you want to donate to Heifer International, I hear you ask? Because this. Heifer International isn’t just about giving people goats and cows. They also train farmers to improve their crop yields, provide clean water to communities, and help little kids get an education. That’s right folks. Your donation does all that plus you get a chance to win free books. Let’s take a look…. Discount Armageddon and an ARC of Midnight Blue-Light Special. With bookplates from by Seanan Maguire. Seanan Maguire won the Hugo award this year, so you know she’s cool. What’s more, these copies of Midnight Blue-Light Special that DAW sent us are ARCs. They’re early copies. The book won’t be hitting the shelf until March… That means if you win it, you get to read the book before your friends and gloat about it on Goodreads. Not that I condone that sort of behavior. “Discount Armageddon is ultimately entertaining, light and fun. I don’t read a lot of urban fantasy, but given McGuire’s popularity, I couldn’t resist trying this for myself and despite my reservations, was pleasantly surprised.” – SF Signal We’ve one one of these in the lottery, and one in an auction. To bid head over here. The October Daye series. With bookplates signed by Seanan Maguire. “Well researched, sharply told, highly atmospheric and as brutal as any pulp detective tale, this promising start to a new urban fantasy series is sure to appeal to fans of Jim Butcher or Kim Harrison.” – Publishers Weekly Renevant Eve, Blood Spirits, and Coronets and Steel by Sherwood Smith. “Recalling The Count of Monte Cristo and The Prisoner of Zenda in plot and theme, this cross-world fantasy/romance should appeal to YA and adult fans of the genre.” – Library Journal The Inda Series by Sherwood Smith. Y’all may recall the beautiful hand-drawn map Sherwood sent along with her own donation of these books earlier. She’s clearly willing to go the extra mile for the fundraiser, and that alone makes her cool. “A fantasy world fit for the most discriminating medieval partisan.” – Publishers Weekly My Life as a White Trash Zombie and Even White Trash Zombies Get the Blues by Diana Rowland. Pat’s note: This has to be one of my favorite titles for a book ever. “I highly recommend this series for those looking for something different in that jam-packed field. I think you’ll love the character and the detail of the zombie worldbuilding.” – Joshua Palmatier We’ve got one set of these in the lottery, and one in an auction. To bid click here. The Crown of Stars series by Kate Elliott. One set in the lottery, one set (with signed bookplates) in an auction. “Elliott demonstrates her talent for combining magic and intrigue.” – Library Journal To bid on the set with the bookplates, head over here. The Foreigner Series. With signed bookplates by C.J. Cherryh. “The Foreigner series is about as good as it gets… so finely and densely wrought that you may end up dreaming of sable-skinned giants with gold eyes, and the silver spun delicacy of interstellar politics.” – SF Site Prophets, Heretics, and Messiah by S. Andrew Swann. “Messiah is an excellent conclusion to a consistently good series and proves that S. Andrew Swann is one of science fiction’s most underrated authors.” – SF Signal The Green Rider series. With signed bookplates by Kristen Britain. “This is a book that you would want on your shelf, as it is a story that is both captivating, intelligent, and excellently wrought in the telling.” – Fantasy Book Review We’ve put one of these in the lottery, and one in an auction over here. The Esther Diamond series by Laura Resnick. “Gleeful, clever… [Resnick] spins a witty, fast-paced mystery around her convincingly self-absorbed chorus-girl heroine.” – Publishers Weekly The Novels of Tiger and Del series by Jennifer Roberson. Fun fact: Jennifer Roberson is also a breeder of Cardigan Welsh Corgis. And now you know. The House War series by Michelle West. “Some say Michelle West has been propelled into the ranks of George R. R. Martin and Robin Hobb—I say that she’s been there all along and it’s about time she was noticed as such.” – Night Owl Reviews The Mirror Lands series. With signed bookplates by Violette Malan. “Violette Malan has accomplished that most difficult fusions – she’s given a complex, high fantasy world a very readable contemporary voice.” – Tanya Huff We’ve one one of these in the lottery, and one in an auction. Bidding happens over here. The Magister Trilogy, the Braxi/Azea duology, The Madness Season, and This Alien Shore, by C.S. Friedman. “This is space opera in the best sense: a combination of high-stakes adventure with a strong focus on ideas and characters whose fate an intelligent reader can care about.” – New York Newsday The Elemental Masters series. With signed bookplates by Mercedes Lackey. “This is Lackey at her best, mixing whimsy and magic with a fast-paced plot.” – Publishers Weekly The Collegium Chronicles series. With signed bookplates by Mercedes Lackey. “Lackey is a spellbinding storyteller who keeps your heart in your mouth as she spins her intricate webs of magical adventure.” – Rave Reviews A set of every single book released by DAW in 2012. (If you click to embiggen, you can read every title) This is something cool DAW came up with all on their own. They sent us one of every book that they published this year. I wish we would have thought of something like that. This is all one prize, folks. 52 books. One for every week of this next year. And we’re throwing it into the lottery, because we love you. And remember, DAW loves you too. * * * Remember, for every 10 dollars you donate on our Team Page, you get a chance to win these books and many, many more. We have some auctions going on, including those here, so go over to the Worldbuilders eBay page and check them out. Or, if you want to see the other items that have been donated to Worldbuilders, or learn more about the fundraiser itself, you can head over to the main page here.Mississippi school districts are reacting to news that they may be required to allow transgender students to use the bathroom of their choice. A letter sent by the federal Departments of Justice and Education states that in order to protect students from discrimination schools must let transgender students use the bathroom of their choice or risk losing federal funding. Schools in Mississippi spent their Friday trying to determine the legal ramifications of the letter. Many district leaders declined to talk about how they were handling the federal guidance. Others like Kristen Windham, the public relations director for the Rankin County School District, issued only brief statements. “The Rankin County School District will continue our current procedures based on the law until further interpretation by our attorneys and school board,” says Windham. “I think that it’s a sign of national insanity.” That was Republican Representative John Moore of Brandon, the Chair of the House Education Committee. “What it will lead people to do is to say ‘well, okay, I’m just going to make different arrangements or my children to have an education,” Moore says. Many members of Mississippi’s Republican leadership issued similar statements. Governor Phil Bryant called the letter – quote -- the most outrageous example yet of the Obama administration forcing its liberal agenda on states that roundly reject it. The American Civil Liberties Union of Mississippi had a decidedly different take saying the letter simply provides schools with clarity as to the legal obligations that they already had. Parents like Kevin Goodman of Pelahatchie and Ethel Walker of Pearl also disagree with each other. “It was separate to begin with,” says Goodman, “it should stay separate the whole time. Some rules are put down and they should be followed.” “I just feel like whatever sex they’re claiming let them use the restroom,” says Walker. “If it’s a concern with somebody’s safety, have some security guards.” Of the schools that did respond to inquiries about transgender bathroom policies, a majority said they were unlikely to change any policy before the end of the school year.As voted for by the contributors of Loud And Quiet, our favourite records released this year, and a reminder of exactly what they are 40. Stephen Steinbrink Anagrams (Melodic) The nomadic singer’s first studio-recorded album of bittersweet indie after a decade of touring the West Coast’s DIY underground. 39. Goat Requiem (Rocket) The third album from the Swedish, clandestine psych band. As cosmic as ever, with slightly less static and beefed up melodies. 38. Warpaint Heads Up (Rough Trade) The LA band’s third album of slinky indie and growing electronic elements, following their more difficult self-titled record of 2014. 37. Poliça United Crushers (Memphis Industries) Social injustice, war, celebrity and what it’s like to live in trigger-happy, modern America go into the RnB dub band’s less auto-tuned third album. 36. Beyoncé Lemonade (Columbia) The singer’s sixth solo album, and second ‘visual’ record, accompanied by an hour-long film broadcast on HBO.About Maps telegraph scientific revolutions into the heart of daily life, causing one age to give way to the next. These moments are rare, but we’re in one now. “We Are Here” will tell this story in the immersive Full Dome theaters found in science centers, planetariums, and natural history museums worldwide. For students of math and science, it illuminates the core of the event, helping them to make themselves a bigger part of it. Scroll down for an overview of the story, the producer, and the production plan. For a more detailed treatment of the narrative, please see wearehere.com. And if you know anyone with a keen interest in history, astronomy, geography, math, maps, or science, please consider sharing this page with them. Thank you, AB ✵ Story We Are Here starts in antiquity, when people saw the cosmos as a sheltering sphere, with the Earth at the center, fixed and unmoving. For eons, they used the sun and moon to mark time, and light from the stars to guide them. As empires rose and fell, our language and systems for measuring time and space developed and converged. Eventually we could translate astronomical observations into the basis for cartography. With economies from Baghdad to Beijing weaving themselves together through the Silk Route trades, this carefully developed body of geometric knowledge passes from one culture to the next. Over the course of fifteen hundred years the idea of the world was stable enough, and widely enough shared, for people to gather enough information from the heavens to form a rough outline of the Earth in maps. Control of the routes was always contentious, but their basic value was never in doubt. They were clearly indispensable to everyone along them. This flow of commerce and information was humanity's spine, and the axis for an entire hemisphere's exchange. So it seemed unlikely that a question asked on the periphery of this sprawling network could contribute so much to its collapse. Having realized that the spinning sphere of the night sky may be an illusion caused by motion of the Earth itself, Nicholas Copernicus develops an alternate cosmology, with the Sun at the center. In the scientific revolution that follows, the pillars of the ancient cosmological conception crumble one by one. In their place Isaac Newton formulates the universal law of gravitation, producing a foundation for the entirely new study of astrophysics. This great leap in the understanding of the stars and planets takes the slow, steady trickle of astronomical data and turns it into a river. Both quality and quantity are magnified exponentially, leading to an astonishing new clarity and precision in mapping and navigation. And with the newfound ability to determine longitude at sea, oceans—once tremendous divides between continents—become connectors. Economic power follows swiftly, shifting from those with control of overland routes to those fortuitously situated for marine trade. In the social, political, and economic upheavals that follow, one great axis of commerce gets eclipsed as another takes its place, setting the stage for antiquity’s transition to modernity. Newton's calculus was the key to understanding gravitational fields and the advances in astronomical navigation that mastery of this law permitted. But the scientific revolution it supported didn’t stop there. The calculus also proved essential for understanding electromagnetism. The ability to mathematically model both of these fundamental forces generated tremendous leaps in industry, war, and communication. But, in using one set of symbols to describe two laws of nature, we noticed anomalies in their interactions. Specifically, the electrodynamics of moving bodies defied explanation. Like Copernicus before him, Albert Einstein resolved the problem he could see by questioning something he could not—the hidden structure of the cosmos themselves. By developing a new conception of time and space, his theory of Relativity led to the discovery that the universe is not only unimaginably big, but also that it is getting bigger by the second. In the process, he triggered the most far-reaching cartographic revolution since people discovered that Earth was a planet. Fueled by Cold War fears and cost-is-no-object thinking, strategic applications for Einstein's theories followed quickly. Atomic weapons were the most first, but in the longer run, they wouldn’t be the most influential. Combining the basic geometry of the ancients, the orbital mechanics of Newton, and newfound mastery of Earth's relativistic effects, people launch the first global positioning arrays. When the Soviet Empire collapses and threats of Armageddon fade, military GPS gets opened to worldwide civil use. As increasingly precise signals get picked up by an exploding number of devices, this orbiting guidance system becomes a tremendous boon to humanity. At the same time, the sophistication of electronic communications has grown exponentially. When millions—then billions—of networked sensors start tagging the flood of data they gather with precise geographical coordinates, another cartographic revolution begins unfolding. Paper gives way to pixels, maps become responsive, and cartography goes live. The advance is monumental. It marks the difference between locating objects in space,

Subsets and Splits

No community queries yet

The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.